Israel vs. the Jews

In advance  of his trip to the States, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu laid out his new plan for peace. He spoke from the Knesset podium in Jerusalem.

First the soundbite:

Israel would be prepared to compromise and cede parts of our homeland for true peace with the Palestinians

 but:

A Palestinian government that comprises representatives of Hamas and refuses to recognize that Israel is the state of the Jewish People is not a partner for peace.

But Netanyahu's own government enforces as system that invalidates his own criterion. The State of Israel per Netanyahu's government is not the state of the Jewish People.

It is fair to day that the State of Israel is constituted as as the state of the Israeli Jewish people.
This state's laws and institutions grant superior privileges to Israeli Jews over, and at the expense of, non-Jewish Israeli citizens.
As an American Jew, my religious rights in the State of Israel are inferior to those of Israeli Jews.
The State's actions in the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon are not recognizably Jewish to me.

As such, I do not recognize in the State  Israel the "State of the Jewish People" of the Israeli leader's statement. Whether you define Jewish as a set of morals or a tribe, the State of Israel does not fit the definition.

So why not meet with Hamas? Hamas in Gaza was democratically elected and enjoys the trust of their people. Now, they have agreed to share power with the Palestinian Authority on the West Bank.

This is a golden opportunity for Israel to reach an agreement with all the Palestinians.

But Netanyahu wants peace-and-quiet not peace and justice.

Israeli Cabinet Minister: No Democracy for Arabs Right Now

Events in Egypt are moving fast. U.S. and Israeli officials are trying to keep up. 


Only yesterday, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley  said that while the U.S. welcomed the Tunisian democratic uprising, Mubarak should be allowed to remain in power because of  the Egyptian peace treaty with Israel. The New York Times picked up the administration's line in its reporting today.
By this afternoon, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was already calling on the Egyptian government to refrain from violence and introduce reforms. 


Early this morning, an unnamed Israeli cabinet minister proclaimed:
"I'm not sure the time is right for the Arab region to go through the democratic process."
By the evening Prime Minister Netanyahu had instructed his government minsters and officials to stay mum on the subject of Egypt.


Will the Egyptian protesters forget that Mubarak's security police fired US-made tear gas canisters at them? (h/t Phil Weiss at mondoweiss.net)