Mr. Friedman is now part of the Israel bashing media frenzy. All fault lies with Israel, the "Palestinians" the oppressed victim. Where exactly do you plan to fit this rump state? Do you actually believe they will agree to be demilitarized? Do you think they have given up on their dream of total annihilation of Israel just because they can't pull it off for now? There is a "Palestinian" state already. It is called Jordan, already 70% Palestinian. Jordan is a figment of the British Foreign Office's imagination. Undoing the random border demarcations of the WW1 era would be difficult, but a lot easier that what we've gone through already. As for Iran, they may have"strategic" interests, but like previous Persian Empires they will revert to the dust bin of history. I don't hear anyone laughing in Teheran.
41
Israel, whether its government is of the right or the left, will EAGERLY make peace when the people of Israel believe that there is a partner for peace.
History proves this. In 1979, PM Menachem Begin, who was the leader of Likud and a government of the right, withdrew Totally from Egyptian territory.
This included the painful upheaval of Israeli towns in Sinai near the border. Why did Israel do this? Because the Israelis belived that they had a true partner for peace named Anwar Sadat.
Today we have a similar right wing government. But there is no partner for peace. Even if Israel’s left had prevailed it is hard to imagine that a deal for a Two-State solution could be reached in the next two years. Hamas’ continuous terrorism and genocidal hate and the celebration by leaders of the PA of vicious terrorist outrages against Jews, have left most Israelis warily awaiting a Palestinian leader -- someone unlike PA President Abbas -- who would be ready to tell his constituents that their Jewish neighbors are there to stay and that the Jewish state has a legitimate right to be there.
Mahmoud Abbas is no Anwar Sadat.
History proves this. In 1979, PM Menachem Begin, who was the leader of Likud and a government of the right, withdrew Totally from Egyptian territory.
This included the painful upheaval of Israeli towns in Sinai near the border. Why did Israel do this? Because the Israelis belived that they had a true partner for peace named Anwar Sadat.
Today we have a similar right wing government. But there is no partner for peace. Even if Israel’s left had prevailed it is hard to imagine that a deal for a Two-State solution could be reached in the next two years. Hamas’ continuous terrorism and genocidal hate and the celebration by leaders of the PA of vicious terrorist outrages against Jews, have left most Israelis warily awaiting a Palestinian leader -- someone unlike PA President Abbas -- who would be ready to tell his constituents that their Jewish neighbors are there to stay and that the Jewish state has a legitimate right to be there.
Mahmoud Abbas is no Anwar Sadat.
27
A one-state democratic solution? Is that really possible in a theocracy? Even in India, where Hinduism is the implicit, (not explicit) state religion, Muslims who formerly chose to forgo expatriation to Pakistan have had a rough time of it for 70 years. Similarly, in the US, if one is not a declared devout Christian, the disdain and rejection are often quite obvious (e.g., our "Muslim" president). We live in a world far too heavily dominated by an admixture of religion and politics. The founding fathers --- recalling the roots of the English immigrants to the New World --- recognized the potentially corrosive impact of state-sponsored religions and wisely chose to disaffiliate themselves from any particular religion (despite modern assertions that the US is a "Christian nation"). Despite Mr. Friedman's salient analysis, I see little hope that Israel, an explicit Jewish theocracy will be any different in fully protecting the rights of its non-Jewish citizens.
36
As the line in the movie goes, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!". I may be wrong, but to me it seems that our interests and Israel's are no longer the same; as a matter of fact I think they have not been the same for quite some time. Why do we continue to give them hard earned US tax payer aid and get NOTHING in return? No, wait a minute, we do get something in return; we get more people hating us. They take our money and work against us. This is the most one sided, unhealthy relationship ever. Members of congress, especially republicans (both houses) look after Israel's interests more than that of the United States. Am I the only one who feels this way?
93
All this moral equivalency is repugnant!
A thriving humanistic democracy on one hand besieged by a tsunami of corrupt maniacal murdering islamists pledged to their destruction on the other -it's as simple as that!
The palestinians will never get to vote in Israel and the Israeli Arabs are lucky to have theirs for now.
Israel -like Russia and China and Syria and Iran and Egypt and most of Africa and Central and South America and much of Eastern Europe and a multitude of imperfect regimes are not going anywhere.
AND how can you compare Israel's relatively compassionate survival methods to theirs.
I suggest the only reason for the intense focus on Israel/Palestine is based on anti-semitism!
A thriving humanistic democracy on one hand besieged by a tsunami of corrupt maniacal murdering islamists pledged to their destruction on the other -it's as simple as that!
The palestinians will never get to vote in Israel and the Israeli Arabs are lucky to have theirs for now.
Israel -like Russia and China and Syria and Iran and Egypt and most of Africa and Central and South America and much of Eastern Europe and a multitude of imperfect regimes are not going anywhere.
AND how can you compare Israel's relatively compassionate survival methods to theirs.
I suggest the only reason for the intense focus on Israel/Palestine is based on anti-semitism!
30
Go ahead, ruin my day by not asking yourself-what does the PA want, if not one state? Have they not been refusing, multiple times, a two state solution without as much as a counteroffer? Is the "right of return" not a demand for one, Palestinian controlled state? Would their one state scenario be run like all Arab states are-forget about equal rights. What would happen to the large Jewish minority population under such a situation? I certainly don't agree to annexing area C, and nobody talks about annexing the 40% under PA control (not even Bennett), nor is that what Netanyahu is demanding. He is pushing the "two state scenario" forward, when/if it can be constructed, when/if the Middle East emerges from the inferno now engulfing it. Do consider all this.
14
I can't help but 'celebrate' Bibi's win because it vindicates much of the world's long-held belief that Israel has never been interested in a just peace.
Despite Palestinians' indefensible and ill-advised terrorism, Israel always held the trump cards. Its military and political power has always dwarfed that of the Palestinians'. Friedman himself revealed this imbalance of power in a recent column when he chastised Palestinians for not accepting peace proposals from previous Prime Ministers Olmert and Barak. Aside from the fact that those were bread crumb-filled peace offers, why should Palestinians be obliged to accept deals proposed to them? Why shouldn't Palestinians' own proposals be considered? Peace cannot be achieved if it's dictated by Israel or Palestinians.
Yet, Israeli governments of past and present have taken a it's-our -way-or-the-highway approach. Netanyahu's last-minute display of bigotry and fear-mongering finally exposed Israel's long-standing intransigence and patronizing attitude - if not more uglier sentiments.
I join much of the world in 'celebrating' the way Netanyahu won because his modus operandi, and the shocking verdict of Israeli voters, finally validated decades-long suspicions of the country's true goal: Do not settle for anything less than a deal that overwhelmingly favors Israel.
Despite Palestinians' indefensible and ill-advised terrorism, Israel always held the trump cards. Its military and political power has always dwarfed that of the Palestinians'. Friedman himself revealed this imbalance of power in a recent column when he chastised Palestinians for not accepting peace proposals from previous Prime Ministers Olmert and Barak. Aside from the fact that those were bread crumb-filled peace offers, why should Palestinians be obliged to accept deals proposed to them? Why shouldn't Palestinians' own proposals be considered? Peace cannot be achieved if it's dictated by Israel or Palestinians.
Yet, Israeli governments of past and present have taken a it's-our -way-or-the-highway approach. Netanyahu's last-minute display of bigotry and fear-mongering finally exposed Israel's long-standing intransigence and patronizing attitude - if not more uglier sentiments.
I join much of the world in 'celebrating' the way Netanyahu won because his modus operandi, and the shocking verdict of Israeli voters, finally validated decades-long suspicions of the country's true goal: Do not settle for anything less than a deal that overwhelmingly favors Israel.
14
In terms of the benefits for Iran, don't forget the pending nuclear discussions.
Given the animosity between Obama and Netanyahu, and the number of times Netanyahu has publicly embarrassed Obama (Congress speech, ill-timed announcements of settlement expansions, etc.), Obama HAS TO seal a deal with Iran this month. (Both to reestablish any credibility for America in the Middle East/world politics, as well as because it's the right thing to do)
Iran knows it, and knows that they've got Kerry over a barrel head for any final negotiation points. The irony is that by railing against Obama and the impending deal as being not good enough, Netanyahu and republicans have ensured that the deal will be watered-down and not as good as it could have been.
Given the animosity between Obama and Netanyahu, and the number of times Netanyahu has publicly embarrassed Obama (Congress speech, ill-timed announcements of settlement expansions, etc.), Obama HAS TO seal a deal with Iran this month. (Both to reestablish any credibility for America in the Middle East/world politics, as well as because it's the right thing to do)
Iran knows it, and knows that they've got Kerry over a barrel head for any final negotiation points. The irony is that by railing against Obama and the impending deal as being not good enough, Netanyahu and republicans have ensured that the deal will be watered-down and not as good as it could have been.
12
It looks to me that Netanyahu asked that the US go to war for it with Iran. CSA Senatorial membership looks all for it.
National interests are served by buck passing and watching the bloodletting.
I've pushed for the Insuring of Palestinians and Israelis by the Israel National Insurance company. When innocents are killed and their property damaged death and destruction benefits would have to be paid.
I create a solution that creates a fair disincentive for killing. Netanyahu creates incentives for war, looks to me.
National interests are served by buck passing and watching the bloodletting.
I've pushed for the Insuring of Palestinians and Israelis by the Israel National Insurance company. When innocents are killed and their property damaged death and destruction benefits would have to be paid.
I create a solution that creates a fair disincentive for killing. Netanyahu creates incentives for war, looks to me.
8
It is time for another election -- this time it should be limited to Jews in the Diaspora and should have one question: Does Bibi Netanyahu represent you? Totally fair that non-Israeli Jews do not vote in Israeli elections. That being the case, Israel's PM has no right to claim that he represents all Jews, which is something Bibi has done.
9
The difficulty with dropping the "two-state solution" is just what vision do you replace it with? This is always the problem with Security Hawks, in Israel or anywhere else. They have no vision of what comes next. It's always more guns, more force, more suppression. And that is always the problem with the Greater Israel "answer"--how do you really imagine it working? Wholesale ethnic cleansing?
So if Israel is foregoing meaningful participation in talks with the Palestinians, that would seem to leave just one option: a resolution by the UN Security Council that might frame a future agreement. So the subject of the next p5+1 negotiation will be?
So if Israel is foregoing meaningful participation in talks with the Palestinians, that would seem to leave just one option: a resolution by the UN Security Council that might frame a future agreement. So the subject of the next p5+1 negotiation will be?
11
This doesn't really change anything. Whether we're talking about one state "apartheid" or two state "occupation", the Israelis are under no obligation to recognize a people that wants to destroy them.
21
People should remember where Netanyahu comes from. Likud has its roots in the Stern gang who, we will remember, were busily murdering British troops (the same troops who along with their American and Canadian buddies, liberated the WW2 death camps) in the late 40's early 50's. Netanyahu is correctly perceived by Obama as a cheat, a liar and a thug which he is. The UN/US and Euro groups should impose, by force if necessary, the pre 1967 borders. Lets hope that that some sort of sanity can prevail and a equitable solution can be found.
37
It's odd that, as a Jew, Netanyahu seems determined to bring about the Apocalypse. Like all megalomaniacs, he conflates his political survival with the survival of his country. His reckless words show that President Obama has been wise to keep him at arm's length. That distance now needs to be increased.
44
Thomas Friedmann, the master of understanding all that is obvious long after the facts, this whole op-ed is not a comment but another example of insanely superficial generalities that anybody reading newspapers could come up with. The master of a posteriori has eructed again. Netanyahu NEVER intended a two state solutions as has been obvious for years when one looks at his actions since becoming PM every action he took made it impossible.
23
"the Palestinians are almost always depicted as the underdogs and the Israelis as the bullies trying to deprive them of basic rights."
This is not just PR spin, Mr. Friedman. The world is focused on Israel's racist abuse of the Palestinians over those of Iran because the US sends Israel millions of dollars every day to perpetuate these abuses and we support their bullying behavior at the UN. I hope indeed that the time has come for change.
Yes, of course this latest spectacle is going to make it more difficult for Israel's supporters on college campuses to make their case, and it should.
This is not just PR spin, Mr. Friedman. The world is focused on Israel's racist abuse of the Palestinians over those of Iran because the US sends Israel millions of dollars every day to perpetuate these abuses and we support their bullying behavior at the UN. I hope indeed that the time has come for change.
Yes, of course this latest spectacle is going to make it more difficult for Israel's supporters on college campuses to make their case, and it should.
26
To paraphrase James Carville, "It's ISIS, stupid".
What has changed since 2009? How about the fact that ISIS is toppling down city after city?
What did Bibi warn the US about recently? The growth of Isis.
"ISIS, ISIS, ISIS", might have said Jan Brady. She would have been right.
What has changed since 2009? How about the fact that ISIS is toppling down city after city?
What did Bibi warn the US about recently? The growth of Isis.
"ISIS, ISIS, ISIS", might have said Jan Brady. She would have been right.
14
One more itty bitty thing.
If you thought ISIS' recruiting was effective before you haven't seen anything yet. Yes, I know about the religious and philosophical gap between the Palistinians and ISIS but that hasn't gotten in their way yet.
Thanks Bibi for furthet facilitating the export of terror to the rest of us. You want to put your citizens at greater risk, that's your business. Given the Jewish history one would think a little more reflection on your effect on the rest of humanity would be a no-brainer. I guess not.
I'm 64 years old and I remain amazed at politcians' ability to find new lows to get elected. Just imagine if that effort went to something more uplifting! And don't give me that malarky about the will of the people. We elect leaders and pay them well so that they have the resorces and time to study the issues and provide informed leadership via education, information and mindful debate.
If you thought ISIS' recruiting was effective before you haven't seen anything yet. Yes, I know about the religious and philosophical gap between the Palistinians and ISIS but that hasn't gotten in their way yet.
Thanks Bibi for furthet facilitating the export of terror to the rest of us. You want to put your citizens at greater risk, that's your business. Given the Jewish history one would think a little more reflection on your effect on the rest of humanity would be a no-brainer. I guess not.
I'm 64 years old and I remain amazed at politcians' ability to find new lows to get elected. Just imagine if that effort went to something more uplifting! And don't give me that malarky about the will of the people. We elect leaders and pay them well so that they have the resorces and time to study the issues and provide informed leadership via education, information and mindful debate.
23
Israel against the world has been a recurring theme as the politic, at times, revolves around a history of global anti-Semitic demonstrations, and despite much support for creating and sustaining the State of Israel over more than 60 years. While the past may inform the future the current reality is such that the re-election of Netanyahu (a hot head and hardliner not apart from the character of past PMs) is effectively a fall back position and a trip down memory lane that relies on old characterizations in lieu of any real vision for the future.
Unfortunately Israel against the world in not a workable situation and will lead to the country's isolation and diplomatic disenfranchisement, and a poor outcome for all involved as the country chooses to leave the community of nations.
As far as the Iran is concerned; their own political state is verging on turmoil and factionalism. Does anyone truly understand what their thinking. But no doubt, the Israel-Palestinian situation provides a deep well of rhetoric and a distraction.
Unfortunately Israel against the world in not a workable situation and will lead to the country's isolation and diplomatic disenfranchisement, and a poor outcome for all involved as the country chooses to leave the community of nations.
As far as the Iran is concerned; their own political state is verging on turmoil and factionalism. Does anyone truly understand what their thinking. But no doubt, the Israel-Palestinian situation provides a deep well of rhetoric and a distraction.
There was not going to be a 2 state solution just as there was not going to be an Arab Spring. And worrying about what will happen in the next 5, 10, 15 years is akin to worrying who will be POTUS in 2028.
5
I would have taken this article more seriously if it was not written by the person who was elated by the Arab Spring. A few decades covering the Middle East have not taught Mr. Friedman anything. He still does not understand this. As to Mr. Netanyahu's statement- besides the fact that he said "today" and it is ignored by Mr. Friedman- this was an election statement. Show me anyone running for office who does not say things every one knows to be just for being elected (try to think "if you like your health insurance you can keep it"). What's good for the goose is good for the grnder.
16
The time has come to ask what the USA gets out of this alliance. And if we would be better off without it.
18
What does the reelection of Netanyahu mean for Israel? Answer, less security!? His reelection was a power grab; he ran on fear; on anti democratic principles that non Jews cannot have the final say on the outcome of the election. He has and will continue to isolate Israel from the world community; instead of hope, he embraces fear and prepares for future wars. He has casts suspicion and uses the anti-Semite card against anyone who is critical of Israel. He will be a democratic leader and be a protector of Israel but for all residents of Israel? He has frayed and horribly damaged the US-Israeli relation; and with 2 years remain in the Obama presidency, it will be a divisive and critical one. Israel is and will be a greater democratic society but not under Netanyahu who used racist vitriol to win his reelection... God only knows what he thinks of President Obama?
6
Struggling to think in what sense Netanyahu's statement denying Palestinian statehood is not the (im)moral equivalent of Ahmadinejad's denial of Israeli legitimacy. Good wishes for John Kerry, blessed are the peacemakers.
11
Without getting stuck in the moment the Israeli apartheid preserves a pocket of desperate anarchy in a region about to overflow with the same thing in the form of the Sunni/Shiite war. If ISIS can weather allied air strikes and Iranian ground attacks how ever could the Israeli military do any better?
Pretty much the only way to prevent the Occupied Territories from seeding combatants in the war is to raise standards of living, and hope with the vote.
It's about Israel coming under siege. The power to control its periphery in Lebanon and Syria is slipping away. The luxury of civilization is an illusion.
Pretty much the only way to prevent the Occupied Territories from seeding combatants in the war is to raise standards of living, and hope with the vote.
It's about Israel coming under siege. The power to control its periphery in Lebanon and Syria is slipping away. The luxury of civilization is an illusion.
2
What surprises me is that no one is willing to quote Bibi's comments about the Palestinian state. Here is what he said: "“Whoever today moves to establish a Palestinian state and withdraw from territory is giving attack territory for Islamic extremists against the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said in a videotaped interview. “Whoever ignores that is burying his head in the sand.”"
Does anyone doubt that today, if Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is given same autonomy as Gaza, that Hamas would take it over? We know that Obama's rush from Iraq resulted in ISIS taking over most of the country. Israel cannot repeat this mistake.
You can dislike Netanyahu all you want, but his analysis is spot on.
Does anyone doubt that today, if Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is given same autonomy as Gaza, that Hamas would take it over? We know that Obama's rush from Iraq resulted in ISIS taking over most of the country. Israel cannot repeat this mistake.
You can dislike Netanyahu all you want, but his analysis is spot on.
28
Can one even imagine what the rest of the world thinks when they hear about Netanyahu's assertion of Greater Israel and then they show that shameful display that Congress put on? Any response to the election results from Boehner?
12
The U.S. should immediately demonstrate its support for the Palestinian people by sending a dozen large supply ships to Gaza to offload humanitarian aid. Would the Israelis attempt to physically block American ships delivering medicine and food to the people of Gaza? Israel got away with killing 34 American servicemen in 1967 when it attacked the USS Liberty in international waters by claiming that the attack was a mistake due to confusion about the ship's identity. Would Mr. Netanyahu repeat Israel's 1967 "mistake" by attacking American supply ships today? Would the Republicans continue to stand behind Mr. Netanyahu if he did?
77
Israel gave back Gaza and you know the rest.
Israel's own electorate have chosen Likud and Netanyahu.
They won fair & square and by a good margin.
Who are these NYT columnists to decide what's best for that nation?
Israel's own electorate have chosen Likud and Netanyahu.
They won fair & square and by a good margin.
Who are these NYT columnists to decide what's best for that nation?
16
It won't be the first time that Zealots have destroyed Israel/Judea. Israel has been on a downward slide toward theocracy for some time now: witness the assassination of Rabin and endless disputes of who is "Jewish" based on genetic inheritance. Indeed, Begin had included "Judea and Samaria" as integral parts of the greater Israeli state in the late 1970s. What is new?
What is new is that the US apparently has tied its security to a colonialist regime, one that uses a bizarre reading of Scriptures to justify a land grab. It should be clear that America has placed itself in a false position by giving unequivocal support to a regime that behaves much as does Russia in Ukraine. Why?
Although Friedman focuses on support for Israel among Jewish Americans, more emphasis must be put on the role of Evangelical Protestants, who have concluded that the Messiah won't be back unless a new temple is built, and it would appear that a Muslim Jerusalem is not open to such projects.
What is new is that the US apparently has tied its security to a colonialist regime, one that uses a bizarre reading of Scriptures to justify a land grab. It should be clear that America has placed itself in a false position by giving unequivocal support to a regime that behaves much as does Russia in Ukraine. Why?
Although Friedman focuses on support for Israel among Jewish Americans, more emphasis must be put on the role of Evangelical Protestants, who have concluded that the Messiah won't be back unless a new temple is built, and it would appear that a Muslim Jerusalem is not open to such projects.
8
Unfortunately, the next shoe to drop will be a renewal of Hamas rockets being fired into Israel's "Iron Dome". This will no doubt provoke Israel to respond as it did year, with a military campaign to weed out the "aggressors" (much to the delight of Hamas), killing many Palestinian civilians in the process. The international reaction will further alienate Israel from the international community.
Sooner or later, international support for Israel will dry up. It is almost as if Hamas campaigned for Mr. Netanyahu.
Sooner or later, international support for Israel will dry up. It is almost as if Hamas campaigned for Mr. Netanyahu.
5
As a Left wing Israeli I very much resent being ignored by Mr. Friedman. Having my existence validated by what it means to American Jews. Not being considered able to co-exist with the Palestinian citizens of Israel who entertain exactly the same values that I do and are working towards the same life goals. Being the butt of doomsday scenarios and scary prophesies. Neither Mr. Friedman nor Bibi nor anyone else knows what the future will bring. So excuse me while I go for a round of art galleries with my friend Fatma and then for a nice cappuccino and baklava.
12
Much empirical data came in since the 2009 Bar Ilan speech that Netanyahu (and any Israeli) needs to take into account: (1) Arab spring's aftermath and (2) failure of Obama/Kerry-imposed, and Livni-coducted negotiations with the Palestinians.
(1) shows that the power vacuum is filled not by the proponents of coexistence and development, but by zealots; in (2) Palestinians vetoed the two-state solution if one of the resulting states is Jewish.
Once one takes those facts into account, Netanyahu's change of heart starts making perfect sense -- his is a realistic stance...
(1) shows that the power vacuum is filled not by the proponents of coexistence and development, but by zealots; in (2) Palestinians vetoed the two-state solution if one of the resulting states is Jewish.
Once one takes those facts into account, Netanyahu's change of heart starts making perfect sense -- his is a realistic stance...
4
Just as Netanyahu has been exposed for his duplicity, Mr. Friedman is also exposing his one sided views.
1
Douthat reminded us some time ago that hundred years ago a 'Christian' kingdom of Jerusalem existed for some 50 years or so. And then it disappeared. This may become the ultimate story of the Jewish State of Izrael as the Arab voting population becomes larger and larger every year. Of course, as Friedman writes, their voting rights may be curtailed, former president Carter called it 'apartheid'. Friedman does not use this word but, essentially, says the same thing.
Netanyahu is just part of this process and his contributions have been significant. Good or bad? Depends on what you are. I am trying to be completely neutral.
Netanyahu is just part of this process and his contributions have been significant. Good or bad? Depends on what you are. I am trying to be completely neutral.
The election results put America on "the horns of a dilemma" only if we continue to let ourselves have a dog in the fight.
7
This may be one of Friedman's best and most insightful columns. He's right on the money in virtually every respect. Netanyahu's vision of Israel means that they cannot survive both as a democracy and as a Jewish state. Although Friedman did not use this term, it is clear that "apartheid" is a word that will be more and more closely associated with Israel.
As a Jew, I have been hesitant to support the BDS movement--because it does contain people who do hate Israel. But because of Netanyahu's actions and rhetoric, that group will become even more mainstream and will continue to grow. And Friedman is right, Israel is losing a generation of younger people--both Jews and non-Jews.
But the strategy of the Israeli government (and right wing allies in the U.S.) is to brand the critics as either anti-semitic or "self hating" Jews.
As a Jew, I have been hesitant to support the BDS movement--because it does contain people who do hate Israel. But because of Netanyahu's actions and rhetoric, that group will become even more mainstream and will continue to grow. And Friedman is right, Israel is losing a generation of younger people--both Jews and non-Jews.
But the strategy of the Israeli government (and right wing allies in the U.S.) is to brand the critics as either anti-semitic or "self hating" Jews.
10
When your biggest fans are Congressional Republicans, you should know you're doing something wrong.
8
If we look at Benjamin Netanyahu's actions over the last several years --stalling on peace negotiations, more and more settlements in the West Bank -- it's obvious that he has never believed in a two-state solution. What he said in 2009 was playing politics. Now he is telling the truth.
8
Look at the map. Imagine a united Arab/Muslim world. No, not this year. No, not next year. No, not in this century. But sometime in this millenium. Do you really imagine, in all of that time, some leader will not emerge who will be able to do just that? And then, what happens to that tiny, hostile, irritating speck of land in their midst?
In a conflict such as this, long time removed from the freedom fighters who created Israel, their ultimate triumph seems far from certain.
In a conflict such as this, long time removed from the freedom fighters who created Israel, their ultimate triumph seems far from certain.
1
What to do with the Palestinians? Paid emigration. Who will pay for it? Well, prospects are that the US Congress and President will be Republican by 2017, and those legislators and that President will owe a large part of their election victories to American Christian fundamentalists. Those fundamentalists will support if not demand expulsion of the Palestinians paid by the cuts in Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, AFDC, etc. most certainly passed by a Republican Congress. How much? Perhaps a stipend of $10,000 per year for 10 years to each Palestinian family willing to emigrate. Where would they go? Israel has relations with Sunni Azerbaijan and could have relations with the other Islamic states around the Caspian sea that are "democratic" dictatorships. Those states might welcome US government aid of say $5,000 per year for 10 years for each family accepted. Plus, by the time the grandchildren of these no longer Palestinian families arrive, they will have little connection with the Middle East. Remember that during the American Civil War the first idea as to what to do with freed African American slaves was to emigrate them to Haiti. That didn't work in part because those who did emigrate where left to survive on their own.
Netanyahu is no different from our own right-wing politicians, who eagerly write off half the population and shut down the entire government to gain or retain power. Both seem entirely indifferent to the damage they inflict, as getting their way is the only thing that matters. I don't know what can be done about this pernicious strategy, as it appears to be successful in winning elections. It could be an inevitable stage in the evolution of democracy.
2
Will this election victory with the attendant change in Bibi's positions like his overt Palestinian/Arab bigotry and official rejection of a two-state solution finally exhaust the good will and guilt the world felt for the Jewish Holocaust? The world seems to have mostly lost patience with Israel except for Congressional Republicans in the US. It is not anti-Semitism to disagree with Israel or Israel's unconscionable actions.
These same Congressional Republicans will have to willingly ignore reality (again) to accept a one-state solution in which non-Jews are second rate citizens as they are now. Whether it will be as overt as South Africa's apartheid (Gaza already looks that way and was more abused by Israel than any of the South African homelands) or not will not matter. The only conclusion outsiders will be able to draw is that Israel is a failed experiment that now resembles a Jewish version of the extremist theocracies already present in the Arab Middle East.
These same Congressional Republicans will have to willingly ignore reality (again) to accept a one-state solution in which non-Jews are second rate citizens as they are now. Whether it will be as overt as South Africa's apartheid (Gaza already looks that way and was more abused by Israel than any of the South African homelands) or not will not matter. The only conclusion outsiders will be able to draw is that Israel is a failed experiment that now resembles a Jewish version of the extremist theocracies already present in the Arab Middle East.
7
On St. Patrick's Day, while revelers marched in the parades beneath my office window, I thought about how far Ireland has come since the Troubles were tearing it apart, starting in the late 1960s. And I thought about the similarities between the peoples of Israel/Palestine and Ireland, each gripped in the clutches of a violently divided society as I was growing up.
The analogy isn't perfect, but it's not horrible either: two groups of people with different religious beliefs forged from the same tree, living in the same small place, in a conflict that seemed impossible to imagine ending.
In Ireland, however, imperfect leaders eventually came together and forged an imperfect peace, manifested in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
In Israel, of course, agreements have come and gone, and even an imperfect peace seems further and further away.
As the Irish below my window paraded, and as the Israelis across the world headed to the polls, I hoped that a new window into a possible peace path - imperfect, jagged, certainly riddled with potholes to be avoided - would open, and a route for peace-seekers would start to appear.
How sad it is that this doesn't appear to be the case.
The analogy isn't perfect, but it's not horrible either: two groups of people with different religious beliefs forged from the same tree, living in the same small place, in a conflict that seemed impossible to imagine ending.
In Ireland, however, imperfect leaders eventually came together and forged an imperfect peace, manifested in the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.
In Israel, of course, agreements have come and gone, and even an imperfect peace seems further and further away.
As the Irish below my window paraded, and as the Israelis across the world headed to the polls, I hoped that a new window into a possible peace path - imperfect, jagged, certainly riddled with potholes to be avoided - would open, and a route for peace-seekers would start to appear.
How sad it is that this doesn't appear to be the case.
3
Netanyahu has revealed himself during the elections as the Ted Cruz of the middle east. I will have a hard time taking him seriously in the future.
6
I've always put a lot of credence in Mr. Friedman's columns when it comes to what's really going on in the middle east, particularly in Israel - our ever so dependent ally. (Frankly, I'd like to see Mr. Friedman's view on world economics more often... but another time for that.) This re-election for Bibi smacked many of us however as so reminiscent of America's GOP 'victories' so early in this century - win at any cost, lacking any dignity or integrity, using the republican's exaggerated message of fear to its limits, then so arrogantly and completely omitting that message after victory is at hand - that it all makes one look at Bibi's Israel not as an ally but as just another red state that receives too much taxpayer money from our federal government.
Thank you Mr. Friedman for solidifying that view for many of us.
Thank you Mr. Friedman for solidifying that view for many of us.
5
Bibi hobnobs with House and Senate Republicans. Within days the Cotton letter is published and Bibi renounces the two-state solution. This sounds more like red-cow disease than an off-handed cynical appeal to right-wing voters. The evangelicals and fundamentalists who wag the GOP dog seek to accelerate the Second Coming. What better way to do it than to lay the groundwork for a major war in the Middle East?
5
Open letter to all the Israelis who tell us that Bibi Netanyahu did not really mean what he said.
Our history of support for Israel right or wrong has been foolish and contemptible. But we won't be fooled any longer.
In the past we believed you because we desperately wanted to. We wanted to believe that Israel was a nation that shared our humane values -- values profoundly shaped by many brilliant American Jewish teachers. We looked the other way when you broke your promises and violated international law and planted colonies in the West Bank. We convinced ourselves that, no matter what a few rogue politicians did, ordinary Israelis understood that the only solution was to trade land for peace. Of course -- we persuaded ourselves -- the Israelis see that it is morally unthinkable that Israel might consider cleansing the West Bank of Palestinians as Israel had been cleansed in 1948. We allowed ourselves to believe: Who better than the Jews who had made great sacrifices to build a state of their own in Palestine to sympathize with the Palestinians' aspirations to their state?
No more. Bibi has torn off the mask and shown us who you truly are.
Our history of support for Israel right or wrong has been foolish and contemptible. But we won't be fooled any longer.
In the past we believed you because we desperately wanted to. We wanted to believe that Israel was a nation that shared our humane values -- values profoundly shaped by many brilliant American Jewish teachers. We looked the other way when you broke your promises and violated international law and planted colonies in the West Bank. We convinced ourselves that, no matter what a few rogue politicians did, ordinary Israelis understood that the only solution was to trade land for peace. Of course -- we persuaded ourselves -- the Israelis see that it is morally unthinkable that Israel might consider cleansing the West Bank of Palestinians as Israel had been cleansed in 1948. We allowed ourselves to believe: Who better than the Jews who had made great sacrifices to build a state of their own in Palestine to sympathize with the Palestinians' aspirations to their state?
No more. Bibi has torn off the mask and shown us who you truly are.
9
After every cycle of bottle rockets, followed by insurgency into Gaza and bombings of schools, murder of teenage rock throwers, prisoner exchanges, failed negotiations then more settlements, whats the single constant end result? MORE LAND TAKEN FROM ARABS.
6
Mr. Friedman,
Obama and you, both have a distorted picture of the world.
Basically, what is happening in the world today is the following: those who do not fight evil hate those who do. This was stated by Dennis Prager, who has a clear view of the world.
It is unfortunate but we have 2 more years of such distorted thinking that aligns a President of the US with the murderous Iranian regime rather than the State of Israel.
Obama and you, both have a distorted picture of the world.
Basically, what is happening in the world today is the following: those who do not fight evil hate those who do. This was stated by Dennis Prager, who has a clear view of the world.
It is unfortunate but we have 2 more years of such distorted thinking that aligns a President of the US with the murderous Iranian regime rather than the State of Israel.
6
Who says that if the Arab population of Israel becomes a majority it will still be a democracy? Mr. Friedman supplies an either/or premise of Israel becoming a Jewish non-democracy or a non-Jewish democracy. Do you really think that if Jews become the minority Israel will remain a democracy?
4
The Israelis themselves will and can determine what type of country they want to live in. Right now now due to some religious cultural aspects, Israel can also technically be considered a Jewish non democracy. You can't complain about treatment of some elements of Arab society(i.e. women) without noting that there is some similarity in Israel also. A Jewish non-democracy is still better than all or most Arab countries and sure beats being next to a "state" which has wanted to overrun Israel since its inception.
1
Netanyahu’s polarizing actions will dovetail nicely with several demographic phenomena within the American Jewish community that will substantially weaken support for Israel. Within a generation, all the Holocaust survivors will be gone. After another generation so will their children and many of their grandchildren, thus eliminating Israel’s Best Emotional Trump Card. Add to this, a soaring rate of Jewish intermarriage and a concomitant reduction in affiliation with synagogues and Jewish organizations (except among the ultra orthodox), and there will be still fewer reasons for American Jews to relate to the religious fundamentalism, militarism, racism, and right wing political extremism that has and will characterize Netanyahu’s regime.
8
If nothing else, it will be fun to sit back and watch Mr. Netanyahu try and back up his extremely large mouth. Israel has but one friend in the world, the opposition has many, to include several enemy nations with nuclear weapons. Should Israel survive the first 24 hours, he might be begging for diplomatic negotiations. Bluffing, in the face of a world that would rather squash him like a bug is not a smart maneuver.
2
Iran, Europeans, american campuses, etc will treat Israel as a pariah? That's a good bet, since that's what they've done for decades and will do forever no matter what party wins a majority.
2
Bibi won a phyrric victory. He did win reelection, but the long-run cost to Israel will be his legacy.
3
"Is Aipac, the Israel lobby, now going to push for a one-state solution on Capitol Hill? How many Democrats and Republicans would endorse that?"
Answer: 90%, at least.
Answer: 90%, at least.
1
Here's how Israel can implement a one-state policy right out of the playbook of conservative American politics.
1. Criminalize behavior endemic to Palestinians like publically protesting the Jewish character of the state or its laws, the eating of non-kosher food,, ever belonging to a "terrorist" organization like Hamas or Fatah, etc.
2. Deny convicts and ex-cons the right to vote.
3. Make it costly and inconvenient for Palestinians to get a voting card.
Problem solved!
1. Criminalize behavior endemic to Palestinians like publically protesting the Jewish character of the state or its laws, the eating of non-kosher food,, ever belonging to a "terrorist" organization like Hamas or Fatah, etc.
2. Deny convicts and ex-cons the right to vote.
3. Make it costly and inconvenient for Palestinians to get a voting card.
Problem solved!
2
Netanyahu can't simply toss the campaign promise out the window. He would have to take some action that shows that he is committed to a two-state solution in addition to dropping the promise. Otherwise no one would be believe him.
I think, as you imply, this election will be viewed as the moment when Israeli Jews finally decided that they would rather live in a non-democracy than live side by side with an Palestinian state. And that is a great loss. Because we've seen this story before: a great nation, full of intelligent people whose culture has been a light to the world, turning to military force to get what it wants, and denying a people's human rights based on religion. And it does not end well.
I think, as you imply, this election will be viewed as the moment when Israeli Jews finally decided that they would rather live in a non-democracy than live side by side with an Palestinian state. And that is a great loss. Because we've seen this story before: a great nation, full of intelligent people whose culture has been a light to the world, turning to military force to get what it wants, and denying a people's human rights based on religion. And it does not end well.
5
With this election Israel has verified that it is today the moral and political equivalent of South Africa in 1970. Ultimately South Africa became a pariah among nations. Israel is about to be and deserves to be and most assuredly no longer deserves U.S. support.
If this is what Israelis want to be then so be it this is who they and their nation will be. But in choosing Netanyahu they have chose one of history's demons and they will suffer the consequences on a road that will see their nation disappear as we have know it within this century.
If this is what Israelis want to be then so be it this is who they and their nation will be. But in choosing Netanyahu they have chose one of history's demons and they will suffer the consequences on a road that will see their nation disappear as we have know it within this century.
4
How has world reacted to any bad event in the past? It blamed the Jews! So nothing has and will not change!
7
It's good to see Israel is still on our side. If we can help Iran by invading Iraq and killing Saddam Hussein (Iran's big enemy), and if we can help Iran by fighting Isis with air power, then Israel can do its small part by helping Iran in its propaganda campaign. Let us remember who supported the Iraq war, and how much they believed in it. Maybe Bibi and his people suffer from the same blindness that afflicted certain Americans after 9/11. It is all so pitiful.
1
It is now time for all people of goodwill in America and Europe to promote a one-state solution. I believe the Israelis have now forfeited their right to have a state, a state which was born from terrorism and the borders of which were creations of the UN, which has committed numerable war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon of the past half-century. It has certainly become unworthy of our support.
4
The two state solution died along with the death of the Oslo Accords in 2000, and not because of the second intifada, but due to the cause of that Palestinian uprising, orchestrated by Ariel Sharon's violation of the Haram al Sharif. As he later said, he did what he did so as to prevent the division of Jerusalem. Of course, I'm sure it never entered his mind that by fueling the inevitable uprising, his chances of becoming the new Israeli Prime Minister were improved immensely.
What Netanyahu did by rejecting a two-state solution and by resorting to racist fears so as to improve his chances of continuing as Prime Minister was not really different that what Sharon did in 2000.
As for his comment in June 2009 about a possible two state solution, Netanyahu assured it would never happen by requiring pre-conditions totally unacceptable to the Palestinians. It must be said that Netanyahu is possibly the most clever Israeli politician ever, as well as possibly the most dangerous to his country's survival as a Jewish democracy.
What Netanyahu did by rejecting a two-state solution and by resorting to racist fears so as to improve his chances of continuing as Prime Minister was not really different that what Sharon did in 2000.
As for his comment in June 2009 about a possible two state solution, Netanyahu assured it would never happen by requiring pre-conditions totally unacceptable to the Palestinians. It must be said that Netanyahu is possibly the most clever Israeli politician ever, as well as possibly the most dangerous to his country's survival as a Jewish democracy.
7
Nations' interest changes like wind blowing from direction to directions. Such interests are sometimes far away from the mankind inherited universal rights. The case in point, Bib's theatrical one state campaign. Worst even is trying to depict it as a rightful thing for Israel. I hope, no one, including those who voted for Bibi will succumb to such a day dreaming policy in 21st century.
Count me as a Jewish American who supports Israel, both existentially and morally. However, I abhor Netanyahu and his entire party. I feel little more affinity with the settler mentality than I do with Arabs howling in the streets. A two state solution is the ONLY arrangement that establishes some modicum of peace and security. High defensive measures? Absolutely. Decisive responses to provocation and attack? Also absolutely. But with Netanyahu and his ilk remaining in charge, I am ready to support U.S. abandonment of support of Israel's positions in the U.N. There have to be grown-ups on both sides who are ready to leave "history" behind, see the present realistically and look to the future. There are no numbers that favor the continued existence of Israel as an isolate and the Palestinians as outcasts. I am old, but I shudder to think about the tinderbox my grandson will witness. Netanyahu is a clear present and future danger to world peace and he and his minions need to be abandoned.
10
The election in Israel, much like our own in 2010 and 2014, show that right wing candidates cannot win on the merits of their arguments, they must inflame their rabid bases with as much fear and hatred as they can.
When religionists were last seen in political power it was the Dark Ages. Those days were not very good to Jews in Europe.
When religionists were last seen in political power it was the Dark Ages. Those days were not very good to Jews in Europe.
4
Bibi can afford to be honest thanks to the sea change in U.S. attitudes. Israel's historic left-leaning U.S. supporters cared more about democracy for democracy's sake than do her new friends on the right, who don't seem to worry much about disenfranchised Palestinians on the West Bank. With a GOP Congress and a better than even chance for a GOP president, Bibi's sitting pretty for the time being as far as keeping the U.S. is concerned.
At home, if he's being honest about abandoning two states, he probably envisions a plan along the lines of Naftali Bennett's -- annexation of the WB with a glacial phasing-in of Palestiians' rights. Meanwhile the Palestinians will continue to lobby in international forums for de facto statehood. These visions will inevitably and perhaps violently clash. Maybe that's just what Bibi's evangelical end-time friends in the U.S. want.
Israelis can run their country however they want. But I'm feeling more and more like Israel is morally equivalent with China, Germany, and Japan as far as U.S. policy is concerned. Relations among countries need to be reciprocal and mutually beneficial. Since 1948, our main interest in Israel has been that we loved her for the sake of who she was and what she stood for. I still respect that, but the honeymoon's over. I don't have to love Israel's democracy if Israel doesn't. And I am not going to favor a Mideast policy driven primarily by end-timers. I don't like their influence in Iran, and I don't like it here.
At home, if he's being honest about abandoning two states, he probably envisions a plan along the lines of Naftali Bennett's -- annexation of the WB with a glacial phasing-in of Palestiians' rights. Meanwhile the Palestinians will continue to lobby in international forums for de facto statehood. These visions will inevitably and perhaps violently clash. Maybe that's just what Bibi's evangelical end-time friends in the U.S. want.
Israelis can run their country however they want. But I'm feeling more and more like Israel is morally equivalent with China, Germany, and Japan as far as U.S. policy is concerned. Relations among countries need to be reciprocal and mutually beneficial. Since 1948, our main interest in Israel has been that we loved her for the sake of who she was and what she stood for. I still respect that, but the honeymoon's over. I don't have to love Israel's democracy if Israel doesn't. And I am not going to favor a Mideast policy driven primarily by end-timers. I don't like their influence in Iran, and I don't like it here.
72
Tom, Tom, Tom . . . the reason Bibi changed his "vision of peace" from two-state to one-state is that A LOT has happened to Israel since Netanyahu's June 2009 speech that you quoted, to wit:
(1) Hamas's incessant and indiscriminant missile strikes;
(2) Iran's nuclear buildup and surging role in Iraq;
(3) Obama's disdain for him personally;
(4) Obama's abandonment of Israel as our nation's most loyal friend in the region, maybe the world.
Bibi will make history. But it won't be as the prime minister who enabled the piecemeal annihilation of Israel either by Hamas, Hezbollah, Turkey(?), etc., or the wholesale nuclear destruction of Israel launched by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the joyful war cry, "Allahu akbar."
(1) Hamas's incessant and indiscriminant missile strikes;
(2) Iran's nuclear buildup and surging role in Iraq;
(3) Obama's disdain for him personally;
(4) Obama's abandonment of Israel as our nation's most loyal friend in the region, maybe the world.
Bibi will make history. But it won't be as the prime minister who enabled the piecemeal annihilation of Israel either by Hamas, Hezbollah, Turkey(?), etc., or the wholesale nuclear destruction of Israel launched by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the joyful war cry, "Allahu akbar."
5
For all intents and purposes, Israel is already a Jewish non-democracy. It's an autocracy run by the .01% with an elected finger waving and argument room. I think that there might even be a nest for Christie over there!
2
Mr. Friedman:
You left out the Gaza Population. Also, the Iranian policy even during the Shah was that there should be one nation where everyone has one vote. The two nation solution is the Arab solution. In the recent years, Iran has said that it will support the Palestinian and Israeli agreement.
Actually, by letting the cat out of the bag and exposing the 67 year old Israeli lie about the two nation solution, Netanyahu has put the Arab nations behind the eight ball. So, instead of worrying about Iran, ask the Arab nations what are they going to do for Palestine.
You left out the Gaza Population. Also, the Iranian policy even during the Shah was that there should be one nation where everyone has one vote. The two nation solution is the Arab solution. In the recent years, Iran has said that it will support the Palestinian and Israeli agreement.
Actually, by letting the cat out of the bag and exposing the 67 year old Israeli lie about the two nation solution, Netanyahu has put the Arab nations behind the eight ball. So, instead of worrying about Iran, ask the Arab nations what are they going to do for Palestine.
1
I don't particularly care for Netanyahu, but his statement that:
"Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel.”
pretty much sums up what happened in this election. I
t has been amply demonstrated by Israel's experience withdrawing from Gaza. Withdrawal has brought Israel Hamas, rockets, tunnels and wars. It is suicidal on Israel's part to allow its sworn enemies to build a state next door.
Gaza was the test case for Palestinian statehood and they failed spectacularly. Please don't give me the nonsense that Gaza was still blockaded and isolated etc, as if that explains anything. They chose to wage war and not build and will do the same if given more opportunity.
"Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel.”
pretty much sums up what happened in this election. I
t has been amply demonstrated by Israel's experience withdrawing from Gaza. Withdrawal has brought Israel Hamas, rockets, tunnels and wars. It is suicidal on Israel's part to allow its sworn enemies to build a state next door.
Gaza was the test case for Palestinian statehood and they failed spectacularly. Please don't give me the nonsense that Gaza was still blockaded and isolated etc, as if that explains anything. They chose to wage war and not build and will do the same if given more opportunity.
6
An inflection point here. This election has been a clarifying moment in global awareness. Like many, I have given Netanyahu the benefit of the doubt--hoping he would eventually find a path to peace that the world could follow. We have his roadmap now: occupation and domination of the West Bank. Seems like manifest destiny with a messianic foundation. I doubt the world needs another hardened theocracy harkening back to ancient attitudes.
This election has introduced much risk into an already dangerous region. As Israel sets out on its own path, we need to be aware that it has nuclear capabilities and is uncontrolled by global regulation.
This election has introduced much risk into an already dangerous region. As Israel sets out on its own path, we need to be aware that it has nuclear capabilities and is uncontrolled by global regulation.
2
Friedman merely states aloud what so many of us have been thinking to ourselves since Wednesday morning. The "peace" process is dead. Netanyahoo put a stake through it's heart. And yes, history will remember him.
I have been to Israel a couple of times. In an innocent, almost naive manner, many Israelis seem to take for granted that we Americans will always support them given the traditional strength of our ties. I now wonder if that is an assumption to be taken for granted in coming years.
I have been to Israel a couple of times. In an innocent, almost naive manner, many Israelis seem to take for granted that we Americans will always support them given the traditional strength of our ties. I now wonder if that is an assumption to be taken for granted in coming years.
2
"From Iran’s point of view, it makes fantastic TV on Al Jazeera, and all the European networks..."
I freely conversed with a client, in his 80's, who is probably in the middle right of politics. Most of his friends are purebred conservatives. We joked around and said that we don't watch the likes of Conkrite and Jennings anymore, and reporting news nowadays is more like reporting what the 1% would like to see while hiding much from what you might not want the other 99% to see.
Then he said he like watching "Al Jazeera." I was amused, to see someone finding something that's new but worthy, and for someone who probably had seen a lot and was fooled more than once in his longevity. I do agree with him, but I said it's not easy watching "reality" news as they come, not as they are packaged, and have to worry for the 99% while we here do live like the 1% (relative to the world's population).
We in modernity fight extremism with extremism. I'm not sure if that will work in time, but you can't blame them for trying. I will say this, however, is that extremism is part reality so long as it extinguishes itself (think of religious cults). The sustaining of extremism is not reality - it is a mental disease (revenge, jealousy, personality disorder, genetics, murdering, delusions and psychosis). I don't know how much of this could go on much longer, but it will also be the burden of many generations to come.
I freely conversed with a client, in his 80's, who is probably in the middle right of politics. Most of his friends are purebred conservatives. We joked around and said that we don't watch the likes of Conkrite and Jennings anymore, and reporting news nowadays is more like reporting what the 1% would like to see while hiding much from what you might not want the other 99% to see.
Then he said he like watching "Al Jazeera." I was amused, to see someone finding something that's new but worthy, and for someone who probably had seen a lot and was fooled more than once in his longevity. I do agree with him, but I said it's not easy watching "reality" news as they come, not as they are packaged, and have to worry for the 99% while we here do live like the 1% (relative to the world's population).
We in modernity fight extremism with extremism. I'm not sure if that will work in time, but you can't blame them for trying. I will say this, however, is that extremism is part reality so long as it extinguishes itself (think of religious cults). The sustaining of extremism is not reality - it is a mental disease (revenge, jealousy, personality disorder, genetics, murdering, delusions and psychosis). I don't know how much of this could go on much longer, but it will also be the burden of many generations to come.
Israel should now offer protection to all dislocated west bank arabs who are unaffliated to Jordan. Protection from radical sunnis and shiite.
Israel should offer residence in an enlarged territory for these now fully located arabs similar to what native americans have in what are we Tommy? A christian non democracy? But with improvements like economic development and education.
Israel should ask for american assistance to help finance the protection and the economic development of the arabs in this new integration. this will help american jews and pro israel law makers focus on doing something positive
and thwarting Iranian machinations in the region.
Israel should offer residence in an enlarged territory for these now fully located arabs similar to what native americans have in what are we Tommy? A christian non democracy? But with improvements like economic development and education.
Israel should ask for american assistance to help finance the protection and the economic development of the arabs in this new integration. this will help american jews and pro israel law makers focus on doing something positive
and thwarting Iranian machinations in the region.
Surprisingly, Mr. Friedman is apparently against the existence of the State of Israel. Who knew? He says that he “hopes for a Jewish democratic Israel” when he must know that any Israel of any carved up shape that allows universal suffrage that includes Arabs is doomed…voted out of existence by the inevitable, soon-to-be Arab majority. Some history: Israel was carved out of only 17% of the British Mandate wherein Jews were the majority. The remaining 93% was left for the indigenous Arabs, now called “Palestinians”. Within five minutes seven Arab countries (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen) invaded in an attempt to destroy Israel and kill all the Jews therein. They failed. Having failed, the Arabs divided up the rest of the Mandate (Jordan stole the West Bank from the Palestinians, Syria stole the Golan Heights, and Egypt stole Gaza), thusly fellow Arabs turning the Palestinians into “refugees”. The Arabs (including the Palestinians) all expressly want to destroy Israel and will do so by whatever means are available. Then they want to kill all the Jews. If it takes “democracy” for the Arabs to destroy the political state of Israel, that’s fine with them. But their compulsion to kill all the Jews will remain. Let’s see. Can you name a European country that democratically voted in a Jew-hating government? Do you recall that government then attempted to exterminate all the Jews? Be careful for what you wish for Mr. Friedman…you may just get it.
5
Looks like, after 77 years of Israel (& Jewish Palestinians) supporting a 2-state solution and 77 years of the Arab leadership and their militant supporters (PLO, Fatah, "Pal" Authority, etc.) opposing a 2-state solution, both sides have taken a 180 degree turn.
Over the past 77 years (since 1937 Peel), there have been SEVEN attempts by Israel to give the "Pal" Arabs an independent state, including giving away the eastern half of the Israeli capital, Jerusalem. The "Pal" Arabs need to accept that, after rejecting all of these offers over the years, the opportunity is gone. The train to a 3rd "Palestinian" state (in addition to the 2 existing "Pal" states, Jordan and Gaza) has pulled out of the station. The train has left. The ship has sailed. The plane has departed. Thanks to Arab intransigency, greed and bigotry, the door has shut on any possibly of, yet another, "Palestinian" Arab state.
Over the past 77 years (since 1937 Peel), there have been SEVEN attempts by Israel to give the "Pal" Arabs an independent state, including giving away the eastern half of the Israeli capital, Jerusalem. The "Pal" Arabs need to accept that, after rejecting all of these offers over the years, the opportunity is gone. The train to a 3rd "Palestinian" state (in addition to the 2 existing "Pal" states, Jordan and Gaza) has pulled out of the station. The train has left. The ship has sailed. The plane has departed. Thanks to Arab intransigency, greed and bigotry, the door has shut on any possibly of, yet another, "Palestinian" Arab state.
5
This piece begins with a flawed premise and inevitably reaches a flawed conclusion. Prime Minister Netanyahu's comment is not inconsistent with what he said in 2009. That remains the ultimate goal. What he said was to point out an obvious truth: the PA and Hamas have done nothing to prepare their people for a realistic peace, that at this time, they are not interested in peace, and that for Israel to return any more territory would be to give it to a terrorist statelet.
Friedman understands all this quite well. It's just that he has no answer to it and so resorts to this stawman of an argument. If only he would ask that the PA begin the process of creating a transparent civil society, with the same insistence that he demands things of Israel, perhaps a more accurate picture of Arab intransigence as the real stumbling block to peace would emerge.
Friedman understands all this quite well. It's just that he has no answer to it and so resorts to this stawman of an argument. If only he would ask that the PA begin the process of creating a transparent civil society, with the same insistence that he demands things of Israel, perhaps a more accurate picture of Arab intransigence as the real stumbling block to peace would emerge.
3
Mr. Netanyahu's actions that supported settlements have always spoken louder than his words that supported a two-state solution. And as that old saying goes, "actions speak louder than words." So it's surprising that anyone is surprised regarding Netanyahu's true admitted to goals. The only difference, it seems, is that the US and other countries can no longer pretend (along with Mr Netanyahu) that a two-state solution is possible. Now that "the cat is out of the bag" involved countries are in a predicament. They must either act or do nothing and appear to be supporting Netanyahu's stance. It's plain to see that Netanyahu's deceptive smokescreen regarding being pro a two-state solution was easier to deal with (just keep having talks) although it's long been apparent those talks were an exercise in denial and futility.
2
…"Is Aipac, the Israel lobby, now going to push for a one-state solution on Capitol Hill? How many Democrats and Republicans would endorse that?"…I think plenty of Republicans will support this, following the wishes of their constituents in the Armageddon/End-Times crowd, and their leaders Adelson, Limbaugh, Murdoch, and all the Military Industrial Complex CEOs.
1
Having spent a total of six months in Israel over the past 4 years. I know many Israelis who laugh at Obama and could care less about the current state of Israel/US relations. The reason Obama lost Israeli public opinion started when he failed to act on his Syrian Red Line pledge. Israelis live in a tough neighborhood and understand completely the daily nature of their reality. Conclusion, Obama can not be trusted. The administration coerced Israel and BN into accepting a 10 month settlement freeze without any PA concessions which lead to nothing. Once construction resumed the pressure for negotiations led to the bungling Kerry attempt at playing Kissinger including inviting Quatar a patron of Hamas as the negotiating mediator. Obama will be out of office Jan 2017 which is when the next scheduled Israeli elections will take place. BN can wait it out and deal with the UN,BDS,EU issues which are anti -Israel regardless. The mullahs and Ayatollah and Iranian generals are still pledged to the annihilaiton of Israel so who cares if they are dancing. Obama is their dance partner. Bibi had nothing to lose and he won.
He made history by being invited for a third time by an admiring Congress along with the admiration of a majority of Americans if not shared by the majority of writers here.
He made history by being invited for a third time by an admiring Congress along with the admiration of a majority of Americans if not shared by the majority of writers here.
6
Why are we still giving tons of money to a country that keeps biting the hand that funds them?
3
Mr. Freidman need not put Iran into the spotlight, as to those who are cheering the results of this election. Israel has done that to itself. To think that Netanyahu or his Likud party was ever "center" is an illusion. Netanyahu never believed in a two state solution nor did his Likud party which has always believed in "two banks of the Jordan". Surely, Israel's settlement expansionism over the past few years should be enough to attest to Netanyahu's hypocrisy. There is nothing new here except one thing: Netanyahu was honest for the first time. Zionism, from its inception, has never been able to solve its core dilemma of how Israel will be both Jewish and democratic when it is in reality an ethnocracy. What this election has changed is that the majority of Israelis are just fine with their nation becoming Jewish but not democratic, or at least democratic just for Jews.
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1
Mr. Friedman, I believe you make a lot of sense. Thank you for you objective and common sense vision of the world as it is and what it could become if hopefully one day, wisdom will lead our world leaders to continue to work for peace and justice for all peoples, no matter how difficult.
I once heard a former CIA terrorism expert on TV discuss the reason why our war on terrorism is a losing battle: we are ignoring the root causes of anti-American terrorism: our support of Israel and the presence of American troops in Muslim lands.
Modern terrorism arose out of the displacement of Palestinians by the state of Israel, and since then it has evolved into a worldwide brand of murder and mayhem directed at the West. Continuing to support a racist regime that has now admitted it doesn't want a two-state solution is only going to harm the U.S. in the long run and mean the deaths of more Americans.
Why should we support a country which has no oil, does everything it can to undermine our democratically elected president, and refuses to solve this long standing dispute, which has been a recruiting tool for terrorists all over the world? Why should we protect a country that prefers the status quo because it believes America will defend it no matter what they do?
Until we make the Israelis pay a price for their refusal to reach a deal with the Palestinians, they will never budge, so we should cut off foreign aid to Israel and no longer block efforts in the U.N. for a Palestinian state. We have to accept that neither side has clean hands in this conflict, but now we know why the most recent peace talks failed: Israel.
Modern terrorism arose out of the displacement of Palestinians by the state of Israel, and since then it has evolved into a worldwide brand of murder and mayhem directed at the West. Continuing to support a racist regime that has now admitted it doesn't want a two-state solution is only going to harm the U.S. in the long run and mean the deaths of more Americans.
Why should we support a country which has no oil, does everything it can to undermine our democratically elected president, and refuses to solve this long standing dispute, which has been a recruiting tool for terrorists all over the world? Why should we protect a country that prefers the status quo because it believes America will defend it no matter what they do?
Until we make the Israelis pay a price for their refusal to reach a deal with the Palestinians, they will never budge, so we should cut off foreign aid to Israel and no longer block efforts in the U.N. for a Palestinian state. We have to accept that neither side has clean hands in this conflict, but now we know why the most recent peace talks failed: Israel.
6
The U.S. had an “Indian” problem and solved it by systematically taking their lands while keeping them in reservations with few amenities and no growth opportunity till problem naturally solved itself. That is the blueprint that Israeli right wants to use and got approval for in the election.
One state solution does not necessarily mean Israel has to recognize all people on its territory as citizens. As with the United State’s Indian policy, it could mean they force Arabs of the West Bank to live in enclaves with some limited autonomy but as a separate entity under supervision of the Israeli government and let passage of time solve the problem. The US can approve or reject this policy but in either case should acknowledge that at this time, it is the official Israeli policy for the West Bank.
One state solution does not necessarily mean Israel has to recognize all people on its territory as citizens. As with the United State’s Indian policy, it could mean they force Arabs of the West Bank to live in enclaves with some limited autonomy but as a separate entity under supervision of the Israeli government and let passage of time solve the problem. The US can approve or reject this policy but in either case should acknowledge that at this time, it is the official Israeli policy for the West Bank.
3
Thomas Friedman has, as happens so often with him, hit the nail on the head. Netanyahu and the Israeli right are putting their desire for power ahead of that which might benefit them by further alienating the U.S. and the Arabs. And the American Right is playing right into the hands of those who already hate us because of our support of Israel no matter what it does. This could be a very dangerous game.
2
A short addendum:
BN is a US product. Mr. Friedman is being disingenuous: he is exactly the candidate of his base which is especially organized here.
As for Friedman's defense of AIPAC, it has been a one-state advocate by its inherent charter.
BN is a US product. Mr. Friedman is being disingenuous: he is exactly the candidate of his base which is especially organized here.
As for Friedman's defense of AIPAC, it has been a one-state advocate by its inherent charter.
A non-Jewish democracy sounds fine to me. To think otherwise is anti-democratic and racist.
2
I don't understand why commentators always point at the future when speaking of a non-democratic Israel. Isn't that what exists today and has been the case all along; many people living under the boot of the Israelis without the right to participate in choosing their masters.
1
Friedman says, "What Bibi did to win this election was move the Likud Party from a center-right party to a far-right one". Actually, what he did was to appeal to a greater number of voters who agree with his position. It's called democracy. This concept seems lost on Mr. Friedman.
2
De Gaulle ran on an Algerie francaise platform and promptly gave Algeria independence. Nixon was vehemently anti Communist and recognised China. Anything is possible.
40
I don't believe that what Bibi said is that he would never negotiate and let come into existence a Palestinian State. What he said was that it wasn't going to happen under current conditions, Without Israeli backup, the West Bank would be taken over by Hamas, and after what happened this past summer, they would be nuts to allow Hamas to be able to threaten all of Israel.
32
How easy it is to call for cutting off U.S. financial support for Israel. How simple to equate Israel with apartheid-era South Africa. How glib to call Israelis oppressors, to voice one's disgust.
And yet: one day, 19 men stage terrorist attacks in the U.S., and we gladly vote for endless war "on terror" in Iraq and around the world. We have spent billions to give up liberties here, to change our way of life, to make ourselves "secure". Our military presence is still on the ground in Iraq. What we would do if missile attacks regularly landed in our country? What we would approve to protect ourselves from regular bus bombs? What would we do if an avowed enemy of the U.S. sat on our doorstep planning to kill us, slapping away attempts at peaceful negotiation?
Israel is a sovereign nation, with the right to defend itself against its enemies. Demands that Israel bend its knee yet again are illogical and irrational when faced with implacable enemies. Has Hamas changed its charter? (Read it.) Why is it always Israel that must sacrifice territory, sacrifice soldiers, sacrifice itself to survive? The term "occupied territories" ignores where that land came from: Israel's self defense during the 1967 war in which Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria tried and failed to destroy Israel (again). How merciful would they have been had they won? This is the land Israel must sacrifice for peace?
A two-state solution requires a two-way street. Where is Israel's partner for peace?
And yet: one day, 19 men stage terrorist attacks in the U.S., and we gladly vote for endless war "on terror" in Iraq and around the world. We have spent billions to give up liberties here, to change our way of life, to make ourselves "secure". Our military presence is still on the ground in Iraq. What we would do if missile attacks regularly landed in our country? What we would approve to protect ourselves from regular bus bombs? What would we do if an avowed enemy of the U.S. sat on our doorstep planning to kill us, slapping away attempts at peaceful negotiation?
Israel is a sovereign nation, with the right to defend itself against its enemies. Demands that Israel bend its knee yet again are illogical and irrational when faced with implacable enemies. Has Hamas changed its charter? (Read it.) Why is it always Israel that must sacrifice territory, sacrifice soldiers, sacrifice itself to survive? The term "occupied territories" ignores where that land came from: Israel's self defense during the 1967 war in which Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria tried and failed to destroy Israel (again). How merciful would they have been had they won? This is the land Israel must sacrifice for peace?
A two-state solution requires a two-way street. Where is Israel's partner for peace?
75
I find it increasingly difficult to support Israel led by this extremist leader. I recognize his desire to protect the Jewish state, but it is a losing position to ignore the reality of Israeli's changing population and it's place in the larger world. He cannot tough this out forever. The numbers are against him.
It is hard to defend Israeli as a Jew when the playing field, always viewed as against Israel, is actually in Israeli control through its powerful army. That's a good thing for survival, but to depend on millions of disenfranchised people to continue to roll over and endure misery is terribly short-sighted.
It is hard to defend Israeli as a Jew when the playing field, always viewed as against Israel, is actually in Israeli control through its powerful army. That's a good thing for survival, but to depend on millions of disenfranchised people to continue to roll over and endure misery is terribly short-sighted.
4
Proves the old adage... "for every action there is a reaction". After six years of President Obama's "actions toward Iran" the is Bibi's "reactions against Iran's surrogates". He is simply looking how the middle east has changed and protecting his citizens - both Jews and Arabs!
2
Bibi has given the United States the perfect reason to finally join the rest of the
international community in recognizing s Palestinian State---end the charade!
international community in recognizing s Palestinian State---end the charade!
7
I think that what a politician says is not as important as what he does, e.g., Obama on Red Line with Syria. It is not inconceivable that a right wing PM can negotiate a peace deal. Historical precedents are many; Nixon with China, Begin at Camp David, Ariel Sharon pulling pulling out of Gaza, etc.
But here is the rub. Does the PLO actually want peace? The historical record says no. In 1948 the Palestinians had their state. It was settled. But chose to wage war instead, while Israel focused on developing a modern successful democracy. Aside from the other wars the Arabs have waged (Sinai war, 1973 war, Yom Kippur War), the PLO have walked away from at least 3 other deals that were very close to being signed including the recent talks that Kerry spearheaded.
The adage " the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results" certainly applies here. A new approach, that has not been tried before would be simply apply the pressure to the Palestinians instead. If they understood that money and support would simply stop if they didn't come to a reasonable accommodation, then perhaps peace may have a chance. This certainly won't happen during this extremely ideological administration. Perhaps the next administration will try to pursue an approach that is not "insanity."
But here is the rub. Does the PLO actually want peace? The historical record says no. In 1948 the Palestinians had their state. It was settled. But chose to wage war instead, while Israel focused on developing a modern successful democracy. Aside from the other wars the Arabs have waged (Sinai war, 1973 war, Yom Kippur War), the PLO have walked away from at least 3 other deals that were very close to being signed including the recent talks that Kerry spearheaded.
The adage " the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results" certainly applies here. A new approach, that has not been tried before would be simply apply the pressure to the Palestinians instead. If they understood that money and support would simply stop if they didn't come to a reasonable accommodation, then perhaps peace may have a chance. This certainly won't happen during this extremely ideological administration. Perhaps the next administration will try to pursue an approach that is not "insanity."
4
I am surprised at people who are surprised at Israel's prime minister coming out of the closet. Any serious observer was bound to have seen this coming for a long time.
You see, that's what Israeli bombs are for. Of course, no bomb for Iraq, no bomb for Syria, and no bomb for, now, Iran.
Go ahead, fellow Americans, feel free to feel duped.
We need to hurry up and update our PR copy as to why we consider Israel uniquely superior in the Middle east. Maybe, something like "democracy is after all not as important as it is billed to be."
You see, that's what Israeli bombs are for. Of course, no bomb for Iraq, no bomb for Syria, and no bomb for, now, Iran.
Go ahead, fellow Americans, feel free to feel duped.
We need to hurry up and update our PR copy as to why we consider Israel uniquely superior in the Middle east. Maybe, something like "democracy is after all not as important as it is billed to be."
3
Thomas Friedman has the hutzpa of a bull on steroids.
" Iran’s unstated position is that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem must be perpetuated forever."
REALLY? And they gain what exactly from this? Seeing more of their Muslim brethren murder, pillaged and deprived of their lands and their human rights?
No Thomas, it is clear who is perpetuating the current stalemate. It is those who are gaining from it. LAND LAND LAND!
" Iran’s unstated position is that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem must be perpetuated forever."
REALLY? And they gain what exactly from this? Seeing more of their Muslim brethren murder, pillaged and deprived of their lands and their human rights?
No Thomas, it is clear who is perpetuating the current stalemate. It is those who are gaining from it. LAND LAND LAND!
1
Benjamin Netanyahu exactly knows what he said about one state solution. The option that Mr. Friedman does not see is one state with only Jewish people living in. The Palestinians could be forcibly removed from West Bank and Israel. It happened before (1947-1948) and it could happen again. That’s one state solution Mr. Netanyahu is talking about. Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's foreign minister has already taken first step sugesting, according to Newsweek, that Arab citizens who are not loyal to the state of Israel should have their heads “chopped off with an axe”.
2
Israel's only chance for long-term viability is to make peace with the Muslim countries in the middle east. With the reelection of Mr. Netanyahu, Israelis have essentially abandoned that effort, and set Israel on the path to become a (likely) nuclear-armed rogue nation. The racist, one-state rhetoric from a Jewish leader is palpably ironic. And truly frightening; why would Iran stop developing nuclear weapons now?
2
"Is Aipac, the Israel lobby, now going to push for a one-state solution on Capitol Hill?"
AIPAC doesn't have to push for any solution, at least for the present - because the entire issue is a dead letter for the foreseeable future. Numerous good-faith efforts to resolve this issue were made by Israel, and then rejected by the Palestinians. Just ask Bill Clinton. The unresolved question for NYT readers is why neither Mr. Friedman nor Roger Cohen has ever seriously addressed the fact that there are powerful, anti-Jewish factions which will never allow Israel to live in peace - two state solution or no. They would sabotage any such solution before it could take hold, even assuming there were Palestinian leaders willing to risk their lives reaching such a deal. Israel will survive, Mr. Friedman, as long as it maintains overwhelming military superiority over those who would destroy it.
No one likes this answer, but it's an unfortunate fact of life in the Middle East. The best policy for the United States is one of benign neglect. When you try and fail time after time maybe you should conclude that the matter is best left to the parties themselves. That said, with radical anti-Jewish ideology inculcated in area schoolchildren it's unlikely that Thomas Friedman successors writing in the Times a hundred years from now will be any closer to a realistic solution than Mr. Friedman is today.
AIPAC doesn't have to push for any solution, at least for the present - because the entire issue is a dead letter for the foreseeable future. Numerous good-faith efforts to resolve this issue were made by Israel, and then rejected by the Palestinians. Just ask Bill Clinton. The unresolved question for NYT readers is why neither Mr. Friedman nor Roger Cohen has ever seriously addressed the fact that there are powerful, anti-Jewish factions which will never allow Israel to live in peace - two state solution or no. They would sabotage any such solution before it could take hold, even assuming there were Palestinian leaders willing to risk their lives reaching such a deal. Israel will survive, Mr. Friedman, as long as it maintains overwhelming military superiority over those who would destroy it.
No one likes this answer, but it's an unfortunate fact of life in the Middle East. The best policy for the United States is one of benign neglect. When you try and fail time after time maybe you should conclude that the matter is best left to the parties themselves. That said, with radical anti-Jewish ideology inculcated in area schoolchildren it's unlikely that Thomas Friedman successors writing in the Times a hundred years from now will be any closer to a realistic solution than Mr. Friedman is today.
2
Friedman and most who comment on line to his columns totally miss/ignor? the root cause behind Palestinian past intransigence against any offer for an independent Palestinian state - all offers have set as a condition that the Palestinian state be demilitarized. While local police forces would continue to be permitted, military would not - not an army, not air space control, not the ability to make military treaties, not the ability to decide who may cross its borders for military purposes. EVERY Israeli PM, including Rabin and Peres, has stulated so.
Netanyahu has merely pulled back the curtains on the wizard of oz of a 2 state solution. The Palestinians will never agree to become the 22nd demilitarized country in the world. If you can change that Mr. Friedman you get the Nobel Prize.
Should Netanyahu have said what he said? Depends. Is the world more comfortable living in lands of oz sitting at the queen of hearts tea parties continuously calling for negotiations to produce a 2 state solution - despite there being no hope of change? If the world prefers to take its daily soma dose, then yes, Netanyahu misspoke.
From the comments to the NYT in the last few days I am amazed! I take it that most who comment are Left in their politics - and tend towards pacifism - and yet they are all on board promoting a militarized state of Palestine and a nuclear Iran. Amazing! I guess this is yet another of the Left's NIMBY positions (o.k. for you, but not in my backyard).
Netanyahu has merely pulled back the curtains on the wizard of oz of a 2 state solution. The Palestinians will never agree to become the 22nd demilitarized country in the world. If you can change that Mr. Friedman you get the Nobel Prize.
Should Netanyahu have said what he said? Depends. Is the world more comfortable living in lands of oz sitting at the queen of hearts tea parties continuously calling for negotiations to produce a 2 state solution - despite there being no hope of change? If the world prefers to take its daily soma dose, then yes, Netanyahu misspoke.
From the comments to the NYT in the last few days I am amazed! I take it that most who comment are Left in their politics - and tend towards pacifism - and yet they are all on board promoting a militarized state of Palestine and a nuclear Iran. Amazing! I guess this is yet another of the Left's NIMBY positions (o.k. for you, but not in my backyard).
2
Let us not forge that pre 1967 Israel was in occupation oh some 22 percent of Palestini an land Beyond its. UNGA land a location.
What has been consided lately as TWO,states never never included those 22 percent.. That would have made the recently envisaged two,states only another temporary resolution of the mother issue: the Palestinian question with many follow ups.
PALESTINE can only reemerge in PALESTINE the same way Israel came to be and be accepted.That is military conflict plus severe international,pressures reflecting the will to undo what has been universally accepted for some six days DESPITE its illegitimacy and immorality.
Except for that Dooms day and the resolution of the mother conflict will be the same day.!
What has been consided lately as TWO,states never never included those 22 percent.. That would have made the recently envisaged two,states only another temporary resolution of the mother issue: the Palestinian question with many follow ups.
PALESTINE can only reemerge in PALESTINE the same way Israel came to be and be accepted.That is military conflict plus severe international,pressures reflecting the will to undo what has been universally accepted for some six days DESPITE its illegitimacy and immorality.
Except for that Dooms day and the resolution of the mother conflict will be the same day.!
Mr Friedman: Thank you for another very useful and thoughtful article. I don't disagree with a word ... Wait, yes I do! When did you start using the word "impactful"? You used it twice here. This is goofy corporate-speak that should be confined to company emails and TED talks. I'm surprised you allowed to slip into your head unnoticed. How about the word, "effective"? Please discuss with your editor.
1
I used to eagerly read Friedman's op-ed articles because he seemed to know so much about the world and was even, on occasions, mildly critical of even Israel. That made me think I could trust his judgments.
But after his recent musings on the benefits of arming (!) Sunni ISIS because it is a possible bulwark against Shia Iran, I am starting to think that he is probably no more saner or knowledgeable than an average Joe.
But after his recent musings on the benefits of arming (!) Sunni ISIS because it is a possible bulwark against Shia Iran, I am starting to think that he is probably no more saner or knowledgeable than an average Joe.
3
If the far right government that Netanyahu is apparently going to form moves forward with a one state solution, then this American Jew, longtime Zionist, will, very sadly, turn his back on Israel.
2
Thanks for a great synopsis of the changes and options that are likely to result from the issues that surfaced in the Israeli election. Now that Bibi has acknowledged that he does not want a Palestinian state and continues to deny them basic human rights, let alone voting rights, it is high time for America to stop giving Israel a blank check. It is not our job or our place to tell Israel how they must govern but if they wish to engage in a new form of apartheid and commit war crimes (such as blowing up children's schools in the hopes of getting one possible terrorist) then instead of talking about supporting them financially and militarily we should be talking about sanctions instead.
4
Bibi has finally expressed the strategy that we knew for 30 years was the unstated policy all along, despite the platitides about a two state solution. For me, that is not a problem as the Israelis should adopt whatever policies they feel are needed to defend their country and people. But this presents the USA with a golden opportunity because we now are justified in stopping all aid to Isreal. This would have a salutory effect in the Muslim world and will not impact the ability of Israel to defend itself because Israel is a rich country and they and their supporters around the world can buy all the weaponry they need. This decision finally allows us to adopt a non partisan approach to this particular problem and could be the first step for us to unwind our involvement in the Middle East. I hope the President takes the lead.
6
Israel has already gone down the road of a One State solution by its settlements policy. The alternative would be a Palestinian state on the West Bank with a large Jewish minority. How can Israel today be a Jewish democracy with a 20% non-Jewish minority that happened to be born on this land before the State of Israel was created, or their decendents?
2
Well, Mr. Friedman, I think that one of the 'generous' Arab countries ought to carve out a piece of territory for the Palestinians and leave Israel alone.
3
The Israeli people chose to re-elect a man who disrespects the POTUS; by doing so, they chose to also be disrespected. Discontinue all monetary and military aid to Israel; we have enough oil to last us until we replace it with other sustainable energy sources. Finally, we have no need to continue meddling in the volatile and historically tangled affairs of the Middle East! Good riddance!
4
It is stunning how Tom Friedman has to always use Iran as a boogie man to advance his otherwise correct analysis about Israel's future. History of the past 60 years comparing Iran and Israel shows a different story. While Iran under Shah and even the mullahs never ACTED against the Jewish state, Israel has had almost ten wars against Arabs and the Palestinians resulting in killing thousands including women and children, and occupying Palestinian land without giving them any rights under the international laws.
The recent Netanyahu pronouncement that there will be no Palestinian state means that all the efforts of Obama under both Hilary Clinton and John Kerry was for nothing. Not to mention all the other U.S. administrations in 20 years before him calling for the two state solutions. It was just a waste of time!
After all Jimmy carter who's been boycotted by Israel as well as the American media, ever since he wrote his book, was right. It's a choice between two states or apartheid!
The recent Netanyahu pronouncement that there will be no Palestinian state means that all the efforts of Obama under both Hilary Clinton and John Kerry was for nothing. Not to mention all the other U.S. administrations in 20 years before him calling for the two state solutions. It was just a waste of time!
After all Jimmy carter who's been boycotted by Israel as well as the American media, ever since he wrote his book, was right. It's a choice between two states or apartheid!
2
I was sickened to learn that somehow this hateful warmonger was re-elected. There will be no peace in the middle east while he is in charge.
2
I wonder why no one is talking about the fact that even after the vote on Tuesday, The Obama Administration is talking about "An independent and contiguous Palestine."
It seems that no one here in the US realizes that there are two ways that you can create a contiguous Palestine. The first is to vivisect Israel into two separate pieces. The second is to confiscate the lower half of Israel. Neither solution is remotely possible, and if Americans understood what the Obama Administration is asking for, they would reject it as thoroughly as the Israelis did.
It seems that no one here in the US realizes that there are two ways that you can create a contiguous Palestine. The first is to vivisect Israel into two separate pieces. The second is to confiscate the lower half of Israel. Neither solution is remotely possible, and if Americans understood what the Obama Administration is asking for, they would reject it as thoroughly as the Israelis did.
6
Israelis denies a Palestisn state right to exist.
Has a familiar ring.
Has a familiar ring.
2
Was "Palestinian statehood" ever more than wish-thinking, and a wish better not indulged in at that? Is our government committed to enacting something that cannot and should not happen? I don't care for Netanyahu either. But he may have unwittingly told it like it is about the real possibility of a stable, economically viable Palestinian state. Of course, saying that raises the specter of discussion of the real possibility of stability - let alone democracy - in Arab and Muslim countries.
3
It seems that a majority of Israelis are just like a majority of the people in many states in this country-ignorant and voting against their best interests.
1
What is He capable of? This is a national leader who refers to his countries killing thousands of innocent civilians as, "mowing the lawn"! Hoping the outcome is a true Democracy. Not sure why it is necessary to conflate any religion with Nationalism.
2
Perhaps those who vilified President Jimmy Carter upon publication of his book, "Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid", owe him an apology.
4
As an American Jew, I could not be happier that Benjamin Netanyahu won. Maybe those who play in the neighborhood actually understand the consequences of portraying weakness and don't dismiss the Hamas charter as mere bombast where it states that their goal is to kill the Jews and for the elimination of Israel. Maybe the Israelis have more respect for the words of people that they mean what they say and that it is not mere rhetoric as Liberals tend to do. How is one to make peace with such people? You would think that this countries policy of appeasement had been successful. Does anyone remember reaching out to the Taliban as the next "big thing." Welcome to reality.
8
Lenin is said to have used the term "useful idiots" to describe those Americans who denied or discounted the existence of his massive program of political murder. Friedman is clearly no idiot, but I am certain that all those hungering for a second Holocaust find his continued bashing of the Jewish State quite useful. That's why I think the Ayatollahs of Iran are applauding Friedman's article much more vigorously than they are applauding Bibi's re-election.
8
Ah Tom, still no word from you about Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and the Iranian government, which wants Israel wiped off the map/wiped off the face of the Earth. I eagerly await your column on Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority), Khaled Meshaal (Hamas), Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah) and the rest of those terrorist gangsters.
8
Thank you, Mr. Netanyahu. Your refreshingly candid comments and brazen lack of respect for America's political system has made it lucid to me that Israel, under your regime, is the one who really never wanted peace with Palestine nor a peaceful, two-state, all-inclusive solution. Your lies have been deceiving us all along. The United States peace efforts were a waste of time and money. Mr. Netanyahu will get his desired one state solution but as one who has unequivocally thrown 100% of my support behind Israel in the past, in spite of my being uncomfortable with Israel's hostile, iniquitous actions last year, I will now do all I can to encourage my politicians to vote against funding Israel with my hard earned tax dollars. I chose not to support your exclusive, land-stealing, war-mongering, orthodox state. I see now the ''crossing red lines'' homily was all a bunch of alarmist crock but now you've crossed my line in the sand. Thanks for making my decision easy.
3
If we want to overthrow human rights abusers and dictators, as the right in America pushed so in Iraq, then Bibi would be overthrown by the US military.
3
Funny, but he was elected democratically - and the voters within the country made their wishes known.
The ululating from those here over what they perceive as an unmitigated disaster clearly didn't seem so to those voting.
On the other hand, we do not have millions of very close neighbors who only want us annihilated and exterminated.
The ululating from those here over what they perceive as an unmitigated disaster clearly didn't seem so to those voting.
On the other hand, we do not have millions of very close neighbors who only want us annihilated and exterminated.
6
Israel will end up being a binational state. It will just take a long time to materialize in slow-motion.
1
One of the most important parts of this column has been consistently ignored by many commenters. It is: "What Bibi did to win this election was move the Likud Party from a center-right party to a far-right one. The additional votes he got were all grabbed from the other far-right parties — not from the center." That does not make all of Israel the culprit in this. There are obviously many, many Israelis who do NOT accept Netanyahu's stance. And it is for them that we must continue to support Israel, in ways that move towards peace.
2
What does the reelection of Netanyahu mean for Israel? Answer, less security!? His reelection was a power grab; he ran on fear; on anti democratic principles that non Jews cannot have the final say on the outcome of the election. He has and will continue to isolate Israel from the world community; instead of hope. He embraced fear and prepares for future wars. He has cast suspicion and uses the anti-Semite card against anyone who is critical of Israel. He will be a democratic leader and be a protector of Israel but for all residents of Israel? He has frayed and horribly damaged the US-Israeli relation; and with 2 years remain in the Obama presidency, it will be a divisive and critical one. Israel is and will be a greater democratic society but not under Netanyahu who used racist vitriol to win his reelection... God only knows what he thinks of President Obama?
Whenever I read columns such as this and also the vivid intense and often excellent readers comments I'm wondering: do the leaders in question, or least their associates, read this? And what are their thoughts? Are they ashamed in private of their failures and lies, or rather proud they are getting away with murder and have destroyed the democracies that the societies in question worked so hard to establish?
It is worth pondering the fact that Israel's enemies are the most satisfied with Netanyahu's re-election.
"anti-Arab dog whistles?" Israel is surrounded by Arab nations that since the late 1940's either attempted to prevent their God ordained return to ancient Canaan or tried to violently remove them. In light of this, only the most inept Israeli fool would dismantle guard towers and warning devises! Of course, those Jews who live in much safer environs might not understand this.
5
There is another choice, a Federation of two states, each with their own governing body. Try it for a generation or more before the people therein want to have the benefits, or not, of a unified country in which neither side disappears. Try to impose a solution from without with the usual peace-keeping force in between. We know how that works out
It was always demeaning to force the Palestinians to reach a deal with the Israelis that have put their head under water for 50 years while telling them to breath correctly. Now Obama has a free hand to vote for a Palestinian state at the UN and turn the table on the Israelis.
3
Peter Beinart wrote exactly the same opinion in his fine book, "The Crisis of Zionism." Israel cannot be both a Jewish state and democratic. Netanyahu has now exposed that unadorned paradox in his re-election campaign.
The United States, the guarantor of Israeli viability for nearly 70 years, is now squarely on the horns of an enormous dilemma, forced by practicalities to support a state which is moving counter to the most basic of American ideals: the shared experience of nationhood for all.
Netanyahu has put us,—and Israel—on the wrong side of history. For Israelis the decision will either be to ultimately disenfranchise Israeli Arabs, thus preserving its Jewish identity as a state, or to democratically include the Arabs, who in time will compete with Jewish Israelis in raw numbers.
The United States, the guarantor of Israeli viability for nearly 70 years, is now squarely on the horns of an enormous dilemma, forced by practicalities to support a state which is moving counter to the most basic of American ideals: the shared experience of nationhood for all.
Netanyahu has put us,—and Israel—on the wrong side of history. For Israelis the decision will either be to ultimately disenfranchise Israeli Arabs, thus preserving its Jewish identity as a state, or to democratically include the Arabs, who in time will compete with Jewish Israelis in raw numbers.
75
Another too-pat opinion piece from the author.
Bibi made history by winning another election. His "one-state" pledge was pure expediency--not unlike Obama's anti-gay marriage stance. Both were sops to the constituencies most critical to securing the short-term election victory.
Bibi knows the US butters his bread, and will use the leverage of his reelection to wait-out the Obama/Kerry term in office. By throwing a wrench in this wretched negotiation he will embolden the aspiring Likudnik's on the right-flank of the Knesset.
The Republican support in the US House and Senate will keep Obama in check and the option of eliminating Iranian enrichment will remain on the table.
Bibi made history by winning another election. His "one-state" pledge was pure expediency--not unlike Obama's anti-gay marriage stance. Both were sops to the constituencies most critical to securing the short-term election victory.
Bibi knows the US butters his bread, and will use the leverage of his reelection to wait-out the Obama/Kerry term in office. By throwing a wrench in this wretched negotiation he will embolden the aspiring Likudnik's on the right-flank of the Knesset.
The Republican support in the US House and Senate will keep Obama in check and the option of eliminating Iranian enrichment will remain on the table.
4
Israel will not suffer one iota in its larger relations with the United States because of Netanyahu's very conservative bent.
America will support Israel right down the line into even more extreme positions.
It may suffer in its relations with Europe but that is of no consequence as long as America has their back. Tom Friedman knows this as well as Bibi.
America will support Israel right down the line into even more extreme positions.
It may suffer in its relations with Europe but that is of no consequence as long as America has their back. Tom Friedman knows this as well as Bibi.
22
When Thomas Friedman comes out an criticizes Netanyahu, you know that Israel is in serious trouble!
2
Illusions die hard and there's no way out from a collapse in wishful thinking but through. Now that Netanyahu has revealed some ugly, fundamental truths, perhaps those still fervently awaiting for Reagan's promised trickle down from trickle down economics might give their heads a shake.
1
Perhaps, if the Obama administration had not meddled in Israeli election politics and funded Bibi's opposition, he would not have been forced to move further to the right. This is a classic case of unintended consequences. We act to influence an outcome inside another sovereign country, and get a worse result as a consequence. The US would have been better off if it had simply let Israel's election play out on its own. Then, we would have been better positioned to do business with the winner, whoever it turned out to be.
3
Since the Vietnam war to my mind the two major foreign policy goals of the US have been victory in the cold war and a solution to Israeli Palestinian conflict. His declaration is truly historical. A rejection of 35 years of peace efforts. All I can say is it goes hand in hand with the republican parties war on government. In the US, according to the republican party, the enemy is big government unless it serves some corporate of private interest . In Israel apparently the enemy is peace with Palestine. Does this serve the interests of the Republican party as well. Indeed does the far right in Israel and the neocons in the US truly want a war with Iran. Has anyone looked at a map. What is Iran, 80 million people in a country ridden and surrounded by mountain ranges. Of course few generals or arm chair generals ever let common since get in the way of a thirst for blood.
We now live in a cukoo-clock world where lovings twice as hard.
We now live in a cukoo-clock world where lovings twice as hard.
I am absolutely shocked at how myopic Mr. Friedman's article is. Not only does it deny the pliability of politics (look at President Obama's entire oevure, including gems like, "If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor." "You didn't make that." Comments about guns and money, the beer summit misfire, the Russian reset, etc), but it completely ignores the simple fact that the "peace process" is dead (at least for now) and that is mostly due to the Palestinians (although admittedly not completely). There is no honest broker for Israel to deal with and Mr. Friedman has acknowledged that (to a degree). In the past. Also, there is the very real feeling among a large majority of Israelis that Bibi will do whatever he needs to do to save Israel as a nation and the lives of its citizens...a very stark contrast to how Americans feel about our government. Just as President Obama promised to close Guantanamo, and Steve Jobs promised us an Apple television...let's see what ACTUALLY comes to pass.
4
Bibi didn't said there will never be a Palestinian state. All he said is that there will not be a Palestinian state on his watch (the next 4 years, which will be Bibi's last term as a PM).
The Palestinian society is not ripe for its own state. Palestinians should first accept the Jewish state, stop endorsing terror, and they have to be willing to compromise for the sake of peace.
Thomas Freidman doesn't understand Israeli nuances. He misunderstood what Bibi said to his voters and the reasons behind it.
The Palestinian society is not ripe for its own state. Palestinians should first accept the Jewish state, stop endorsing terror, and they have to be willing to compromise for the sake of peace.
Thomas Freidman doesn't understand Israeli nuances. He misunderstood what Bibi said to his voters and the reasons behind it.
4
"It is stunning how much Bibi’s actions serve Tehran’s strategic interests."
The same can be said of our very own neo con cheerleaders, who helped usher in a preemptive, devastating and hugely expensive war that led to all sorts of repercussions including Iran's elevated status in the region. I don't travel in the circles to know if this is true, but I can't help thinking that if the champions of the Iraq War, many of whom are now advising GOP candidates for potus and busy manipulating congress behind the scenes vis a vis the possible Iran deal, thought about that possibility in the lead up to the Iraq War, they most likely imagined Iran as their next target when in their fevered imaginations, they held the WH in perpetuity.
I agree with Mr. Friedman's analysis on almost all points and would only add one observation about the collusion between our own extreme right wingers and their equivalent in Israel; both constituencies are extremely adept at fear mongering, podium pounding and making grand, symbolic gestures in the name of "defending" themselves, or their countries or the world from "evildoers" of every stripe, including the Devil himself. However, when it comes to offering serious, viable alternatives to the policies they rail against, they are notably lacking. That might be acceptable if the status quo was working or the imaginary ideal they favor was remotely possible, but neither comports with reality.
The same can be said of our very own neo con cheerleaders, who helped usher in a preemptive, devastating and hugely expensive war that led to all sorts of repercussions including Iran's elevated status in the region. I don't travel in the circles to know if this is true, but I can't help thinking that if the champions of the Iraq War, many of whom are now advising GOP candidates for potus and busy manipulating congress behind the scenes vis a vis the possible Iran deal, thought about that possibility in the lead up to the Iraq War, they most likely imagined Iran as their next target when in their fevered imaginations, they held the WH in perpetuity.
I agree with Mr. Friedman's analysis on almost all points and would only add one observation about the collusion between our own extreme right wingers and their equivalent in Israel; both constituencies are extremely adept at fear mongering, podium pounding and making grand, symbolic gestures in the name of "defending" themselves, or their countries or the world from "evildoers" of every stripe, including the Devil himself. However, when it comes to offering serious, viable alternatives to the policies they rail against, they are notably lacking. That might be acceptable if the status quo was working or the imaginary ideal they favor was remotely possible, but neither comports with reality.
1
These are empty words from Bibi that change little. Israel has not had a viable partner for peace, nor has a two state compromise been realistic, since the Arabs elected Hamas to rule Gaza. The most likely way forward given the terrorist rule of Gaza is an autonomous Gaza and West Bank behind barriers (ie, the status quo). There is no question of Israel becoming undemocratic because Arab refugees in the West Bank and Gaza are not Israeli citizens and will never be. Jerusalem will never again be divided either as long as Israel exists. Many people would prefer World War 3 to Jews being kept out of the Western Wall as they were re-1967. World leaders, Obama and Netanyahu included, need to turn down the rhetoric and muddle through with the realities as best they can like responsible adults until the Arabs decide to follow MLK's path of non-violent resistance rather than try to fight a nuclear armed regional superpower with tinpot rockets is a waste of time and life. Once that happens, the Israeli electorate will quickly elect a centrist government to pursue the peaceful compromise they've been wanting, and have offered, for decades.
3
It clears the air. It was obvious that the two parties would never reach an agreement. Something had to come up from the same organization that created the state of Israel. They now have to create a Palestinian state and have Israel recognize it, turn the table on them. Obama can now vote for such an agreement at the UN.
3
Interesting analysis..agree with most of it.
Makes up for your blunder of supporting the Iraq 2 war.
To be fair to you, so did almost all Republicans and many Democrats.
Pound for pound the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history.
Makes up for your blunder of supporting the Iraq 2 war.
To be fair to you, so did almost all Republicans and many Democrats.
Pound for pound the biggest foreign policy blunder in American history.
The unconditional U.S. support for Israel must come to an end. Just as changing our Cuba Policy after 50 years for failing to gain our goals, we need to cut Israel loose after 70 years for failing to adapt to reality. Netanyahu's attempts to manipulate America while hiding behind its shield has ended my support for Israel. It is time for them to stand alone. We have other problems to work on that might actually be solved.
1
Bibi,
You may have won the battle, but you just lost the war!
You may have won the battle, but you just lost the war!
94
I live in Israel. I did NOT vote for Bibi like the majority of Israelis who are good people and who support peace with the Palestinians - something the world cannot seem to see. This is as frustrating for us as much as the outcome of the elections.
It is also bothersome that Friedman, along with so many opinions from around the world, emphasize Netanyahu's disgusting rejection of a two-state solution but do not put it in the context of an empty election promise used to win votes. Why is this fact less important than what was said? So many promises were made during this election by politicians across the specturm. Most of them were not serious, but rather used to win votes. While I do not approve of Netanyahu, I also do not find it fair for the world to threaten us and judge us based on an election promise when the same person has also said he will support a two-state solution. Do all US and European politicians uphold all that they promise during elections? Are they judged solely by what they say on the campaign trail or by what they do in office?
I agree that Bibi is not good for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but only someone ignorant of the complexities of this conflict waives a finger at Netanyahu and not at the Palestinian leadership, too. There are many in Israel who do not like Netanyahu, but applaud him for standing up to the rest of the world and what many here see as unfair criticism and pressure applied on us and not on the Palestinians.
It is also bothersome that Friedman, along with so many opinions from around the world, emphasize Netanyahu's disgusting rejection of a two-state solution but do not put it in the context of an empty election promise used to win votes. Why is this fact less important than what was said? So many promises were made during this election by politicians across the specturm. Most of them were not serious, but rather used to win votes. While I do not approve of Netanyahu, I also do not find it fair for the world to threaten us and judge us based on an election promise when the same person has also said he will support a two-state solution. Do all US and European politicians uphold all that they promise during elections? Are they judged solely by what they say on the campaign trail or by what they do in office?
I agree that Bibi is not good for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but only someone ignorant of the complexities of this conflict waives a finger at Netanyahu and not at the Palestinian leadership, too. There are many in Israel who do not like Netanyahu, but applaud him for standing up to the rest of the world and what many here see as unfair criticism and pressure applied on us and not on the Palestinians.
57
When Netanyahu was young and gorgeous, and known as Nitay, he said the same things he says now. Personally, I abhor the oppression by the occupying force, and call for full Israeli citizenship for Palestinian Arabs. Those who are citizens have shown they behave themselves beautifully.
If you follow the link you will see a gorgeous young Netanyahu. Wow. http://www.drsusanna.org/newsfromcountriesimportanttosonsanddaughtersofa...
If you follow the link you will see a gorgeous young Netanyahu. Wow. http://www.drsusanna.org/newsfromcountriesimportanttosonsanddaughtersofa...
You reap what you sow. Netanyahu and Israelis who voted for him will destruct the country that they supposedly love. Love without wisdom is a vice of heart.
64
"Netanyahu will be the father of the one-state solution"? The fact is, since 1967 Israel has adopted the non-democratic one-state solution. Somehow Friedman can't see that. The moment for a two-state option has come and gone. The "facts on the ground" have gone too far. Netanyahu is indeed a disaster, but in dealing with him and his supporters it doesn't help to push a completely unrealistic agenda. A realistic policy would drop this non-starter and would concentrate on equal citizen rights for all inhabitants of Palestine. That is the only result consistent with American values.
2
Bibi said what the far-right and some religiously inclined voters wanted to hear in order to win. Having won, it is unlikely he will pursue a hard-right agenda that is guaranteed to alienate Europe, America, and the rest of the world.
My guess is that he will explain his position that there will never be a 2-state solution thusly:
There will never be an independent Palestinian state that does not recognize the right of Jewish State to exist and flourish.
So, before elections, make a categorical statement; after election win, use qualifiers to soften the blow.
He must have learned a thing or two from our own president who said what people wanted to hear before elections, and then 'evolved' on issues like gay marriage.
They all play by the same playbook in politics.
My guess is that he will explain his position that there will never be a 2-state solution thusly:
There will never be an independent Palestinian state that does not recognize the right of Jewish State to exist and flourish.
So, before elections, make a categorical statement; after election win, use qualifiers to soften the blow.
He must have learned a thing or two from our own president who said what people wanted to hear before elections, and then 'evolved' on issues like gay marriage.
They all play by the same playbook in politics.
2
The only thing that would help Tehran more than Netanyahu's election would have been his defeat and the acceptance of the bad nuclear deal Obama is negotiating with Iran.
Israelis understand that, which is why Netanyahu won in such a landslide.
Israelis understand that, which is why Netanyahu won in such a landslide.
5
Bibi's epithet: He won the [election] battle, but lost the war.
1
Well, there goes the pre-election promise of no Palestinian state, it was all a maneuver by Netanyahu to secure his hold on the Prime Minister of Israel position, although a very ugly and nasty move on his behalf, indeed a bold one.
Already reversing his position, we can all rest assured that all the parties involved (Israel, Palestine, Europe and the United States) had some previous knowledge of this move or, at the very least, got the heads up from someone within the Israeli government. Politics, that's all there was here.
Already reversing his position, we can all rest assured that all the parties involved (Israel, Palestine, Europe and the United States) had some previous knowledge of this move or, at the very least, got the heads up from someone within the Israeli government. Politics, that's all there was here.
I think that it is time that everyone steps back and take a deep breath. There has been much too much rhetoric on all sides. Obama's childish reaction to Netanyahu's spech and Netanyahu's new position as to the 2 state solution, are both not well thought out. Everyone needs to 'call time out', and give everyone's position some think time, to allow for reasonable action going into the future.
It is nice to know we have only less that 2 years more of Obama where we do not have to listen to him anymore, but we will probably have Netanyahu around for longer, so he needs to think before he talks, to find a path to the future.
It is nice to know we have only less that 2 years more of Obama where we do not have to listen to him anymore, but we will probably have Netanyahu around for longer, so he needs to think before he talks, to find a path to the future.
2
Yes, I agree. Israel is probably not the ally the US should be trusting in the midddle east! All the American people should understand that today ayatollah khomeni and prime minister Rouhani of Iran should be the ones the US should be trusting and allied with!
1
Get ready for the next phase-War with Iran. Even with US-Iran agreement, Netanyahu will not hesitate to strike at Iran and we will be forced to send our sons and daughters to War because we never has the guts to say no to Israel and its backers in USA. We went to war with Iraq for some of the same reasons and Mr. Netayahu is following the same script.
AP is breaking with the news that Netanyahu believes that there will be a 2-state solution IF CIRCUMSTANCES IMPROVE.
It is not even two days since elections, and he has changed his tune already.
Quintessential politician.
It is not even two days since elections, and he has changed his tune already.
Quintessential politician.
77
Read what he said: “anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel.” He is talking about NOW and the threat of radical Islam. The Palestinians have been offered two states, one Jewish and one Arab for a century. They have never accepted it and they have recently announced that they NEVER will. They refuse to accept Israel as a Jewish state and insist on the right of return of millions of refugee descendants to it. They are not negotiating in good faith, whenever they even agree to negotiate. The last time they had to be bribed with a massive prisoner release and European funds, of course. Ask Bill Clinton if there is any deal they would accept. Ask Ehud Olmert (2006). THEY don't want a two-state solution. The question is: are the U.S. government, its domestic supporters, and the Europeans acting in good faith. They know what the Palestinians have been willing to walk away from, and they know the domestic Palestinian polling data. Why are THEY getting so upset about this statement of Netanyahu that is clearly based on current circumstances? Why are they never upset with the Palestinians? Why are they so naïve about the Middle East, in general (the "Arab Spring," the Muslim Brotherhood as the basis for Arab democracy, etic)? Maybe they are the ones precipitating the world into a very undesirable future because of their ideological biases and blinders.
12
We exacerbated a lot of problems when we created the God of Abraham in our own image. How sad in this time of science, education, medicine and engineering that there is so much fighting, between the tribes under this umbrella, over subtle differences in ancient divine books.
4
Mr. Friedman: What do the Iranians have to do with the eventual outcome of the reelections of Mr. Netanyahu?
The Israelis have spoken with their vote and they will be judged by the rest of the world by what he says and does.
His willingness to play the demagogic role and reach out to the extreme right to get himself reelected, does not forebode well for Israel.
The Iranians may gloat over this, but they are mere spectators to his folly.
The Israelis have spoken with their vote and they will be judged by the rest of the world by what he says and does.
His willingness to play the demagogic role and reach out to the extreme right to get himself reelected, does not forebode well for Israel.
The Iranians may gloat over this, but they are mere spectators to his folly.
1
My understanding is that Netanyahu is the ultimate pragmatist, a true politician, one whose only principles are about staying in power. Those who know him say he will "walk back" his state about about the Palestinians never having a state of their own.
As for the demographics of Israel, since when have shear numbers ever carried the day, even in a supposed democracy? America had its 3/5 rule written into the Constitution, and this was supported for decades afterwards, right up to its defense by the Supreme Court in several milestone cases, like the Dred Scott decision.
The social and political power imbalances between the Jews, the Israeli Arabs and the Palestinians is so stark, and so long standing that, by shear momentum alone, the Jews with rule Israel for decades to come, and most likely they will as long as there is a modern state of Israel. I see no quick or easy resolution. I think the Israeli ruling class will keep hedging and stalling and balking on any real agreements with the Palestinians into the foreseeable future.
1
With respect, I think this is a little bit like looking at Mike Dukakis's loss in 1988 and saying, "That's it. America is finished. It's no longer a moderate country." There will be other elections, other results, other prognoses. It's not over until it's over.
If there is a single state and the Palestinians do not have the right to vote in that state, is "apartheid-state" going to be a valid description.
3
Hey Tom...take a deep breath and try to stop hyperventilating. As you should know, of all people, nothing is non-negotiable in Mideast politics. You suggest a binary solution set of outcomes in an area with political variables more numerous than the grains of sand in the Negev.
4
This election demonstrates the sad reality that Israelis have joined the Palestinians in resigning themselves, and their children, to a culture of perpetual conflict. Why should Israeli's want peace with a group that espouses their destruction? Why should Israel make offer after offer to Abbas, only to have more rockets hurled at them by Hamas? Why should Israel tolerate or placate an international community that is latently, or even blatantly antisemitic?
Well, there are actually two answers. The first is simple arithmetic. Only a fool fights a war they can not win. There is not a wall high enough, or a defense force strong enough to defend Israel forever. The birth rate is against them Israel. The immigration rate is against Israel. Although Israel will always have superior technology, the Arabs will soon gain enough technology. The absence of peace is war- endless war that Israel will never truly and decisively win.
The second reason is the reason there is an Israel in the first place. If Jews become the ones persecuting another people, passing discriminatory laws, then our enemies throughout time have indeed won. Not because we are a conquered people- but because we will have forsaken our own ancestors and have inherited their very souls and have converted us to their ways.
Well, there are actually two answers. The first is simple arithmetic. Only a fool fights a war they can not win. There is not a wall high enough, or a defense force strong enough to defend Israel forever. The birth rate is against them Israel. The immigration rate is against Israel. Although Israel will always have superior technology, the Arabs will soon gain enough technology. The absence of peace is war- endless war that Israel will never truly and decisively win.
The second reason is the reason there is an Israel in the first place. If Jews become the ones persecuting another people, passing discriminatory laws, then our enemies throughout time have indeed won. Not because we are a conquered people- but because we will have forsaken our own ancestors and have inherited their very souls and have converted us to their ways.
2
It's time to re-assess our relationship to Israel. They are a rich nation but we give them more aid than any other nation. It's time for Israel to stand on their own feet and stop trying to run our politics. They do control our congress but some congressmen are starting to find their courage and it takes courage for the attacks Israel and AIPAC will launch against them. Netanyahu gets away with insulting us and being arrogant because of the control over our congress. It's time for a change.
9
Factions that wished to unseat Netanyahu worked to maximize turnout among non-Jewish Israeli voters perceived as hostile to Jews and Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Netanyahu reacted by urging Jewish Israelis to vote. It seems odd that this would be perceived as racist, since the two major Israeli ethnic groups are both white. In the United States, it not uncommon for politicians to appeal to various racial and ethnic groups.
3
"The biggest losers in all of this, besides all the Israelis who did not vote for Netanyahu, are American Jews and non-Jews who support Israel."
The Palestinians will suffer the most, but to Israeli apologists, the Palestinians are just an afterthought.
Regarding Netanyahu's nose-thumbing the two-state solution, to anyone who paid the slightest amount of attention to the conflict, it's quite clear that no Israeli leader has ever been sincere about a genuine two-state solution.
The Palestinians will suffer the most, but to Israeli apologists, the Palestinians are just an afterthought.
Regarding Netanyahu's nose-thumbing the two-state solution, to anyone who paid the slightest amount of attention to the conflict, it's quite clear that no Israeli leader has ever been sincere about a genuine two-state solution.
5
Thank you Tom Friedman for recognizing, and stating early in the column, that a religiously based democracy is untenable. This is just as true for a Jewish state or an Islamic republic. Israel and Iran are far more similar than the leaders of either nation want to admit.
5
I think Netanyahu knew exactly what he was doing, and doesn't care. He's got Sheldon Adelson's and other financiers' cash behind him, and in this world that is all that counts. Given the trajectory we're on in the US, we are headed for a coup d'etat in which Obama (or any Democrat) in the executive office will be deposed or rendered powerless (kind of already is now). There will be a new right wing government funded by our ruling billionaire class and they will call the shots. The Likud party can do as they wish.
1
Another American lefty's head explodes. What Bibi actually said was that under the present circumstances it would be madness to hand the west bank over to the Arabs. It would become a terror state in days. When the Arabs can be trusted to run a state...then we can talk.
As for Jewish non-democracy..that's nonsense. Look who the Arabs "elected" in Gaza.
The reason people elected Bibi is that he is the only one who faces the truth.
As for Jewish non-democracy..that's nonsense. Look who the Arabs "elected" in Gaza.
The reason people elected Bibi is that he is the only one who faces the truth.
11
Mr. Friedman,
Why do you avoid the topic of anti-Semitism, more precisely, anti-Judaism, in your columns? Why must it be a Frank Bruni who writes, "The Oldest Hatred, Forever Young"? (April 14, 2014).
I've reached the point where my disdain for columnists who cover Israel and the Arabs, and avoid the history and topic of anti-Judaism, knows no bounds. You, and those like you, have no credibility anymore. You can't cover Israel in a vacuum.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is an unattractive character, who made some unfortunate remarks, and shouldn't have spoken before Congress.
Having said that, the issues of survival of Israel go far beyond, and much deeper, than one prime minister, who's being kicked around like Dick Nixon.
You know that a two state solution is impossible because of the Arab refusal to ever accept a proposal offered, and their refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist. Yet somehow, that always becomes the fault of Israel, never the Arabs.
You never revisit the history of the birth of Israel, or the Arab League's response: war. Or the 1967 war, when Israel won, and got control of the West Bank, still referred to as "Occupied Territories" -- as if it's 1967, not 2015.
Islam isn't a friend of America or Israel, but that's ignored when Israel and the "Palestinian people" are the subject. There are no "Palestinian people," and there never was an Arab country called Palestine.
Stop wasting time on rants. Try explaining why the history of anti-Judaism is the story.
Why do you avoid the topic of anti-Semitism, more precisely, anti-Judaism, in your columns? Why must it be a Frank Bruni who writes, "The Oldest Hatred, Forever Young"? (April 14, 2014).
I've reached the point where my disdain for columnists who cover Israel and the Arabs, and avoid the history and topic of anti-Judaism, knows no bounds. You, and those like you, have no credibility anymore. You can't cover Israel in a vacuum.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is an unattractive character, who made some unfortunate remarks, and shouldn't have spoken before Congress.
Having said that, the issues of survival of Israel go far beyond, and much deeper, than one prime minister, who's being kicked around like Dick Nixon.
You know that a two state solution is impossible because of the Arab refusal to ever accept a proposal offered, and their refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist. Yet somehow, that always becomes the fault of Israel, never the Arabs.
You never revisit the history of the birth of Israel, or the Arab League's response: war. Or the 1967 war, when Israel won, and got control of the West Bank, still referred to as "Occupied Territories" -- as if it's 1967, not 2015.
Islam isn't a friend of America or Israel, but that's ignored when Israel and the "Palestinian people" are the subject. There are no "Palestinian people," and there never was an Arab country called Palestine.
Stop wasting time on rants. Try explaining why the history of anti-Judaism is the story.
8
This is certainly not your father's Israel.The country is becoming more and more like it's neighbors.A mixture of religious fanatics,haters and ultra nationalists means a relentless shift to the right which may well antedate an apartheid based society as the "price"for a Jewish state.Like the Republican Right in the US and it's ilk in Europe,this toxic cocktail has elements of religion and national identity and security but these,it lacks the economic facet.It is true that unlike the "Fox Fearful",security is a major concern for all Israelis.But in all cases,a hawkish stance is simplistic,tactical and unlikely to deliver on the desired objective.
1
We seem to be governed by Expedience, Expedience, Expedience.....with Life left in Variance, Variance, Variance. If we, in the U.S.A are anchored in the "values" of Bibi, we will float with his whims. He's old enough "not" to care.
1
I do not expect this despicable "publication" to print this since it never publishes any of my other posts; it is clear it does not post anything that attacks or questions it or its horrendous editorial board, which is why i am so glad to see its circulation decreasing annually.
That said, it is beyond pathetic how every tiny utterance or action by a jew or israeli has this dreadful "publication" and its team of "writers" in an uproar, whether it be Israel taking action to defend itself from gazan rocket fire or suicide bombings by building a defensive wall.
Even more disgusting is how it is railing over Netanyahu's victory and recent statements, while ignoring the absolutely horrific ones for years by abbas and hamas leadership, all of whom have sworn to NEVER recognize the jewish state.
Why is that?
Is this "publication" developed by people so racist that they hold arab muslims to a far lower standard than anyone else?
But then again, they do not allow posts or letters that criticize it in any way, so their hypocrisy and lack of credibility speak for itself.
That said, it is beyond pathetic how every tiny utterance or action by a jew or israeli has this dreadful "publication" and its team of "writers" in an uproar, whether it be Israel taking action to defend itself from gazan rocket fire or suicide bombings by building a defensive wall.
Even more disgusting is how it is railing over Netanyahu's victory and recent statements, while ignoring the absolutely horrific ones for years by abbas and hamas leadership, all of whom have sworn to NEVER recognize the jewish state.
Why is that?
Is this "publication" developed by people so racist that they hold arab muslims to a far lower standard than anyone else?
But then again, they do not allow posts or letters that criticize it in any way, so their hypocrisy and lack of credibility speak for itself.
8
Look what Netanyahu has accomplished for Israel since he's been Prime Minister: nothing.
Has Israel become more secure? No. Has Israel gathered allies to help make its case? No. Has Israel strengthened its relationship with its most important ally, America? No. Has Israel unified young American Jews in support of the Jewish State? No. In each case, exactly the opposite.
The man has been a disaster for his country, and now, with this election, it will be the last straw for many people around the world.
I am old enough to remember Israel during its golden years: a beacon of hope in the world. Decades later, surrounded by enemies, it has succumbed to the fate of becoming more and more like its enemies. Now its former friends find it more and more distasteful, and its enemies applaud
Has Israel become more secure? No. Has Israel gathered allies to help make its case? No. Has Israel strengthened its relationship with its most important ally, America? No. Has Israel unified young American Jews in support of the Jewish State? No. In each case, exactly the opposite.
The man has been a disaster for his country, and now, with this election, it will be the last straw for many people around the world.
I am old enough to remember Israel during its golden years: a beacon of hope in the world. Decades later, surrounded by enemies, it has succumbed to the fate of becoming more and more like its enemies. Now its former friends find it more and more distasteful, and its enemies applaud
209
As a young American Jew, Mr. Friedman perfectly describes my sentiment here. Israel has moved from an interesting dilemma to a full-blown embarrassment. A one state solution is the only viable way forward right now and has been for some time. To disenfranchise a third of that population based on race/ethnicity is abhorrent and has proved throughout history to be unsustainable in the long-run. Netanyahu has imperiled the future Jewish character of Israel with his blatant exploitation of right-wing bigotry. Perhaps his next move will be to offer that three-fifths of the West Bank Arabs be counted in the next Israeli census?
155
I'm not at all a fan of Netanyahu. But, realistically, Bibi knows that the United States will continue to give financial, diplomatic, and military support to Israel, no matter how unsavory or controversial Israel's policies may be. Add to that the fact that a significant percentage of American policymakers (and the general citizenry) are itching for a war against Iran, and one comes to the conclusion that the U.S. will be Israel's staunch ally for the long haul -- no matter what the consequences.
36
'What better way to isolate Israel globally and deflect attention from Iran’s behavior?'
The premise here is that Iran is somehow a strong country machinating away. No, Iran is merely a country that has more cohesion than the rest of the Muslim countries in the middle east. It's just comparatively strong. The idea that Iran is like Germany in any sort of level of power is raucous.
'What Bibi did to win this election was move the Likud Party from a center-right party to a far-right one.'
No, Likud has always been hard, religious right, not center right. Bibi's words were the final straw for those who don't have the common sense to judge by behaviour. All Bibi did was admit in words what the reality has been for decades. There is no new reality here. It's just plainer for those who need to hear it from the horse's mouth.
The premise here is that Iran is somehow a strong country machinating away. No, Iran is merely a country that has more cohesion than the rest of the Muslim countries in the middle east. It's just comparatively strong. The idea that Iran is like Germany in any sort of level of power is raucous.
'What Bibi did to win this election was move the Likud Party from a center-right party to a far-right one.'
No, Likud has always been hard, religious right, not center right. Bibi's words were the final straw for those who don't have the common sense to judge by behaviour. All Bibi did was admit in words what the reality has been for decades. There is no new reality here. It's just plainer for those who need to hear it from the horse's mouth.
14
I never understood how one could be a classically liberal American Jew supporting the rights of undocumented workers here in America, ethnic-blind immigration policies here in America, separation of church and state here in America, and then support their exact opposites over there in Israel. Netanyahu's declaration that there is not going to be a Palestinian state on his watch forces America's Jews to decide and choose sides between Israel's survival as a Jewish state and liberal policies. You cannot be a liberal here and support the opposite of liberal policies there. Netanyahu and just denied you any space for that luxury.
22
The continued identification of the U.S. as Israel's supporter and defender, both in the UN and in the world's general consciousness, will eat away at our international moral standing. As Israel slides further and further towards outright apartheid, the US will find itself standing further and further on the wrong side of history.
Yes, Thomas, I agree: they're celebrating in Tehran this week.
Yes, Thomas, I agree: they're celebrating in Tehran this week.
13
Everyone needs to take a breath here - when all is said and done, Bibi is not going to jeopardize the Israeli/US relationship and the $4b in aid that comes with it. He said (as quoted in the op-ed) "anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel.” That means circumstances "tomorrow" might be different. Ariel Sharon was at least as hard line as Netanyahu and he was able to see a path to peaceful solution with the Palestinians until he was disabled by a major stroke. Another point missed here is that both the Likud and the center left parties had the same position on the deal with Iran so let's not think it would have been a green light for that deal from Israel had Likud lost the election. To me, this just seems to be a personality clash between President Obama and Bibi that is being fought in the media.
5
Israel could really use some poor Jew to step up and damn this hypocrisy and preach a message of love for one another. But, that could never happen.
7
There are many rich and poor Jews who are investing much time money and energy doing just that.
1
Is anyone seriously surprised by this? Anyone whose followed Netanyahu's career knew long before he announced it that he and his ilk were never in favor of a two state solution. The question now is what will the U.S. do? Will it continue its policy of what in practical terms is unquestioned support or at least deference to anything Israel wants to do in the Middle East or will it finally start to act in its own interests? I, for one, vote for the latter.
14
"And the one-state solution means that Israel will become, in time, either a non-Jewish democracy or Jewish non-democracy."
A concise statement of Israel's on-going dilemma.
Israel now has to choose, and to inform the rest of the world as to her choice.
I would make any future US aid conditional upon it.
A concise statement of Israel's on-going dilemma.
Israel now has to choose, and to inform the rest of the world as to her choice.
I would make any future US aid conditional upon it.
4
Its a circus. Hopefully, people will have a long enough memory to understand the impact. Its nothing new, Netan never wanted peace, nor does a large majority of Israelis. Or they want a peace where the Palestinians will simply go away. Apartheid? The New York Times and Freidman see it, but they are still saying things too delicately, and the US government is no different. Time to rethink our foreign policy.
4
We in USA haw to respect Israel election choice, but it don't mean that we can't adjust our relation with Israel according to compatibility of our and Israel new government policy towards Middle East in general and Palestinians problem and Two state solution in particular. In other words, less compatibility – less of our financial, economic, military aid and diplomatic support and protections in UN, UNSC and other political International World forums.
Haaretz 19.3.201
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders, a senior White House official told The New York Times. The move would come in response to Netanyahu's withdrawal of his support for the establishing of a Palestinian state as expressed in his Bar Ilan speech in 2009.
Haaretz 19.3.201
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders, a senior White House official told The New York Times. The move would come in response to Netanyahu's withdrawal of his support for the establishing of a Palestinian state as expressed in his Bar Ilan speech in 2009.
1
I am very sadden by these results and the way Bibi won. Using fear and lies is no way a leader leads. The Israelis and Palestinians have suffered years of instability, violence and hate. We are now in 2015 and it really doesn't look good for the future. Prime ministers have come and gone and nothing has been done to establish some sort of peace in the region. Now with a guy like Bibi the forecast is troublesome. Hopefully the enquiry on his personal spending will catch up to him and sends him to jail.
3
I find the liberal gloom and doom and hand wringing over Israel's election choices astounding. Just because you believe there are only two solutions (two state democracy or one state autocracy) doesn't make it so. Netanyahu has stood up for Israel at a time the US would not. Iran, one of the many Arab states that has as its mission declared annihilation of Israel, should be led to way to a nuclear weapon? Seriously? The solution is not yet apparent, but for American liberals to believe there is only one solution and then have conniptions and cry that the sky is falling is an insult to everyone. Israel IS a Jewish state - it was created as a Jewish state. A rejection of that premise is the real problem.
80
One minor correction; Iran is not an Arab state but rather a Shiite Muslim state of Persian heritage.
Many of the Arab states consider Iran more of a threat than Israel.
Many of the Arab states consider Iran more of a threat than Israel.
4
Then perhaps the brilliant leaders of this Jewish state should have thought a bit longer and harder about such things as Arab versus Jewish birth rates, the apparently permanent occupation of the West Bank, the social, economic, and moral costs of insuring second class status for Arabs, even those born in the State of Israel, and a variety of other issues. Israel has an arsenal of nuclear weapons, along with the latest military technology, but at the end of the day, none of that will insure Israel's survival when it continues to isolate itself from the world community.
1
Iran is a Persian nation, not Arab. It may seem like a minor error, but it's a good indication of a person's understanding of the Middle East's complexities if they don't know the difference between Arabs and Persians.
5
Aside from the latest flourishes about Netanyahu's self-serving efforts to ensure his re-election, the trajectory of Israel's determination to be religious but not democratic began, not with Netanyahu, but with Begin, in the years after the Six-Day War, in 1967. The justification of the West Bank occupation for strategic military and political has long since disappeared. No tank armies; no need for land as a buffer. No need for land as a buffer; no need for a swap of land for peace. Anyone could see that Israel, out of continued belief in the Greater Israel and out of a continued fear of Muslims/Arabs, would devolve into an apartheid state. Netanyahu foregrounds this background.
Israel was meant to be a light unto the nations, a moral example of righteous national life; it has become a darkness as it has tried to use its historical sufferings to warrant the sufferings which it has imposed on Palestinians since 1967. It has lost its way, relinquished its moral authority, and abandoned any possibility of being both Jewish and democratic.
The danger is that the United States will not adapt to these now-evident fundamental changes in Israeli behavior but will remain closely associated with, and supporting of, a self-destructive state which, in its death throes, will extend and perhaps accelerate the damage which it is doing to its cause and the cause of freedom for others. The US needs to make it clear that its attachment is to freedom for all, not friendships with some.
Israel was meant to be a light unto the nations, a moral example of righteous national life; it has become a darkness as it has tried to use its historical sufferings to warrant the sufferings which it has imposed on Palestinians since 1967. It has lost its way, relinquished its moral authority, and abandoned any possibility of being both Jewish and democratic.
The danger is that the United States will not adapt to these now-evident fundamental changes in Israeli behavior but will remain closely associated with, and supporting of, a self-destructive state which, in its death throes, will extend and perhaps accelerate the damage which it is doing to its cause and the cause of freedom for others. The US needs to make it clear that its attachment is to freedom for all, not friendships with some.
11
The Palestinians already have a state in Gaza, and they have not used it to peacefully govern their people and improve their lives, but as a base to attack Israel, with the intent to destroy Israel. The majority of Palestinians reject a two-state solution. Most Palestinians believe that the State of Israel is illegitimate. Netanyahu is correct that any cession of land to the Palestinians will be used by the Palestinians to attack Israel. The historical evidence of this truth is unequivocal. Abbas, who is the "moderate" Palestinian leader has stated that Palestinians will never recognize a Jewish state. Why should Israel support a two-state solution when the Palestinians never will?
Israelis have learned these truths through hard experience. This is why they elected the government that they did. Israelis support Netanyahu's policies, but the American Left is convinced that they what know is good for Israel better than the Israelis do. Netanyahu did not achieve his victory by tacking to the middle, but by moving to the right. The Israeli electorate overwhelming rejected the nuclear deal with Iran and a two-state solution.
Israelis have learned these truths through hard experience. This is why they elected the government that they did. Israelis support Netanyahu's policies, but the American Left is convinced that they what know is good for Israel better than the Israelis do. Netanyahu did not achieve his victory by tacking to the middle, but by moving to the right. The Israeli electorate overwhelming rejected the nuclear deal with Iran and a two-state solution.
15
We are not talking about the survival of Israel, we are talking about the survival of the United States, as originally conceived in Enlightenment philosophy.
We no longer have an absolute oil dependency in the Middle East, so our "strategic alliance" with Israel is now evolving into a "holy alliance" or covenant, if you will. Absent any world vision on the part of the "dumb partner," our future will be steered erratically by K Street, the Chamber of Commerce, the banks, and Israel. Which means some revived faith-based, debt funded form of War Capitalism.
Welcomed by many. All too many of our politicians are eager to express power in this way. They seek nothing more than increasing economic inequality mediated by permanent war. But war against what? Against "Terror," an open-ended "enemy within," which will be defined by Israel and will only increase and deepen the more our "holy alliance" deepens.
This is a good day for the destiny of Israel, freed from the claims of reason and democracy, and a dark day for the United States and the fading heritage of the Enlightenment. Look forward to decades of increasing financial inequality, world debt, demonization, and war.
We no longer have an absolute oil dependency in the Middle East, so our "strategic alliance" with Israel is now evolving into a "holy alliance" or covenant, if you will. Absent any world vision on the part of the "dumb partner," our future will be steered erratically by K Street, the Chamber of Commerce, the banks, and Israel. Which means some revived faith-based, debt funded form of War Capitalism.
Welcomed by many. All too many of our politicians are eager to express power in this way. They seek nothing more than increasing economic inequality mediated by permanent war. But war against what? Against "Terror," an open-ended "enemy within," which will be defined by Israel and will only increase and deepen the more our "holy alliance" deepens.
This is a good day for the destiny of Israel, freed from the claims of reason and democracy, and a dark day for the United States and the fading heritage of the Enlightenment. Look forward to decades of increasing financial inequality, world debt, demonization, and war.
17
Bibi's recent revelations - that settlements are strategic, that he will never get behind a Palestinian state, that he does not want Arabs to be full political participants - have been readily apparent all along, so no real game-changers here. What he will now have to contend with was the ill-advised, disgraceful way in which he stuck his finger in President Obama's eyes and tapped into the worst instincts among his own citizens. We will all have to live with the fallout.
10
So Friedman views the greatest consequence of Bibi's win has something to do with Iran? It's a problem for Friedman and Bibi that they don't see at home the core of Israel's problem is occupying West Bank and imprisoning Gaza. Only Friedman can criticize Bibi while staying in his pocket.
3
In his pocket? "I just hope that — somehow — a Jewish democratic Israel survives his tenure."
Here is the essence of Israeli tragedy.
Tel Aviv believed the statements coming out of Washington D.C that the ties between America and Israel are unbreakable.
Any foreign government that believes a single word coming out of the mouths of our leaders is recklessly gambling with the future of their country.
Luckily we live in the era of technological marvels. There are the recorded videos of the statements made by our politicians on the campaign trails.
The smart people always tend to verify what the career politicians originally promised and what they fulfilled...
Pledging their loyalty to Israel is not stronger at all than pledging their loyalty to the American voters.
Does Tel Aviv understand what happened to our salaries and wages, our benefits, our job security, our manufacturing industries, our national debt, our balanced trade and our standard of living over the last couple of decades?
Tel Aviv believed the statements coming out of Washington D.C that the ties between America and Israel are unbreakable.
Any foreign government that believes a single word coming out of the mouths of our leaders is recklessly gambling with the future of their country.
Luckily we live in the era of technological marvels. There are the recorded videos of the statements made by our politicians on the campaign trails.
The smart people always tend to verify what the career politicians originally promised and what they fulfilled...
Pledging their loyalty to Israel is not stronger at all than pledging their loyalty to the American voters.
Does Tel Aviv understand what happened to our salaries and wages, our benefits, our job security, our manufacturing industries, our national debt, our balanced trade and our standard of living over the last couple of decades?
4
I hope you are correct in the respone of Americans to this attempt by the Israelis to drag our country into their endless war they have created. But you understand that the smart people who research their elected officials comprise only a small percentage of the population?
In 1977 Menachem Begin became Prime Minister of Israel after a campaign in which he vowed never to yield one inch of territory captured by Israel in the Six-Day War. Shortly thereafter, in return for a peace treaty with Egypt, he returned every grain of sand in the Sinai - and he did so with the overwhelming support of the Israeli electorate. That same electorate, that has now re-elected Netanyahu, would even today support a peace agreement and the establishment of a Palestinian state, if convinced the Palestinians were truly prepared to accept Israel as the state of the Jewish people. But what the Palestinians have convincingly demonstrated, time and again, when the Israeli Prime Ministers were not named Netanyahu, is that they have not the slightest intention of making anything resembling genuine peace with Israel.
Thus, while I did not vote for Netanyahu, and am dismayed by his re-election, it is not because his victory precludes the chance for peace. Rather, it is because Netanyahu makes it possible for Thomas Friedman and many others to argue - albeit falsely and despite all evidence to the contrary - that the Israelis, rather than the Palestinians and the Arab world, are the obstacle to that peace.
Thus, while I did not vote for Netanyahu, and am dismayed by his re-election, it is not because his victory precludes the chance for peace. Rather, it is because Netanyahu makes it possible for Thomas Friedman and many others to argue - albeit falsely and despite all evidence to the contrary - that the Israelis, rather than the Palestinians and the Arab world, are the obstacle to that peace.
19
So what you're saying is the Jews took their land and now it's up to the Palestinians to accept it in writing. Makes sense to me!
With all due respect, they are both obstacles. To lump all Israeli's and all Palestinians into just two large groups does no one looking for the truth any good. Hamas sits on Gaza while there are large portions of the Gaza population who wish only to run their small business, make a living and raise their children. Large portions of the West Bank Palestinians want nothing more than to run their small businesses, make a living and raise their children. Likud and the "Judea and Samaria" group of Israelis sit on Israel while large portions of Israelis want nothing more than to run their small businesses, make a living and raise their children. The majority of people living between the Mediterranean and the Jordan are being held hostage by groups at the extremes of their populations. These extremes feed off each other and thousands of innocent bystanders pay with their lives in recurring wars and millions pay by having the future they would prefer taken from them.
The sages tell us that the Second Temple was destroyed because of sinat chinam - baseless hatred. Although there was great Torah study at the time, there was groundless, baseless hatred in the land and that trumped everything else.
Bibi's governmental positions all too often resemble sinat chinam. That is not to say Israel does not have the right to defend herself against Gaza missiles and homicide bombers, but building in areas still in question, razing homes, announcing there will be no two-state solution does not lend itself to goal of peace in the ME.
But the outside world is growing increasingly hostile toward the Jewish state and by extension, Jews in general. Bibi's world view just doesn't recognize that as a problem. He is contributing sinat chinam directed at all Jews, not just Israel. And in the bigger scheme of thing that is even scarier.
I fear not just for Israel, but for all of us.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
Bibi's governmental positions all too often resemble sinat chinam. That is not to say Israel does not have the right to defend herself against Gaza missiles and homicide bombers, but building in areas still in question, razing homes, announcing there will be no two-state solution does not lend itself to goal of peace in the ME.
But the outside world is growing increasingly hostile toward the Jewish state and by extension, Jews in general. Bibi's world view just doesn't recognize that as a problem. He is contributing sinat chinam directed at all Jews, not just Israel. And in the bigger scheme of thing that is even scarier.
I fear not just for Israel, but for all of us.
http://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
13
Thomas Friedman's fears about the demographic future of Israel mandating it to become either a non-Jewish democracy or a Jewish non-democracy are old, tired, and widely disproven. When Israel became independent in 1948 the same predictions were made. In 1948 Israel was 20% Arab, today it is 20% Arab. No one foresaw Jewish immigration from all over the world.
The world would like to play a game that it is everyone's interest to pursue a two-state solution. Natanyahu's mandate indicates Israelis are not interested in perpetuating a fiction that there can be the creation of a Palestinian state without Israel committing national suicide. Every peace agreement with an Arab country that required the transfer of land has been a disaster for Israel and if Ehud Barak had agreed to return the Golan Heights to Syrian in 1999 it is likely Israel would be engulfed in a civil war like its neighbors.
Israel has to be realistic about its future. The Palestinian leadership has no popular mandate. Negotiations now are pointless. Let the demographics reveal what they may.
The world would like to play a game that it is everyone's interest to pursue a two-state solution. Natanyahu's mandate indicates Israelis are not interested in perpetuating a fiction that there can be the creation of a Palestinian state without Israel committing national suicide. Every peace agreement with an Arab country that required the transfer of land has been a disaster for Israel and if Ehud Barak had agreed to return the Golan Heights to Syrian in 1999 it is likely Israel would be engulfed in a civil war like its neighbors.
Israel has to be realistic about its future. The Palestinian leadership has no popular mandate. Negotiations now are pointless. Let the demographics reveal what they may.
12
You said it: real trouble ahead. How is it possible that the megalomania of one individual (and I am not talking about Ted Cruz right now) can do so much damage to our already conflicted humanity? Interesting times, for sure. But treacherous, didn't have to be.
3
He did not say he would never allow a two state solution, he declared he would not allow it in his term of office. That was part of the speech after the bare declaration that he would not allow it.
1
What difference does that make? He never really believed in a two state solution. He was being duplicitous and his massive efforts in settlement expansionism have proved that. What two state solution, should be the question since Israel has precluded any possibility of that happening.
I'm an American Jew who is not happy about Netanyahu's/ Likud's victory but I believe Friedman's article is hyperbole. Bibi can point to the chaos created by the Syrian Civil War and ISIS in neighboring countries and by Hamas in Gaza and legitimately argue that the time is not right for a stable Palestinian State. Israel cannot allow a state governed by a weak Palestinian authority to be overrun by Hamas or worse, by ISIS. Bibi needs to clarify his position from the campaign and explain whether his opposition to a Palestinian state is permanent or only temporary, based on current conditions in the Middle East. If the former, the ill effects Friedman predicts likely will happen. If the latter, Bibi perhaps should commit Israel to fostering conditions that will enable the creation of a stable Palestinian state, by perhaps avoiding construction of settlements in territory that would be part of such state and improving economic opportunities for Palestinians in the "territories".
9
You say "we'll be in a new world". I disagree. We are and will remain in a very old world - one in which neither of the outcomes you suggest regarding the nature of the democracy or the non-democracy in Israel are likely to happen. I fear we will be treated to more of the same - a continued illegal occupation of the West Bank, continued illegal isolation of Gaza, continued illegal settlement construction, and continued hostility and acts of warfare against all of these situations, with the predictable rounds of military response; internally, Israel will remain pretty much as it is. Netanyahu must be taken at his word on such fundamental questions as the future of the two-state solution - it cannot be dismissed as expedient politicking. This, unfortunately, is the grim reality with no obvious outcome except more of the same.
6
Bibi did make history when the full US Congress was in his corner save a few. This never happened in the US Congress before that a foreign leader comes in our House and insults our President, Bibi made history.
Previously you have quoted Bibi’s conversations to this effect and at times have warned the Israelis to be careful that Israel would have to choose to be either a Democracy or a Theocratic Apartheid country, not necessarily using those words.
Our congress and the apologetic commentators for Israel are still digesting Bibi’s statement re a One State Solution of the Israeli Palestinian issue and trying to figure out how to spin it.
Words do matter, and there are consequences of leaders statements, Now that we know where majority of the Israelis stand on this issue, we need to be very careful about our stance. Yes there was a time when we supported Apartheid South Africa, but in due course of time we officially changed our position. I am not for a moment suggesting that would happen in Israel’s case as the comparison with Apartheid South Africa ends when we look at the big money that backs the State of Israel, the Adelson's and Saban, media conglomerate, and many multinationals etc.
As in one of your op-ed you used the phrase that the train is leaving, I guess it left the station for Israel, and the choice is theirs to make to be a Democracy, that they proclaim it to be, or be an Apartheid Jewish State.
Previously you have quoted Bibi’s conversations to this effect and at times have warned the Israelis to be careful that Israel would have to choose to be either a Democracy or a Theocratic Apartheid country, not necessarily using those words.
Our congress and the apologetic commentators for Israel are still digesting Bibi’s statement re a One State Solution of the Israeli Palestinian issue and trying to figure out how to spin it.
Words do matter, and there are consequences of leaders statements, Now that we know where majority of the Israelis stand on this issue, we need to be very careful about our stance. Yes there was a time when we supported Apartheid South Africa, but in due course of time we officially changed our position. I am not for a moment suggesting that would happen in Israel’s case as the comparison with Apartheid South Africa ends when we look at the big money that backs the State of Israel, the Adelson's and Saban, media conglomerate, and many multinationals etc.
As in one of your op-ed you used the phrase that the train is leaving, I guess it left the station for Israel, and the choice is theirs to make to be a Democracy, that they proclaim it to be, or be an Apartheid Jewish State.
8
At what point did TF go from the insightful author of "From Beirut to Jerusalem" to the present ideological lefty unable to see reality?
There is a Palestinian state. It's in Gaza and run by Hamas. Iran already likes that state and has it on its gift list, of missiles and rockets. If Israel departs the West bank, Hamas will rapidly take over and have a many times larger launching pad with close range access to all of Israel.
Israelis would love a 2 state solution...with someone that doesn't want a 1 state solution. It's not BiBi who's the problem. Sure, the demographic problem won't go away. But it's better to live today and worry about tomorrow, than to die today and be guaranteed no tomorrow.
There is a Palestinian state. It's in Gaza and run by Hamas. Iran already likes that state and has it on its gift list, of missiles and rockets. If Israel departs the West bank, Hamas will rapidly take over and have a many times larger launching pad with close range access to all of Israel.
Israelis would love a 2 state solution...with someone that doesn't want a 1 state solution. It's not BiBi who's the problem. Sure, the demographic problem won't go away. But it's better to live today and worry about tomorrow, than to die today and be guaranteed no tomorrow.
18
I wouldn't get out my tap shoes out just yet. When we unite, our "enemies" get very quiet. The truth of the matter is, when all the Jews in the world will be on the same page, all the problems in the world will vanish. The world is waiting for us to provide an example of unity and so far we're doing the opposite by demonstrating this huge clash of egos. But Passover is coming up and there is no greater time of year to release ourselves from enslavement to the ego than right now. So whether you're Jewish or Christian or Muslim please think about that. Think about a world where we are free from our egos that are bringing our world to the brink.
2
Those jews who abhore racism, brutality, and inhumanity, illegality like myself can no longer support this Israel. In other words, those (few?) jews in America, like myself, still with a strong moral sense who h ave not been bought and paid for by Netanyahu and his minions. If my brother is a liar, a racist, a thief and a murderer, I will turn him in to the authorities. I will not keep giving him money and succor to continue his misdeeds and crimes. If I do, I then also become complicit (as most jews argue based on the holocaust, those who aid the perpetrators are also complicit. That principle works perfectly here., as well).. I myself have no plans to become complicit. I do not buy into the trope, as many jews plainly do, that jewish blood is superior to and more valuable than the blood of any other people. I completely reject this.
The two state solution is a fantasy until the Palestinians give up their insistence on the "right of return"; however, it is political suicide for any Palestinian government to even broach the idea of dropping the right of return - thus, deadlock for the foreseeable future.
10
If the Palestinians are to have no right of return, should that not also apply to the Israelis? What would the Israeli election result have been if there were not tens of thousands of "returned" citizens from the former Soviet Empire, whose political values are as illiberal as Mr. Putin's? Those Russians largely live in the settlements, which were the core of Bibi's support.
I wish I could find a single thing wrong with Friedman's analysis, especially the "who loses" part, which now includes virtually everybody wih a conscience and who isn't allied with Tehran.
I don't think I can.
I don't think I can.
8
"Now, if there are not going to be two states for two peoples in the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean, then there is going to be only one state — and that one state will either be a Jewish democracy that systematically denies the voting rights of about one-third of its people or it will be a democracy and systematically erodes the Jewish character of Israel."
As Mr. Friedman writes ...
I'm sure there are consultants from ALEC on their way to Tel Aviv -- much hipper there than in Jerusalem -- to consult with the Netanyahu government, and Sheldon Adelson, on how to suppress the Arab vote through continuous whack-a-mole legislative strategies and judicial suborning.
Why the Five Amigos on SCOTUS might even send a special delegation, headed by Newt Gingrich, to visit with the Israeli Supreme Court on how to neuter any campaign finance laws in Israel which might get in the way of keeping the fantasies of the religious extremists aflame.
With enough money -- Sheldon Adelson himself has an estimated net worth of about $29 billion, 10% of total Israeli GDP -- and enough lobbied American taxpayer support cozened by Republicans playing to their Christian fundamentalist base (Hageeistas et al), Israeli democracy can be turned into a Potemkin version in a relative heartbeat.
As Mr. Friedman writes ...
I'm sure there are consultants from ALEC on their way to Tel Aviv -- much hipper there than in Jerusalem -- to consult with the Netanyahu government, and Sheldon Adelson, on how to suppress the Arab vote through continuous whack-a-mole legislative strategies and judicial suborning.
Why the Five Amigos on SCOTUS might even send a special delegation, headed by Newt Gingrich, to visit with the Israeli Supreme Court on how to neuter any campaign finance laws in Israel which might get in the way of keeping the fantasies of the religious extremists aflame.
With enough money -- Sheldon Adelson himself has an estimated net worth of about $29 billion, 10% of total Israeli GDP -- and enough lobbied American taxpayer support cozened by Republicans playing to their Christian fundamentalist base (Hageeistas et al), Israeli democracy can be turned into a Potemkin version in a relative heartbeat.
4
How is it that Mr. Friedman writes an entire article on the future of Palestine and Israel without once mentioning Gaza? According to the CIA World Factbook, there were about 1.8 million people living in Gaza as of July 2014. Add that to the 4.4 million Israeli Arabs and Arabs in the West Bank, and you get to 6.2 million total Arabs "in the area between the Jordan River and Mediterranean," as Mr. Friedman puts it (last I checked, the Gaza Strip falls in that area). That makes the total population of Arabs and Jews in the area about equal. Why not just admit the plain facts and promote a truly democratic and humanistic solution, allowing one vote per person? There should be no doubt that struggling Arabs can find common ground with Israeli Jews struggling in an increasingly unequal society, as described earlier this week by Paul Krugman. There has to be some step that gets beyond counting people by race and religion -- and trying to massage those counts in one side or another's favor -- in trying to determine how these people can live in a truly peaceful and pluralistic society.
3
That is where we need to turn our attention. One person, one vote. That is true democracy, not the shadow of one proclaimed by Netanyahu and his minions.
Check the birth rates of the two populations and see how long such a balance would last. Nothing will change until the two sides both put peace as their top priority. We can only watch and hope.
Dear Mr. Friedman:
After waking up on Wednesday morning to the rather depressing news here, I am trying to look at good things that came out of this election. Here are some:
1. The votes in this election and the previous ones for the most important sectors (left, center, right, religious, Arab) were more or less the same. What got reorganized were shifts within each camp.
For example, 4 seats from Bennet's Jewish Home" Party and 7 from Lieberman's "Israel is our Home" Party moved to Likud. The Arab Parties United and got 2 more seats in total. The Center which had 21 with "There is a Future" and "Forward" in 2013 now have 21 between Lapid's party and Kachlon's "All of Us" (the party names sound ridiculous in English!).
Believe me, it is much better (despite my opposition) to have a big Likud and a sidelined Bennet and Lieberman.
The same thing happened in the center/left, which had a much better showing this time around with the combined Labor/Livni parties.
The system will be more stable if each sector has one big party rather than 3 or 4. There was not a swing to the right, just a return of many Likud voters to the "mother" party.
2. Bibi coming clean with his despicable statements about Arab citizens voting too much and his true feelings about 2 states should hopefully galvanize the opposition here into playing a more boisterous opposition in the Knesset. Mostly we here the sounds of silence from the non-government parties. Time for words and action!!
After waking up on Wednesday morning to the rather depressing news here, I am trying to look at good things that came out of this election. Here are some:
1. The votes in this election and the previous ones for the most important sectors (left, center, right, religious, Arab) were more or less the same. What got reorganized were shifts within each camp.
For example, 4 seats from Bennet's Jewish Home" Party and 7 from Lieberman's "Israel is our Home" Party moved to Likud. The Arab Parties United and got 2 more seats in total. The Center which had 21 with "There is a Future" and "Forward" in 2013 now have 21 between Lapid's party and Kachlon's "All of Us" (the party names sound ridiculous in English!).
Believe me, it is much better (despite my opposition) to have a big Likud and a sidelined Bennet and Lieberman.
The same thing happened in the center/left, which had a much better showing this time around with the combined Labor/Livni parties.
The system will be more stable if each sector has one big party rather than 3 or 4. There was not a swing to the right, just a return of many Likud voters to the "mother" party.
2. Bibi coming clean with his despicable statements about Arab citizens voting too much and his true feelings about 2 states should hopefully galvanize the opposition here into playing a more boisterous opposition in the Knesset. Mostly we here the sounds of silence from the non-government parties. Time for words and action!!
3
Good luck. But much, much too late. I think enormous and irreparable damage has already been done; and let's face it, much of the Israeli left agrees with the Likud on their brutal treatment and oppression of the palestinians. Now Israel will be treated, as it should be, as the apartheid state it is, and will be isolated as much or more than apartheid South Africa, unless it accepts the one-state solution.. As a jewish american, I welcome and support such isolation.
Nothing will change in practice, only in rhetoric. Expect back pedaling, a bit, but no change in actions.
What good does it do to pursue a "Israel may be bad but the Iranians are worse" rhetoric, to excuse a historically long occupation of an indigenous people? Is this supposed to distract, disguise or hide in complication the fact that generations have been raised under military rule and seething hatred has resulted? The rest of the world knows what we Americans can't seem to grasp and my fear is that we'll eventually be called to task for the billions we pay to maintain this injustice.
9
Frankly, I would not blame Netanyahu for anything.
I would blame presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama. For a couple of decades they were giving recklessly dangerous statements that the alliance between America and Israel was unbreakable.
If you declare your unconditional loyalty to me, the Israeli Prime Minister, they I am going to act accordingly as if I received a blank check for all my personal whims.
Whom to blame for the reckless policies of the American presidents?
The real culprits are us, the American voters...
I would blame presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama. For a couple of decades they were giving recklessly dangerous statements that the alliance between America and Israel was unbreakable.
If you declare your unconditional loyalty to me, the Israeli Prime Minister, they I am going to act accordingly as if I received a blank check for all my personal whims.
Whom to blame for the reckless policies of the American presidents?
The real culprits are us, the American voters...
10
What Bibi says about a two-state solution is irrelevant. He's never supported it in a serious way, and has always found ways to undermine it. But blaming him is beside the point, when something like half the voting public supported some version of "far right." When people vote based on a fantasy version of reality, the only thing one can do is wait until the fantasy crumbles; they aren't going to admit they're wrong about how things work until it's so obvious that no one can ignore it anymore. It isn't like people here don't do the same kinds of things.
4
The personal vanity and hubris of Netanyahu could start a war all by themselves. — and yes, so vivid and offensive are those flaws that they appear as separate personalities.
9
Netanyahu has been against a two-state solution all along. His policies were a defacto anti-two state solution; he may have said he favored a two-state solution, but he never moved an inch in that direction and never gave the Palestinians any cause for hope on that front. His expansion of the settlements were meant, among other things, to completely scuttle any possible substantive peace process with the moderate Palestinians. When commentators pointed out this obvious fact, they were attacked by the right wing as "picking on Israel." Now the cat is out of the bag. All I can say is: If Israel wants to follow this course, let them do it on their own dime, and not on the American taxpayers dime.
15
A one-state solution based on one person one vote might become possible some time in the future, but for now the occupation and land-grabbing will continue and US support will remain firm for Israel, especially if a Republican takes the White House in 2016.
4
Would everyone present have leapt to their feet with thunderous applause had Bibi proclaimed this one-state vow in his campaign speech to congress?
9
By electing Bibi, the Israeli people have made the choice between going forward with constructive engagement and cooperation with the US vs joining the radicals in the area and fighting until the last zealot is killed, soon hopefully, Sadly there are consequences for choices in elections. Israel has made its choice.
Now its a test of the American electorate. We have our zealots, who have bought most of the two political parties in this country. If we are lucky then the inherent racism in one group will divide the republicans. Sadly suppression, human rights abuses and war-mongering sells, in both countries (US and Israel). It is a constant struggle to live up to the proposition that we (the US) are an exceptional nation.
Now its a test of the American electorate. We have our zealots, who have bought most of the two political parties in this country. If we are lucky then the inherent racism in one group will divide the republicans. Sadly suppression, human rights abuses and war-mongering sells, in both countries (US and Israel). It is a constant struggle to live up to the proposition that we (the US) are an exceptional nation.
6
I don't agree with your last statement that Israel should be a "Jewish" democracy any more than I would like to see America become a "White, Christian" democracy. It is becoming more apparent that Israel is a religious state first, democracy second. This goes against the very core and founding of our nation. It seems that Netanyahu has opened the veil of religious discrimination that is inherent in Israel the nation. 80 years ago, Jews were the object of fatal discrimination. Because of my precious country and its evolving tolerance of many, Jews now live here in peace, and prosperity; And that I would fight to preserve. I like my Jewish colleagues but I don't like Isreal. I will not support Israel or Netanyahu, and I would immediately stop financial and international support of Israel.
11
True, Netanyahu's panic lunge to the right to avoid losing the election further isolates Israel, and as an American supporter of Israel of Jewish heritage I am distressed.
But the outcome several years out is not necessarily either of the dire one state solutions outlined by Friedman.
The middle east in general, and Israel-Palestine in particular, have moved away from peace over the last few years.
It should now be clear to everyone that Hamas insistence on attacking Israel instead of recognizing the existence of Israel and negotiating in good faith, has harmed the people of Gaza.
It should soon be clear to everyone that ISIS is not a solution. ISIS will self-destruct with the help of its many enemies. That will not end radicalism, but inform the vast majority that radicalism is not a viable solution.
While continued settlement on the west bank is wrong, and Israel has moved to the right, it is still by far the best example of democracy in the middle east.
Palestinians do not envy Syrians, Iraqis, Egyptians, Lebanese, or any other citizens of other middle eastern states, they envy and resent Israelis for the state they have.
The vision of the extremes we now have should serve to lead us back to a sane middle ground.
But the outcome several years out is not necessarily either of the dire one state solutions outlined by Friedman.
The middle east in general, and Israel-Palestine in particular, have moved away from peace over the last few years.
It should now be clear to everyone that Hamas insistence on attacking Israel instead of recognizing the existence of Israel and negotiating in good faith, has harmed the people of Gaza.
It should soon be clear to everyone that ISIS is not a solution. ISIS will self-destruct with the help of its many enemies. That will not end radicalism, but inform the vast majority that radicalism is not a viable solution.
While continued settlement on the west bank is wrong, and Israel has moved to the right, it is still by far the best example of democracy in the middle east.
Palestinians do not envy Syrians, Iraqis, Egyptians, Lebanese, or any other citizens of other middle eastern states, they envy and resent Israelis for the state they have.
The vision of the extremes we now have should serve to lead us back to a sane middle ground.
63
hmm people are onto that "Palestinians won't negotiate in good faith" thing. It aint workin anymore. what Israel has proposed time and time again is that Palestinians approve in writing of the current status quo. The Israeli proposals never give back the lands they have stolen and that is by design. Israel will not agree to peace until all Arabs are gone from the West Bank and it is completely consolidated into Israel. It's the land dummy.
1
"What better way to isolate Israel globally and deflect attention from Iran’s behavior?"
Are we talking about Israel's 200 nuclear weapons, or about Iran's zero nuclear weapons?
Is a double standard going to be as popular in the rest of the world as it is in the US?
Are we talking about Israel's 200 nuclear weapons, or about Iran's zero nuclear weapons?
Is a double standard going to be as popular in the rest of the world as it is in the US?
13
It's a double standard only if you believe that the psychopathic criminal has a "right" to arm himself against the armed police officer.
Bibi seems to feel that the Obama administration is no longer relevant to him. I am very hopeful that the next time an issue on Israel comes up at the UN which the US would normally veto, we let it sit there and don't vote at all. No need to go nuclear and vote against our traditional ally, but there is also no need to keep supporting a state who votes for a PM who thumbs his nose at us and at peace.
This attitude of new American Congressmen and the old Israeli PM that they get to tell the world how it's going to be and that everyone else will simply have to accept it is getting tedious. What spoiled children they act like--but with real lives at stake, not tinker toys. It's time to tell them that they are part of a system--the Great Game--and that they don't get to ignore the rules.
This attitude of new American Congressmen and the old Israeli PM that they get to tell the world how it's going to be and that everyone else will simply have to accept it is getting tedious. What spoiled children they act like--but with real lives at stake, not tinker toys. It's time to tell them that they are part of a system--the Great Game--and that they don't get to ignore the rules.
6
That would be a very good start. Especially since, when the US vetoes those resolutions, it is acting against its own interests. It is not in US interests to be so one-sided against ht e palestinians, and americans have a right to not have the arabs and muslims hate us --and for what? Israelis becoming much less of an ally and more like an enemy, and it is, as Robert Gates so correctly and bravely put it, a very ungrateful ally. Supporting Israel is not worth the sacrifices of American interests. Not one bit.
1
Bibi is expressing what rational human beings recognize - there is no two state solution "at this time" because their is no legitimate negotiating partner. Until Hamas recognizes Israel's right to exist.....until the rockets stop raining down.....until the regional conflagration (ISIS, Sunni-Shia Civil War) is steadied....he has on the table agreements with Egypt, Jordan and the Saudis - quiet, private understandings - that the current American regime is a bad actor, and that they must quietly, but collectively, fight against the Iranian move towards nukes and hegemony, and that threat right now is a great risk that providing a state to a split demographic group in which half of its political leadership is a terrorist organization. That the fools at the BY Times and Friedman - who supported the invasion of Iraq - do not recognize is embarrassing; that they recognize it and do not mention it makes them ideologically blinded, and simply following the state masters from the White House.
The Israelis accept a two state solution - there simply is no partner to negotiate with.
The Israelis accept a two state solution - there simply is no partner to negotiate with.
4
Your assumption is that the rump part of Palestine, Hamas in Gaza, is the only legitimate negotiator. Aren't you forgetting the much bigger part that is the West Bank, where there have been people fruitlessly negotiating for decades? Why not view Hamas for what it is, an outlier that is a thorn in everyone's side, and with a comprehensive accord with the West Bank, it may wither into irrelevance? But if the Israeli majority is willing to live in constant stress and fear of being attacked, while being indifferent to the the condition of the people about them, by all means let them. However, more and more countries are being affected by the turmoil of the Muslim world and they may not be so patient.
Especially since, as it has been reported in the mainstream media, Israel played an important supporting role,, helping in the creation of HAMAS as a counterweight to FATAH. Now it has created a monster, a very convenient one, for it allows people like Frank to disingenuously argue that Israel has no peace partner!. The problem is entirely of Israel's s own making. Many advisors in and outside Israel told Sharon it would be a big mistake to leave GAZA before comprehensive peace plan was agreed. Like Netanyahu, Sharon was never interested in a comprehensive peace. And that's before ISIS, etc. There's a new excuse and raitonalization from the Israelis all the time for their prolongation brutality, seizure of lands that do not belong to them, and their war crimes against Lebanon and Gaza. So a solution will have to be imposed upon the Israelis.
In most conflicts resolution efforts one negotiates with ones opponent/enemy not with some non representative 'Partner'.
Peace is not much of a topic in the Middle East these days. Israel is the ONLY stable country in the Region. I do NOT believe under current circumstances anyone would be discussing the creation of a Palestinian state. It would simply become land available to terrorists.
This was a thoughtless article.
This was a thoughtless article.
5
Four of the five top-of-the-page stories of the nyt online edition concern the israeli election. Why? What exactly has changed so profoundly? It is pure naïveté to suppose that what prime minister Netanyahu said during the campaign will cause any American politician to change their position. Members of congress will continue to curry donations. I understand their cupidity. But I cannot for the life of me understand why American journalists continue to expend such resources on covering the staus quo in Israel.
1
"How is the rest of the world going to react to an Israeli government that rejects a two-state solution." - Thomas L. Friedman - NYT.
Peace for Israel is without threats of destruction and a legal system of justice. Peace for Islam is the destruction or subjugation of all infidels and sharia law without justice.
Support the first and reject the second !?
Peace for Israel is without threats of destruction and a legal system of justice. Peace for Islam is the destruction or subjugation of all infidels and sharia law without justice.
Support the first and reject the second !?
2
Mr. Friedman, your argument is based on the obviously erroneous premise that Iran actually benefits from a hard-line Western/Israeli stance against it. This illogical premise derives from a very sensible and logical notion -- that, in some circumstances, taking a hard-line stance against bad actors serves to embolden them and give them further excuses for intransigence. But the Iran context is a far, far cry from such circumstances. If you really believe that a more "conciliatory" Israeli/American regime will change Iran's strategy and behavior, give us some evidence. Otherwise, your opinion is not worth much. While Netanyahu's election certainly gives Iran more rhetorical ammunition to criticize Israel than Herzog's election would have, that doesn't mean that Iran is the "most happy" with Netanyahu's election.
Essentially, your argument boils down to: "Republicans are the 'most happy' that Obama won a second term in 2012, because now they have an excuse for intransigence." That doesn't make much sense, does it? Absent elementary logic, your so-called expertise in world affairs is unavailing.
Essentially, your argument boils down to: "Republicans are the 'most happy' that Obama won a second term in 2012, because now they have an excuse for intransigence." That doesn't make much sense, does it? Absent elementary logic, your so-called expertise in world affairs is unavailing.
1
It's a great relief that the international community has finally found a just solution to the problem (created largely by the highly principled policy experts of the great powers after WW I) instead of blaming it all on the Palestinians and Israelis, who, as their various deities have willed it, are merely doing the Lord's work.
Congratulations to the United Nations, to the Obama administration, the Israeli government, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Sec'y. John Kerry, the Republican Party, and above all to Yahweh , Allah and their various representatives here on earth.
"Heck of a job!"
Congratulations to the United Nations, to the Obama administration, the Israeli government, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Sec'y. John Kerry, the Republican Party, and above all to Yahweh , Allah and their various representatives here on earth.
"Heck of a job!"
It's one of life's unexplained blessings that someone can be so consistently wrong on such a wide range of issues, and still find himself well-employed. Be grateful, Mr. Friedman.
4
As an American my interest lie with the well being of my country. I do not see how supporting Israel (as it is today) advances our national interests. Nor can I imagine that we would support any other country that behaves like Israel. It is counter to our national values. We need to stop electing politicians in the United States that seem to have more allegiance to Israel than our own country.
18
Re: "....Nor can I imagine that we would support any other country that behaves like Israel..." Well, I don't know. Human rights abuses—lack of free speech, dictatorships, executions, torture, ethnic cleansing, oppression of LGBT communities—are much worse in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, China, Thailand, much of Latin America.
One thing about democracies is that you get the leaders you deserve. I suppose it's possible that even Israelis who support a two-state solution voted for Netanyahu, but probably not enough to have turned the election. Blame Netanyahu as much as you want, but he was just awarded a job extension because the majority of voters in his country agree with him.
3
What part of democracy don't you understand. Obviously that is what the people of Israel want.
Is democracy of a sovereign country only good when it serves the rest of the world's wishes?
Is democracy of a sovereign country only good when it serves the rest of the world's wishes?
2
No one is challenging the right of Israeli to choose the government they want. That's not the point of discussion. What Friedman is considering is the consequences of their voting. One state with an increasing Arab role which diminishes the Jewish state or a perpetual non democratic state in which the Arabs are continued to be treated as second class citizens.
1
I think the Times understands Democracy fairly well. What is inexplicable is the results of the election that again placed Netanyahu at the head of an Israel that seems to be flailing around for a coherent response to the Arab Spring, ISIS, and the events of the past 5 years. You have to wonder what happens next. If there is to be no 2 state solution, where do we go from here?
Given the strength of Sheldon Adelson's money in the Republican Party...I am more happy than ever that Mitt Romney is not President. The Republicans present one solution only...military strength beyond challenge. Oh, will that plan be challenged. It will also lead to greater oppression of people whose own leaders have betrayed them, the Palestinians. This policy leads in one direction...the invasion of Iran. Put Tom Cotton in the first wave along with the signers of the Tom Cotton Manifesto.
Not only will Israel be a pariah. Standing next to it in the condemnation by free states seeking justice will be Amerika.
Not only will Israel be a pariah. Standing next to it in the condemnation by free states seeking justice will be Amerika.
4
So we are into the seventh year of the Obama administration and American military strength and readiness is on the ebb. We now have "smart" policies with "smart" Dems controlling the situation....
And the Middle East is a train wreck. Not because of anything Israel did other than try to exist. Iran, the world's number one trouble maker will have nuclear weapons once Obama is out of office. The same cowardly tactic of delayed implementation and not having to answer for the full consequences of his policies until he is safely out of office as he used with the phased ACA rollout. Virtually every Arab state is at risk of being overturned by bloodthirsty radicals and you sir say that restraining American power is a good thing? I suggest you consider proving your confidence in policies of our current leaders by vacationing in sunny Tunisia or Libya...lots of travel, bargains right about now.
Regarding who will be a pariah, I would bet on the guy who famously claimed to be "the smartest man in the room" after he becomes known as the man who allowed a nuclear holocaust to occur.
And the Middle East is a train wreck. Not because of anything Israel did other than try to exist. Iran, the world's number one trouble maker will have nuclear weapons once Obama is out of office. The same cowardly tactic of delayed implementation and not having to answer for the full consequences of his policies until he is safely out of office as he used with the phased ACA rollout. Virtually every Arab state is at risk of being overturned by bloodthirsty radicals and you sir say that restraining American power is a good thing? I suggest you consider proving your confidence in policies of our current leaders by vacationing in sunny Tunisia or Libya...lots of travel, bargains right about now.
Regarding who will be a pariah, I would bet on the guy who famously claimed to be "the smartest man in the room" after he becomes known as the man who allowed a nuclear holocaust to occur.
Is Aipac, the Israel lobby, now going to push for a one-state solution on Capitol Hill? How many Democrats and Republicans would endorse that? U bet they will. Follow the money.
5
Yes, this sounds about right. This is the same treatment a republican is going to get in 2016. Obama allowed his minions to lie on and on about Mitt Romney being a murderer, etc. He and his people said and did whatever it took to get re-elected. Don't forget--the people of Israel VOTED for Bibi. Obama and company may not like it, but the U.S. is the only country they can legally (or not) destroy.
The support I had for Israel has been permanently diminished by Mr. Netanyahu's actions, and the thinking of the people of Israel that voted for him.
8
Clearly, it's time for the United States to cut the cord and let Israel find it's own way in the world as a proudly apartheid state. There is no point in wasting any more American credibility or American money propping up a regime whose basic values are so repugnant. It's time to look for other partners in the region
15
Mr. Friedman in calculating the Palestinian population in Israel-Palestine you neglected to mention those living in East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The omission is puzzling. Are you suggesting that Palestinians settle for Gaza as their state? That would be something Likud would have in mind.
1
Why would anyone permit the establishment of a terrorist nation on its border? Unless or until the Palestinians are willing to be responsible neighbors, how can they ever be trusted with a nation? Everyone, including Bibi, knows the only solution is the two state solution but it is not going to happen if that new Palestine is hell-bent on the destruction of Israel.
11
I guess it has not got to you that Arafat officially recognized the state of Israel on 10 September 1993. Go to the Israel Foreign Office Website for confirmation.
2
recognition with rockets is not really the recognition they were looking for.
2
Any savvy watcher of Middle East politics understands that what is said publicly, doesn't necessarily mean what that political figure will do. A successful leader must win the election first, if he/she hopes to govern, and implement their vision after. If you read Bibi's remarks carefully, he said that a Palestinian state won't be created on 'his watch'. This is merely a negotiating position. Bibi has conveyed in the past was his vision is (at Bar Illan Univ.), and he knows the road isn't a straight one to get there.
2
Netanyahu said, "Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to the radical Islam against Israel". At the risk of parsing a sentence like a Clinton, his intent depends on what "today" was meant to modify. Few would argue "to establish a Palestinian state today, is simply giving a base for attacks…." To establish a Palestinian state in a few years after a process of transition is another matter entirely. No sane person could expect any Israelis to support the establishment of a Palestinian State "today" or "tomorrow". The current situation demands a "process". Netanyahu on the other hand has offered no insight into his view of the process.
2
Undoubtedly the settlements are a major stumbling block towards a Two-State solution. But long before the settlements the hate from the surrounding Arab countries blinded them to all rational solutions. The hate is unabated. Look at Hamas and what they spawned this past summer. Hezbollah, supported militarily by Iran, on another border of Israel has also contributed to the problem. How can an independent Palestine be created out of this morass?
The Europeans are afraid of their Arab populations and would sell Israel down the river in a nanosecond. Most Americans are totally ignorant of the history of the region and have little understanding of the dynamics involved.
A vote in the U.N. will not fix the problem.
The Europeans are afraid of their Arab populations and would sell Israel down the river in a nanosecond. Most Americans are totally ignorant of the history of the region and have little understanding of the dynamics involved.
A vote in the U.N. will not fix the problem.
2
In 2001, Netanyahu went to a Jewish settlement to speak to some residents who had been victims of terrorism. During that visit, he took credit for destroying the Oslo Accords. He also expressed his view of how to deal with the Palestinians: you keep "beating them up" he said, beating them and beating them until it is unbearable to them. That was his solution. During his second time in power, this is the policy that he has implemented: relentlessly building Jewish settlements while occasionally "mowing the grass" by killing Palestinians by the thousands.
Netanyahu is already walking back his words, but why believe him? His speech at Bar Ilan in 2009 was the lie. While I'd like to think that Netanyahu is pragmatic enough to go back on his pronouncement that he will never allow a Palestinian state, I think that this is one of the goals to which he has been committed his entire life and he will not change. Now that he has made it clear that he has always planned to back the Palestinians into a corner from which they have no escape, it is time for the entire Western world to reconsider its relationship with Israel. It is highly unlikely the US can do this; the Israel lobby has far too much influence on both parties. But in Europe and elsewhere the lights are coming on and the blinders are coming off. Netanyahu has clarified the situation for anyone in the world who still had any doubts about what he really intends.
Netanyahu is already walking back his words, but why believe him? His speech at Bar Ilan in 2009 was the lie. While I'd like to think that Netanyahu is pragmatic enough to go back on his pronouncement that he will never allow a Palestinian state, I think that this is one of the goals to which he has been committed his entire life and he will not change. Now that he has made it clear that he has always planned to back the Palestinians into a corner from which they have no escape, it is time for the entire Western world to reconsider its relationship with Israel. It is highly unlikely the US can do this; the Israel lobby has far too much influence on both parties. But in Europe and elsewhere the lights are coming on and the blinders are coming off. Netanyahu has clarified the situation for anyone in the world who still had any doubts about what he really intends.
2
Israel cannot sustain this approach and expect to maintain support internationally, except perhaps among clueless Republicans, who can and will divisively politicize anything regardless of the consequences. Escalating isolation is inevitable for Israel, and Netanyahu has worked himself into a corner while proving he's not to be trusted and really doesn't want peace if it means compromise. No wonder Republicans love him.
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
Eclectic Pragmatist — http://eclectic-pragmatist.tumblr.com/
4
Friedman misses the other possibility, the Palestinians, in order to avoid a one state solution, finally agree to renounce violence and recognize Israel as a Jewish state, thereby paving the way to two states in a way they've never tried before. Everybody lives in peace.
6
Theoretically a possibility but highly unlikely.
Netanyahu's election confirms the fact that the majority of Israeli's are complicit with their nation's engagement in the slow, methodical genocide of the Palestinians. It is all about the "Jewish State" stealing Palestinian land and property at any cost, by any means. Shame on the Zionists and shame on the U.S. for supporting the Zionists since the 1940's.
2
That Netanyahu now says that there will be no 2 state solution only drops the mask and gives the lie to his former professed desire for two states. But this should come as no surprise. I say "professed" because his actions in expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank have long shown his true nature and intent.
As for how many Republicans will support him? That answer is easy, all of them, as they feed at the trough of Sheldon Adelson
As for how many Republicans will support him? That answer is easy, all of them, as they feed at the trough of Sheldon Adelson
5
As an American Jew, I am conflicted about what Israel is doing and I am finding the roots of my Judaism more in the ethical imperatives of my faith than in Israel as my inheritance.
10
With Bibi's strong election win, it appears that democracy and Jewish character have already eroded.
When this situation finally comes to a head, it will be a bloody affair and Israel will have even fewer supporters worldwide. Another interesting question, as Tom put is, is what will Obama do? I would like to see us firmly pull away. There is little reason to support Israel now.
Sadly, as I watch this unfolding, I see the same thing here in America. We still have time to stop it, and yes, I refer to voting to change the radicalism growing amongst our legislatures country-wide, but we have to start soon and we have to generate candidates who are reasonable. Boy, where will we ever find them?
When this situation finally comes to a head, it will be a bloody affair and Israel will have even fewer supporters worldwide. Another interesting question, as Tom put is, is what will Obama do? I would like to see us firmly pull away. There is little reason to support Israel now.
Sadly, as I watch this unfolding, I see the same thing here in America. We still have time to stop it, and yes, I refer to voting to change the radicalism growing amongst our legislatures country-wide, but we have to start soon and we have to generate candidates who are reasonable. Boy, where will we ever find them?
3
Indeed, you ask the $64,000 question--where will we find them? I increasingly see no real light at the end of our tunnel. Our nation, perhaps like the Israelis, seem to prefer ultra right wing stupidity to anyone who actually seems to have a working brain. More to the point, the right wing seems not to care about what happens, or what the rest of us think. We don't matter. That would certainly describe Bibi, and it describes accurately our entire republican party. Woe unto us.
The question is how the US react to the official end of the peace process. Most nations viewed the "peace process" as a farce. Israel and the Palestinians have been talking since the PLO's recognition of Israel in 1993. But while they talked Israel seized more and more land.
Israel's security issues are real. But the Palestinians already agreed to complete demilitarization, they agreed to Israeli over flights for observation, in the last round they even agreed to international peace monitors on the ground. When Israel balked claiming their ineffectiveness in other regions, the Palestinians invited the US, Israel's ally to deploy its military as the peace monitor. All offers were rejected by the Israeli's.
Gaza is simply an open air prison camp and as conditions continue to worsen there will be periodic rebellions. The Israeli's know this and use it skillfully to foment those rebellions themselves. Despite all the talk of rockets the IDF has made it clear that Gaza posses no strategic threat to Israel.
So the issue is land, as it has been for the last 40 years. The GOP congress now has to go beyond declarations of "support" for Israel and explain to the American public why it supports occupation, home demolition, detention without trial, military rather than civil courts, confiscation of water, denial of building permits, closure of schools and the rest of life under IDF occupation. If this were Ukraine we know what they would say. But it's Palestinians, so we'll see.
Israel's security issues are real. But the Palestinians already agreed to complete demilitarization, they agreed to Israeli over flights for observation, in the last round they even agreed to international peace monitors on the ground. When Israel balked claiming their ineffectiveness in other regions, the Palestinians invited the US, Israel's ally to deploy its military as the peace monitor. All offers were rejected by the Israeli's.
Gaza is simply an open air prison camp and as conditions continue to worsen there will be periodic rebellions. The Israeli's know this and use it skillfully to foment those rebellions themselves. Despite all the talk of rockets the IDF has made it clear that Gaza posses no strategic threat to Israel.
So the issue is land, as it has been for the last 40 years. The GOP congress now has to go beyond declarations of "support" for Israel and explain to the American public why it supports occupation, home demolition, detention without trial, military rather than civil courts, confiscation of water, denial of building permits, closure of schools and the rest of life under IDF occupation. If this were Ukraine we know what they would say. But it's Palestinians, so we'll see.
14
You must know more than the Palestinians or anybody else does. The Palestinians never agreed to complete demilitarization and the only issue they all agree on is the right of Palestinians and their descendants to return to the places they (or their ancestors) lived before 1948.
I'm surprised that Mr. Friedman is surprised. Even though the two state solution was in Netanyahu's speeches, it was never in the cards. Netanyahu would have never approved the settlers to build on Palestinian land as those buildings would have to either be evacuated or demolished. Unless he was hoping that the settlers whould stay and be his Trojan horse in the future Palestine state. Democrats' rage is a sign of lack of vision, of short term thinking. Bibi knows the indignation will not last long. He said it in his recent speech. US elections are coming soon, and we will again witness the jockeying for reelection money.
3
Why this blind loyalty to an alleged "ally" who derides our democratically elected leader, pulls a tantrum whenever the world doesn't see it as the victim, and causes more violence and trouble for Americans because of our alliance, all without an ounce of gratitude. Israel has become entitled. Cut the tie and let them go on their own. Our European allies are fed up. We should be too. Israel refuses to negotiate at all because we continue this blind support. Don't get me wrong, I'm sympathetic to the notion of their refusals to a degree, how does one negotiate while rockets are being launched. But their heavy handed retaliation is nothing short of the same irrational murderous behavior. Frankly, I'm fed up with our involvement in the entire region, one crazy country after the next and all because of religion and oil. The United States should ween itself off of that region as an energy source and let them fight amongst themselves. Things will never change as long as religion is the capitalism of that region.
15
This could have been resolved decades ago with a U.S guarantee of Israeli security in exchange for a completely de-militarized Palestinian state in the West Bank. Instead, we got a phony "peace process" which was never anything but a diversion to cover de-facto annexation of conquered territory.
This is a betrayal of decades of US support. The money flow needs to end.
This is a betrayal of decades of US support. The money flow needs to end.
7
If one is honest, and realistic, and is willing to think for just a moment about the actual situation of the Palestinians, Arabs and Iran just now, isn't it true that a Palestinian State within the term of an Israeli PM (ANY ISRAELI PM) is unlikely? If a Left leaning figure were to sketch this view out, would the "Establishment" sympathetically analyze what he had said or condemn it out of hand? Or should an Israeli PM either: 1) pursue a two state solution now in view of the strong likelihood that the nihilist element among the Palestinians, strongly supported by Iran and others, would in fact turn the rump state into a base to attack Israel, or more realistically 2) enter negotiations mouthing platitudes so the "Establishment" can feel good, but with no likelihood at all that those negotiations would yield a result during his term? Where is anyone in the NYT or anywhere else raising issues like this instead of preparing oh-so-predictable articles attacking their "right wing" opponent?
5
Did anyone ever actually think for an instant that the Israeli's would allow the Palestinians any land, ever ? Of course not ! That was just a fiction dreamed up as a Fig Leaf to cover the naked aggression, and oppression of the native people of Palestine. Have the 'settlements' ever been stopped ? Has the Theft (AKA Annexation) of Palestinian land ever ceased for a moment ? When Palestinians try to defend their land are they not vilified and called terrorists ? Are not Israeli Tanks and Bombs heralded as ' Defense' against people who cannot fight back ?
All Bibi did was remove the that old fig leaf.
All Bibi did was remove the that old fig leaf.
11
Wrapped around this essay's informative portrayal of Netanyahu's despicable future legacy is an Iranian big red herring.
2
Netanyahu's election is the death of liberal delusions about the 2 state solution, which was never anything more than a proposal to surrender Israeli territory for nothing. In 2009 Netanyahu said that he'd accept a 2 state solution if Israel's security was guaranteed, but that offer has been unacceptable to the Arabs, who would take the territory and use it to launch more attacks. Hamas has never given up its pledge to wipe Israel off of the map. They have never stopped attacking Israel. If not for Arab aggression there would be peace in the region. It doesn't matter how much any leader of Israel wants peace. If the Arabs continue to attack Israel has no choice but to fight back.
3
no-one seems to remember that there IS a Palestinian state: created by the Balfour Declaraton when colonial Palestine was partitiioned into TWO STATES: Irael and Jordon.
Excellent comment, as always.
The Israelis will destroy themselves in the long run. Instead of moving towards a peaceful solution in which the people of Israel and Palestine can live alongside (and the number of Arabs peacefully living in Israel demonstrate that it is possible), they move towards an increasingly tense and dangerous situation.
From a land that was created (in bloodshed) to attract refugees traumatised by the Holocaust, Israel pushes outwards in the pursuit of Lebensraum. It's ironical, it's sad, and to a certain extent an insult to those who died in camps.
The Israelis will destroy themselves in the long run. Instead of moving towards a peaceful solution in which the people of Israel and Palestine can live alongside (and the number of Arabs peacefully living in Israel demonstrate that it is possible), they move towards an increasingly tense and dangerous situation.
From a land that was created (in bloodshed) to attract refugees traumatised by the Holocaust, Israel pushes outwards in the pursuit of Lebensraum. It's ironical, it's sad, and to a certain extent an insult to those who died in camps.
9
For a country, us, who claim to take the high and pious road as we lecture other countries on civil and human rights, human dignity, etc. it is very disheartening that we are now supporting a country which exercises an apartheid and brutal suppression of millions of people.
Maybe Bibi is just taking the cue from us. After all, democracy is not really democratic for all, only for the selected few who are not disenfranchised based upon gender, creed, national origin, birth etc. Very sad, I hope the republicans and democratics are proud. I am not.
Maybe Bibi is just taking the cue from us. After all, democracy is not really democratic for all, only for the selected few who are not disenfranchised based upon gender, creed, national origin, birth etc. Very sad, I hope the republicans and democratics are proud. I am not.
6
America s demographics are changing and so will the unconditional support for Israel. A two State solution is the only choice in the future for Israel. Sweden already made this clear with many other countries just waiting to follow,
probably now after this election, where they have lost hope,that changes will happen any time soon.
probably now after this election, where they have lost hope,that changes will happen any time soon.
3
Israel is rapidly becoming the "who cares" of geo politics; meaningful only to themselves, the US republican party and the Arab Muslims committed to the destruction of Israel.
Netanyahu has brilliantly played his political cards in his latest round of liar's poker, but in winning the pot has angered all but his core supporters ... at least here in the US.
American support for this non-strategic, non-essential, non-important state has always been out of touch with the geo political realities of the US. Geo-politically, we should care no more for Israel than we do for Haiti or some other similarly sized country. Emotionally, we owe no more to Israel than we do to the countries from which our forefathers immigrated.
I do not envy Israelis. There is no doubt that the Arab Muslims, particularly the Sunnis, hate them for theocratic reasons and emotion. There is no doubt that the majority of Arab Muslims, particularly the Sunnis, long for the day when they can destroy Israel, murder the inhabitants just the way terrorists do to Christians, Jews and other "non believers."
But that is not our problem. We have made it our business to help Israel, but Mr Netanyahu and his supporters somehow believe that they can insult our country's president, insert themselves into our governance divide, ignore our foreign policy goals in the middle east ... all with impunity.
They can't and we should let them know that fact if they want continued American support.
Netanyahu has brilliantly played his political cards in his latest round of liar's poker, but in winning the pot has angered all but his core supporters ... at least here in the US.
American support for this non-strategic, non-essential, non-important state has always been out of touch with the geo political realities of the US. Geo-politically, we should care no more for Israel than we do for Haiti or some other similarly sized country. Emotionally, we owe no more to Israel than we do to the countries from which our forefathers immigrated.
I do not envy Israelis. There is no doubt that the Arab Muslims, particularly the Sunnis, hate them for theocratic reasons and emotion. There is no doubt that the majority of Arab Muslims, particularly the Sunnis, long for the day when they can destroy Israel, murder the inhabitants just the way terrorists do to Christians, Jews and other "non believers."
But that is not our problem. We have made it our business to help Israel, but Mr Netanyahu and his supporters somehow believe that they can insult our country's president, insert themselves into our governance divide, ignore our foreign policy goals in the middle east ... all with impunity.
They can't and we should let them know that fact if they want continued American support.
8
After reading the article, I wondered what the reaction would have been if the Palestinians had said they could work out a peaceful solution and live side by side with a demilitarized Israel? Why does Bibi expect the Palestinians to demilitarize themselves and leave themselves absolutely defenseless when Israel has so many weapons at its disposal and has shown a propensity for violence using those weapons against unarmed Palestinian civilians?
Bibi, as far as I'm concerned you are on your own.
Bibi, as far as I'm concerned you are on your own.
11
My comment seems not to have been posted, so I'm going to write it again. One of the problems with Friedman and many others is that he never seems to empathize with victims of either the U.S. or Israel. To him, the real problem when America or Israel violates human rights is the problem it causes our foreign policy. To be blunt, what upsets him the most are the public relations and propaganda consequences. You see this in the current column on his ramblings about how Iranian clerics might react to the Israeli election. More to the point would be how ordinary Palestinians might see things, but their rights and their feelings are at best tertiary in Friedman's view. I think people may miss this because he is so critical of Netanyahu, but the criticism is driven at bottom by something other than concern for Palestinian rights except insofar as this effects Israel or American foreign policy goals. And Friedman is far from alone. This is why the US could never be an honest broker in the conflict.
10
Bibi and Dick Cheney seem to be brothers from two different sets of parents. Both politicians seem to be immune from the proper short-term judgment of history. Cheney, an initial signer of the Project for the New American Century ("PNAC") statement of purpose, ran the show during W's administration and, is complicit in America's endless "war on terror" (which is really a war against the Constitution to set up a one-party state here), and our disastrous Iraq policy...which eliminated "our" counterbalance to Iran and left the field open for it as the dominant power in the region.
There is a well-circulated, non-Photoshopped photo of Cheney shaking hands with Saddam Hussein before 1991.
Bibi gave lip service to a two-state solution, then went back on his word, and wants this nation to help his vision of Israel start another war in the Middle East.
He, like the Cheneys (husband AND wife, not to mention daughter Liz) play to the worse elements of their nation's societies--the bigoted, the soi-dise "religious" bigots.
Both served their egos more than their countries, and neither has the decency to step down and shut up.
There is a well-circulated, non-Photoshopped photo of Cheney shaking hands with Saddam Hussein before 1991.
Bibi gave lip service to a two-state solution, then went back on his word, and wants this nation to help his vision of Israel start another war in the Middle East.
He, like the Cheneys (husband AND wife, not to mention daughter Liz) play to the worse elements of their nation's societies--the bigoted, the soi-dise "religious" bigots.
Both served their egos more than their countries, and neither has the decency to step down and shut up.
14
"Bibi will make history."
I'm sure he will. Some day, perhaps 40 or 50 years from now, when the entire middle east is a smoking, radioactive desert, devoid of all life, I'm sure the name of Benjamin Netanyahu will be brought up in history classes as the man who threw the baby out with the bath water, while the rest of the world looked on.
Bibi will make history alright, not the good kind.
I'm sure he will. Some day, perhaps 40 or 50 years from now, when the entire middle east is a smoking, radioactive desert, devoid of all life, I'm sure the name of Benjamin Netanyahu will be brought up in history classes as the man who threw the baby out with the bath water, while the rest of the world looked on.
Bibi will make history alright, not the good kind.
14
Netanyahu is doing what he's doing to insure Israel's security in the short term.
What kind of "peace" partner have the palestinians ever been, anyway?
They have been intent on the destruction of Israel since the get go, have never hidden that fact, and Netanyahu in effect is just accepting that reality and moving on.
If the palestinians take issue with that, then they ought to take the steps necessary to become a state, and stop blaming everybody but themselves.
What kind of "peace" partner have the palestinians ever been, anyway?
They have been intent on the destruction of Israel since the get go, have never hidden that fact, and Netanyahu in effect is just accepting that reality and moving on.
If the palestinians take issue with that, then they ought to take the steps necessary to become a state, and stop blaming everybody but themselves.
3
A one state solution solves so many problems in that part of the world, it is the logical answer to the pressing question: How do we all survive? It is the obvious conclusion to so much piled up hatred, resentment, fear, injustice and political idiocy that anyone at all interested in peace and progress will push hard to make it happen.
1
"it is Iran’s unstated position is that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem must be perpetuated forever." Unstated... As always, Thomas Friedman makes many interesting points, independent of whether one agrees or not. But how about Iran's 'stated' position that it aims for the destruction of Israel by wiping it off the map? Notwithstanding president Obama is willing to negotiate a 'nuclear-deal' with Iran. Mr. Netanyahu chooses not to negotiate any longer with an unwilling obstructive Palestinian side that refuses to recognize a Jewish state and vows to destroy Israel. It's a luxury that, contrary to president Obama, Mr Netanyahu cannot afford.
2
Have you noticed that people and countries often say stupid things? This does not make it reality.
This is always the assertion of israel that it is surrounded by enemies that swear to wipe them off the face of the earth. But as we know these threats are mostly swagger and bluster for political reasons. These guys are mostly paper tigers, e.g. Saddam Hussein, Moammar Ghadafi
I love reading your articles Mr. Friedman. With Bibi's leadership, I suspect Israel will lose sympathy and support from many people in the world, including their closest ally, the U.S. It's truly ironic that the election of Bibi will only help his arch enemy, Iran. On the bright side, as the rest of the world grows increasingly disgusted with Israel, they will become more isolated and it will be that much easier to impose meaningful sanctions.
7
"How many Democrats and Republicans will endorse a one-state solution"?
I'm afraid that all Republicans and many Democrats will endorse whatever Netanyahu wants them to do. He has become, for many of these fawning politicos the de facto President of the United States. AIPAC money will flow if they follow his orders on policy.
Palestinians have never had much support in Washington and few Republicans have been out there seeking justice for Palestinian rights.
So it's a new status quo in Washingon and like so many issues, President Obama will have to go it alone in standing up to these opportunists seeking campaign money from Sheldon Adelson for their next election.
I'm afraid that all Republicans and many Democrats will endorse whatever Netanyahu wants them to do. He has become, for many of these fawning politicos the de facto President of the United States. AIPAC money will flow if they follow his orders on policy.
Palestinians have never had much support in Washington and few Republicans have been out there seeking justice for Palestinian rights.
So it's a new status quo in Washingon and like so many issues, President Obama will have to go it alone in standing up to these opportunists seeking campaign money from Sheldon Adelson for their next election.
8
Looking at a map of settlements in the West Bank, one can plainly see a dispersed geographic distribution. They do not form a contiguous line as a security barrier. Instead, they are seeds planted for future growth. It is obvious that Israel is implementing a long term plan to swamp out the Palestinians.
After the recent terror attacks in Europe, Netanyahu stated that Europe's Jews should emigrate to Israel. Where does he plan to put them? The West Bank maybe?
Israel is waging a campaign of attrition by steadily populating the Bank with Jews. There is no time table. If it takes 100 years, it takes 100 years. The project is already 50 years in the making.
The Palestinians fight back by having large families. Their economy is weak. Jobs are scarce. Their strategy increases economic suffering, which further increases anger and frustration.
When Netanyahu said that there would be no Palestinian state, take him at his word. That wasn't a political ploy. He truthfully revealed his intentions to ultimately absorb the West Bank into a greater Israel.
If there never was any terrorism and wars every few years, there is a good chance this never would have happened. But they did happen and this is the ultimate result. Rightly or wrongly, there never will be a Palestinian state.
After the recent terror attacks in Europe, Netanyahu stated that Europe's Jews should emigrate to Israel. Where does he plan to put them? The West Bank maybe?
Israel is waging a campaign of attrition by steadily populating the Bank with Jews. There is no time table. If it takes 100 years, it takes 100 years. The project is already 50 years in the making.
The Palestinians fight back by having large families. Their economy is weak. Jobs are scarce. Their strategy increases economic suffering, which further increases anger and frustration.
When Netanyahu said that there would be no Palestinian state, take him at his word. That wasn't a political ploy. He truthfully revealed his intentions to ultimately absorb the West Bank into a greater Israel.
If there never was any terrorism and wars every few years, there is a good chance this never would have happened. But they did happen and this is the ultimate result. Rightly or wrongly, there never will be a Palestinian state.
5
On this note if all jews in Europe (and the US for that matter) took Bibi at this word and moved to Israel, this would make Israel and the Jewish people incredibly vulnerable. A couple nuclear bombs from e.g. Pakistan would effectively wipe them off the face of the earth. The strength of the Jewish people has always been in their diaspora.
Israel has only given token support for a 2 state solution in recent years, while settlers have flooded the West Bank. It's unlikely that the 350 thousand settlers would have been relocated from the West Bank. The settlements crisscross the Palestinian territory all the way to Jordan. They take the best land and compete for water.
Even if negotiations with the Palestinians were to resume, what kind of Palestinian state can be established at this point? It would contain hundreds of Israeli settlements.
Americans tend to blame the Palestinians for failing to settle with the Israelis, but it's hard to imagine a contiguous nation that could be independent from Israel and attractive to the Palestinian people.
Even if negotiations with the Palestinians were to resume, what kind of Palestinian state can be established at this point? It would contain hundreds of Israeli settlements.
Americans tend to blame the Palestinians for failing to settle with the Israelis, but it's hard to imagine a contiguous nation that could be independent from Israel and attractive to the Palestinian people.
17
I hate to say that I can no longer support the Israel that volted for Netanyahu. As a Jew it is not an easy position but Israel has caused its owm downfall. Hopefully common sense may prevail. But I doubt it.
33
Netanyahu’s victory is definitely going to humiliate and hurt at least one country.
Bibi did it out of pure hubris, selfishness, egocentrism and cravings for personal power. It still has to be determined whether his electoral victory is going to hurt America, Israel or both.
If it’s proven that Netanyahu said that his was abandoning two-state solution and peace process just to rile up the right wing voters, he would hurt Israeli international prestige and credibility.
If he fulfills his electoral promise but the White House stays unconditionally supportive of the Israeli government, then Bibi’s victory will publically humiliate America and our global standing.
Of course, depriving the Palestinian people from their fundamental human rights like freedom, liberty, democracy, sovereignty and independence will hurt both America and Israel, alienate our allies and undermine our credibility in the Muslim world.
Netanyahu’s statement that he is abandoning two-state solution could be the best thing that happened to the humanity over the last 7 decades if it meant he was committed to creation of a single democratic and unified country for two equal people but for such a gigantic step forward our world needs the visionary leaders.
If we had such leaders in the White House and Tel Aviv, we wouldn’t be in such terrible problems without a good solution.
Not having the good moves at our disposal means we have been on the wrong course for a long time...
Bibi did it out of pure hubris, selfishness, egocentrism and cravings for personal power. It still has to be determined whether his electoral victory is going to hurt America, Israel or both.
If it’s proven that Netanyahu said that his was abandoning two-state solution and peace process just to rile up the right wing voters, he would hurt Israeli international prestige and credibility.
If he fulfills his electoral promise but the White House stays unconditionally supportive of the Israeli government, then Bibi’s victory will publically humiliate America and our global standing.
Of course, depriving the Palestinian people from their fundamental human rights like freedom, liberty, democracy, sovereignty and independence will hurt both America and Israel, alienate our allies and undermine our credibility in the Muslim world.
Netanyahu’s statement that he is abandoning two-state solution could be the best thing that happened to the humanity over the last 7 decades if it meant he was committed to creation of a single democratic and unified country for two equal people but for such a gigantic step forward our world needs the visionary leaders.
If we had such leaders in the White House and Tel Aviv, we wouldn’t be in such terrible problems without a good solution.
Not having the good moves at our disposal means we have been on the wrong course for a long time...
4
Bibi should reflect on the destiny of Apartheid South Africa. They too said Never.
19
His statement puts him publicly on record as an advocate of apartheid for the Palestinians. As a result, I predict the appeal to the UN on the issue of statehood by the Palestinian government will be viewed as justified by a much larger number of countries. His statement, I'm sure, was viewed as brilliant by him and his supporters. Everyone else? Not so much. However, IMO, we finally have an Israeli PM on record on this issue, and it is diametrically opposed to what is in the best interest of the U.S., as well as the U.S. official position. Therefore, this makes it much easier to cut the cord to Israel. Time to cast them off.
20
The holocaust was an atrocity, and it's invocation to justify a Jewish state in Israel hold heavy weight. With this in mind, the decades-long oppression of the Palestinian people can go overlooked by the US Federal Govt no longer.
The twin paradoxes of Israel need to be acknowledged and worked through. That it wants to be a religious state supported by an American secular democratic republic is a difficult position for the US to justify. That Israel thinks it can rely on the holocaust to justify indefinite oppression of Palestinians is also a very difficult position to justify.
At this point, the US, along with the UN, EU, IMF, World Bank, and all other global institutions need to recognize Palestine's statehood. They should work in concert to lift the blockade. They should also prosecute Israeli's and Palestinians who have committed war crimes. This is the best path forward.
To allow Israel to continue the settlements, the blockade, and other oppressive measures would be a stain on Western governments. If this path is taken it will weaken Friedman's perceived Iranian strength, even though his analysis is debatable.
The Israel-Palestine lines haven't been this clear is some time. The US should capitalize on this moment.
(completely different note: General Petraeus should have received same treatment as John Kirauku or Snowden any other leaker. Either Petraeus should be jailed or Snowden should be allowed to return to the US)
The twin paradoxes of Israel need to be acknowledged and worked through. That it wants to be a religious state supported by an American secular democratic republic is a difficult position for the US to justify. That Israel thinks it can rely on the holocaust to justify indefinite oppression of Palestinians is also a very difficult position to justify.
At this point, the US, along with the UN, EU, IMF, World Bank, and all other global institutions need to recognize Palestine's statehood. They should work in concert to lift the blockade. They should also prosecute Israeli's and Palestinians who have committed war crimes. This is the best path forward.
To allow Israel to continue the settlements, the blockade, and other oppressive measures would be a stain on Western governments. If this path is taken it will weaken Friedman's perceived Iranian strength, even though his analysis is debatable.
The Israel-Palestine lines haven't been this clear is some time. The US should capitalize on this moment.
(completely different note: General Petraeus should have received same treatment as John Kirauku or Snowden any other leaker. Either Petraeus should be jailed or Snowden should be allowed to return to the US)
17
Unmentioned in this op-ed, but quite evident in the comments here, is the very real problem that has been occasioned by Netanyahu's comeback victory: the overflow crowds of severely depressed opponents of Israel at mental health clinics in New York, Stockholm, London, Berkeley, Washington D.C. and elsewhere.
6
Haha. Bibi's victory is a cause for celebration, as Israelis told the know nothing foreign-based surrender camp, of which Mr.Friedman is a prominent member, to mind their own business, thank you very much. Netanyahu's campaign was no more low road then either Obama campaign or nearly any US campaign these days.
The best part about the aftermath of the election is to sit back, toast the only democracy in that region of the world, and watch as the heads of Mr. Friedman, the Times editorial board, and all their Euro-fellow travelers, collectively explode.
The best part about the aftermath of the election is to sit back, toast the only democracy in that region of the world, and watch as the heads of Mr. Friedman, the Times editorial board, and all their Euro-fellow travelers, collectively explode.
5
By what possible standards do you consider Israel to be a democracy? It's only a democracy if you're a hard-right Jewish male, while the rabbis rule the social order. I'm well aware of all that America has done to support our "friend" in the Middle East, but I'm hard-pressed to think of anything good that our unyielding support of Israel has done for us.
We are repeatedly told that the pro-Netanyahu vote reflected the abiding concern for security of average Israelis. Fair enough, but why doesn't the security issue cut both ways? How is US security enhanced by continually exercising a veto at the UN to thwart most of the world's desire to express contempt for the settlements or by supporting a government that has ruled out a two state solution, the supposed bedrock of US policy. In fact, I would say our security is harmed by this unending fealty to the extreme rightwing position in Israel. On one hand, it turns even moderate Arabs against us and on the other hand makes us seem like the last word in hypocrisy as we condemn Putin's land theft in Ukraine but turn a blind eye to settler land theft in the West Bank.
In fact, I'm not in favor of abandoning Israel, just in favor of making clear to its government that the days of Likud friendly vetoes, which give tacit support to the settlers, are over at the same time as we affirm in the clearest terms possible our commitment to a two state solution.
In fact, I'm not in favor of abandoning Israel, just in favor of making clear to its government that the days of Likud friendly vetoes, which give tacit support to the settlers, are over at the same time as we affirm in the clearest terms possible our commitment to a two state solution.
11
Unmentioned in this op-ed, but quite evident in the comments here, in the very real problem that has been occasioned by Netanyahu's comeback victory: the overflow crowds of severely depressed opponents of Israel at mental health clinics in New York, Stockholm, London, Berkeley and Washington D.C.
4
Not supporting Bibi does not automatically make one against Israel.
63
Jewish Americans. Arab Americans. I'm tired of it. For too long the Middle Eastern "tail" has been wagging the American dog. It's time America get out of the middle of that regions conflict (s) and allow those who actually live there to work it out. Being in the middle, over the last 60 years, has only made America a convenient scapegoat whenever it suits the denizens of that region. Nothing we have proffered has been accepted much less worked out, so I say we should get out of the region. Pull our tax dollars back to home fires that are in desperate need of tending...and let them figure it out for themselves....this dog is tired of being wagged....
John~
(non-jewish, non-arab) American Net'Zen
John~
(non-jewish, non-arab) American Net'Zen
20
I agree with you, John -- and I am a Jew.
Mr Friedman, you have sadly called the future. An increasingly divided Israel will likely take on the very characteristics of intolerance, defensive paranoia, and jingoism. Further isolated, it hawkish stand will only exacerbate the decline of its international standing. Rather than an enlighten haven, the prospect exists for a dark version of the Israeli dream. The one possible positive responsive is for American Jews and supports of Israel to begin to use their influence to change this dangerous direction.
10
First of all, it's not terribly important whether or not the Obama Administration supports Netanyahu's election or his politics, as this all won't settle down for a year or more, and Mr. Obama will have other issues to deal with next year when we're hot and heavy in an election cycle that will end with his administration. And it's not as if Netanyahu has enjoyed the support of Barack Obama since 2009.
But Bibi may well make history, because after the position he may have taken expediently to win an election, he now could be forced to do something about the most persistent problems in the Middle East: what is the real religious nature of Israel and can two very different peoples live together in ANY way peacefully, whether there are two states or not.
I write "could be"; but, frankly, I don't think he will. He'll likely not press his comment again, or perhaps he'll refer to it as a statement made in the heat of an electoral contest, and continue doing nothing to change the status quo. Israelis themselves claim that the population issue within their borders is not as dire as some make it out to be, that Israel isn't about to lose its Jewish character ... so why deprive non-Jews of the vote?
But, so far, all I see is a guy who won an election and will be around for a few more years. And a whole lot of emotion about that from people who disagree with him on basic ideology.
But Bibi may well make history, because after the position he may have taken expediently to win an election, he now could be forced to do something about the most persistent problems in the Middle East: what is the real religious nature of Israel and can two very different peoples live together in ANY way peacefully, whether there are two states or not.
I write "could be"; but, frankly, I don't think he will. He'll likely not press his comment again, or perhaps he'll refer to it as a statement made in the heat of an electoral contest, and continue doing nothing to change the status quo. Israelis themselves claim that the population issue within their borders is not as dire as some make it out to be, that Israel isn't about to lose its Jewish character ... so why deprive non-Jews of the vote?
But, so far, all I see is a guy who won an election and will be around for a few more years. And a whole lot of emotion about that from people who disagree with him on basic ideology.
i think what we disagree about is far-right racist tub-thumping centered on patently-racist speeches and policies, leading directly to taking people's land and shooting them or blowing them up.
i think we also really don't care whether it's "Bibi," or Hamas or whoever pulling this garbage, but we are kind of starting to wonder just how long Israel can keep this nonsense up.
i think we also really don't care whether it's "Bibi," or Hamas or whoever pulling this garbage, but we are kind of starting to wonder just how long Israel can keep this nonsense up.
You're so right. How can i support a state that keeps another people under occupation and refuses to make peace? I am no more inclined to do so than I am to support China in its occupation of Tibet, or Russia in its occupation of Ukraine. And of course the antisemites won't even bother with that equivalency: they will single out Israel, while all but ignoring both Palestinian intransigence and all the wrongdoing and horror committed by those who are not Jews.
Netanyahu is a disaster for Israel and I wish that Obama had the spine to stand up to him: among other things, we should make it clear to israel that we will support UN recognition of a Palestinian state if he does not renounce his polices and make a serious bid for peace. Perhaps that is the best course at this point -- declare two states and impose a solution on both sides, since Abbas is too weak to make a real proposal and Netanyahu too bellicose, paranoid, and Machiavellian.
Netanyahu is a disaster for Israel and I wish that Obama had the spine to stand up to him: among other things, we should make it clear to israel that we will support UN recognition of a Palestinian state if he does not renounce his polices and make a serious bid for peace. Perhaps that is the best course at this point -- declare two states and impose a solution on both sides, since Abbas is too weak to make a real proposal and Netanyahu too bellicose, paranoid, and Machiavellian.
10
I have read most of the comments with predictions and the same anti Israel opinions. What I did not see anywhere is mention of Isis and how Isis is the game changer. Country after country is falling to them. The Iraq's and Kurds with US support are having a hard time defeating them. This is Israel's backyard. If Gaza and Palestinian territory became Isis I wonder who writers to this opinion page would support? Netanyahu sees this and stated it clearly. This will also affect Palestinian decisions as new alliances are formed between Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Palestinians for their own safety may welcome being part of Israel. I always hope for the best, I pray for peace and well being for all. In some strange way this might bring peace with new talks and greater desire for finding a working peace deal. Netanyahu's win should not be a surprise. Israelis saw how he was shunned by Obama and dems. It was a slap in the face at a time when Israelis don't trust a deal with Iran. Obama needed to reassure Israelis and he did the opposite. His administration stated they have to do what was best for the US regarding a deal with Iran. So where does that leave Israel. It makes them move right!!
6
Iran can and will take care of ISIS - we can leave now
The crazy political system of Israel! Bibi has power with a quarter of the votes and it doesn't represent the views and desires of the population as a whole or even a majority.
3
Kind of like here. Only here it's because of apathy and voting restrictions.
All BiBi did was to utter what the sad reality is. There will not be a two-state solution until the next generation, or the one after that, of both Israelis and Palestinians decide that there should be.
The US has valiantly, albeit ineffectively, hauled the stubborn leaders of both countries to the peace table with its (the US's) notion of peace. It hasn't worked nor will it work in the future.
Even if the US steps aside (which it should) and tells the UN or international community to take the lead, it won't matter. The Israelis and the Palestinians aren't ready. Until they are, BiBi's proclamation that there won't be a two-state solution under his watch is profoundly right.
The US has valiantly, albeit ineffectively, hauled the stubborn leaders of both countries to the peace table with its (the US's) notion of peace. It hasn't worked nor will it work in the future.
Even if the US steps aside (which it should) and tells the UN or international community to take the lead, it won't matter. The Israelis and the Palestinians aren't ready. Until they are, BiBi's proclamation that there won't be a two-state solution under his watch is profoundly right.
3
When the newly united Israeli Arabs are brought into the political system by the center and the left things will begin to change. That may not result in a Jewish democracy but, rather in a pluralistic democracy inspired by the deepest values of Judaiism.
1
My Dad was born in Germany in 1919, he was one of the few survivors of the recession after World War 1. Most children died for lack of nourishment, he was breast fed by a neighbor as his Mother had no milk for him. He told me of the hunger and despair the people of Germany suffered. He also told me of the carpetbaggers who descended on Germany like locust. Most where Jewish, they arrived with money and bought up much of the prime property with their gold and liquid assets that they brought with them. The people were forced to sell to eat. Most properties were sold for 10% of their value. It was very impactful. I never forgot the stories he told, about the communists and the fascists fighting in the streets in the 1920's, many of those communists were Jewish. He hated them. I have tried to live my life by different standards, but I can't help recalling my Dad's stories told in the formative years of my life. I watch the people of Israel disenfranchise an entire population, steal their land and take their water. The stories my dad told me are remembered, I can't help it. They make me have a bad taste in my mouth. I know this will end badly, for all concerned.
13
My Dad was born in Austria-Hungary in 1910 and emigrated to the US in 1931. I never had a grandpa and when I asked my dad where was was my grandpa he told me that in 1918, in the waning days of WW1 German soldiers were walking down the street where his family lived. My Dad was one of eight children in age from 8 months to 12. The soldiers saw some motion in the house, which had a mezuzah on the door, walked in and shot his father dead in his home in front of his wife and children. My dad told me that during Christmas and Easter he would be beat up on the street and called a "dirty Jew". Had my Dad not left Europe in 1931 I surely would not be writing this today. The stories my dad told me are remembered but I do not have a bad taste in my mouth. I can always move to Israel.
2
Electing again Netanyahu and his “One state solution” majorities of Jews of Israelis are shoving they real face, and starting journey of not return to apartheid state of Israel like former South Africa state or alternatively, in not so far future, loss of Jewish identity of Israel. Both disastrous, for Israel Jews.
9
Many readers see the gaping hole Friedman leaves for those tired of the bloodshed, human cost and know completely where the fault rests. Jew or non-Jew, you must be a student of HISTORY to qualify as a OP-ED columnist Israel's relationships with people in the region. Many readers can clearly see a paid typist for the opposition (who's main goal is to destroy the Jewish state), just like the Jews in the Warsaw ghetto could plainly see a Nazi collaborator (Jüdischer Ordnungsdienst and Section 13). Under the guise of "keeping the peace" they ratted out thousands of patriots fighting for life and freedom against an oppressive regime using peace and safety to exterminate millions of our family members. This writer is nothing more than an Arab paid section 13 member, trying to Gobelize our right to legitimacy. Don't be deluded. The left in this country and in the middle east have one goal in mind, "Shut up and get in the box car." Bibi is right for Israel and has more leadership in his little toe than even the best the left has given us. Thank you for reading.
14
According to you, one either supports Israel unconditionally or is Nazi collaborator. That's just nonsense and extremism.
im not on the left, far from it. conservative republican. Bibi's move just cut him off from my support and many like me. the U.S. isn't going to blindly and eternally back Israel if they are dropping a two state path and continue to
brutalize the Palestinians. Gaza is the 21st century Warsaw Ghetto, you should see that as such a renown "student of HISTORY".
brutalize the Palestinians. Gaza is the 21st century Warsaw Ghetto, you should see that as such a renown "student of HISTORY".
In case anyone regrets the absence of Nazi references in discussions having nothing to do with Nazis, we now have "Gobelize" (as misspelled, unless the reference is to tourism in Belize). However, I thankfully note the absence of Putin references as in "Putinize", i.e. the process of swiping west Bank Palestinian farmland.
The US needs to complete negotiations with Iran and reach an agreement, then they must follow up with a treaty.
Listen to our allies in Western Europe. The only way is to find a point of agreement with Iran and end the sanctions.
If Israel closes off Jerusalem, then it is time for sanctions against Israel. Jerusalem must be and international city, it cannot be a site only for Jews. The history of at least three major religions is in Jerusalem. All religious groups must have free access to Jerusalem.
Listen to our allies in Western Europe. The only way is to find a point of agreement with Iran and end the sanctions.
If Israel closes off Jerusalem, then it is time for sanctions against Israel. Jerusalem must be and international city, it cannot be a site only for Jews. The history of at least three major religions is in Jerusalem. All religious groups must have free access to Jerusalem.
14
Jerusalem remaining as part of Israel is not the same as closing off Jerusalem. Right now Muslims have access to their mosque on the Dome of the Rock unlike when Jordan held it and Jews were forbidden to enter the Old City and pray at the Kotel.
"If Israel closes off Jerusalem, then it is time for sanctions against Israel. Jerusalem must be and international city, it cannot be a site only for Jews."
Who is closing of Jerusalem? Jerusalem must be an Israeli city, but no one is saying it a site only for Jews.
Who is closing of Jerusalem? Jerusalem must be an Israeli city, but no one is saying it a site only for Jews.
It is time to separate "Netanyahu" from Israel.
The Republicans have spent the past 6+ years trying to convince Americans (and the rest of the world) that President Obama is not America. Although this strategy has had limited success, it is a strategy that could be applied within and without Israel. Netanyahu is not Israel.
I agree with Mr. Friedman that Iran relishes the idea of having Netanyahu be the "face" of Israel. But there is a "democratic redemption" that is now available in a future election for Israel.
America (President Obama) can help this process along by developing a "new face" for Israel. We should invite any (sensible) Israeli leader that is not Netanyahu to visit our media rich soil including the White House.
The Republicans have spent the past 6+ years trying to convince Americans (and the rest of the world) that President Obama is not America. Although this strategy has had limited success, it is a strategy that could be applied within and without Israel. Netanyahu is not Israel.
I agree with Mr. Friedman that Iran relishes the idea of having Netanyahu be the "face" of Israel. But there is a "democratic redemption" that is now available in a future election for Israel.
America (President Obama) can help this process along by developing a "new face" for Israel. We should invite any (sensible) Israeli leader that is not Netanyahu to visit our media rich soil including the White House.
3
For years I saw them as separate, just as you suggest here.
Now I am shocked by the late surge of support for Netanyahu, specifically because he came out against two states and the peace process, specifically because of his racist appeal against Israeli Arabs.
The voters must now own what they just did.
Yes, I'm painfully aware that is just as true of the 2004 election of W.
Now I am shocked by the late surge of support for Netanyahu, specifically because he came out against two states and the peace process, specifically because of his racist appeal against Israeli Arabs.
The voters must now own what they just did.
Yes, I'm painfully aware that is just as true of the 2004 election of W.
18
"Separate Netanyahu from Israel?" The Israelis just voted to reelect him and no one has suggested that the vote-counting wasn't fairly conducted. Unhappily, Netanyahu IS Israel in the same sense that an American politician who is elected even after proposing that blacks be enslaved once again would be regarded as the chief exponent of American principles and values.
11
re: Steve Kremer's strategy. Perhaps there is a "birther" movement in the future of Israel supported by expert advice from the US?
I truly , desperately wish I could take issue with your logic , but I cannot. Whatever claim to moral superiority and democracy Israel once had were essentially flushed down the toilet by Bibi these past few months. He has legitimized the anti Israel rhetoric which has sprung up all over Europe ( never a true friend of Israel's or the Jews) and on college campuses . While those on the right have always claimed the President was never a true friend of Israel, they will be hard pressed to defend Bibi and Israel now that he has renounced a two State Solution endorsed by every Republican President including their sainted one, Ronald Reagan. How will the GOP and Evangelicals defend Israel when Bibi essentially sought to suppress and annul the Arab minority vote? How does that differ from the policies of Iran, Saudi Arabia and North Korea? How will they continue to demand 3 billion in aid to Israel given these policies while advocating the evisceration and elimination of poor Americans safety net? What will the reaction of Americans be when they are told that aid to dependent children and social security benefits are being slashed while Israel gets its 3 billion? Someone should have warned Bibi, you reap what you sow!
4
This shameful narration by Thomas Friedman was based on a false premise, much like most of his and other American Jewish journalists eagerly selling out Israel and Israelis every chance they get. Friedman states:
"The biggest losers.... "American Jews and non-Jews who support Israel", if the reality behind this statement wasn't actually sad, this would be laughable at best; "Jews who support Israel"?
Much to their own detriment, American Jews have pushed this false narrative for decades, suggesting to anyone that would listen that their financial and political support sustained Israel; nothing could be further from the truth. With Israel's GDP just under 300 Billion, the pennies american Jews contribute to none-military Israeli organizations is virtually meaningless when one compares what Israelis contribute to the American and world's Jewish Communities by fighting for the birth of Israel.
Diaspora Jews like Thomas Friedman, have no connection to any land because they themselves never fought for any land they consider wordy of fighting for, much less had to send their kids to fight for their country. American Jews like Friedman consider Israeli leaders like Begin, Sharon and Netanyahu as war criminals, while to Israelis these guys are the very heroes that helped build and defend Israel.
Mr. Friedman, stop speaking for Israeli Jews, I think they are in much better shape than American Jews.
"The biggest losers.... "American Jews and non-Jews who support Israel", if the reality behind this statement wasn't actually sad, this would be laughable at best; "Jews who support Israel"?
Much to their own detriment, American Jews have pushed this false narrative for decades, suggesting to anyone that would listen that their financial and political support sustained Israel; nothing could be further from the truth. With Israel's GDP just under 300 Billion, the pennies american Jews contribute to none-military Israeli organizations is virtually meaningless when one compares what Israelis contribute to the American and world's Jewish Communities by fighting for the birth of Israel.
Diaspora Jews like Thomas Friedman, have no connection to any land because they themselves never fought for any land they consider wordy of fighting for, much less had to send their kids to fight for their country. American Jews like Friedman consider Israeli leaders like Begin, Sharon and Netanyahu as war criminals, while to Israelis these guys are the very heroes that helped build and defend Israel.
Mr. Friedman, stop speaking for Israeli Jews, I think they are in much better shape than American Jews.
14
Your pride in having stolen land and an apartheid state speaks volumes. Israel's interests and the US' interests are no longer aligned, if they ever were. The cost of our support to Israel far outweighs any benefit.
It's called negotiating Tom. The opposing position is that Israel should cease to exist altogether. The goal is to compromise between these extremes... but it is impossible to get there if Israel beings the conversation with concessions. That is why there has never been any significant movement by the Palestinians.
6
Interesting, even insightful, piece, but in need of a couple of reality checks:
1) Netanyahu is not a "maker" of anything. He is an opportunist. If, for example, he senses an opportunity to exploit his blank check from the US Congress, he seizes it.
2) The only "horns" of any "dilemma" for the US government are in whether or not to finally assert the interests of the United States. There is no difficult to perceive choice between alternative possibilities: Thanks to Netanyahu, on the election eve, being scared into laying his occupation forever cards on the table, the issue for America now boils down to domestic political accountability.
1) Netanyahu is not a "maker" of anything. He is an opportunist. If, for example, he senses an opportunity to exploit his blank check from the US Congress, he seizes it.
2) The only "horns" of any "dilemma" for the US government are in whether or not to finally assert the interests of the United States. There is no difficult to perceive choice between alternative possibilities: Thanks to Netanyahu, on the election eve, being scared into laying his occupation forever cards on the table, the issue for America now boils down to domestic political accountability.
3
Netanyahu's hero may be Churchill, but I sense he is either operating in FDR's cagey, leading-from behind style, or LBJ's "tell them what they want to hear" mode. Regardless, I believe he has a Vision for Israel, and for peace. We must wait for history to bestow the sobriquet of "great leader." In the meantime, I am anxious to hear from Henry Kissinger.
2
Devils advocate sez Bibi and his religious nationalist cohort are right that the Arab and Muslim states surrounding Israel are dangerously driven by fundamentalist orthodoxy and authoritarian violence and that relaxing Israeli control over much of the West Bank and giving in to what is in fact a fifth coloumn of Israeli Arabs would spell doom for modern Israel. The solution, although perilous, as he sees it is to bide for time hoping that Isreal's enemies destroy themselves before they destroy Israel. The idea that the Palestinians or other countries surrounding Israel will somehow turn into tolerant secular liberal democracies that will cooperate with the Zionist dream if Israel retreats to pre 67 borders and pays reparations in perpetuity is a fantasy. I don't see a ready solution to this dangerous mess and painting Bibi as the central villain is naive.
9
"hoping that Isreal's enemies destroy themselves"
Each iteration of destruction produces something even worse.
Destruction of all Israel's neighbors, over and over, is never going to produce something better for Israel. If it could have, it would have.
Each iteration of destruction produces something even worse.
Destruction of all Israel's neighbors, over and over, is never going to produce something better for Israel. If it could have, it would have.
2
Many readers correctly note that Bibi's re-election is a reflection of the current mood of the Israeli populace. The Israeli election was a psychological reaction to President Obama' mismanagement of the relationship with Israel and failed Middle-East policies, much more than it was about pledging support for Bibi Netanyahu. Israelis presently feel extremely insecure because their most strident ally, the Unites States, is being lead by a President whose foreign policy with respect to the Middle East is a complete disaster. The Middle East is more unstable than it has ever been before, and Israel’s national security suffers because of it. President Obama and his cabinet on a number of occasions have shown outright hostility towards Israel’s leadership over petty disagreements, while failing to articulate a policy that shows a clear understanding of Middle East real politick. Instead, the U.S. President sends his Secretary of State to shake hands with the one country that is pursuing a weapon for the sole purposes of wiping Israel off the face of the earth. These actions have communicated to Israelis that they cannot trust the current White House to do right by them. So, they re-elected the one man they believe is strong enough to defend them during troubling times.
13
RRussell.
And who destabilized it? Iraq has been turned into a satellite of Iran because of the Iraq war debacle and Isis wouldn't exist in Iraq if Hussein was still in power. And what exactly did Bush do to stop acquiring nuclear weapons. Specifics please. Of course I won't get any...lol.
And who destabilized it? Iraq has been turned into a satellite of Iran because of the Iraq war debacle and Isis wouldn't exist in Iraq if Hussein was still in power. And what exactly did Bush do to stop acquiring nuclear weapons. Specifics please. Of course I won't get any...lol.
7
Seems apparent, our sitting President and Bi Bi, are both exhausted trying for a solution to an issue that has no resolution. Obama simply doesn't care about Israel, and Bi Bi sends a strong message, he understands his neighbors in the region want to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. Get over it once and for all.
12
Are you under the impression that Bibi is concerned for the U.S.?
"No one on the planet will enjoy watching Israel and America caught on the horns of this dilemma more than the clerical regime in Tehran." Iran should be our friend and partner. It is a huge country with a young educated population. That clerical regime will not be in power for long. It is likely there will be a groundswell of Americans who will demand that our government stop throwing money at Israel. Bibi will say whatever to get elected and then do something else. If things get rough over there we can invite the Jews of Israel to on live on Long Island or Laguna Beach..
9
One can only hope Israel survives Netanyahu's tenure and that eventually, Israelis come to their senses so a two-state solution will someday become a reality.
7
Right on, Mark.
Two State was always just a fabrication for Israeli PR. But it died long ago and became a joke, no longer useful for Israel's purposes. Bibi recognized that, some day the NYT may.
I'm no fan of Netanyahu either, but please stop saying that Israel is creating settlements because of religious beliefs. It's just not true.
5
So...they are creating settlements out of what motivation exactly?
Tom, in this column you sound just like the majority of NYT readers posting on this site who have fallen into lock step with the extreme left NYT editorial board. There is no middle for you. And what's even worse, no original thought. You have become predictable.
Churchill's words apply here, "if you are young and are not a liberal you have no heart. But if you are older and are not conservative you have no brain." Your idealism needs a reality check; you are no longer a frat boy at Princeton.
Churchill's words apply here, "if you are young and are not a liberal you have no heart. But if you are older and are not conservative you have no brain." Your idealism needs a reality check; you are no longer a frat boy at Princeton.
15
Where is the "middle" here? Allowing the Palestinian Arabs to keep on breathing even as their property continues to be confiscated and their human rights continue to be ignored? Is that what our own founding fathers and patriots were willing to settle for? I don't know what Churchill might have said (he was busy fighting the Nazis) but you need to grow up: you're no longer in "middle" school.
11
Al you are mistaking the uproar over this as a leftie thing. The US has been a loyal guarantor and partner for Israel since day 1. The Conservative right is equally appalled by Netanyahu; many are saying that if he is walking away from the two-state answer then we walk away from Israel. enough is enough, we aren't going to waste any more time and effort if the Israelies aren't serious about peace. we and our support are being taken for granted, lets see how they do on their own.
Stu, how did you react when Jewish property was confiscated to give way to Hamas in Gaza?
Maybe it was a clever move by Bibi to call the left's bluff on their radical obsession with the "need" for a Palestinian state, over and above the need for a state for anyone else on the planet, including the Kurds, Muslims in Myanmar, and the dozens of other stateless groups throughout the world. I've already seen commenters on far left websites consider throwing up their hands, and giving up their obsession with a Palestinian state as impossible now.
6
The "need" is for something to do with all the Palestinians that Israel does not want in Israel. It was supposed to be solved by a second state. If not, then what? Apartheid? Ethnic cleansing?
11
@Adam Gantz: Gee, what would you have said to a commentator who made such a declaration when the Jews were a stateless people prior to 1948? Did that cause also represent a "radical obsession"?
2
This is a completely ahistorical view of the world. Bibi (or as I refer to call him the "Yahu") would not have a state to be prime minister of, if everyone on the planet took the view that we should give up on the "stateless". Moreover, the Kurds, Muslims of Myanmar, and Palestinians live in geographically distinct lands; they are not invading supposedly barren territory.
Please, stop calling Netanyahu "Bibi." There is nothing warm, fuzzy, or cute about this fascist and humanizing him with a nickname is insulting to the reader.
46
If it turns out to be the latter, a non-democracy, then not one dime of US aid should go to that country.
Hear, hear!
Why be offended, we called the Duvalliers in Haiti 'Papa Doc' and 'Baby Doc'.
An excellent summary of the options. Israel either becomes a genuine bi-national but not Jewish state; or remains an increasingly isolated religion dominated colonial power that engages in ethnic cleansing (there are already over 200 illegal settlements). This presents an enormous problem for the Jewish community in the US which is overwhelmingly liberal in outlook and has no real influence on the behavior of Israel.
9
@ John would you support a militarized Scotland or Ireland? England does not. How about a militarized Benelux or Monaco? Neither France nor Germany would. Do you support a militarized Palestine? Israel does not - on this Israel's parties of the left and right are in total agreement.
I have long given up on Mr. Netanyahu as a creditable statesman for peace. With this election result, I am giving up my image of Israel as a credible democracy in the middle east. It is becoming a well educated, prosperous, but oppressive Jewish theocracy. If the progressives in Israel do not confront this culture of hate perpetuated by Mr. Netanyahu and change the hearts and minds of Israel public, there is no hope.
432
Palestinians insist on having a militarized state. Israelis disagree. There are 21 countries in the world which are demilitarized - Many for geopolitical reasons, many for economical reasons. Is your price for a 2 state solution that the Palestinian state be militarized? Not going to happen.
Meanwhile Palestinians living in the so called West Bank enjoy more local autonomy than do the populations of Washington DC and Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile Palestinians living in the so called West Bank enjoy more local autonomy than do the populations of Washington DC and Puerto Rico.
1
Q: How many American Jews want to defend a one-state solution in Washington or on their college campuses?
A: Most of them because their allegiance is toward a Jewish state, not humanistic principles.
Q: Is Aipac, the Israel lobby, now going to push for a one-state solution on Capitol Hill?
A: Yes, but it will be done in a way to decieve the public.
Q: How many Democrats and Republicans would endorse that?
A: All of them because getting elected is more important than helping Arabs.
There, that was easy. Any more ponderous questions, Tom?
A: Most of them because their allegiance is toward a Jewish state, not humanistic principles.
Q: Is Aipac, the Israel lobby, now going to push for a one-state solution on Capitol Hill?
A: Yes, but it will be done in a way to decieve the public.
Q: How many Democrats and Republicans would endorse that?
A: All of them because getting elected is more important than helping Arabs.
There, that was easy. Any more ponderous questions, Tom?
9
With the slightest encouragement I might believe Bibi is just another politician who will say anything to get elected. But I fear he is worse than that. I've watched and listened to this man for a very long time, even telling a story about him at my daughter's wedding far away and ling ago.
Even if he could do a cynical 180, Bibi would face the problem the GOP has here. How would hardline supporters react? They've been hearing increasingly warlike messages for a long time, and have bought them. Few GOP supporters here, certainly those under 50, have ever heard a political argument based on a widely-agreed premise. And many of those GOP supporters are impatiently waiting for Armageddon. They see more West Bank settlements as a step in that direction.
Even if he could do a cynical 180, Bibi would face the problem the GOP has here. How would hardline supporters react? They've been hearing increasingly warlike messages for a long time, and have bought them. Few GOP supporters here, certainly those under 50, have ever heard a political argument based on a widely-agreed premise. And many of those GOP supporters are impatiently waiting for Armageddon. They see more West Bank settlements as a step in that direction.
1
A "two state" solution is easy. Jordan just needs to give the Palestinians the land they are already on. The onus is on Jordan not Israel.
5
This solution for Israel is to take Jordan too, and give some of it to someone else they clear off the rest of the West Bank.
That is even more aggression.
It would produce even more war, now in Jordan too.
It requires ethnic cleansing too.
Many of those Greater Israel folks would then want to keep some or all of Jordan too. Their old maps include a lot more than the West Bank.
That is even more aggression.
It would produce even more war, now in Jordan too.
It requires ethnic cleansing too.
Many of those Greater Israel folks would then want to keep some or all of Jordan too. Their old maps include a lot more than the West Bank.
Mr. Friedman: In the tangle of dangers standing out from Mr. Netanyahu's tainted electoral triumph, two stand out in higher relief than others. First, the damage done to the American-Israeli "special relationship" appears to be, if not permanent, then years--perhaps generations--from a genuine reconciliation. America's historical difficulties with her own minority populations shine a rather poor light on the concept of representative government. A ruling coalition either shares power and respectfully acknowledges opposing viewpoints or it oppresses its citizens without regard to basic human rectitude. Israel, with yesterday's results, has chosen the latter. The second danger is the disregard and disrespect with which Mr. Netanyahu, in concert with the far-right in Congress, has shown to President Obama. Mr. Netanyahu has tried to take control of American foreign policy for the furtherance of Israel's ambitions. Republicans in both houses of Congress have become besotted with the Israeli prime minister. They have all but promised to do his bidding contrary to their sworn oaths, oaths they willingly scorn to embarrass Mr. Obama, as witnessed by a letter to Iran signed by 47 senators. Mr. Netanyahu could not have been more pleased. He has now become, indeed, an historical figure, joining the ranks of discredited statesmen, reviled in all corners of the civilized world because of his lack of scrupulosity and integrity.
1
I don't think anybody in Tehran is doing high-fives right now. Mr. Netanyahu now has a bargaining chip - stiffer sanctions on Iran in exchange for a two-state solution. He probably bet that the Palestinians will remain fractured and incapable of developing an autonomous government in the meantime. He outplayed everybody on this, which, in reality, will lead to the best outcome - a safer agreement for Iran, a movement toward a two state solution, and safety for Israel. Give him credit.
6
So Freidman really believes Tehran is happy that Netanyahu defeated Herzog? And Freidman is predicting that Israel and Jews in General will be isolated in the world? Has he been paying attention for the last 15 years? Netanyahu doesn't need the advice of a some NYT hack journalist to figure out how to lead his country. Netanyahu has an IQ in excess of 160, was a commando, and was highly educated. Community organizers and NYT journalists are not qualified to make life and death decisions about an historically persecuted people, and thankfully they will never be given the chance. Israelis chose Netanyahu for good reason Friedman, despite your sage advice.
11
This could be a turning point for the US also, we could, and should, cut Israel loose. I can think of better ways to spent my tax dollar than help them.
8
In calculating the number of Palestinians who are being denied both their own state and a vote in the one that rules over them, Friedman neglected to include the 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza. Apologists for Israel like to imagine that the dismantlement of the handful of settlements there and the absence of Israeli troops on the ground mean that Gaza is no longer part of the Occupied Territories. But Gaza is still very much under Israeli control. Israel controls Gaza's electricity, its airspace, and its coastal waters. In cooperation with Egypt it effectively controls all points of entrance and egress. It has declared a strip running the entirelty of its "border" with Israel a free-fire zone. And it uses all this power to impose a crippling blockade on the people of Gaza that Israeli politicians blithely refer to as "a diet." And of course there are the episodic aerial massacres of Gazans that Israelis call "wars."
The exclusion of Gaza from Friedman's numbers is not accidental. If one includes Gaza in ones count of the population living under Israeli sovereignty one is confronted with an inconvenient truth which is that the Palestinians now constitute a (slim) majority.
Actually-existing Israel is state in which a Jewish minority rules over a Palestinian majority. Israel is not simply on the road to become an undemocratic Apartheied state. It already is one.
The exclusion of Gaza from Friedman's numbers is not accidental. If one includes Gaza in ones count of the population living under Israeli sovereignty one is confronted with an inconvenient truth which is that the Palestinians now constitute a (slim) majority.
Actually-existing Israel is state in which a Jewish minority rules over a Palestinian majority. Israel is not simply on the road to become an undemocratic Apartheied state. It already is one.
6
There could also be a positive to all is this. The US is now more free diplomatically, and no longer needs to go against its international allies every time in trying to work on a framework for peace.
2
Mr. Friedman has been wrong about almost everything in the middle east over the past 20 years. He was for the Iraq war (yep he was), he was breathless about the Arab Spring (so far its been a horrible failure). Now he wants us to believe that the election of a center right candidate in Israel is cause to throw up the chessboard. Why should we believe Mr. Friedman now when he was so wrong up until now?
14
Friedman finally turned against the Iraq War, when as near its last defender he could defend it no more.
Friedman turned against the Arab Spring after everyone else, to get back on board.
Now he finally admits the truth about Netanyahu and his fake Peace Process charade.
So yes, it is consistent in that way.
Friedman turned against the Arab Spring after everyone else, to get back on board.
Now he finally admits the truth about Netanyahu and his fake Peace Process charade.
So yes, it is consistent in that way.
it is campaign rhetoric.it is a negotiating ploy. let the Palestinians offer a demilitarized state, give up the right of return, recognize Israel as a Jewish state and do a land swap which gives Israel defensible borders. until then there is no deal. Israel will simply kick the can down the road by negotiating endless to soothe the West. rightfully so, with its existential existence at stake, it is only an act that they give a damn what obama thinks or what the european lefties think.
interestingly when gaza and the west bank were under Jordanian and Egyptian rule there was never talk of a Palestinian state.
interestingly when gaza and the west bank were under Jordanian and Egyptian rule there was never talk of a Palestinian state.
6
there's something unseemly about how Mr. Friedman thinks how including native Palestinians in a unitary Israeli state will undermine the country's religio-cultural identity. Look what being an exclusive religious state has heaped on Israel - a right wing occupying force that borders on overt racism toward its Arab minority. It's the nature of the beast - wresting Pakistan as a unitary muslim state out of India created a similar problem. Mr. Friedman has written about this many times.
A single state solution is the best option for the region - muslims and jews living in peace in a prosperous middle-eastern country. The only way to force Israel in that direction is economics.
A single state solution is the best option for the region - muslims and jews living in peace in a prosperous middle-eastern country. The only way to force Israel in that direction is economics.
2
I, and I believe a lot of Amercans would agree, no longer particularly care about an Israeli/Palestinian solution. And I also see no reason for President Obama feeling the need to "repair" relations with Bibi. That's like asking a person who was punched in the face to bandage up the abuser's cut knuckles.
I do, however, care deeply about the effect that our unquestioned support of Israel has had on our elections and our government. Jews in the United States have every right to lobby for their causes, just like any other American has a right to lobby for their causes. I just find lobbying on behalf of another country a little uneasy. And up until this president, because of Bibi's blatant disrespect, no one has had the guts to tell him, "good luck with that!". Bibi immediately showed public contempt for Obama which was just following the lead of his good buddies in the GOP. Then he campaigned for Romney to beat him in his second election. Obama should say to Bibi, "negotiate or don't but you're on your own". Maybe Europe has turned the other cheek when you insulted them by telling their Jewidsh population to come to Israel. But might want to rethink that considering your most pressing problem is at home with housing and inequality.
Did you hear that Congress. Your most pressing problem is the same as your good buddy Bibi....AT HOME!
I do, however, care deeply about the effect that our unquestioned support of Israel has had on our elections and our government. Jews in the United States have every right to lobby for their causes, just like any other American has a right to lobby for their causes. I just find lobbying on behalf of another country a little uneasy. And up until this president, because of Bibi's blatant disrespect, no one has had the guts to tell him, "good luck with that!". Bibi immediately showed public contempt for Obama which was just following the lead of his good buddies in the GOP. Then he campaigned for Romney to beat him in his second election. Obama should say to Bibi, "negotiate or don't but you're on your own". Maybe Europe has turned the other cheek when you insulted them by telling their Jewidsh population to come to Israel. But might want to rethink that considering your most pressing problem is at home with housing and inequality.
Did you hear that Congress. Your most pressing problem is the same as your good buddy Bibi....AT HOME!
28
Mr. Friedman fails to see Mr. Netanyahu's statement's emphasis on "today". Netanyahu is absolutely correct that today is not the time to establish another Moslem stronghold from which to launch anti Israel and anti Western Civilization attacks in the region.
If however the situation changes, Israel, as it has done previously, will entertain a Palestinian state. It has ceded land to Egypt, Lebanon, and even the Palestinian entity in Gaza (with out any benifit to itself). If it is appropriate, it will no doubt do so again.
If however the situation changes, Israel, as it has done previously, will entertain a Palestinian state. It has ceded land to Egypt, Lebanon, and even the Palestinian entity in Gaza (with out any benifit to itself). If it is appropriate, it will no doubt do so again.
16
Nobody will buy that re-definition of what Netanyahu meant. He was very clear. So were the voters who shifted to him so strongly when he said it.
2
I would take your point, Doctor, about "today" if Bibi had indeed used that word. The word I noted was "never" -- on his watch.
Whatever the word, how do you explain yesterday and the days, weeks, months and years before that.. By abjuring the two-state solution, all Bibi did was to put an honest spin on his decades-long record of action.
Although Palestinian leadership has been so wrong so many times, on this situation they are exactly on-target. They have no regional negotiating partner and have no other choice than to pull out all the stops on their own.
Whatever the word, how do you explain yesterday and the days, weeks, months and years before that.. By abjuring the two-state solution, all Bibi did was to put an honest spin on his decades-long record of action.
Although Palestinian leadership has been so wrong so many times, on this situation they are exactly on-target. They have no regional negotiating partner and have no other choice than to pull out all the stops on their own.
1
How true, Mr. Friedman. One might say it was the day the dream died.
9
Israel's Jewish character has been a myth all along. Israel is a nation, not a congregation. Just as the US was founded on the elimination of an indigenous population and considers itself exceptional, Israel's history, from the very beginning, has involved the displacement of people with ancestral rights to the land combined with a foolish self-perception of having been chosen by a deity they conveniently forget would never approve of the what they do in its name. Israel's Jewishness is a form of bigotry.
30
Smell the roses. The Children of Israel, now known as Jews, have been living in that land continuously for over 3,000 years. You don't have to rely on the Bible to tell you so. Check out the histories of the kings of Babylon and Persia. Babylonians conquered ancient Judea and took many of its elites into exile. Persian King Cyrus allowed many of the exiles to return home. (President Truman declared that he is Cyrus when he recognized the State of Israel.)
Are the Palestinians decedents of Canaanites and other ancient tribes? Maybe. And if so the land has been occupied by Jews and others for millennia - sometimes in dispute - sometimes at peace - sometimes unified under various Kings of Israel and Judea or the Ottoman empire.
Israel doesn't share the history of the Europeans who invaded the new world and decimated its native inhabitants, renaming the land The Americas. For that the Spaniards, English, Dutch, and French earned sole rights.
Are the Palestinians decedents of Canaanites and other ancient tribes? Maybe. And if so the land has been occupied by Jews and others for millennia - sometimes in dispute - sometimes at peace - sometimes unified under various Kings of Israel and Judea or the Ottoman empire.
Israel doesn't share the history of the Europeans who invaded the new world and decimated its native inhabitants, renaming the land The Americas. For that the Spaniards, English, Dutch, and French earned sole rights.
Israel is a Jewish nation. From its inception, one that has struggled with how, whether, if religion fits in: a secular state or a religious state? The struggle of the Palestinians has been exacerbated by being shut out, from the very beginning by other Arab states. From the very beginning Israel WANTED Palestinians to join in. From the very beginning Palestinians refused preferring, instead, to wait for the day Israel will be pushed into the sea. It's a no win situation but ignoring the real dangers of an Iranian nuke? Guaranteed obliteration.
Bibi should consult with his Republican pals in the U.S. for tips on voter suppression. He's going to need it, big time.
22
Bibi made his bed. Now he has to lie in it.
If he backtracks and says that a two state solution is possible, who would believe him on his next pronouncemnt?
If he backtracks and says that a two state solution is possible, who would believe him on his next pronouncemnt?
18
My goodness, Joe. Surely you know promises made are not promises kept? And surely,you believe he can "evolve" as most politicians do?
I think if one wants to get some insight into Netanyahu's vision for Israel with respect to its future as a democracy, one only has to consider the words of one of his biggest supporters, Sheldon Adelson who said "“I don’t think the Bible says anything about democracy... God talked about all sorts of good things in life. He didn’t talk about Israel remaining a democratic state, and if Israel isn’t going to be a democratic state – so what?”
8
What's changed since 2009? How about the rise of militant Islamic fundamentalism. Israel gave Gaza up; they voted in Hamas who launched thousands of rockets into Israel. It's not that hard to understand: when the Palestinians recognize Israel and renounce violence, then and only then can a two-state solution be feasible. Every vacuum in the Middle East is now filled by Islamic fundamentalism. Would you open such a door in territory which cuts your country in half? Your idea of a solution is not Israel's idea of one, plain and simple. You don't live there; you are not surrounded by hostile neighbors.
5
The Palestinian authority did not call the election. The Bush administration forced the election in agama upon them and, once again illustrating the cluelessness of Republicans in their bull in a china shop behavior in the Middle East, the Bush administration was startled when Hamas won the election. I recall reading that Condalezza Rice learned of the Hamas victory while watching TV on a treadmill and insisted no, that can't be true.
3
Very good point, concerning being surrounded by dangerous people. But Israel is ot alone. Also surrounded by danger is Gaza, and the remaining inhabitants alongside Israel's western front.
Benjamin Netanyahu may be seen as a major figure in Israeli history, but is his puppet master not $heldon Adelson? Is Adelson not evidence of how a handful of men with a great amount of money can purchase a government and jeopardize the future security of millions of people, both in as well as outside of Israel? If we can't learn from this lesson of how money is corrupting democracy and international stability, then we must admit people like Adelson are in control of our futures.
Adelson tried to buy the office of the US president when he purchased Newt Gingrich in 2012; that attempt failed, but others with even deeper pockets are committed to buying the American presidency in 2016. Is this the fulfillment of our founding fathers' vision for America?
Adelson tried to buy the office of the US president when he purchased Newt Gingrich in 2012; that attempt failed, but others with even deeper pockets are committed to buying the American presidency in 2016. Is this the fulfillment of our founding fathers' vision for America?
7
Tom, many believe your portrait of the one state solution, featuring the dehumanizing of the stateless Palestinians, has been underway for years now. Bibi merely blurted it out as he screamed to the far right to save Likud. The fact is the State of Israel has elected a PM who has declared that there will never be a Patestinian State, and we must now deal with that reality.
8
Friedman left out of his accounting the 1.8 million people living in Gaza. A one-state solution has to include them. That means that, at this moment, 6.2 million Jewish Israelis are matched against 6.2 million Palestinians and Israelis who are NOT Jewish. Jews may already be a minority in the land west of the Jordan, a shrinking minority at that.
Unless they can drive the Palestinians out, or make conditions for them so awful that they can reduce their birthrate or increase their mortality rate, a Jewish minority in "Greater Israel" is inevitable.
The Netanyahu government has the support of the majority of Jewish Israelis; and is opposed by the large majority of the people living west of the Jordan River, including many Jews.
How does all this square with the things America is supposed to stand for?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
Unless they can drive the Palestinians out, or make conditions for them so awful that they can reduce their birthrate or increase their mortality rate, a Jewish minority in "Greater Israel" is inevitable.
The Netanyahu government has the support of the majority of Jewish Israelis; and is opposed by the large majority of the people living west of the Jordan River, including many Jews.
How does all this square with the things America is supposed to stand for?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
6
Why on earth did the US Congress need to walk into this trap?
13
from Mr. Friedman: "From Iran’s point of view, it makes fantastic TV on Al Jazeera, and all the European networks; it undermines Israel’s legitimacy with the young generation on college campuses around the globe; and it keeps the whole world much more focused on Israeli civil rights abuses against Palestinians rather than the massive civil rights abuses perpetrated by the Iranian regime against its own people."
This idea of the election being great theater is certainly not Netanyahu's fault but rather an American media that thought it knew how to poll in a country not the United States and a State dept bent on helping people to the polls who may not have had the same mission that the US State dept did--i.e. Israeli Arabs might not vote the same way as say either Hamas or Hezbollah might want. It is questionable who more serves Tehran's audience...the US media or the Likud party but I tend to think it the media is the winner in this contest.
This idea of the election being great theater is certainly not Netanyahu's fault but rather an American media that thought it knew how to poll in a country not the United States and a State dept bent on helping people to the polls who may not have had the same mission that the US State dept did--i.e. Israeli Arabs might not vote the same way as say either Hamas or Hezbollah might want. It is questionable who more serves Tehran's audience...the US media or the Likud party but I tend to think it the media is the winner in this contest.
Iran has merely taken Napoleon's advice to heart: "Never Interfere With an Enemy While He’s in the Process of Destroying Himself."
Iran barely lifted a finger while the U.S. eliminated Iran's Taliban enemies to the east and it's sunni enemies to the south. Sort of ironic how the U.S. funded Iraq's war against Iran in the 1980s and 30 years later basically gave Iraq to Iran. Iran allllllmost had a problem with losing it's best friend in Syria to American-supported rebels, but thanks to ISIL (which came into existence due to the Shi'a militias that were allowed to kill with impunity by the Shi'a government, which came into power thanks to the U.S.), the U.S. had to shift it's focus to a graver threat than Assad and now has essentially strengthened the Assad regime as well. Israel will probably end up bombing Iran's facilities (which the U.S. won't support) and the bombing will have a negligible effect on the nuclear program but turn Israel into a true pariah state. At the same time, the rest of the muslim world (some of which, like Indonesia and Malaysia, are good partners in the fight against terrorism) will cease cooperating with the U.S. (who will be blamed even if we don't participate) in a show of solidarity with Iran, making the U.S. far more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. I guess it's all working out for Netanyahu.
Iran barely lifted a finger while the U.S. eliminated Iran's Taliban enemies to the east and it's sunni enemies to the south. Sort of ironic how the U.S. funded Iraq's war against Iran in the 1980s and 30 years later basically gave Iraq to Iran. Iran allllllmost had a problem with losing it's best friend in Syria to American-supported rebels, but thanks to ISIL (which came into existence due to the Shi'a militias that were allowed to kill with impunity by the Shi'a government, which came into power thanks to the U.S.), the U.S. had to shift it's focus to a graver threat than Assad and now has essentially strengthened the Assad regime as well. Israel will probably end up bombing Iran's facilities (which the U.S. won't support) and the bombing will have a negligible effect on the nuclear program but turn Israel into a true pariah state. At the same time, the rest of the muslim world (some of which, like Indonesia and Malaysia, are good partners in the fight against terrorism) will cease cooperating with the U.S. (who will be blamed even if we don't participate) in a show of solidarity with Iran, making the U.S. far more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. I guess it's all working out for Netanyahu.
5
And how can we forget Ronald Reagan selling arms to Iran?
2
Knee jerk criticisbm of Netanyahu is now passe. Israelis voted very clearly. THey did this because they (1) do not buy the demonization of Netanyahu
(2) they certainly do not buy the demonization fo Israel. They know the issues are not black and white here and understand MUCH better than the commentators (3) Israelis have take any risks that the commentators recommend.
Looking around 50 miles, they see ISIS murdering people in ways beyond the humanity in ways not heard of since World War II.
Hamas rearming in the south and Hezbollah rearming in the norh; both backed by Iran going nuclear . Millions Syrians uprooted and hundreds of thousands killed partially because Obama abandoned them.
On the other hand, if the Palestinians were to get their act together and really try to make a deal offering REAL peace (like Sadat did) and security for something like 67 boundaries; I predict that Netanyahu and the whole country would go for it. BUT it has to be in a context where real HOPE is offered and not just a more convenient way to be attacked.
At the moment the peace negotiations are not relevant because the Palestinians dont want it even at the extreme edge of what even the left parties in Israel would be willing to accept.
Given hope Israel will be 100% for peace; without it they are 100% for defense. Given the current situatlon in the middle east it is hard to see why they should be willing to take much risks.
(2) they certainly do not buy the demonization fo Israel. They know the issues are not black and white here and understand MUCH better than the commentators (3) Israelis have take any risks that the commentators recommend.
Looking around 50 miles, they see ISIS murdering people in ways beyond the humanity in ways not heard of since World War II.
Hamas rearming in the south and Hezbollah rearming in the norh; both backed by Iran going nuclear . Millions Syrians uprooted and hundreds of thousands killed partially because Obama abandoned them.
On the other hand, if the Palestinians were to get their act together and really try to make a deal offering REAL peace (like Sadat did) and security for something like 67 boundaries; I predict that Netanyahu and the whole country would go for it. BUT it has to be in a context where real HOPE is offered and not just a more convenient way to be attacked.
At the moment the peace negotiations are not relevant because the Palestinians dont want it even at the extreme edge of what even the left parties in Israel would be willing to accept.
Given hope Israel will be 100% for peace; without it they are 100% for defense. Given the current situatlon in the middle east it is hard to see why they should be willing to take much risks.
14
Mr. Friedman,
I know you have to write something, but aren't you being very naïve here...the fact that Bibi made election pledges doesn't change his strong nationalistic posture. He isn't going to allow Israel to be swallowed up by Arab demographics.
What he will do is wait until there are some rational leaders among the Palestinians who will negotiate on a realistic level. His bill to make Israel an official Jewish state was a reaction to the PA's rejection on that idea.a
Of course he could use the Syrian-Iraq solution for troublesome people: Ethnically cleanse the West Bank of Arabs...but that's not the Jewish way.
There is a lot of truth in Bibi's belief that a Palestinian state established now would be an internationally recognized terrorist launching pad. The never ending problem for the West is not grasping what's happening in the Middle East...it's a good bet as soon as such a state was established Hamas and Fatah would be battling each other forcing Israel to intervene which would then herald in another Palestinian uprising against Israel.
So, for the foreseeable future, Netanyahu will do what he has always done...sit on the situation until another Hamas attack.
What should be angering Israelis is Likud scapegoating Israeli Arabs in its campaign ads...sounded a lot like some regional American electioneering.
I know you have to write something, but aren't you being very naïve here...the fact that Bibi made election pledges doesn't change his strong nationalistic posture. He isn't going to allow Israel to be swallowed up by Arab demographics.
What he will do is wait until there are some rational leaders among the Palestinians who will negotiate on a realistic level. His bill to make Israel an official Jewish state was a reaction to the PA's rejection on that idea.a
Of course he could use the Syrian-Iraq solution for troublesome people: Ethnically cleanse the West Bank of Arabs...but that's not the Jewish way.
There is a lot of truth in Bibi's belief that a Palestinian state established now would be an internationally recognized terrorist launching pad. The never ending problem for the West is not grasping what's happening in the Middle East...it's a good bet as soon as such a state was established Hamas and Fatah would be battling each other forcing Israel to intervene which would then herald in another Palestinian uprising against Israel.
So, for the foreseeable future, Netanyahu will do what he has always done...sit on the situation until another Hamas attack.
What should be angering Israelis is Likud scapegoating Israeli Arabs in its campaign ads...sounded a lot like some regional American electioneering.
7
Er...Israel is already engaged in ethnic cleansing. There are already over 200 illegal settlement in Jerusalem and the west bank.
4
We in USA haw to respect Israel election choice, but it don't mean that we can't adjust our relation with Israel according to compatibility of our and Israel new government policy towards Middle East in general and Palestinians problem and Two state solution in particular. In other words, less compatibility – less of our financial, economic, military aid and diplomatic support and protections in UN, UNSC and other political International World forums.
Haaretz 19.3.201
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders, a senior White House official told The New York Times. The move would come in response to Netanyahu's withdrawal of his support for the establishing of a Palestinian state as expressed in his Bar Ilan speech in 2009.
Haaretz 19.3.201
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders, a senior White House official told The New York Times. The move would come in response to Netanyahu's withdrawal of his support for the establishing of a Palestinian state as expressed in his Bar Ilan speech in 2009.
3
Israel is becoming no different from the countries around it.
6
Israel is "cooked" as far as centrist US support is concerned and is in danger of becoming a pariah state. Israeli conservatives and ultra-orthodox conservatives are going to ruin the country that could have become a beacon of tolerance in a troubled land. Oh, wait, the same thing is happening in the US as the evangelical Christians drive their country in the same direction. Are we paying attention?
14
-- Those who don't (want to) understand Islam and history, don't (want to) understand Netanyahu.
11
Hubris. Bibi cooked his own goose. He wanted to win too much. The pendulum has swung as far to the right as it can. Netanyahu's overt racism has galvanized enough of world opinion to increase the already smoldering divestment movement. Just as divestment helped end apartheid in South Africa it will change Israel.
11
As a liberal, US Jew, I wish that Israel would abandon its settlement expansion. With that said, I believe that even today, with Netanyahu's most recent comment opposing a two-state solution, that Israel is the partner most willing to cede peace and self-government to the Palestinians. I am not convinced that the Palestinians truly want peace. They have repeatedly rejected previous two-state solutions. Now, in the wake of Bibi's recent victory and anti-two state statements, they are asserting that they will go to the UN to demand their own state. I welcome it. Only then will their own hypocrisy be exposed.
You got this exactly right. Israel is already on the road to a Jewish non-democracy. Watch the laws coming out in the next few years, which will complete the process.
8
Bibi's solution is South African apartheid and bantustans with the Palestinians crammed into so many Gazas with limited "autonomy" under the "settlers'" gaze. The Palestinians will not be citizens of either Israel or Palestine, but of open-air prison enclaves.
The Likud Charter has always stated that the eastern border of Israel is the Jordan.
The entirety of this annexation and colonisation program is clearly illegal under repeated UN Security Council resolutions, the Geneva conventions, and decisions of the International Court of Justice.
Bibi is marching Israel into isolation and sanctions. All Israeli land titles in the West Bank not resulting from fair market purchase should have no validity. The Times recently has an op-ed on the 50 racist laws that already limit the rights of Arab-Israeli citizens.
Bibi is also marching the U.S. into isolation and threatening the Western Alliance since Europe has had enough of the colonization project and Bibi is detested in most European capitals. His re-election will accelerate the BDS movement and the U.S. will be hard pressed to save Israel from sanctions. And certainly Israel will be treated as an aggressor state in any attack on Iran.
All Israeli wars since Yom Kippur have been wars of choice. Until 1982 Israel had broad international support as an economic miracle, the world's only Jewish state beset on all sides. That instinctive sympathy died in the refugee camp massacres of 82, and now it's the abyss.
The Likud Charter has always stated that the eastern border of Israel is the Jordan.
The entirety of this annexation and colonisation program is clearly illegal under repeated UN Security Council resolutions, the Geneva conventions, and decisions of the International Court of Justice.
Bibi is marching Israel into isolation and sanctions. All Israeli land titles in the West Bank not resulting from fair market purchase should have no validity. The Times recently has an op-ed on the 50 racist laws that already limit the rights of Arab-Israeli citizens.
Bibi is also marching the U.S. into isolation and threatening the Western Alliance since Europe has had enough of the colonization project and Bibi is detested in most European capitals. His re-election will accelerate the BDS movement and the U.S. will be hard pressed to save Israel from sanctions. And certainly Israel will be treated as an aggressor state in any attack on Iran.
All Israeli wars since Yom Kippur have been wars of choice. Until 1982 Israel had broad international support as an economic miracle, the world's only Jewish state beset on all sides. That instinctive sympathy died in the refugee camp massacres of 82, and now it's the abyss.
373
"What better way to isolate Israel globally and deflect attention from Iran’s behavior?"
What behavior? The last I checked, Iran was neither occupying nor attacking another country. If anything, Iran was doing the world a favor by fighting the ISIS terrorists. Surely Iran is a undemocratic country...but not anymore than our ally Saudi Arabia. The CIA and the Mossad are saying that Iran is not intending to make nukes. So just what behavior are you referring to Mr. Friedman?
You are making Iran a boogyman. Just like you made Saddam Hussein a boogeyman before we invaded Iraq.
What behavior? The last I checked, Iran was neither occupying nor attacking another country. If anything, Iran was doing the world a favor by fighting the ISIS terrorists. Surely Iran is a undemocratic country...but not anymore than our ally Saudi Arabia. The CIA and the Mossad are saying that Iran is not intending to make nukes. So just what behavior are you referring to Mr. Friedman?
You are making Iran a boogyman. Just like you made Saddam Hussein a boogeyman before we invaded Iraq.
7
Dear Mr. Friedman,
Israel is dealing with a basic dictatorship in the form of Mr. Abbas, who illegally has not called elections in the last five years. When he disappears from the scene, he is 82 now, what will happen? There is no democracy in the Palestinian Territories or any other Arab land in the Middle East. Any agreement with him is therefore not worth the paper it is written on. This is what Prime Minister Netanyahu was stating when he said "today" its not feasible. Any responsible leader would say the same. One has to look at everything in perspective and not be blind to ones surroundings.
Israel is dealing with a basic dictatorship in the form of Mr. Abbas, who illegally has not called elections in the last five years. When he disappears from the scene, he is 82 now, what will happen? There is no democracy in the Palestinian Territories or any other Arab land in the Middle East. Any agreement with him is therefore not worth the paper it is written on. This is what Prime Minister Netanyahu was stating when he said "today" its not feasible. Any responsible leader would say the same. One has to look at everything in perspective and not be blind to ones surroundings.
4
Mr. Friedman, why don't you address the issue of the millions of Jews who had to flee Arab countries since 1948. They were forcibly exiled with nothing but their clothing. What about them and their plight?! Any reparations? Only consolation was Israel.
The area known as Palestine back in 1919 until 1948 included what today is Jordan, which comprises about 99% of the territory. Let the Arabs on the West Bank go there and leave Israel to the Jewish people. The West Bank belongs - historically - to them.
The area known as Palestine back in 1919 until 1948 included what today is Jordan, which comprises about 99% of the territory. Let the Arabs on the West Bank go there and leave Israel to the Jewish people. The West Bank belongs - historically - to them.
5
Like in America where the right’s anti-immigration policy plays to its base at the same time ignoring the soon to be majority population. Netanyahu's Israel has always been the wayward little brother always counting on its big brother, America, to have its back. Knowing this Israel was emboldened on the world stage. It could thumb its nose at the world because it knew no matter what America would stand by her. The display our congress made when Mr. Netanyahu made his campaign speech in the well of our congress had to have emboldened him further. No one doubts, as he surely doesn't, that our congress will forever be his minion. The problem is how we are going to sell it to the world. Europe with its growing population of angry Arabs simply can't stand by and do nothing. How is Europe not going to condemn a racist leader with a modern day apartheid? Israel supported South Africa pre Mandela with little ramifications from the rest of the world at the time. The world is a much different place today compared to those times. In his desire to win an election Netanyahu may have started the end of a cause. How does America support a racist agenda to the world? Last brush up in Gaza thousands of innocent civilians died with little consequence from the world. I doubt if it will ever be that way again. It’s one thing to have polices that are racist it’s another thing to announce them.
6
Since the World punished Gaza for voting 'wrong' in the 2006 election, can we now punish the Israeli voter for supporting a man who clearly does not see Palestinians as fully human
10
There are other precedents.
Abraham Lincoln ran on a one state solution for America, and he went to war to enforce it.
Abraham Lincoln ran on a one state solution for America, and he went to war to enforce it.
Yes, and look what we did to the indigenous populations!
1
It's called Jewish theocracy. A religious state, not a non-democaratic state. Also, obsession with exclusive ethnic Jewish nationalism is as dangerous.
5
Obviously, Netanyahu will declare a 2 state solution is possible under certain circumstances (which will be impossible to meet).
His way out is as clear as their violent future.
His way out is as clear as their violent future.
2
Sadly, this election was won on Bibi's sole sales-pitch: fear. Our lack of affordable housing, reduction in social services, lack of investment in infrastructure are all irrelevant -Just keep scaring people with existential scenarios and they'll run to join you. We can only hope that the centre/left parties can be an effective opposition to policies that will see the further erosion of democracy - not to mention sanity.
8
Wow. Israel has a significant Arab population where they are allowed to freely participate in the democratic process by forming political parties and voting in elections?
Are there similar Jewish political parties in Palestine or Iran or Jordan or Egypt or Syria or Saudi Arabia?
Are there similar Jewish political parties in Palestine or Iran or Jordan or Egypt or Syria or Saudi Arabia?
9
Yes, in Palestine they are called colonists. Yes in Iran. Not sure about Jordan.
By the way, are these your models by which you judge Israel, Egypt (dictatorship), Syria (failed state), and Saudi Arabia (kingdom)?
By the way, are these your models by which you judge Israel, Egypt (dictatorship), Syria (failed state), and Saudi Arabia (kingdom)?
This is a very sad moment in history for Israel and its supporters in the US too. They are now tasked with explaining and convincing Americans, which as we all know has given immense treasure and blood for Israel, how a country rules by Netanyahu is different from one ruled by Putin. Why, leaders of the world's democracies will ask themselves, if we rightly employ serious sanctions upon Russia shouldn't similar be done with Israel.
The US, Israel's best and perhaps now its only friend, has to believe that somewhere in Israel there are better angels, perhaps devastated at this time, but still seeking a genuine and long lasting solution to the Palestinian plight. Soon, as Friedman notes, reality will strike Israelis in the face, because Netanyahu's non-solutions will fail over time.
With this in mind the US has no choice, and in fair service to democracy and human rights, but to treat Israel as it does Russia. Not leading the call for reprisals certain to arise from Europe's capitals but not thwarting them also. Punishment cannot be avoided and it is due.
The US, Israel's best and perhaps now its only friend, has to believe that somewhere in Israel there are better angels, perhaps devastated at this time, but still seeking a genuine and long lasting solution to the Palestinian plight. Soon, as Friedman notes, reality will strike Israelis in the face, because Netanyahu's non-solutions will fail over time.
With this in mind the US has no choice, and in fair service to democracy and human rights, but to treat Israel as it does Russia. Not leading the call for reprisals certain to arise from Europe's capitals but not thwarting them also. Punishment cannot be avoided and it is due.
9
It is time to stop sending our money to this non democratic country. If only we had an independent congress that is not the agent of AIPAC.
8
In the middle of all the 'doom and gloom' perhaps it helps to look at this from a secular viewpoint, one that is intentionally blind to ethnicity and religion, and remember all the positives that Western countries have in terms of peace, prosperity, advanced economies and infrastructure, individual rights democracy, and technological progress.
Europe, which includes Britain, values and defends all its citizens, whatever their ethnicity and religion. We have effective security services which work to defend all citizens. Most terrorist plots are directed indiscriminately against random civilians, most are foiled, and all attacks end with the demise of the perpetrators.
Prevention is not 100%, but its pretty close, and no country can foil all attacks. However our security services, like those of the US, do remarkably well. Overwhelmingly, Europeans are proud to have helped defeat fascism and racism, and will oppose it if it recurs.
Europe wants Israel to come to an equitable solution with the people in Gaza and the West Bank. The international community is increasingly united on this, and I think the US will, at some point, join the consensus. When that happens Israel will come to a solution, and find that the world does not end.
In the meantime, the US, Europe with its people of all stripes, will continue to live overwhelmingly peaceful, productive and happy lives. We should all unite around are common values, while appreciating our differences.
Europe, which includes Britain, values and defends all its citizens, whatever their ethnicity and religion. We have effective security services which work to defend all citizens. Most terrorist plots are directed indiscriminately against random civilians, most are foiled, and all attacks end with the demise of the perpetrators.
Prevention is not 100%, but its pretty close, and no country can foil all attacks. However our security services, like those of the US, do remarkably well. Overwhelmingly, Europeans are proud to have helped defeat fascism and racism, and will oppose it if it recurs.
Europe wants Israel to come to an equitable solution with the people in Gaza and the West Bank. The international community is increasingly united on this, and I think the US will, at some point, join the consensus. When that happens Israel will come to a solution, and find that the world does not end.
In the meantime, the US, Europe with its people of all stripes, will continue to live overwhelmingly peaceful, productive and happy lives. We should all unite around are common values, while appreciating our differences.
5
"two wrongs don't make a right" Israel and Palestine. The score is even. The suffering will continue. Bibi actually lost, Palestine actually won. The citizens continue to avoid taking responsibility for the lack of wisdom they elect. They do it there, unfortunately, we do it here. It's really insane, Netanyahu acts like a very frightened man. A dangerous potential for someone with WMD.
1
You're right about what two wrongs bring about. But what about two rights? Each side believes it is right and each side has its share of those who argue that their "rights"may be wrong.
Very confusing?
Very confusing?
Fault aside, the reality is that Israel and the Arab states are now officially locked in a death spiral. Netanyahu is just the latest player to accelerate its downward progress. I lay the blame for all we now see at the dead feet of Yasir Arafat who, having the power to steer Palestine into a viable 2-state solution, chose instead to reject the offered 96% of all he wanted and to continue the conflict without end. That moment was, IMO, the DECISIVE moment in the history of the region and the last real hope for a viable peace. And all the missles raining down on Tel Aviv, the Iranian nuclear saber rattling, Europe's movement away from Israel and towards the Palestinians and the Israeli nuclear attack on Iran sure to come - along with the global horrors that will follow from that- are and will be all traceable to Arafat's refusal to end the conflict once and for all.
What Friedman conveniently forgets to mention is that the Palestinians don't actually want a 2 state solution. They've repeatedly turned down reasonable offers from Israel, and refused to negotiate with Bibi even when he put in a 10 month settlement freeze. They continue to play lip service to the idea, but all of their actions point in the other direction.
Netanyahu said he was against the 2 state solution b/c turning over territory to the Palestinians at this point was tanatamount to turning it over to radical Islamists. Haven't seen anyone yet tell us why this actually isn't a legitimate concern.
Netanyahu said he was against the 2 state solution b/c turning over territory to the Palestinians at this point was tanatamount to turning it over to radical Islamists. Haven't seen anyone yet tell us why this actually isn't a legitimate concern.
10
Actually, that's not true. There's a growing push among Palestinians for equal rights within a single, bi-national state.
May I suggest that the Palestinians may not all be :"radical islamists? That they seek territory, not blood. I suspect that the Palestinians may also regard some Israelis as "radical" Israelimists.
We in USA haw to respect Israel election choice, but it don't mean that we can't adjust our relation with Israel according to compatibility of our and Israel new government policy towards Middle East in general and Palestinians problem and Two state solution in particular. In other words, less compatibility – less of our financial, economic, military aid and diplomatic support and protections in UN, UNSC and other political International World forums.
Haaretz 19.3.201
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders, a senior White House official told The New York Times. The move would come in response to Netanyahu's withdrawal of his support for the establishing of a Palestinian state as expressed in his Bar Ilan speech in 2009
Haaretz 19.3.201
The Obama administration might be open to lending its support to the UN Security Council's resolution that would define the principle for a two-state solution as based on Israel's 1967 borders, a senior White House official told The New York Times. The move would come in response to Netanyahu's withdrawal of his support for the establishing of a Palestinian state as expressed in his Bar Ilan speech in 2009
5
Israeli voters chose to go it alone. Surely, the billions American taxpayers send to this wealthy nation and the military aid we give them is not going to continue. They don't need it.
Israel has the bomb, and not just one. Arguments that others may not have the bomb when Israel does is not rational.
With a one state solution that Israel has chosen, the world expects Israel to provide all of its Palestinian citizens to be provided with full rights of citizenship, and to allow the Palestinians who fled Israel to return with full citizenship.
Iran may indeed celebrate this colossal blunder and so will Russia, and ISIS. Israel and Mr. Friedman consider Iran a threat but fail to heed the declaration of the Sunni salafi movement to establish a caliphate throughout the region....including Israel.
We can only wait to see how this all unravels now.
Israel has the bomb, and not just one. Arguments that others may not have the bomb when Israel does is not rational.
With a one state solution that Israel has chosen, the world expects Israel to provide all of its Palestinian citizens to be provided with full rights of citizenship, and to allow the Palestinians who fled Israel to return with full citizenship.
Iran may indeed celebrate this colossal blunder and so will Russia, and ISIS. Israel and Mr. Friedman consider Iran a threat but fail to heed the declaration of the Sunni salafi movement to establish a caliphate throughout the region....including Israel.
We can only wait to see how this all unravels now.
9
Yes, Sheldon Adelson's money was well spent. A worldwide casino owner with an 8th grade education bought himself another country. Americans had better pay heed. Over one-third of us self-identity as Independent voters and the only reason to "form another party" is so that BIG money can control it. No - WE must simply be very careful about who we vote for and VOTE. Not one of my votes will go to any republican/libertarian/tea party member or those posing as democrats and independents. We can all help clean up Congress by sending a few dollars and voting for candidates Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders endorse. We can also find the Progressive Voters Guide for our state near the next election and read their suggestions - then vote with our heads. But VOTE. Do not let big money that will try to keep us from voting and destroy Hillary Rodham Clinton win again.
24
"From Iran's point of view, it makes fantastic TV on Al Jaseera and all the European networks". Why don't we get the same TV in the states? Is it because the European networks are filled with propaganda, or are our TV networks not telling us the whole story? The answer is obvious, unfortunately
45
You can get Al Jazeera in certain open-minded States....and they are the best real news information with real experts. as guests, not McCain, Graham, and other ignorant from Repulicans
Check your cable stations. In our area we now get the English language version of Al Jazeera. If it is not in your area, yet, you might have to contact your cable company and ask for it. I know I did that and maybe it was a contributing factor, not the only one, but a small one.
I get Al Jazeera!
Mr Friedman tells us that '...it undermines Israel’s legitimacy with the young generation on college campuses around the globe.'
Not just the young generation, Mr Friedman. I'm old enough to remember the post-war revelations about the camps and the Holocaust. I've spent most of my adult life admiring the achievements of the Israelis and supporting their right to defend themselves.
This tears it. They've lost me. That won't bother anyone, I suspect, least of all the reprehensible Mr Netanyahu, but it seems to me that Israel in future will need all the friends it can get, and this is no way to solicit their support.
p.
Not just the young generation, Mr Friedman. I'm old enough to remember the post-war revelations about the camps and the Holocaust. I've spent most of my adult life admiring the achievements of the Israelis and supporting their right to defend themselves.
This tears it. They've lost me. That won't bother anyone, I suspect, least of all the reprehensible Mr Netanyahu, but it seems to me that Israel in future will need all the friends it can get, and this is no way to solicit their support.
p.
585
Fair weather friends are worthless.
You simply don't get it.
The majority of the people in Israel know one thing - Abbas does not want to make peace with Israel. Its even worse - he cannot make peace. If you really want to understand what is going on in Israel and what you call the west bank - you should know that there are 7 main Hammoulot - tribes that will never settle on a peace agreement the other one makes. The west must understand this.
please read this:
http://www.palestinianemirates.com/
The majority of the people in Israel know one thing - Abbas does not want to make peace with Israel. Its even worse - he cannot make peace. If you really want to understand what is going on in Israel and what you call the west bank - you should know that there are 7 main Hammoulot - tribes that will never settle on a peace agreement the other one makes. The west must understand this.
please read this:
http://www.palestinianemirates.com/
15
No, you don't get it. You occupy a people long enough, you violate the rules of occupation by taking their land and settling it, they start to get bolshie. It's really that simple. The only reason it took 20 years for that bolshiness to really emerge after 1967 is because of the extent to which Arab states and Arafat were using the situation for their own advantage -- and the extent to which the Palestinian people saw through that. The Palestinians have been remarkably patient, remarkably clear-headed. But they have been under occupation for 50 years, under rank repression now for 30. It's quite remarkable how calm they have been under the circumstances. But it's put-up-or-shut-up time. If you can't see what a good deal you have in the likes of Abbas, you'll end up with Hamas, or worse. And if you are too blind to see that, you're going to be in for a very rough ride.
3
Israel will have to deal with a growing Arab electorate. Eventually Israel will need to move over to a benevolent dictatorship because the demographics threaten the tenets of a Jewish state. The mathematics of population
I just accessed the website you recommended. Try using credible sources and then you might be believed. It is written by someone representing Begin (and Sadat but I wonder if Sadat's name is there to calm any opposition.) Once I read the source, I stopped reading. Begin was extremely right wing. Surprise, surprise. What you quoted is one of the reasons people do NOT believe Israeli sources any more, in general. It is not even handed and has a fairly extreme point of view.
1
Israel’s biggest supporter with financial aid is the US, our politicians voice support for Israel as our democratic ally. US politics is dependent on billionaire donors for politicians and presidents to run for office. At least 1 of our big money donors has pushed for Bibi’s rw party to win--- namely Adelson, who appeared with US presidential candidate Romney in a visit to Israel.
So our big business-corrupted campaign finance system is indirectly aiding and abetting the whole situation that worries Friedman. That has to be factored in. What does Friedman think of this aspect of the story, and how it could be modified? Like how do we stop pro Israeli rw billionaires from affecting their elections---and ours?
And yes, how many US Jews want to defend Israel’s far-right govt that opposes 2 state solutions and uses anti Arab dog whistles? It has already split many US Jews, and may split the US Israel lobby. US politicians will be conflicted. Their PR speech writers will be working overtime.
Now that he got the votes, let’s see if Bibi modifies later, once he sees the difficulties of his program. How will his coalition influence him? But if he had gone with a 2 state solution, would he have lost?
So our big business-corrupted campaign finance system is indirectly aiding and abetting the whole situation that worries Friedman. That has to be factored in. What does Friedman think of this aspect of the story, and how it could be modified? Like how do we stop pro Israeli rw billionaires from affecting their elections---and ours?
And yes, how many US Jews want to defend Israel’s far-right govt that opposes 2 state solutions and uses anti Arab dog whistles? It has already split many US Jews, and may split the US Israel lobby. US politicians will be conflicted. Their PR speech writers will be working overtime.
Now that he got the votes, let’s see if Bibi modifies later, once he sees the difficulties of his program. How will his coalition influence him? But if he had gone with a 2 state solution, would he have lost?
10
Bibi has nothing to modify. His 2009 speech was a lie because if he had subscribed to a two states, he would have not pursued so aggressively his expansion of settlements. In order to win he had to finally speak the truth. It is time for the US to wake up to the fact that Israel has been playing the US, while lecturing the world about human rights and justice, has been circumventing those ideals when it came to Israel. Maybe now we need to abstain from the UN resolutions about Israel and then enforce whatever the UN does with the same gusto as we employ against Muslim countries.
1
Mr. Friedman and the supporters of a two state solution continue to portray the Palestinians as if they were American Indians living peacefully and smoking their peace pipes and some external group, white Jews came along and killed them and stole their land. Arabs killed Jews in Hebron in 1929. The conflict did not begin with the so-called occupation in 1967. Arabs and Arab countries tried to destroy Israel in 1948. Arafat, with sidekick Abbas, was terrorizing Israel in the 1950s. The PLO was formed in 1965. Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and the killing of all Jews. Whatever racist statements you can attribute to Netanyahu they pale in comparison to the anti-Semitism that spews from the Palestinians and the Arab world.
The talk is on two states, but it won’t bring peace. It won’t satisfy Hamas and it won’t satisfy any Palestinian. Every Palestinian views ALL of Israel as occupied.
The choice for many Israelis is land with Palestinian terrorism or less land with Palestinian terrorism. Seeing the results of the disengagement from Gaza and the terrorism of the second intifada, which killed over 1,000 Israelis, the equivalent of 15 9/11s, Israelis chose land with Palestinian terrorism.
For a country built on the land and bones of American Indians, slavery and continued racism today does anyone have a right to judge Israelis and all the while ignoring the hatred, terrorism, and oppression in the Arab/Muslim and indeed much of the rest of the world?
The talk is on two states, but it won’t bring peace. It won’t satisfy Hamas and it won’t satisfy any Palestinian. Every Palestinian views ALL of Israel as occupied.
The choice for many Israelis is land with Palestinian terrorism or less land with Palestinian terrorism. Seeing the results of the disengagement from Gaza and the terrorism of the second intifada, which killed over 1,000 Israelis, the equivalent of 15 9/11s, Israelis chose land with Palestinian terrorism.
For a country built on the land and bones of American Indians, slavery and continued racism today does anyone have a right to judge Israelis and all the while ignoring the hatred, terrorism, and oppression in the Arab/Muslim and indeed much of the rest of the world?
31
You blightly overlook the over 3,000 Palestinians who died in the Second Intifada, as if they don't count - which, in Israel, they apparently don't. America has, at least officially, faced its history of racism. Israel? Not so much. Netanyahu's finally publically admitting what he has acted upon for so long should put the end to the claims that "Isreal has no partner for peace." Well, perhaps the statement was always correct, but just misunderstood. In order to have a partner for peace, you have to be a partner yourself.
1
@melfarber - pass out the blankets, right?
Why are you talking about 1929 and 1948? If you want to keep going back further and further in time, I can play that game too. Both sides have enough dirt on them to portray the situation in any way that reflects your personal biases.
The fact is that until 1967, the Arabs did not accept the legitimacy of the state of Israel, and wanted it out of the Middle East. That's a fact.
But now, they all know that Israel is here to stay, and they accept that, and are willing to negotiate a settlement based on the 1967 lines. The ball is now completely in Israel's court, especially due to its vast military and economic superiority.
Please don't skew the facts through obfuscation. It is time for Israel to make peace.
The fact is that until 1967, the Arabs did not accept the legitimacy of the state of Israel, and wanted it out of the Middle East. That's a fact.
But now, they all know that Israel is here to stay, and they accept that, and are willing to negotiate a settlement based on the 1967 lines. The ball is now completely in Israel's court, especially due to its vast military and economic superiority.
Please don't skew the facts through obfuscation. It is time for Israel to make peace.
1
Shirley, we recognize that a lot of badness has transpired since "[Netanyahu’s] speech in June 2009 at Bar Ilan University." The Arab Spring has gone 'off the rails'. The West's embrace of the notion that "it's all good" regardless of what "it" is, further manifested by its unwillingness and increasing inability to take and keep a principled stand for anything besides capitulation and appeasement have set the table, for barbarian night.
Remember when JFK was a Berliner and the West created an Air Bridge to help a beleaguered Berlin, or people were New Yorkers after 9/11? Now, the leader of the free world "pointedly" refuses to congratulate Netanyahu on his victory. Imagine the good it might have done for Obama to have spent a second congratulating Netahyahu, but more time laying out where the US is going in the Middle East and explaining the part that Israel needs to play. But Obama doesn't know where the US or world are going and would rather further confuse allies and adversaries, and keep lowering the stature of the POTUS and the US by keeping it petty with Netanyahu. It seems that everybody is a sympathy deserving victim these days. Come sit on Oprah’s couch, or grace the cover of Rolling Stone.
Remember when JFK was a Berliner and the West created an Air Bridge to help a beleaguered Berlin, or people were New Yorkers after 9/11? Now, the leader of the free world "pointedly" refuses to congratulate Netanyahu on his victory. Imagine the good it might have done for Obama to have spent a second congratulating Netahyahu, but more time laying out where the US is going in the Middle East and explaining the part that Israel needs to play. But Obama doesn't know where the US or world are going and would rather further confuse allies and adversaries, and keep lowering the stature of the POTUS and the US by keeping it petty with Netanyahu. It seems that everybody is a sympathy deserving victim these days. Come sit on Oprah’s couch, or grace the cover of Rolling Stone.
9
@ Americus
Since you live in Europe, you must know that even the so-called 'congratulations' of both the David Cameron and Angela Merkel were extremely restrained.
Both these leader were heavily involved in the extreme complicated and vulnerable negotiations of the P5+1 with Iran, only to see Bibi in the hallowed halls of the US Congress to push our right and arch right into a frenzy over their delight of insulting the US president on his own territory.
Bibi has set the precedent of breaking protocol how to deal with the leader of the country that send billions to his.
Now, tell me again, why should President Obama pick up the phone after Bibi has won - against all odds - the most seats through gutter politics and fear mongering, and 'congratulate' him for not only having cost his Western allies millions upon millions conducting peace-negotiations, but decades of hard work by their respective emissaries as well.
Since you live in Europe, you must know that even the so-called 'congratulations' of both the David Cameron and Angela Merkel were extremely restrained.
Both these leader were heavily involved in the extreme complicated and vulnerable negotiations of the P5+1 with Iran, only to see Bibi in the hallowed halls of the US Congress to push our right and arch right into a frenzy over their delight of insulting the US president on his own territory.
Bibi has set the precedent of breaking protocol how to deal with the leader of the country that send billions to his.
Now, tell me again, why should President Obama pick up the phone after Bibi has won - against all odds - the most seats through gutter politics and fear mongering, and 'congratulate' him for not only having cost his Western allies millions upon millions conducting peace-negotiations, but decades of hard work by their respective emissaries as well.
1
Obama had many reasons NOT to congratulate Bibi. His accepting Boehner's invitation to speak in Congress was a violation of every known protocol. It is the president who makes foreign policy, not the head of one party. The world is trying to teach him some diplomatic manners. I was incensed when he accepted. It is going to continue to backfire. I have been a supporter of Israel all my life, and it is a long one. Now, I am ashamed and embarrassed by his actions in Congress and the last days of the election. Many of us share my sentiments, more or less. He really blew it.
1
You really think Obama hasn't told Netanyahu his views on Isreal, Iran and Palestinians? He has told Netanyahu but Netanyahu doesn't like what he said so there is tension between the two.
1
it boils and has always boiled down to this: Israel's backers denounce those who ever uttered a word that suggested the destruction of the Jewish state. Yet, rejecting the FORMATION of a Palestian state has always been a "political chip" that could "legitimately" be played and forgotten. Thus, if a year from now, Bibi laughs and says his anti-Palestine speech was a mere campaign or negotiation tactic, all is forgotten and forgiven by the Western media. "Shaloms" all around. But the Jewish backers never forgive or forget any "anti-Israel" speech spoken in the same vein. It is this double-standard that has always been at the root of anti-Israel sentiment throughout the world.
14
We constantly focus on Israel with respect to a two state solution and forget that over the years the PA and Hamas have never agreed to a two state solution even when offered to them. All they want is a one-state solution that does not include Jews. When will that get recognition and airplay?
26
Hamas is in power because of the reckless and illegal settlement-building Israel has been embarking on all during Netanyahu's time in the PM's office.
1
Great point BA.
Read what they have been offered and then you might understand their refusal to accept. Read the actual offers, not the condensed versions. It really was an eye opener for me.
Netanyahu will certainly make history for the wrong reasons. One question soon to be asked by Israeli voters: What good Bibi's election brings to Israel, really? What is the upside of his leadership?
In the downside: (a) Israel runs the risk of becoming a pariah state at the United Nations. A new version of South Africa of apartheid;
(b) The unwavering bi partisan support of Israel in Washington DC is broken. The king (President Obama) was struck but not killed;
(c) Israelis ultra nationalistic choice will foment the creation of additional jihadist groups. How long can the Israeli house remain an island of peace/prosperity while the neighborhood goes up in flames?
In the downside: (a) Israel runs the risk of becoming a pariah state at the United Nations. A new version of South Africa of apartheid;
(b) The unwavering bi partisan support of Israel in Washington DC is broken. The king (President Obama) was struck but not killed;
(c) Israelis ultra nationalistic choice will foment the creation of additional jihadist groups. How long can the Israeli house remain an island of peace/prosperity while the neighborhood goes up in flames?
23
It seems the only way to teach Israelis a lesson they will take to heart is to cut off every red cent of U.S. money we send them. Of course, the Christian right in this country and its lackeys in Congress will never go along with that.
Israeli voters disagree with your judgement. They obviously feel he is their best choice for the future.
Of course the Arabs in Judea and Samaria will never vote for Israel Elections. Do Native Americans vote for Congress?
1
uh, yes, Native Americans have the right to vote here.
1
Yes. And they can be and have been members of Congress.
1
Um. Yes, actually, Native Americans do vote for Congress. And they are, and have been, members of congress, as well.
1
The Jewish Nation State law is about making sure, Israel will stay Israel, and does not lose this through Democracy. Through Democracy Pakistan made it so the people no longer get to elect who holds the elections. Now Pakistan is a shame of a democracy. Israel has never forcibly removed any people that were not causing a public safety hazard, only removes buildings that are built without a permit or in retaliation for terrorist actions, these retaliatory demolitions are used to offset the reward the Palestinian Authority gives to the families of terrorists. The security barrier was built to stop suicide bombers. There are no Jewish only roads, but there are checkpoints to stop terrorists. I support Israel in her self-restraint, this should be seen as a sign of strength and not weakness as it often is. Israel is in a tough situation, in a very complex problem. Do you give full citizenship to people to people who want to kill you? Read the Hamas Charter, then ask yourself, do you expect Jews to become slaves in their own homeland, allowing Israel to lose their Jewish identity, and Israel to become another Muslim country? Should Jews ever be expected pay Jizya, or be afflicted with Sharia Law in their homeland? Removing the IDF from the Gaza Strip did not work, and it will not work in Judea and Samaria.
13
"There are no Jewish only roads".
When was the last time you were in Israel? There are no 'Jewish only roads'.
But there are plenty of Israeli only roads. They are connecting the settlements in the West Bank. Israeli Arabs who are the vast majority of those working in construction are allowed to travel on them. The in the West Bank are not.
The rest of your comment is equally confused.
When was the last time you were in Israel? There are no 'Jewish only roads'.
But there are plenty of Israeli only roads. They are connecting the settlements in the West Bank. Israeli Arabs who are the vast majority of those working in construction are allowed to travel on them. The in the West Bank are not.
The rest of your comment is equally confused.
2
I liked what you said except for the part about no Jewish only roads. A friend of mine has just returned from a fact finding mission to the West Bank, and, yes, there are in some parts, two sets of roads. We really need to start accepting facts as they are not as the propagandists want us to believe. Credibility is everything.
1
This editorial is spot on. Democracy requires that the Palestinians have the right to enfranchisement, either in Israel or their own sovereign state. Israel cannot be described as a democratic state while millions of its lifelong inhabitants are denied basic civil rights.
The one major disagreement I have is the statement that Netanyahu must not have given this much thought. That seems naive. More likely he knows exactly what he is doing, and simply cares much more about power and the dominance of his people than democracy and human rights.
The one major disagreement I have is the statement that Netanyahu must not have given this much thought. That seems naive. More likely he knows exactly what he is doing, and simply cares much more about power and the dominance of his people than democracy and human rights.
30
Arab citizens of Israel (about 30-40% of the population) have the right to vote. In most other Middle East States , most people do not have that right. As for human rights, haven't you been watching the news? Beheadings in our "ally" Saudi Arabia, ISIS taking over in Syria, etc.
Israel is will remain a Democracy providing Hamas and Hezbollah are willing to recognize her and live in peace.
Israel is will remain a Democracy providing Hamas and Hezbollah are willing to recognize her and live in peace.
The problem with the two state solution is that this is impossible. The Arabs and Iranians want a one state solution and will push to eliminate Israel whenever they can.
If they would agree to guarantee Israel's existence, that would change this. But they never have and seem unlikely to ever accept Israel.
This rejection is of Israel's very existence and not based on any qualities of Israel. And the Israelis have finally, after decades of invasions, war, terror, reluctantly come to realize this.
Too bad!
If they would agree to guarantee Israel's existence, that would change this. But they never have and seem unlikely to ever accept Israel.
This rejection is of Israel's very existence and not based on any qualities of Israel. And the Israelis have finally, after decades of invasions, war, terror, reluctantly come to realize this.
Too bad!
24
The Arab states would never admit it, but I suspect most prefer having Israel as their bete noire.
It gives them an external enemy to detract attention from their own deficiencies and internal problems.
Israel has also been a fairly decent neighbor, although again this would be hard for most to admit.
Consider whether Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, what was Syria, and Saudi Arabia would rather have an Israel on their border, or an Iranian backed Hamas state, or something like ISIS.
It gives them an external enemy to detract attention from their own deficiencies and internal problems.
Israel has also been a fairly decent neighbor, although again this would be hard for most to admit.
Consider whether Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, what was Syria, and Saudi Arabia would rather have an Israel on their border, or an Iranian backed Hamas state, or something like ISIS.
Nothing will change. Republicans, evangelical Christians and influential Jewish lobby will make sure Bibi has his way....and Democrats who bowed and clapped at Bibis speech at congress will continue to support him unconditionally.....
Sorry Obama!
Sorry Obama!
12
The US may not veto every anti-Israeli motion in the UN.
2012, Netanyahu openly campaigns, in the US, for republican candidate Willard Mitty Romney.
Strike One.
2015, Netanyahu, in a slap at the President and established protocol, addresses Congress to pimp perpetual war in the Middle East.
Strike Two.
2015, Netanyahu, in his megalomanical bid for reelection condemns Palestinians to permanent apartheid, life in ever shrinking Bantustans, dog whistles racist appeals right out of republican playbook known as the Southern Strategy.
Strike Three.
Strike One.
2015, Netanyahu, in a slap at the President and established protocol, addresses Congress to pimp perpetual war in the Middle East.
Strike Two.
2015, Netanyahu, in his megalomanical bid for reelection condemns Palestinians to permanent apartheid, life in ever shrinking Bantustans, dog whistles racist appeals right out of republican playbook known as the Southern Strategy.
Strike Three.
63
You live in Florida. Why don't you start making things right, er correct in Florida. Strike one, two and three.
It wasn't dog whistles, it was train whistles, with the gates down!
4
I adore the hand wringing but if anyone thought prior to this election that Mr. Netanyahu was a centrist they were living in their own personal delusion. The only difference I can see is he's come right out and said what he thinks instead of couching it in rhetoric.
This crazy notion of the press has that a crazy politico doesn't look crazy unless he owns up is ludicrous. As someone else mentioned, he's taking his queues from the Republicans. They are barking mad and say things that only a fanatic would say, yet here they are with a majority in congress because people are too lazy or too stupid to think what electing them means.
I've been watching this drama in the Middle East all my life. One day these people are either going to stop acting like 8 year olds or they are going to blow each other up. I see all sides. I just don't think they make any sense among adults.
This crazy notion of the press has that a crazy politico doesn't look crazy unless he owns up is ludicrous. As someone else mentioned, he's taking his queues from the Republicans. They are barking mad and say things that only a fanatic would say, yet here they are with a majority in congress because people are too lazy or too stupid to think what electing them means.
I've been watching this drama in the Middle East all my life. One day these people are either going to stop acting like 8 year olds or they are going to blow each other up. I see all sides. I just don't think they make any sense among adults.
16
There is a biblical representation of what Netanyahu and his countrymen have become as a result of this election. They were called lepers -- banished from other society -- required to wear a warning bell so that others could avoid them as they drew near to beg for alms.
6
The unfortunate thing is that the members of Congress, upon hearing those bells, will salivate like Pavlov's dog.
You are talking about Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah and ISIS of course.
I know no one, even those who hate Israeli policies of oppressing the Palestinians, who think that Jews ( or anybody for that matter ) , who don't deserve peace and security in their homelands.
A secure Israel and Palestine are in everybody's long term interest.
Mr. Netanyahu's effort to win re-election at any cost the non-Jews more than others because we are forced to find an option that Jews don't like, because of the antagonism it creates. As an Indian, I don't forget that Kashmir and Palestine are used as examples of the sufferings of Muslims. But I don't believe that Kashmir is not a free Indian state. Palestine though, does not compare with Kashmir on the way in which tests our consciences.
Whether you're right that this will turn out against Israel in the long run depends on how the American Right responds to this. They're pretty much hell bent on continuing the status quo.
How long this will take to right itself remains to be seen.
A secure Israel and Palestine are in everybody's long term interest.
Mr. Netanyahu's effort to win re-election at any cost the non-Jews more than others because we are forced to find an option that Jews don't like, because of the antagonism it creates. As an Indian, I don't forget that Kashmir and Palestine are used as examples of the sufferings of Muslims. But I don't believe that Kashmir is not a free Indian state. Palestine though, does not compare with Kashmir on the way in which tests our consciences.
Whether you're right that this will turn out against Israel in the long run depends on how the American Right responds to this. They're pretty much hell bent on continuing the status quo.
How long this will take to right itself remains to be seen.
1
Israel is not our friend, nor our ally in the Middle East. The U.S. needs to adopt a foreign policy that is clearly independent of Israel. We should stop financial, military, and intelligence support. Netanyahu is a racist, authoritarian, warmonger, who wants nothing more than war against the Palestinians and the Iranians. We follow him to our doom.
70
Who do you suggest? Syria, Iran, Suadi Arabia, or any of the States with Sharia Law? Good choices.
The land of milk and honey has turned bitter and sour. Shame on those responsible.
14
Netanyahu was simply being frank when he stated that he will not allow establishment of a Palestinian state. This has always been clear to many in this region. His candor simply exposed the hypocrisy of many in Israel and the United States who always stood by Israel -- even when she was clearly oppressive, undemocratic and racist. Now, the ball is in the court of those who profess friendship to Israel. It's their turn to be candid with the Netanyahus of this world.
42
All well and good, but you discount the crazies that *want* a war, and want to do everything possible to be on Israel's side in that war. They are the true wild cards in all of this.
There are powerful people in Washington and throughout this nation that openly declare belief in the "End of Days" scenarios as they find in the Bible. Their view of it, as openly, proudly, gladly pushed by many fundamentalist pastors (their pastors) pits the "good guys" as fighting alongside Israel, against many enemies... usually meaning Muslim forces. While sane people hate war, especially all out world level war, some radicals on both sides are hankering for this fight - and have taken it upon themselves to do their godly and holy bit to make such a war a reality. Really scary stuff... truly insane, but there it is.
What's very scary is that when there really are people on both "sides" starting to actively plan and line up for this war, that should make all the rest of us very nervous indeed!
There are powerful people in Washington and throughout this nation that openly declare belief in the "End of Days" scenarios as they find in the Bible. Their view of it, as openly, proudly, gladly pushed by many fundamentalist pastors (their pastors) pits the "good guys" as fighting alongside Israel, against many enemies... usually meaning Muslim forces. While sane people hate war, especially all out world level war, some radicals on both sides are hankering for this fight - and have taken it upon themselves to do their godly and holy bit to make such a war a reality. Really scary stuff... truly insane, but there it is.
What's very scary is that when there really are people on both "sides" starting to actively plan and line up for this war, that should make all the rest of us very nervous indeed!
19
Spot on except that you didn't mention ISIS, the leading force of the "other side" for apocalypse now.
Who exactly are the "powerful people" in Washington that think we're coming to the End of Days? Who wants war? Who's actively working for it, and war with whom? Please name names and try to answer without using the words neo-con, GOP, Jewish lobby, Koch brothers, big business or Bush.
Netanyahu has succeeded in making the Iranians look reasonable by comparison. He has done much to isolate Israel in the world community, and he may find he has seriously undermined Israeli standing in the world. His racist election eve rant showing his true feelings towards Arab citizens of Israel deserves condemnation from Jews all over the world.
53
Was the two-state disavowal made solely in the form you quote, viz. with the qualification “today”? If so, it will require no cynicism for Bibi to change his mind tomorrow, if the facts have changed then.
2
I think Israel will start WW3.
23
Netanyahu has stepped in it and it smells like racism, hate and fear. He has changed our relationship with Israel for the worse. It's going to be hard holding ones nose and acting as if nothing has changed. His arrogance and selfishness has produced an open wound in our relationship that hurts deeply and will leave a scar only time will heal.
7
I don't disagree with anything you've written here, but I offer a comment.
You describe Netanyahu as arrogant and selfish. Aren't those characteristics a good description of all modern day politicians? They could also be used to describe Clinton, Rand, Cruz, Boehner, McCain and pretty much all US politicians regardless of political affiliation. Isn't it a requirement to survive in Washington and the world stage? I would also add the ability to lie to the general populace convincingly as a requirement for the job.
You describe Netanyahu as arrogant and selfish. Aren't those characteristics a good description of all modern day politicians? They could also be used to describe Clinton, Rand, Cruz, Boehner, McCain and pretty much all US politicians regardless of political affiliation. Isn't it a requirement to survive in Washington and the world stage? I would also add the ability to lie to the general populace convincingly as a requirement for the job.
This election and what follows will end the often heard statement that:
"Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East"
The other thing that one can predict with a fair amount of certainty is that this latest Netanyahu government is going to go down in flames. When a leader continues to seek power by any means, he over shoots his ability and his administration crashes.
When the Gods wish to punish us, the answer our prayers. There is something of ancient Greece in all this.
"Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East"
The other thing that one can predict with a fair amount of certainty is that this latest Netanyahu government is going to go down in flames. When a leader continues to seek power by any means, he over shoots his ability and his administration crashes.
When the Gods wish to punish us, the answer our prayers. There is something of ancient Greece in all this.
7
We focus too much on Netanyahu, acting as though his racist belligerence is being imposed upon an otherwise peaceful Israeli people. Those of us who thought that a majority of Israelis wanted peace and wanted fairness for the Palestinians have to admit we were wrong. In fact, we now know that a majority of the Israeli electorate apparently shares the repugnant views of Netanyahu.
The results of the recent election will be the ruination of both the State of Israel and of the concept of Israel as a refuge for the persecuted and a guardian of moral integrity. Americans now find out that we have been deluding ourselves about the purpose of Israel and the intent of its citizenry.
Republicans on Capitol Hill did us a favor by unintentionally revealing the ugliness of the enterprise we have been supporting since its inception with American blood and money.
The results of the recent election will be the ruination of both the State of Israel and of the concept of Israel as a refuge for the persecuted and a guardian of moral integrity. Americans now find out that we have been deluding ourselves about the purpose of Israel and the intent of its citizenry.
Republicans on Capitol Hill did us a favor by unintentionally revealing the ugliness of the enterprise we have been supporting since its inception with American blood and money.
29
"..there is going to be only one state — and that one state will either be a Jewish democracy that systematically denies the voting rights of about one-third of its people or it will be a democracy and systematically erodes the Jewish character of Israel."
Option one above is apartheid, unsustainable. Option two, democracy. will never happen.
A third option is wholesale theft, mass deportation and killing of Palestinians. That's where Israel is headed.
Option one above is apartheid, unsustainable. Option two, democracy. will never happen.
A third option is wholesale theft, mass deportation and killing of Palestinians. That's where Israel is headed.
13
That 3rd option is what the arab muslims have been trying to do for 100 years.
How come people like you never complained about that, or when abbas said recently that they will NEVER recognize a jewish state?
Try the facts for a change.
How come people like you never complained about that, or when abbas said recently that they will NEVER recognize a jewish state?
Try the facts for a change.
I fail to see how the clerical regime in Tehran has any interest in this. Why not put the blame on the person who deserves it, Netanyahu? Give me a break.
7
Netanyahu did not say that he opposes Palestinian statehood in principle. He said that he opposes it because he thinks it very likely that it will be taken over by extremists to attack Israel. Since that is what happened in Gaza I think his comments are reasonable. The Palestinian's have to prove that they can form a stable democratic government that can live in peace with Israel. Regular elections that exclude terrorist organizations would help do that.
9
The other aspect of Netanyahu's win is that it is going to be the beginning of the end for the 'special' Israeli-US relationship.
25
In short, Israel has voted for apartheid. When the prime minister refers to 20% percent of his population as "they" and is rewarded by the electorate, it exposes the fundamental problem within Israeli society - Racism . For too long, Palestinians have been dehumanized through conflict in Gaza and the West Bank, that the average voter is comfortable standing behind such a misguided ideology. I strongly believe that peace can only be achieved if the US withdraws its support for Israel in the UN, so that the Israelis have no option but to negotiate in good faith- something they have never done...
8
a "dog whistle" is meant to suggest a message that many can't hear. Netanyahu's statement about the danger in high Arab turnout was loud and clear for everyone.
5
Could it be any clearer that the United States' interests and Israel's interests are not the same? They never really have been but now the mythical rhetoric manufactured by AIPAC and Israel to hold onto US unquestioning support will crumble.
The alliance between Israel and the United States has always been a one way street thanks to the lobbying in Washington that has managed to characterize disagreements on supporting Israel at every step no matter what they do akin to treason, Ignore the fact that Israel is a separate country 1000's of miles away. Clever propaganda has cowed the government into treating Israel as the US's 51st state with financial support to every Israeli man woman and child amounting to $500 per annum.
It's time to see this conjured up phony relationship for what it is. The Us as a shield for Israel to avoid the international consequences of its illegal occupation.
The US has been duped like a dope for too long. Time for change.
The alliance between Israel and the United States has always been a one way street thanks to the lobbying in Washington that has managed to characterize disagreements on supporting Israel at every step no matter what they do akin to treason, Ignore the fact that Israel is a separate country 1000's of miles away. Clever propaganda has cowed the government into treating Israel as the US's 51st state with financial support to every Israeli man woman and child amounting to $500 per annum.
It's time to see this conjured up phony relationship for what it is. The Us as a shield for Israel to avoid the international consequences of its illegal occupation.
The US has been duped like a dope for too long. Time for change.
15
>
The one state solution works for the Israeli expansionists' desire to settle more biblical lands. Just where do yo think Bibi is going to put all the Jewish people that he is calling to come to Israel from all over the world?
The one state solution works for the Israeli expansionists' desire to settle more biblical lands. Just where do yo think Bibi is going to put all the Jewish people that he is calling to come to Israel from all over the world?
3
You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist, Bibi has presented the clenched fist from behind his back. Heed my words, war is coming.
4
Israel is and has long been an apartheid state posing as a democracy, and now simply unmasked by its newly elected demagogue, and immorally continuing its crimes against Palestinians and humanity. It will not survive, as South Africa did not survive. Failed state.
7
Apartheid. The ugly word. Where else can it go at this point? Non-Jews will never by part of the whole of Israeli "democracy." And they have no hope of existing independent of it. How will liberal Western democracies respond in the next decades as this fact solidifies?
On my last visit to Tel Aviv, every night I was haunted by dreams of fighter planes flying overheard on their bombing runs into Gaza. And then came image of the Warsaw ghetto. And then came images Jews being killed by genocidal Germans. Every morning, I awoke shaken by the future at hand for Israel.
I wish that Friedman was wrong. But he is not.
On my last visit to Tel Aviv, every night I was haunted by dreams of fighter planes flying overheard on their bombing runs into Gaza. And then came image of the Warsaw ghetto. And then came images Jews being killed by genocidal Germans. Every morning, I awoke shaken by the future at hand for Israel.
I wish that Friedman was wrong. But he is not.
10
It's time for the United States to recall its ambassador to Israel and close its embassy in Tel Aviv. Israel is not a U.S. ally.
24
I am writing my congressman, MN 1st District Tim Walz, requesting that he deny any further funds for Israel aid of any kind.
I am asking my Jewish friends to write their congressperson and request the same.
I ask all American Jews to consider that Netanyahu has finally shown himself as one of the largest obstacles to any peace in Israel and the Near East, and as such, unconditional support for Israel must be rethought. Can we continue to subsidize Bibi's intransigence?
I ask Jews around the world, is it justice to bulldoze homes of Israeli Arab citizens so that Jewish homes can be built on top of them? How many more settlements will you allow to be built on top of the misery engendered upon your next-door neighbors that happen to be Muslim?
I ask my fellow Americans, can we stand by while the Israeli Prime Minister basically threatens war with Iran and cynically expects his American friends to sacrifice their sons and daughters so that his twisted view of the future may come to pass?
Now is the time to make a bold statement.
I am asking my Jewish friends to write their congressperson and request the same.
I ask all American Jews to consider that Netanyahu has finally shown himself as one of the largest obstacles to any peace in Israel and the Near East, and as such, unconditional support for Israel must be rethought. Can we continue to subsidize Bibi's intransigence?
I ask Jews around the world, is it justice to bulldoze homes of Israeli Arab citizens so that Jewish homes can be built on top of them? How many more settlements will you allow to be built on top of the misery engendered upon your next-door neighbors that happen to be Muslim?
I ask my fellow Americans, can we stand by while the Israeli Prime Minister basically threatens war with Iran and cynically expects his American friends to sacrifice their sons and daughters so that his twisted view of the future may come to pass?
Now is the time to make a bold statement.
60
I understand that Mr Friedman wants to avoid that choice: "that Israel will become, in time, either a non-Jewish democracy or Jewish non-democracy."
Israel is in some quarters compared to Souh Africa, apartheid era. I wonder : the "Jewish non-democracy" could be what is called the petty apartheid. But the "two States solution" (to avoid "non-Jewish democracy") is really the Grand Apartheid solution : a two (or multi) States for South Africa. But that was condemned by everybody, including the NYT, wasn't it ?
Israel is in some quarters compared to Souh Africa, apartheid era. I wonder : the "Jewish non-democracy" could be what is called the petty apartheid. But the "two States solution" (to avoid "non-Jewish democracy") is really the Grand Apartheid solution : a two (or multi) States for South Africa. But that was condemned by everybody, including the NYT, wasn't it ?
5
"It is stunning how much Bibi’s actions serve Tehran’s strategic interests."
Is it? Nothing has served Tehran's strategic interests more than the American invasion, and destruction, of Iraq, which had Bibi's enthusiastic support.
Bibi's actions these last few days serve to confirm that he never was interested in making peace with the Palestinians (surprise, surprise) and that his gross duplicity makes it impossible to deal with him. He is leading Israel on a suicidal mission, and has been doing so for quite a while. The difference now is that the course he has set is unambiguous.
Is it? Nothing has served Tehran's strategic interests more than the American invasion, and destruction, of Iraq, which had Bibi's enthusiastic support.
Bibi's actions these last few days serve to confirm that he never was interested in making peace with the Palestinians (surprise, surprise) and that his gross duplicity makes it impossible to deal with him. He is leading Israel on a suicidal mission, and has been doing so for quite a while. The difference now is that the course he has set is unambiguous.
13
As usual, Friedman is full of it. The USA maintains territories which only have LOCAL voting rights and autonomy - Guam, Puerto Rico, the Marianas, American Samoa, etc.
People living there cannot vote for national offices in the USA, they only have a vote for their local government.
So under these facts, does Friedman assert the USA is not a democracy either? Israel could do exactly what the USA does - allow local autonomy and limited home rule in Arab-dominated areas, and not allow those areas to be able to elect any national offices - just as the USA does - in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, etc.
People living there cannot vote for national offices in the USA, they only have a vote for their local government.
So under these facts, does Friedman assert the USA is not a democracy either? Israel could do exactly what the USA does - allow local autonomy and limited home rule in Arab-dominated areas, and not allow those areas to be able to elect any national offices - just as the USA does - in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, etc.
15
Curious...would this voting model also apply to Jewish settlers in these areas, or would you gerrymander them into the voting class?
Two wrongs do not make a right. That the United States is hypocritical does not absolve Israel.
1
Do these American territories live under a brutal siege (Gaza) or an Occupation (West Bank)? Are their citizens denied their own tax money by the American government? Get real.
1
Tom Friedman, like President Obama, blithely neglects the unacceptable danger posed by a nuclear Iran and has quite evidently compromised his opinions to accommodate the mullahs.
Israel is having none of it.
Everything else is chatter.
Israel is having none of it.
Everything else is chatter.
15
Obama does not blithely neglect that possibility. I suggest you take a look at your ability to discriminate among blithe accusations, and actually weigh evidence.
4
A Palestinian state would be, from day one, a terrorist state. Hamas will NEVER accept Israel and will go to their graves trying to destroy it. By the way, to Americans who claim Israel is an "occupier" and should leave, I have a suggestion for you. Give your home and your land to a native American and emigrate to your ancestral roots (Europe, etc.) because, after all, you are occupying their land.
18
Palestinians elected Hamas. Bush and Netanyahu rejected the results of that election. Palestinians can be allowed to go to the polls again. Let them vote in a supervised election--and accept the result.
2
A little nuance please. Netanyahu's initial statement indicated that as long as the potential for an Islamist state (read a Hamas-controlled state) exists, the two-state solution is not viable. Even Abbas seems to agree given the recent detention of dozens of Hamas supporters by the PA security force in the West Bank. http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.646027 And yes Netanyahu's statement concerning the Arab turnout certainly seems racist, but would it still be called racist if he had called instead for his supporters to vote because the Zionist party voters were turning out in large numbers or better yet, if a US Democrat called for Democrats to vote because Republicans were turning out in large numbers? Having written all this, would I have voted Likud? Probably not, but Kulanu instead given its focus on economic issues and its stands on other issues including the two-state solution. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulanu for a quick overview.)
4
You forgot to count the 1.8 million Gazans that Israel is forcing to live like subuman rats. If they are counted Israel will die by Democracy. Ironical, isn't it, Democracy does not suit the middle east for a number of reasons.
13
Would you please stop obsessing about Palestinians who never done anything to deserve a State? Their contribution to the world has been terrorism and playing the victim. There are many groups in the world, Kurds come to mind, much more deserving of the efforts of the world to help create a State than the Palestinians. The Palestinians and their radical allies in the media, NGO's, UN, EU, etc have successfully created myths of Israeli aggression, oppression, human rights violations, apartheid which are complete inversions - the very things that the Palestinians themselves practice.
There was never an occupation of the Palestinians by Israel. The Palestinians had rejected a State alongside Israel in 1948 and attempted a genocide against Israel instead, with the help of Jordan, who occupied the West Bank after the 1948 war. Jordan's attack on Israel in 1967 left the Israelis to administer the West Bank which never had a Palestinian government. The ownership of the land which was allocated to the Jews by the League of Nations and its UN successor was "disputed". The Oslo accords brought autonomy to the West Bank and Palestinians have turned down all proposals for a State. There is no reason to change the current status quo. It is completely sustainable.
There was never an occupation of the Palestinians by Israel. The Palestinians had rejected a State alongside Israel in 1948 and attempted a genocide against Israel instead, with the help of Jordan, who occupied the West Bank after the 1948 war. Jordan's attack on Israel in 1967 left the Israelis to administer the West Bank which never had a Palestinian government. The ownership of the land which was allocated to the Jews by the League of Nations and its UN successor was "disputed". The Oslo accords brought autonomy to the West Bank and Palestinians have turned down all proposals for a State. There is no reason to change the current status quo. It is completely sustainable.
26
Kudos well said sir.
Completely sustainable? Right...
Although I have more sympathy for the cause of a Palestinian state than the author, a good point is made. From 1948 until now they have had the opportunity to occupy the West Bank as the Israelis had in their territory during the decades before their statehood - by building cities, the equivalent of kibbutzim, infrastructure and governing institutions. Instead they adhered to a fantasy that Israel could be destroyed, and they counted on their Arab neighbors who let them down again and agains as they egged them on. If they had built a real country instead of committing useless aggressions, Netanyahu would probably be ancient history by now.
1
It will now be very telling, just how many Jews decide to leave Israel. For those who moved to Israel or came because of wanting a democratic Jewish home, their dreams have vanished. Will they leave for the US or Europe? and then will ultra-orthodox American Jews along with their ultra-conservative Christians leave the US and move to Israel? The Israel I knew in 1962 is but a fond memory now - the dreams, goals, vision are all gone.
27
Joan -- the dreams and goals of everyone on the planet are just that -- dreams. As I recall, in 1961 we feared that the Russians were going to plant nuclear missiles off our coast, and we risked nuclear war over it. Stop judging how people are supposed to behave in an environment where their neighbors enter the 70th year of a formal war against them.
Moral judgments are always fraught with error.
Moral judgments are always fraught with error.
"Palestinians are almost always depicted as the underdogs and the Israelis as the bullies trying to deprive them of basic rights."
Depicted? Is there no fact, only perception?
The treatment of indigenous peoples in the Americas, Australia and South Africa is one of the enduring shames of people who espouse equality and democratic process. While we can't undo the injustices done in the 17-20th centuries, we can work to prevent the same type of injustice in the 21st century.
No one committed to justice can support the state of Israel outside the '67 borders. Bibi just (thankfully) put an end to the charade of a nebulous two-state solution the US has mouthed to support oppression with a straight face.
Depicted? Is there no fact, only perception?
The treatment of indigenous peoples in the Americas, Australia and South Africa is one of the enduring shames of people who espouse equality and democratic process. While we can't undo the injustices done in the 17-20th centuries, we can work to prevent the same type of injustice in the 21st century.
No one committed to justice can support the state of Israel outside the '67 borders. Bibi just (thankfully) put an end to the charade of a nebulous two-state solution the US has mouthed to support oppression with a straight face.
2
1. Who is Netanyahu supposed to negotiate with? Abbas? Hamas? If the Palestinians ever hold some elections and unite and declare their readiness to recognize Israel as a
Jewish State, Netanyahu will be ready to negotiate a two-state deal. Never before.
Why should he? That would be pointless.
2. What an amazing country Israel is.
With ISIS, Hezbollah and Hamas on their doorstep, a host of serious domestic issues facing them and President Obama about to present the Ayatollah with the keys to Nuclear Weapons Heaven, they still find time to hold a free, highly contested, open-to-everybody election.
Way to go Israel!
Jewish State, Netanyahu will be ready to negotiate a two-state deal. Never before.
Why should he? That would be pointless.
2. What an amazing country Israel is.
With ISIS, Hezbollah and Hamas on their doorstep, a host of serious domestic issues facing them and President Obama about to present the Ayatollah with the keys to Nuclear Weapons Heaven, they still find time to hold a free, highly contested, open-to-everybody election.
Way to go Israel!
7
So now the Thomas Friedman complains about democracy and demeans the entire process as if imposed by a communist dictator. Israel is entitled to decide its own fate. Ivory Tower NYT Columnists living in safety and security have opinions worth camel snot compared to Israelis citizens who face attack from sappers and mortars. Perhaps peace will be achieved through strength. After all, that is how America achieved peace.
6
It's clear many Israelis see war as a path to legitimacy & there are many in the US who want to go along; "peace" is not part of the conversation. Remember Isreal has atomic weapons & the hubris displayed by Bibi this past month shows there are no deterrents to its use.
"To be sure, he could disavow his two-state disavowal tomorrow. It would not surprise me. He is that cynical." - Sure he can and will, Our Presidents lie all the time too.
The hubris, racism, and fear-mongering of Netanyahu is paving the way for Israel's inexorable decline. Thumbing your nose at President Obama and the European Union is not a smart strategy for Israel to survive. I am sick and tired of Israel's antics and I am not alone. Disgusting.
11
Can you trust any of these warring tribes in the Middle East? The Old Testament recounts the struggles of the Israelites with their major enemy, the Philistines, whose lands included the city of Gaza. The Philistines, ironically, were absorbed into the Assyrian and Persian Empires in the 5th Century BC. Syria and Iran today occupy the Assyrian and Persian territories. Is it in America's interest to get drawn into these tribal feuds?
Tom, I couldn't agree with your sentiment more, but this has all been a game from the start. When I watch Netanyahu, I feel like watchng Robert Greene's "48 Laws of Power" in real life. To me its obvious that he never wanted a 2-state solution, and now he's revealed his hand in a, I agree, historic move. Netanyahu's egomania is so gross that he damaged Israel, revealed his view on the two-state solution in order to hold power, and be rememberd as one of Israel's longest serving Prime Minister's. But, please, do not deceive yourself so much as too assert that Israel this past 6 years has been a democracy. It hasn't. There are 2.72 million people living under its control without basic water service or the ability to vote. There are another 1.7 million people granted citizenship, but not full access to the corridors of decision making and power. Next time you see Netanyahu, Mark Regev or somebody on TV asserting that quote "Israel is the only democracy in the middle east" rebuke them, they are not. I for one support the BDS movement even more than I did yesterday, not because I hate Israel, but because I see the nation of Israel on "our team", "the good guys" and I don't want a player on our team denying democracy and human rights to any people, that's not how we move the world forward, that's not how we will succeed together. It is now time for you, Jews around the world, inside Israel and the diaspora especially to start supporting the boycott movement. Doesn't have to be BDS.
7
I admire President Obama for many reasons.
And I am sorry if his feelings have been hurt by Mr. Netanyahu.
But I find it ridiculous to suppose they actually have been.
The President is far too smart and in-control of himself to let that ever happen.
What I think is going on is that Mr. Netanyhu is on-to-something about the Iran deal that President Obama doesn’t want publicly revealed.
Perhaps it is that Iran is much closer to the bomb than people imagine or actually already has it.
And I am sorry if his feelings have been hurt by Mr. Netanyahu.
But I find it ridiculous to suppose they actually have been.
The President is far too smart and in-control of himself to let that ever happen.
What I think is going on is that Mr. Netanyhu is on-to-something about the Iran deal that President Obama doesn’t want publicly revealed.
Perhaps it is that Iran is much closer to the bomb than people imagine or actually already has it.
2
Perhaps... Imagine... suppose...
Imagine that China, Russia, France, and Germany were under Obama's thumb and that he could hide from them something Bibi knows--and won't share.
Imagine that China, Russia, France, and Germany were under Obama's thumb and that he could hide from them something Bibi knows--and won't share.
2
What is it that could possible make you think that Netanyahu is on to something? Facts please?
1
Good Lord. "Bibi" made a mistake or two "...deflecting attention from Iran's behavior." and "Palestinians almost always depicted as the underdogs and Israelis as the bullies trying to deprive them of basic rights." Honestly? And "Israeli civil rights abuses against Palestinians."
This is what the history books will refer to as the Gazan Slaughter. Over 2,400 civilians bombed to bloody pieces, 500 of them children and babies. Their cities left in rubble. Non-stop brutal oppression, land theft, displacement and imprisonment. Perfecting apartheid to a whole new level. A "bully" was the the guy who made you give him your candy bar or your seat on the school bus at the threat of a punch in the nose. Not applicable here.
Can we tell the truth? Much of the world has seen it on TV. So let us say the truth. This man is leading Israel straight into the hell that he has wrought on those he sent to the hospitals for life-times of pain and broken bodies. And to the graveyards he has filled.
The universal law that we reap what we sow cannot be avoided. Yes, "Bibi" will go down in history. Way down. "Very impactful."
For the love of humanity, for the Jewish Voice for Peace, for the tortured Palestinians, let us not besmirch the goodness of the world painting over atrocities with play words.
This is what the history books will refer to as the Gazan Slaughter. Over 2,400 civilians bombed to bloody pieces, 500 of them children and babies. Their cities left in rubble. Non-stop brutal oppression, land theft, displacement and imprisonment. Perfecting apartheid to a whole new level. A "bully" was the the guy who made you give him your candy bar or your seat on the school bus at the threat of a punch in the nose. Not applicable here.
Can we tell the truth? Much of the world has seen it on TV. So let us say the truth. This man is leading Israel straight into the hell that he has wrought on those he sent to the hospitals for life-times of pain and broken bodies. And to the graveyards he has filled.
The universal law that we reap what we sow cannot be avoided. Yes, "Bibi" will go down in history. Way down. "Very impactful."
For the love of humanity, for the Jewish Voice for Peace, for the tortured Palestinians, let us not besmirch the goodness of the world painting over atrocities with play words.
15
I read a lot about our good ally Israel, and I am well aware of our historical role in Israel's creation, of the historic reason WHY it was created -- had to be created -- and certainly agree that the victims of the Holocaust had a safe place to live as their right.
Given all that -- would someone please tell me what the US gets out of still supporting Israel as led by Mr. Netanyahu? Seems to me all he wants is to drag us into a war with Iran, Hezbolla, Palestine and god only knows who else. A war we cannot win and that will never, ever, end once it gets going.
Israel sounds to me like the powerless bully who knows he can push his weight around because his big brother backs him up. When his big brother stops, the little guy has to learn to get along or face the consequences.
Given all that -- would someone please tell me what the US gets out of still supporting Israel as led by Mr. Netanyahu? Seems to me all he wants is to drag us into a war with Iran, Hezbolla, Palestine and god only knows who else. A war we cannot win and that will never, ever, end once it gets going.
Israel sounds to me like the powerless bully who knows he can push his weight around because his big brother backs him up. When his big brother stops, the little guy has to learn to get along or face the consequences.
24
Israel wasn't "created" by the US or the UN. Its Jewish citizens won a devastating war of independence against all odds.
All anyone has to do is see a nuclear deal come through between the Iran and P5+1. If it doesn't go through by March 24, 2015 then maybe Benjamin Netanyahu has a better idea. Perhaps he will want to change his mind back to a two-state solution for all of Israel. I thought it would happen. I thought we could now leave it up to Israel to make peace in the Middle East. He does not understand that is what President Barack Obama is doing and what past U.S. Presidents have done. But that changed when he came to speak in the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill. He did not want to be a fill-in for a U.S. President. He wanted to be "King of the Day" and win re-election in Israel. I would not have said that had he lost but now there is no better time for Netanyahu to shift his position on the Palestinians especially if ISIL changes their minds in focusing on what country is next on their list to terrorize. As if Israel hasn't seen it's fair share of terrorism fpr how long now?
1
Campaigning and governing to the far right is nothing new. Here in Wisconsin Gov Walker has perfected that approach. And just like Bibi, he has enacted many far right policies while sinking his economy (we're dead last in the Midwest for job growth and our deficit is growing out of control again).
So how do they get away with it? By energizing their respective bases with lots of hate filled messages. For Bibi it's about turning on the Palestinians. For Walker it's about turning on the usual suspects of the unions, the liberal elite education systems, the poor (and their "unearned" handouts).
In either case, it's not a positive message of hope, is it?
So how do they get away with it? By energizing their respective bases with lots of hate filled messages. For Bibi it's about turning on the Palestinians. For Walker it's about turning on the usual suspects of the unions, the liberal elite education systems, the poor (and their "unearned" handouts).
In either case, it's not a positive message of hope, is it?
14
I can't help but feel sadness over this because of the missed opportunities that have happened over the years where peace seemed nearly within reach. I also can't help but think what a tragedy the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin was 20 years ago.
Israel has become like the old close friend where the relationship has turned toxic over the years and you sadly have to put some distance into the relationship. It's wrenching because the friend is someone you really care about but who has embarked on a course of self-destruction that is impacting your own life and you have no choice but to stop enabling them. You really hope your friend will come around, but you have that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach that they will not.
Israel has become like the old close friend where the relationship has turned toxic over the years and you sadly have to put some distance into the relationship. It's wrenching because the friend is someone you really care about but who has embarked on a course of self-destruction that is impacting your own life and you have no choice but to stop enabling them. You really hope your friend will come around, but you have that awful feeling in the pit of your stomach that they will not.
13
While the Arab population is growing faster than the Jewish population it is growing poorer. In the most civil and American-like future, how much of this one-state will be accessible to the Arab minority? The third possible future is one of gentrification.
Throughout this election cycle many Israelis voiced their concern with a high cost of living, including a radically inaccessible real estate market even for the employed and skilled young Jewish population. The center of Tel Aviv resembles a Manhattan of the late 1990's, and this exclusivity is expanding outward to cover most of the country. A mortgage is foregone conclusion to initially enter this market; a career is required for a mortgage; a set of useful skills is required for a career. For an impoverished Arab youth who has no memories of his grandfather's olive trees, caring little to continue a futile struggle that his parents have botched: will there be any sense in turning down a more fruitful and accessible opportunity in one of the twenty-one other Arab states?
The economics of this one-state future will shape its Jewish character, not the political stubbornness and poverty of the past conflicting generations.
Throughout this election cycle many Israelis voiced their concern with a high cost of living, including a radically inaccessible real estate market even for the employed and skilled young Jewish population. The center of Tel Aviv resembles a Manhattan of the late 1990's, and this exclusivity is expanding outward to cover most of the country. A mortgage is foregone conclusion to initially enter this market; a career is required for a mortgage; a set of useful skills is required for a career. For an impoverished Arab youth who has no memories of his grandfather's olive trees, caring little to continue a futile struggle that his parents have botched: will there be any sense in turning down a more fruitful and accessible opportunity in one of the twenty-one other Arab states?
The economics of this one-state future will shape its Jewish character, not the political stubbornness and poverty of the past conflicting generations.
1
What an incredibly cynical article! The American left is again on the wrong side of history. The arab palestinians do not want peace. The "peace process" is suppose to to be a means to an end: the parties come to the table with hopes of a win-win agreement both willing and able to make concessions. The Israelis do their part, the arabs never do theirs. The American left squeeze the Israelis for more while allowing the arabs to claim victimhood. The palestinian arabs need to either make a whole-hearted effort for peace, or, told to kick rocks.
10
Even if not directly involved in this election it is all as One expects. We shall see to what extent The Beast will continue to push forward with His Plan. People still doubt it but more and more start to ask who is behind ISIS and their world of Animals. People should also know that in regard to Force and Deception no other animal could compete. The Beast is the only One to have been Head of the CIA and also US president. His Plan together with the so called chosen people was signed by the son on 9/11 to instigate a great war of Religions. Another of his sons will be again US president. His story is in parallel with that of Rothschild and his sons. Rothschild became the richest man in the world in a single day with the War of Waterloo just like The Beast who also had His day on November 22 1963. How else One could get to own the World? Only with a trick.
1
I doubt Netanyahu is concerned about a possible backlash from Americans. Did you happen to see our entire Congress, save 60, jumping up and down to show deference during his Congressional rant? He really believes Americans are stupid and he believes those Americans who are not so starry eyed at his histrionics can be bedazzled by double speak. With the Citizens United Ruling, the Sheldon Adelson money bags and APAIC influence, America has been had.
39
It is difficult to accept that the citizenry of both the US and Israel consistently allow themselves to be mired in mental mud.
Perhaps the term "no brainer' should be revised to "no brainers"
Perhaps the term "no brainer' should be revised to "no brainers"
4
Netanyahu has ticked off everyone in the world except for the far right in Israel and the far right in the United States. This isn't going to be pretty.
9
It seems hate is the only winner. Keep teaching your children you are better than everyone else, we have to perpetuate hate. And we wonder why prejudice against Arabs and Jews won't go away.
12
In the present context (threats of annihilation from Iran, rockets from Hamas and Hezbollah, massacres by Daesh in Syria and Iraq, a deligitimisation campaign abroad and attacks by Palestinians inside), it is totally irrealistic to expect the Israelis to withdraw for a Peace that so many reject (Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, Daesh, etc..). Israelis are rightly frightened and nobody seems to care or understand, which just increases their paranoia... but who said "only the paranoids survive"?
4
Yes, all the Arab democracies are outraged by Israel's behavior in the most recent election.
Oh, wait . . .
Oh, wait . . .
7
It's upsetting how Bibi won but you know as well as anyone that when Sharon gave Gaza to the Palestinians Hamas was elected and hell ensued. You have said here in your column that the Palestinians are a sick people. Their hatred overshadows every aspect of goodness they have. I wish that Israel was an idea rather that land. Both parties here are losers if they believe that land is more important than human beings. Both sides will suffer for this ridiculous materialism.
2
Thwarting Iran requires allies. Isolating Israel from its potential allies by his position on a Palestinian State makes Netanyahu’s security rationalizations incoherent. A volte face plan exists that would make a Palestinian State key to Israel’s security.
The Plan: Israel takes the lead in forming an alliance with the West and Arab States to build a modern Palestinian State. America, Europe and Israel’s Arab neighbors would find it in their strategic interests to combine their influences and vast resources with Israel’s own energy, technical and commercial resources to help Palestinians create a prosperous State.
Israel’s objectives: First, the Plan would reverse the present foreboding loss of support for Israel in the West. Second, the Plan would be a model for, and open the door to an alliance with Israel’s other Arab neighbors. More than just contributing its nuclear and other military might in a security pact to offset Iran, Israel would contribute its knowhow and entrepreneurship to a commonwealth alliance with Arab States.
Israel would make it clear that it would need to surround the Palestinian State with surveillance and defensive capabilities which, in combination with its infrastructure and commercial connections to the Palestinian State, would preserve for it the quick ability to incapacitate the Palestinian State if it betrayed Israel’s patronage by an attack.
Those most threatened by this Plan: Iran, its Hamas and Hezbollah clients, and some Settlers.
The Plan: Israel takes the lead in forming an alliance with the West and Arab States to build a modern Palestinian State. America, Europe and Israel’s Arab neighbors would find it in their strategic interests to combine their influences and vast resources with Israel’s own energy, technical and commercial resources to help Palestinians create a prosperous State.
Israel’s objectives: First, the Plan would reverse the present foreboding loss of support for Israel in the West. Second, the Plan would be a model for, and open the door to an alliance with Israel’s other Arab neighbors. More than just contributing its nuclear and other military might in a security pact to offset Iran, Israel would contribute its knowhow and entrepreneurship to a commonwealth alliance with Arab States.
Israel would make it clear that it would need to surround the Palestinian State with surveillance and defensive capabilities which, in combination with its infrastructure and commercial connections to the Palestinian State, would preserve for it the quick ability to incapacitate the Palestinian State if it betrayed Israel’s patronage by an attack.
Those most threatened by this Plan: Iran, its Hamas and Hezbollah clients, and some Settlers.
1
Nice plan, and where do you propose to find the Arabs to support it? Until the world insists that the Arabs to grow up and accept Israel instead of insisting Israel commit suicide by constantly acceding to Arab plans to undermine and eventually destroy itself your plan will go no where. A two state solution won't work until there are, in actuality, two parties ready to make it happen and it's just not happening on the Arab side of the equation.
One interesting fact: Netanyahoo won 29 seats. The 3 winning parties that follow are Labor 24 United Arab party 14 and Yesh Atid (in pace with Labor) 12, which adds up to 50 seats. Add in Meretz, the liberal wing, and u have 55 seats, and that excludes all religious and right-wing parties. Get one moderate religious party on board and you have 62--enough for a parliamentary majority. That would be so cool--Israelis and Arabs, Jews christian and Muslims united under the banner of providing social welfare, health care and education to all citizens, but that won't happen because no Jewish party, no matter how liberal, would consider sharing a coalition with Arabs, and i mean the Israeli Arabs--1.7 million--20% of the electorate, not the downtrodden Palestinians in the occupied territories. Ponder that. Talk about sticking your head in the sand.
15
Hey Tom,
I hate to inform you of this, but the 2-state solution was dead years ago. Netanyahu and those who voted for him just made that a little more obvious. Eventually there will be a one state solution and the Palestinians will be the majority in that state. This means that there will no longer be a Jewish state in the Middle East. And why should there be? States founded on the basis of religion are terrible, as you so like to point out about Iran. But Israel is also a very good example. You cannot have a state with equal rights when it is based on religion.
So let's all celebrate Netanyahu's victory since it brings us closer to correcting the incredibly stupid British decision in the early 20th Century to create a Jewish state on land that was Palestinian. Let's high-five over the fact that the ongoing imperialistic disaster that is Israel might finally be on a course to rectify itself. And let's all hope that getting there doesn't involve too much more blood than has already been shed.
I hate to inform you of this, but the 2-state solution was dead years ago. Netanyahu and those who voted for him just made that a little more obvious. Eventually there will be a one state solution and the Palestinians will be the majority in that state. This means that there will no longer be a Jewish state in the Middle East. And why should there be? States founded on the basis of religion are terrible, as you so like to point out about Iran. But Israel is also a very good example. You cannot have a state with equal rights when it is based on religion.
So let's all celebrate Netanyahu's victory since it brings us closer to correcting the incredibly stupid British decision in the early 20th Century to create a Jewish state on land that was Palestinian. Let's high-five over the fact that the ongoing imperialistic disaster that is Israel might finally be on a course to rectify itself. And let's all hope that getting there doesn't involve too much more blood than has already been shed.
7
I certainly can understand Mr. Friedman jumping on the Israel bashing bandwagon. He wants to please his employer, The New York Times.
5
"nti-Arab dog whistles" is a completely wrongheaded construct. A dog whistle is not audible to people, but can be heard by the intended audience. Bibi didn't hide or sugar coat the anti-Arab rhetoric. It wasn't an "anti-Arab dog whistle." no, instead, it was anti Arab air raid siren...
11
As an American Jew and supporter and contributor to Israel, I am embarrassed, ashamed and unwilling to continue to support the country. Netanyahu is taking a path that plays right into the hands of its critics around the world. Netanyahu and Israel, make it difficult for Jews to support and defend the country. This is a major turning point in Israel's history, and it has all happened because of one ignorant, immoral leader.
36
Wow. It's all about Netanyahu and the regime in Iran, is it? Spare a thought for the dispossessed Palestinian Arabs, and Israeli Arabs whose access to the signature act of democracy is now in jeopardy.
7
Netanyahu's comment and your quote still hold true: Provided the Palestinian state recognizes Israel’s Jewish character and accepts demilitarization, he added, “We will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state.”
The Palestinians haven't and won't, for at least the next generation or two, accept their part of the two state solution. Bibi is just stating the facts that are continually misunderstood or avoided by the West. Israel is the West's tip of the arrow and has been the only Western nation that faces great danger in attempting to live in peace in the Middle East, while surrounded by war, chaos and mass murder just across their border. More Muslims have been killed by other Muslims than by the hand of the West. Tom, none of us will see the peace that may be achieved until Muslims of the world take charge of their future and attempt a peaceful solution to their 14 centuries of bloodshed against the West and each other. Bibi know this very well and so do the majority of Israelis.
The Palestinians haven't and won't, for at least the next generation or two, accept their part of the two state solution. Bibi is just stating the facts that are continually misunderstood or avoided by the West. Israel is the West's tip of the arrow and has been the only Western nation that faces great danger in attempting to live in peace in the Middle East, while surrounded by war, chaos and mass murder just across their border. More Muslims have been killed by other Muslims than by the hand of the West. Tom, none of us will see the peace that may be achieved until Muslims of the world take charge of their future and attempt a peaceful solution to their 14 centuries of bloodshed against the West and each other. Bibi know this very well and so do the majority of Israelis.
8
"Israel is the West's tip of the arrow..."
False. Other than, perhaps, Israel's thwarted invasion in the 1956 Suez Canal crisis, try to name an action by Israel that was not primarily in defense of itself but was really to support the West's larger goals.
The reality is that for fear of the reactions it would provoke, America and the rest of the West cannot use or even appear to use Israel's help in situations to protect the West's interests other than in those situations that also are a clear direct threat to Israel. In that sense, Israel can be something of an albatross with regard to the West's freedom of action.
False. Other than, perhaps, Israel's thwarted invasion in the 1956 Suez Canal crisis, try to name an action by Israel that was not primarily in defense of itself but was really to support the West's larger goals.
The reality is that for fear of the reactions it would provoke, America and the rest of the West cannot use or even appear to use Israel's help in situations to protect the West's interests other than in those situations that also are a clear direct threat to Israel. In that sense, Israel can be something of an albatross with regard to the West's freedom of action.
2
I think it would have been more helpful, Mr. Friedman, if you had not framed this piece with more fear-mongering over Iran. The drum beats of war against Iran have been deafening in the last two weeks -- Netanyahu at the Senate, the Senators trying to derail the nuclear negotiations, Joshua Muravchik's op-ed calling for a war with Iran in the Washington Post.
So your perpetuation of this cartoon-like portrayal of Iran is unhelpful. We need a new paradigm for this new day.
So your perpetuation of this cartoon-like portrayal of Iran is unhelpful. We need a new paradigm for this new day.
11
Friedman like many of his ilk are desperately looking for an enemy that will justify our obscene "defense budget." When we find one with an air force and navy I will become concerned. Until then it is up to our sad FBI and CIA to protect us from the stateless criminals who call themselves freedom fighters.
1
Here is hoping for an Isreali Spring.
No place on the earth needs regime change faster to diffuse a now accelerating ticking time bomb.
Racist, illogical,ineffective leaders like Bibi are utterly useless and undermine the efforts of so many who have worked and died for peace, stability and equitably in that region.
Even more precarious is that with their hand on the "red button" they are unacceptably dangerous as well. #isrealispring #byebyebibi
No place on the earth needs regime change faster to diffuse a now accelerating ticking time bomb.
Racist, illogical,ineffective leaders like Bibi are utterly useless and undermine the efforts of so many who have worked and died for peace, stability and equitably in that region.
Even more precarious is that with their hand on the "red button" they are unacceptably dangerous as well. #isrealispring #byebyebibi
7
I remember once when the US dropped its support and imposed economic and political sanctions on a country in which the ruling class oppressed a helpless segment of their population economically, denied them the right to vote, and used its military to maintain the status quo. Israel is using the same tactics of the former Apartheid South Africa on the Palestinians in the West Bank.
After decades of a stalemate with the new declaration by Bibi never to negotiate, why should the US continue to blindly support such a country? Why are my hard earned taxes being wasted in this manner?
After decades of a stalemate with the new declaration by Bibi never to negotiate, why should the US continue to blindly support such a country? Why are my hard earned taxes being wasted in this manner?
42
Most of us were disappointed by the initial, muted White House response. It's quite clear the Obama administration does not want to split its allies on Capitol Hill, during a very crucial moment in the Iran negotiations, over whether the US should stop acting as Israel's long-term, unwavering protector at the UN, regardless of Bibi's intransigence. That is Netanyahu's gamble and preliminary indications are that it will work in the short-term; he doesn't care about the long-term. Netanyahu also knows the president cannot move to cut off military aid to Israel without risking yet another fight and that it will take some time for the Democratic Party to unite against him.
Barack Obama has long hoped that even the hard-right parties in Israel could recognize demographic reality and would want to keep a Jewish state, even one smaller than today's version. Those hopes should now be firmly dashed. It is increasingly unlikely that "a Jewish democratic Israel survives (Netanyahu's) tenure." This is very sad, but the good Israel has been fading from view for some time now. With Bibi, we're seeing a lot more of the bad Israel. US leadership needs to recognize political reality in Israel.
Barack Obama has long hoped that even the hard-right parties in Israel could recognize demographic reality and would want to keep a Jewish state, even one smaller than today's version. Those hopes should now be firmly dashed. It is increasingly unlikely that "a Jewish democratic Israel survives (Netanyahu's) tenure." This is very sad, but the good Israel has been fading from view for some time now. With Bibi, we're seeing a lot more of the bad Israel. US leadership needs to recognize political reality in Israel.
15
Netanyahu's victory guarantees that a nuclear Iran won't be the only dangerous theocracy in the Middle East.
35
Friedman is just whining because his side lost. Now we await Obama's hissy fit. So are American Jews going to continue voting for the destruction of Israel or are they going to vote Republican? That appears to be the most interesting question around. Netanyahu is not going to allow Israel to fade into the night, Israel is not going to let itself fade into the night, Obama wants to turn the lights off, and now we watch how it plays out in America. The ME die is cast.
11
Be careful what you wish for. Many of the right wing Republicans you are so admiring of have a Biblically based support of Israel to fulfill the prediction of the end times. I can't see how Right wing Christians, Muslims, or Jews represent a balanced and sustainable position for a peaceful future.
1
Man Friedman you are really phobic of Iranians. They are human beings too, not cartoons going around high fiving "Allahu akbar" at the thought of eternal bloodshed.
8
"This makes null and void his speech in June 2009 at Bar Ilan University,"
Maybe nobody has noticed that there have been some significant changes since that six-year old statement. Iran is probably less than a year away from an atomic bomb, all statement to the contrary that they will never get the bomb. The negotiations are virtually useless at stopping their atomic bomb efforts (as Thomason notes, the UN, Europe, US, all impotent). That ISIS has arisen and is causing havoc not only in Iraq and Syria but in Yemen, Nigeria, Libya and who knows where else next. That Hamas rained thousands of rockets on Israel, which were mostly intercepted by Iron Dome.
So, folks, what do you think Bibi is looking out and seeing? He is seeing tiny Israel in mortal peril. Mr. Friedman, Bibi does not want to make the history of having been the leader when Israel was destroyed. That is an even greater possibility than it has ever been. He will not allow it. Are you ready for atomic war in the Middle East?
And, is the West so dumb that it can't stay focused on Iran no matter what is happening elsewhere. Apparently some think not.
There is a one-state solution, which I don't advocate, and that is to push all the Israeli Arabs into the West Bank and make Israel a Jewish state only. Period. No other religions allowed. Just like most of the Muslim countries. Christians are already being pushed out and have been for the past 30 years or so. They usually go to Europe or the US.
Maybe nobody has noticed that there have been some significant changes since that six-year old statement. Iran is probably less than a year away from an atomic bomb, all statement to the contrary that they will never get the bomb. The negotiations are virtually useless at stopping their atomic bomb efforts (as Thomason notes, the UN, Europe, US, all impotent). That ISIS has arisen and is causing havoc not only in Iraq and Syria but in Yemen, Nigeria, Libya and who knows where else next. That Hamas rained thousands of rockets on Israel, which were mostly intercepted by Iron Dome.
So, folks, what do you think Bibi is looking out and seeing? He is seeing tiny Israel in mortal peril. Mr. Friedman, Bibi does not want to make the history of having been the leader when Israel was destroyed. That is an even greater possibility than it has ever been. He will not allow it. Are you ready for atomic war in the Middle East?
And, is the West so dumb that it can't stay focused on Iran no matter what is happening elsewhere. Apparently some think not.
There is a one-state solution, which I don't advocate, and that is to push all the Israeli Arabs into the West Bank and make Israel a Jewish state only. Period. No other religions allowed. Just like most of the Muslim countries. Christians are already being pushed out and have been for the past 30 years or so. They usually go to Europe or the US.
2
I am experiencing waves of anxiety over the tragedy Netanyahu's reelection has condemned Israel to.
4
I have no idea what Tom Friedman means by "Iran's interests." It would be good if he would provide some idea of what he thinks they might be. Iran has been the only state that ha consistently championed Palestinian rights. The Arab states in the region have never really stepped up to the plate. So Iran's interests are in fact the betterment of the Palestinian condition. Anything that makes this more difficult is definitely not in Iran's interests.
Perhaps Tom thinks that old lie "Iran wants to see Israel wiped off the map" is what Iran's agenda is. This piece of nonsense--based on a mistranslation of a remark by former President Ahmadinejad--has been rattling around for ten years and is utterly false. Iran has never threatened Israel as a matter of state policy. Never.
In fact, if Israel would support sovereignty and a homeland for Palestinians they could regularize their relations with Iran in a trice. Iran has no problem with Jews, only with oppressive Israeli actions vis-a-vis Palestinians.
Rather than cheering Mr. Netanyahu's racist xenophobia, Iran mourns it, because it means that Israel is that much farther from providing justice for the oppressed Palestinians. Mr. Nethanyahu has just demonstrated how far away that possibility is.
As a coda to these remarks, Mr. Netanyahu and the Likud party have seemingly forgotten the demographic time bomb that would attend a one-state solution. The Palestinian population will overwhelm the Jewish Israeli population in 2025.
Perhaps Tom thinks that old lie "Iran wants to see Israel wiped off the map" is what Iran's agenda is. This piece of nonsense--based on a mistranslation of a remark by former President Ahmadinejad--has been rattling around for ten years and is utterly false. Iran has never threatened Israel as a matter of state policy. Never.
In fact, if Israel would support sovereignty and a homeland for Palestinians they could regularize their relations with Iran in a trice. Iran has no problem with Jews, only with oppressive Israeli actions vis-a-vis Palestinians.
Rather than cheering Mr. Netanyahu's racist xenophobia, Iran mourns it, because it means that Israel is that much farther from providing justice for the oppressed Palestinians. Mr. Nethanyahu has just demonstrated how far away that possibility is.
As a coda to these remarks, Mr. Netanyahu and the Likud party have seemingly forgotten the demographic time bomb that would attend a one-state solution. The Palestinian population will overwhelm the Jewish Israeli population in 2025.
245
I respect you as a scholar of Iran, but what is one to make of statements made by Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that “the presence of Zionists in the region is a satanic and cancerous presence and an infected tumor for the entire world of Islam?”
Dear Mr. Beeman,
So, I must have missed the part where Iran agreed to recognize the state of Israel and proceeded to swap ambassadors?
Then there's that whole "the Holocaust Never Happened" thing that Iran seems to embrace. Somewhere, they retreated on that stand?
Again, I must have missed it.
Mr. Netanyahu may be a "hard line, right wing creation" but the mere fact that he won a majority by whatever means tells me that the Jewish population is tired of the challenge of living in an area where "normal diplomacy" doesn't even exist (Saudi Arabian geography books don't even show Israel on the map).
Yes, things are going to be much harder in the region (As if it wasn't bad enough) but to cast Iran as "hand wringing" over Bibi's election and to say Iran has "no problem with Jews" is, plainly, absurd.
So, I must have missed the part where Iran agreed to recognize the state of Israel and proceeded to swap ambassadors?
Then there's that whole "the Holocaust Never Happened" thing that Iran seems to embrace. Somewhere, they retreated on that stand?
Again, I must have missed it.
Mr. Netanyahu may be a "hard line, right wing creation" but the mere fact that he won a majority by whatever means tells me that the Jewish population is tired of the challenge of living in an area where "normal diplomacy" doesn't even exist (Saudi Arabian geography books don't even show Israel on the map).
Yes, things are going to be much harder in the region (As if it wasn't bad enough) but to cast Iran as "hand wringing" over Bibi's election and to say Iran has "no problem with Jews" is, plainly, absurd.
How do you account for that deep national concern for a people far from the national borders and of quite different religious and ethnic identity?
If his racist screed just shifted votes from other right wing parties to his own, that does make him come in first and have first shot at forming a government, but how does that give him more total votes? If those who seek peace and a better economic situation for all in Israel, hold together, perhaps there is a chance yet to deny the right wing control of the government.
4
Thank you, Mr. Friedman, for once again telling it like it is with this globally serious situation. But, as long as the US, more specifically the US Congress, unconditionally backs Israel, the US, together with Israel, will become increasingly isolated. And as long as American voters allow the level of money in politics as we now have, Congress is not going to change. I expect that while a majority of Americans supports Israel's security, it does the same for the Palestinians. And should, as I fervently hope, an Arab Gandhi-like leader arise, support for the Palestinian cause will only grow stronger, at the expense of an increasingly bellicose Israel. Preferably, both Arabs and Israelis would be led by such towering figures, makers of positive history. With the re-election of Netanyahu Israel has chosen otherwise. That said, as has been clear for some time, we have our own problems with democracy here at home, and I have little confidence that the Congress will bend to the will of the majority. So, it comes down to US politics, and that comes down to money. The destiny of the entire planet is, in so many ways, imperiled by greed.
96
There is one thing Mr. Friedman did not mention and that is the Muslim rejection of a two state solution. Did they take Netanyahu up on his offer? NO. The Muslims, PA and Hamas do not want the existence of Israel. Period ! Had they really wanted a two state solution it would have happened long ago. I personally would love to see a two state solution where everyone lives in peace but that is not going to happen with the Muslim ideology of driving Israel into the sea.
1
I think that were an Arab to arise with Gandhi-like attributes, he would be immediately snuffed out by his brethren.
1
In the middle east, all the Arab states are far from being democracies. They either repress or shoot their minorities. But no real forceful outcry against their practices. The positions of the "opposition " folks is often more extreme than the rulers themselves. But every one seems to worry about what Israel would be like twenty years from now. The Israelis will make that decision themselves not any outside commentators!!!
Seemingly, Obama needs to offer Netanyahu an "out" of the nasty corner he has painted himself into. How so? By withdrawing unquestioning diplomatic support and cover; by restricting military aid; by refusing to underwrite any initiatives that sustain Israeli presence in the adjusted 1967 lines. By so doing, Netanyahu can fob the blame for "capitulating" on his ill-considered stance off on his nemesis, Mr. Obama and claim he had no other option. This maneuver will be simultaneously face-saving and pragmatic...but it probably won't happen.
50
I would love it if it did. I've long maintained there is no room in today's American Democrat Party for either Jews or Christians.
That would be playing Bibi's game of pitting Obama against the Congress. It wouldn't be face-saving and pragmatic because it wouldn't work. Bibi would not get his "out", the Congressional Republicans would grandstand and show an unsurprised world what nutcases they really are. More sound and fury signifying nothing. Obama has other things to do now (finally).
Yes, good ideas--for a logical country. America is not such a country. Any organization that is controlled by the male ethos is anti-Obama--USSS, Pentagon, Congress. We are on a knife-edge.
I see no reason to change what I said before O was inaugurated--that if he tried to do too much, he'd be assassinated. I added that if that didn't happen, he'd die the death of a thousand cuts delivered by Congress. I said more, and unfortunately, it was all too easy to read the tea-leaves.
I see no reason to change what I said before O was inaugurated--that if he tried to do too much, he'd be assassinated. I added that if that didn't happen, he'd die the death of a thousand cuts delivered by Congress. I said more, and unfortunately, it was all too easy to read the tea-leaves.
1
Excellent commentary. I would only stress what is quickly mentioned: Netanyahu could change his mind tomorrow. He follows the winds of power. Once his sails deflate, he tacks to catch the next gust, always with Israeli security and expansion in mind. This time, however, his tack will have to be counter-intuitive, a step back to take two steps forward. He will need to spend a good two years mending trust with Israeli Arabs, if that is even possible. He knows the numbers don't lie. Also, he'll need to spin his stubborn, myopic one state solution around. If he does not gracefully about-face, his page in the history books will be shameful. I predict that he is already navigating his slow rise to respectability, sails flapping in stagnate water now, but a gust of wind around the point. One must hope that he wakes up sober. We are stuck with him.
15
Netanyahu, like all successful politicians everywhere, will do or say whatever is necessary to gain and keep power. And he is, to boot, a charismatic leader. As another charismatic leader said recently, elections have consequences.
He has made himself clear - for now. Until Tuesday's elections, he was expected to negotiate a solution with an entity that denied the state that he heads the right to exist. The ball is now in the Arab court: like Bibi, they can reverse what they have been saying.
Or not.
Prediction very difficult, especially as regards future.
He has made himself clear - for now. Until Tuesday's elections, he was expected to negotiate a solution with an entity that denied the state that he heads the right to exist. The ball is now in the Arab court: like Bibi, they can reverse what they have been saying.
Or not.
Prediction very difficult, especially as regards future.
13
Smart perspective. Friedman should take note. His column should have begun with 'Palestinian's/Arab States refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist and until they do, Netanyahu refuses to negotiate.'
The Catholic Vatican City has a right to exist; so does the Jewish State of Israel.
The Catholic Vatican City has a right to exist; so does the Jewish State of Israel.
3
No, the ball is not in the Arab court. Bibi can withdraw all the Israeli citizens from the illegally-constructed settlements and turn them over to the Palestinian people to live in as a down payment for the abject destruction he caused when he unleashed his army against innocent, unarmed Palestinian civilians and tore their city to pieces. After he makes full restitution for the destruction he caused and compensates every single family for the death, destruction, and injury he caused, THEN the ball will be in the Arab's court.
Bibi is a warmongering piece of garbage, and he deserves no support whatsoever from the United States. I for one am glad President Obama did not call him to congratulate him on his victory.
Bibi is a warmongering piece of garbage, and he deserves no support whatsoever from the United States. I for one am glad President Obama did not call him to congratulate him on his victory.
5
Netanyahu never negotiated anything and the Palestinians do not deny the right of Israel to exist, they only want their land back to 1967 borders.
2
Netanyahu hasn't mattered during his nine year tenure, and he won't matter in the future. He's simply following a game plan that was written years ago Regardless of who the prime minister is, settlements will continue to expand, lip service will continue to be given to a two state solution, and proxy wars with Iran will continue to be fought.
The issue of a non-Jewish democracy vs. Jewish non-democracy is different. It has to do with the relative birth rates of Israeli Arabs and Jews. However, past trends are reversing. High birth rates of Israel Arabs have flattened and have been surpassed by the birth rates of the Jews, led by Haredim.
Twenty five years from now, Israel's biggest problem won't be Israeli Arabs. It will be Haredi Jews.
The issue of a non-Jewish democracy vs. Jewish non-democracy is different. It has to do with the relative birth rates of Israeli Arabs and Jews. However, past trends are reversing. High birth rates of Israel Arabs have flattened and have been surpassed by the birth rates of the Jews, led by Haredim.
Twenty five years from now, Israel's biggest problem won't be Israeli Arabs. It will be Haredi Jews.
33
20 years from now Israel will have more in common with the theocracies in its eastern neighborhood than with the West. At that time, its intellectuals will have moved out of the sands back to Berlin, Paris, London and Amsterdam where they truly belong.
2
As an American Jew, I had always supported Israel, admittedly in knee-jerk fashion. But Netanyahu's actions, from Washington to Jerusalem, have made me rethink completely my blind loyalty to Israel. I no longer think that being anti-Israel automatically makes one anti-Semitic. Why? Because I'm now anti-Israel. It's impossible to support a country whose leader deliberately destroys any chance for peace. No Shalom for you, Bibi.
757
That's like throwing the bath water out with the Bibi -- sorry, couldn't resist.
That's like saying I'm anti-USA because it's impossible to support a country whose [GOP-controlled Congress] deliberately destroys any chance for [effective governance]. Sometimes it's better when things go from 'bad' to 'worse' because 'worse' finally motivates action.
Things change.... "Another day, another time".
That's like saying I'm anti-USA because it's impossible to support a country whose [GOP-controlled Congress] deliberately destroys any chance for [effective governance]. Sometimes it's better when things go from 'bad' to 'worse' because 'worse' finally motivates action.
Things change.... "Another day, another time".
I don't know if I would say I'm "anti-Israel," but I certainly am now strongly opposed to the political stance of the country. Netanyahu made a big mistake in giving the speech to Congress. For he made it completely apparent that he is allied with the Republicans. That makes it much easier for us American Jews to give up our support for Israel. I don't support the Republicans in this country and I don't want to support them in Israel either.
5
"How many American Jews want to defend a one-state solution in Washington or on their college campuses?"
I'll take a shot at that one.
As long as President Obama, who has been a decent domestic policy maker (whether you agree with him or not), continues to react to Mideast developments, instead of articulating a clear American vision which does not fade when its own "red lines" are crossed, then American Jews will support an Israel which decides it does not now have a viable peace partner in Abu Mazen and Hamas.
American Jews know that the majority of Israelis support a comprehensive peace. But there a few reasons which might delay the "two state solution."
The question Mr. Friedman should be asking is, "If the US is about to give Iran a "sunset" provision on obtaining nuclear weapons, and with the fact that the other rogue regime, North Korea, has plenty of atomic weapons despite similar "executive understandings", why can't the US get Iran to agree also to stop shipping rockets to Hamas and creating a new war front against Israel across the Golan Heights while supporting Assad?"
So, I'll support a delay in surrendering land to the Arabs until Hamas and the PLO truly reconcile and adopt a real peace platform, and the Iranians agree to limit their hegemony to supporting Shiites in Iraq.
Therefore, the question is "do American Jews support surrendering land to a fractured Arab rule in Gaza, Judea and Samaria.."
No.
Now, go ask Arab-Americans their own question.
I'll take a shot at that one.
As long as President Obama, who has been a decent domestic policy maker (whether you agree with him or not), continues to react to Mideast developments, instead of articulating a clear American vision which does not fade when its own "red lines" are crossed, then American Jews will support an Israel which decides it does not now have a viable peace partner in Abu Mazen and Hamas.
American Jews know that the majority of Israelis support a comprehensive peace. But there a few reasons which might delay the "two state solution."
The question Mr. Friedman should be asking is, "If the US is about to give Iran a "sunset" provision on obtaining nuclear weapons, and with the fact that the other rogue regime, North Korea, has plenty of atomic weapons despite similar "executive understandings", why can't the US get Iran to agree also to stop shipping rockets to Hamas and creating a new war front against Israel across the Golan Heights while supporting Assad?"
So, I'll support a delay in surrendering land to the Arabs until Hamas and the PLO truly reconcile and adopt a real peace platform, and the Iranians agree to limit their hegemony to supporting Shiites in Iraq.
Therefore, the question is "do American Jews support surrendering land to a fractured Arab rule in Gaza, Judea and Samaria.."
No.
Now, go ask Arab-Americans their own question.
31
"articulating a clear American vision..." There has been no American vision in the Middle East for a very long time--if ever. There has been very clear greed.
Obama is too smart to give his foreign enemies more ammunition than they already stockpiled under G.W.B. Otherwise, I find O's strategy clear. Maybe because I'm older, and certainly smarter than most of his detractors. Thing is, you don't get the locals to fight their own battles by insisting, generation after generation: "Leave it to us. We'll show you how."
Maybe Obama will ask for boots on the ground before it is all over--and that's why he wants Congress to wake up and give him the go ahead. But no American boots on the ground yet--the Saudis need to come out of the dug-out and do their bit.
Obama is too smart to give his foreign enemies more ammunition than they already stockpiled under G.W.B. Otherwise, I find O's strategy clear. Maybe because I'm older, and certainly smarter than most of his detractors. Thing is, you don't get the locals to fight their own battles by insisting, generation after generation: "Leave it to us. We'll show you how."
Maybe Obama will ask for boots on the ground before it is all over--and that's why he wants Congress to wake up and give him the go ahead. But no American boots on the ground yet--the Saudis need to come out of the dug-out and do their bit.
2
Just one small problem. Although perhaps many (but fewer
after Netanyahu's revolting behavior) American Jews will still
say "No", the consistently sympathetic and supportive public
opinion Israel has enjoyed for decades is fast melting away. It
is beginning to appear that Likud et. al. will need more serious
methods of keeping the Arabs surpressed than hatred. It's the
same old Massa running the same old Plantation.
I do not feel my destiny ever had anything to do with Israel's,
and that goes for the pro-Isreal policies of the nation I live in.
This little ugly man - and the nation he represents, has insulted
the Office of the President of the United States, manipulated the
idiots in Congress like a shuckster, and by doing so has disgraced
our nation; that means he disgraced me. I'm not anti-semite, but
I've had enough of how our support of Isreal underwrites Israel's
harmful impact on America. It is time to take Isreal's and Bibi's
bottle away and resolutely apply the Bum's rush.
after Netanyahu's revolting behavior) American Jews will still
say "No", the consistently sympathetic and supportive public
opinion Israel has enjoyed for decades is fast melting away. It
is beginning to appear that Likud et. al. will need more serious
methods of keeping the Arabs surpressed than hatred. It's the
same old Massa running the same old Plantation.
I do not feel my destiny ever had anything to do with Israel's,
and that goes for the pro-Isreal policies of the nation I live in.
This little ugly man - and the nation he represents, has insulted
the Office of the President of the United States, manipulated the
idiots in Congress like a shuckster, and by doing so has disgraced
our nation; that means he disgraced me. I'm not anti-semite, but
I've had enough of how our support of Isreal underwrites Israel's
harmful impact on America. It is time to take Isreal's and Bibi's
bottle away and resolutely apply the Bum's rush.
Israel loves pounding on defenseless, innocent Palestinian civilians with their mighty military. I would love to see them go up against someone who can actually fight back. Bibi and Israel's military are nothing but bullies and cowards.
1
America has literally spent trillions wether furnishing weapons, providing monetary support to individual countries or giving the lives of our own soldiers. Nothing has endearered us to Middle East nations. It would seem to me America should get out of the Middle East. Whatever happens among the nations happens. Our sanction should be to encourage every country to refuse to sell arms to any government or terrorist group. Yes, the key is agreement and support among the nations of the world to stop selling any military equipment to any Middle East country. It is called starve the beast. When they reach the point of throwing sand at each other we will be ready with other nations to negotiate with all concerned parties.
38
Our economy is based on the war/oil/banking cabal. It would be bad for our war profiteers..so it won't happen.
The United States might cease to provide arms to those nations deemed 'friendly' to the U. S., but it will never convince other, like-minded countries to do likewise. Even if that were to happen, those countries deemed 'evil' will trip over themselves in the rush to fill the void, proclaiming as the U. S. has for so long, that they are "protecting their strategic interests" in the Middle East. The leaders of those dysfunctional Middle Eastern countries will shift their alliances, faster than a speeding bullet, to anyone who gives them their weapons of destruction.
On what grounds is Israel viewed as an ally of the US?
Cut them loose.
Cut them loose.
558
On the grounds that they pay each of the 535 elected officials sitting at The US Capital to treat them as an ally, that's why
No questions to ask, take your money, period
No questions to ask, take your money, period
"How many American Jews want to defend a one-state solution in Washington or on their college campuses?"
Not this American Jew -- unless that one state is a one-person, one-vote democracy where everyone, regardless of religion, in the current Israel, West Bank (Occupied Territories/Judea and Samaria), and Gaza Strip has an equal say in the ballot box and equal rights under law.
Not this American Jew -- unless that one state is a one-person, one-vote democracy where everyone, regardless of religion, in the current Israel, West Bank (Occupied Territories/Judea and Samaria), and Gaza Strip has an equal say in the ballot box and equal rights under law.
416
" demilitarized Palestinian state" This will never happen. Hamas forced themselves onto the Palestinians.
Israel conquered and has controlled all the land between the sea and the Jordan river for nearly 50 years. This is Eretz Israel or Judea and Samaria or whatever. Now it is no longer necessary to pretend that there will ever be a Palestinian state. It is time Israel extended citizenship to all its residents. it is time for Israelis to start building a just society. Mr. Netenyahu has done us all a big favor. And if the resulting country is not quintessentially Jewish, so what? It still has the potential to become a great country. It could become a beacon of liberty in the Middle East and an ornament to the Jewish people. It could bring great honor to Jewish people everywhere instead of the disgrace of being associated with the miserable apartheid state that presently exists.
227
The United States has 11-12 million illegal aliens/undocumented workers. By your twisted reasoning should we also give them the right to vote, or accept the mischaracterization of the U.S. as an "Apartheid" state? Should Mexico argue that there should be a single state, from the Yucatan to the Yukon, with its capitol in Mexico City? That is analogous to what the Palestinians advocate in their founding documents, rather than a "two-state" solution!
Israel made two proposals to evacuate most land captured in the 1967 "Six Day War," in exchange for peace, which were ignored by Yasser Arafat, who initiated the "Second Intifada , including the bombings of buses and cafes, and Mahmoud Abbas, respectively in 2000 and 2008. Why should the onus of floating a proposal always be on Israel? Nothing precludes Palestinians from proffering their own "two-state" solution. Their doing exactly that would raise significant pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to again reverse his position on a Palestinian state!
The tired, old, outdated "Apartheid" canard is the preferred tool of bigots seeking to delegitimize Israel, which since inception, unlike South Africa, has always been majority ruled. All citizens of Israel: Arab, Christian, Druze and Jewish, are entitled to vote, form political parties and hold public office. Like all other democracies, those rights are restricted to citizens. In which Arab nations, other than Tunisia, can minorities, not to mention the majority, exercise those rights?
Israel made two proposals to evacuate most land captured in the 1967 "Six Day War," in exchange for peace, which were ignored by Yasser Arafat, who initiated the "Second Intifada , including the bombings of buses and cafes, and Mahmoud Abbas, respectively in 2000 and 2008. Why should the onus of floating a proposal always be on Israel? Nothing precludes Palestinians from proffering their own "two-state" solution. Their doing exactly that would raise significant pressure on Mr. Netanyahu to again reverse his position on a Palestinian state!
The tired, old, outdated "Apartheid" canard is the preferred tool of bigots seeking to delegitimize Israel, which since inception, unlike South Africa, has always been majority ruled. All citizens of Israel: Arab, Christian, Druze and Jewish, are entitled to vote, form political parties and hold public office. Like all other democracies, those rights are restricted to citizens. In which Arab nations, other than Tunisia, can minorities, not to mention the majority, exercise those rights?
3
"To be sure, he could disavow his two-state disavowal tomorrow. It would not surprise me. He is that cynical."
Who would believe him?
Who would believe him?
42
john Boehner
2
I have read comments in the NY Times that Bibi will be a deeper thorn in Obama's side. Nothing could be further from the truth. Obama can now comletely ignore Bibi, The King of Israel. They have nothing to talk about.
We can stop making the enormous efforts to provide framework for the Jews and Palistinians to eventually live in peace next to each other. And the USA can stop embarassing ourselves in the UN by being the only stae on the security council that defends Israel.
We can stop making the enormous efforts to provide framework for the Jews and Palistinians to eventually live in peace next to each other. And the USA can stop embarassing ourselves in the UN by being the only stae on the security council that defends Israel.
632
spot on....what thorn? All Obama has to do is nothing at all and let Netanyahu stew. The UN would be a good place to begin removing our support.
6
My friends and I, Jewish and non-Jewish, hero-worshiped the Israel of the 1950s and 1960s. Maybe the dream of peace someday was a myth, but it was a necessary one, necessary to Israelis most of all. Netanyahu just killed it. He's made official that Israel can exist only as a Spartan state keeping its helots in check. That's not an Israel I can support, and I suspect that many, even most, of my Jewish friends can't either.
311
Dan, you may know this, but back in the '40s, Hannah Arendt used that exact word--"Spartan"--when she predicted what would become of Israel...
1
For all the talk of intent or lack of intent, there is very little talk of actual implementation or solution.
The Palestinian demand is total withdrawal from the West Bank and from "East Jerusalem" as well as implementation of a "right of return" of descendants of Palestinian refugees to the State of Israel. The West Bank is to be Judenrein. And what does the State of Israel get? Peace, security, a warm feeling that Diaspora Jews are more comfortable?
The Palestinians had deals on the table in 2000 and 2008. It was not their ideal deal, but it offered 93-96% of the land. They turned it down. Had these deals been accepted and if today there was a Palestinian State, would it serve or have served for attacks against Israel? Could be, but then we shall never find out.
So while you, Mr. Friedman, like everybody else stress the beginning of Mr. Netanyahu's statement, most Israelis look at the second part of the statement, even those who voted against Mr. Netanyahu for a variety of reasons (or at least the person typing this comment).
You yourself quoted yesterday Yediot Ahronot columnist Nahum Barnea that Mr. Netanyahu's promises are like something written in ice on a very hot day. And we have learned from the NYT last week that politicians "evolve".
My candidate did not win, but deep down, most Israelis know that much of what Mr. Netanyahu says is true.
If that makes the American Jewish community uncomfortable then so be it.
As for the Iranian Supreme Ruler, allow me not to care.
The Palestinian demand is total withdrawal from the West Bank and from "East Jerusalem" as well as implementation of a "right of return" of descendants of Palestinian refugees to the State of Israel. The West Bank is to be Judenrein. And what does the State of Israel get? Peace, security, a warm feeling that Diaspora Jews are more comfortable?
The Palestinians had deals on the table in 2000 and 2008. It was not their ideal deal, but it offered 93-96% of the land. They turned it down. Had these deals been accepted and if today there was a Palestinian State, would it serve or have served for attacks against Israel? Could be, but then we shall never find out.
So while you, Mr. Friedman, like everybody else stress the beginning of Mr. Netanyahu's statement, most Israelis look at the second part of the statement, even those who voted against Mr. Netanyahu for a variety of reasons (or at least the person typing this comment).
You yourself quoted yesterday Yediot Ahronot columnist Nahum Barnea that Mr. Netanyahu's promises are like something written in ice on a very hot day. And we have learned from the NYT last week that politicians "evolve".
My candidate did not win, but deep down, most Israelis know that much of what Mr. Netanyahu says is true.
If that makes the American Jewish community uncomfortable then so be it.
As for the Iranian Supreme Ruler, allow me not to care.
18
I agree with Friedman. Last 2 columns have been exactly right. I want to emphasize Friedman's point that Netanyahu's victory is not over the extreme right, as a Times article is suggesting; Netanyahu himself is now the extreme right. Only thing I want to add to Friedman's piece, which is really kind of obvious, is that even if Bibi reverses himself, as Friedman suggests would hardly be surprising, who's going to care? No one would believe him. It's astonishing that it's the Palestinians now who are saying, already, that they have no partner for peace! No walking this back, folks!
126
I don't quite understand Friedman's obsession with Iran.
Iranians don't export terrorism to the west. They don't have terror cells in the west. They are now helping to fight Isis. Compared to the Sunnis they are well behaved. They may not like Israel, but the Palestinians are Sunni Arabs, so the relationship isn't that tight. A reasonable treaty with Iran might get them off Israel's back too.
Iranians don't export terrorism to the west. They don't have terror cells in the west. They are now helping to fight Isis. Compared to the Sunnis they are well behaved. They may not like Israel, but the Palestinians are Sunni Arabs, so the relationship isn't that tight. A reasonable treaty with Iran might get them off Israel's back too.
26
The Palestinians have no partner for peace?
Neither do the Israelis have one!
What will cause Mr. Netanyahu to again reverse his position on a Palestinian state?
An unequivocal Palestinian commitment to negotiate a "two-state" solution!
When that commitment happens, the pressure on Mr. Netanyahu, from both within and without Israel, will be so overwhelming that he will have to reverse his position!
But, don't hold your breath waiting!
Neither do the Israelis have one!
What will cause Mr. Netanyahu to again reverse his position on a Palestinian state?
An unequivocal Palestinian commitment to negotiate a "two-state" solution!
When that commitment happens, the pressure on Mr. Netanyahu, from both within and without Israel, will be so overwhelming that he will have to reverse his position!
But, don't hold your breath waiting!
2
they don't export terrorism? what about the 241 marines they killed in Lebanon who were there to help keep the peace? They are hanging people for being gay in Tehran Tim. it's not complicated, not nuanced, you don't need to go to the Kennedy School to understand this, Iran is a medieval western hating terror state. Israel is the democracy being attacked since time began. if you wonder why they are always as such a small minority, attacked, it is because they have survived, where in the past, the minorities are usually wiped out, never to be picked on again. Open your eyes to who the good guys are.
A gradual move towards a one-state solution would be the best thing to happen both of Israel and Palestine. Actually any county monolithic demography only get more conservative and sometimes radical. New ideas only flourishes in political realm when political parties try to woo their demographic opponents.
9
Won't happen. Instead Isreal will now move to a theocracy, as soon as someone can decide who is Jewish enough to vote. i
That will work about as well for Israel as it has for Syria, Iraq and Lebanon, all which having no Jewish population, are engaged in violent, destructive civil wars between the Sunnis, Shia, IS/Daesh and the remnants of al-Qaida. Israel has valid reasons for being the homeland of the Jewish people, the primary one being national stability!
2
Miriam, it would be rather hard to have a "theocracy" when there are numerous religions in Israel -- not just Jews and Muslims, but Christians, Ba'hai and others -- and not just one kind of Judaism, but Reform and Conservative and Orthodox and Ultra Orthodox -- who all disagree BTW! -- and the majority of Jewish Israelis are non-observant and secular.
As a liberal American Jew, I have to say that when I look over at Israel now, all I think is "Republicans." I'm sure I'm not alone among liberal American Jews in thinking that. That's a big population to alienate, and it can't be good for Israel.
517
You are not alone. We just need to stand up and say it loud and clear.
3
Many formerly liberal Jews are increasingly turning to the G.O.P., as Republican support for the survival of Israel, is outpacing that of the Democrats.
Check out the Republican Jewish Coalition at: www.rjhq.org
Check out the Republican Jewish Coalition at: www.rjhq.org
2
As a liberal American Jew, I would even go father than you and not think Republicans when it comes to the soon to be formed new Israeli government, but Tea-partiers. Mr. Friedman calls the new Bibi far-right.
In the US so-called conservatives are already the far-right, whereas the Tea-Party and Bibi have gone straight to the arch-right. There is no more space available to the right of the cliff they are standing on.
In the US so-called conservatives are already the far-right, whereas the Tea-Party and Bibi have gone straight to the arch-right. There is no more space available to the right of the cliff they are standing on.
6
He should resign. He got ahead of himself.
9
exactly!
Why not focus your piece on the Israeli people, who supported this bigoted, cynical, and racist politician? He did not strengthen Iran, they did. I think that it's time that this self destructive society feel the full force of the BDS movement and the withdrawal of the U.S. taxpayers' support for this settler colonial society.
393
Caroline, how welcome are you as a woman in "Palestine" to voice your opinion, what of your gay or Christian friends? Do you watch the news? They have no semblance of freedom of speech, religion or gender equality. They danced in the streets on 9/11, they have kidnapped and killed our diplomats in Khartoum, allied with Al Qaeda and ISIS. What part of all of this makes you feel a kindred spirit with them worthy of nationhood, while castigating the one democracy in the whole middle eastern sewer that has made offer after offer of peace, only to be rebuffed with words and violence every time? There is normally no talking to people so blind as you, but i cannot remain silent. Tell me when you would have a family member vacation in "Palestine" or Syria, Lebanon, or Saudi Arabia for that matter. Tell them to bring a bible with them, while wearing a dress and see what happens to them. Such blindness, so sad.
1
I am ashamed of my country's continued support of Israel.
This sentiment, which used to mark someone as a "fringe element" of some sort, is now very much mainstream in America, even if it is not represented by either of the major parties due to fear of the Israel lobby.
Netanyahu can do whatever he wants; fundamentally, we will back him. This may give Israelis the mistaken impression that America is on its side. Increasingly, US citizens are not. Some day Israel will need America's good will and will come calling for it and find out it has evaporated more than they understood.
This sentiment, which used to mark someone as a "fringe element" of some sort, is now very much mainstream in America, even if it is not represented by either of the major parties due to fear of the Israel lobby.
Netanyahu can do whatever he wants; fundamentally, we will back him. This may give Israelis the mistaken impression that America is on its side. Increasingly, US citizens are not. Some day Israel will need America's good will and will come calling for it and find out it has evaporated more than they understood.
331
Actually, I think American military and monetary support should evaporate right now. Netanyahu and the Israelis and others who support him need a very large shock. And we could use the money on some of our other needs.
5
This is a tragedy. Mr. Friedman nailed it, as a supporter, I am getting more and more alienated to the Jewish cause. I am a full supporter of the Israeli people however it is increasingly difficult to defend their positions when they continue to push illegal settlements, and elect leaders who have no interest in trying to construct a long term solution to this problem. Palestinian rights are not going away. Do the obvious: create two states and make Jerusalem an international zone controlled by no one but open to all - secured by international forces. This is an over-simplification yes, but even Bibi is now rejecting this principle.
70
Sickening to read, as it rings so true. What's the end-game when you're totally surrounded by enemies?
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to expat - the ugly last minute push of Mr. Netanyahu to win at any cost brings to mind Pogo who said 'we have met the enemy and he is us'
This is a sad time for Israel and the world. It will end badly. Extremists of the right need extremists of the left. Right wing assassin(s) of Rabin ended the best hope for peace. In the end Israel will be the biggest loser.
Israel is an island of 6 million in a sea of 1.5 billion Muslims. In the long run it can not survive by the suppression of its Muslim minority whose pain will become increasingly felt by not just Muslims but the entire world.
Hamas terrorists will continue to bait Israel into over-reaction. And the Israeli right will oblige them. Netanyahu's electron is another step into oblivion. The only issue may be how much of the rest of the world will be dragged down with him. The Israeli's are the crew of the Pequod and captain Ahab is beckoning them to join him.
Israel is an island of 6 million in a sea of 1.5 billion Muslims. In the long run it can not survive by the suppression of its Muslim minority whose pain will become increasingly felt by not just Muslims but the entire world.
Hamas terrorists will continue to bait Israel into over-reaction. And the Israeli right will oblige them. Netanyahu's electron is another step into oblivion. The only issue may be how much of the rest of the world will be dragged down with him. The Israeli's are the crew of the Pequod and captain Ahab is beckoning them to join him.
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"Israel is an island of 6 million in a sea of 1.5 billion Muslims."
A tired trope, and a funny view of geography. I didn't know these below were neighbors of Israel:
180 million of those Muslims are in Pakistan.
180 million of those Muslims are in India.
Another around 180 million of those Muslims are in Bangladesh.
Some 200 million of those Muslims are in Indonesia.
75 million are in Nigeria.
44 million are in Europe, not counting Turkey.
The "sea" rapidly becomes a lake and then a pond.
A tired trope, and a funny view of geography. I didn't know these below were neighbors of Israel:
180 million of those Muslims are in Pakistan.
180 million of those Muslims are in India.
Another around 180 million of those Muslims are in Bangladesh.
Some 200 million of those Muslims are in Indonesia.
75 million are in Nigeria.
44 million are in Europe, not counting Turkey.
The "sea" rapidly becomes a lake and then a pond.
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The problem is not Bibi, but the people who elected him. They voted anti-Arab.. The more the Arabs. the more that will be the issue, like in Alabama and Mississippi
The Israeli voted for a man who wants terrorism in the Middle East to justify his policy on Palestine. Now Iran is supposedly an existential threat (nonsense, it is concerned with nuclear Pakistan on its border), but 14 years it (including Friedman) had an all-out media campaign to overthrow Iran's effective enemy Saddam. Israel just wants us in a war there. It supports fundamentalist Saudi Arabia, which created ISIS.
The time has come to recognize that Israel is not an ally, but an enemy. Turkey with some 80 million people is the stabilizing great power in the region, and we should ally closely with it.
The Israeli voted for a man who wants terrorism in the Middle East to justify his policy on Palestine. Now Iran is supposedly an existential threat (nonsense, it is concerned with nuclear Pakistan on its border), but 14 years it (including Friedman) had an all-out media campaign to overthrow Iran's effective enemy Saddam. Israel just wants us in a war there. It supports fundamentalist Saudi Arabia, which created ISIS.
The time has come to recognize that Israel is not an ally, but an enemy. Turkey with some 80 million people is the stabilizing great power in the region, and we should ally closely with it.
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Actually, Iran would have been the stabilizing force in the region if we hadn't overthrown its pro American democratically elected President in the 1950s because he wasn't giving a British oil company a good enough deal on Iranian oil. Once the generation of pain we set loose on the Iranians passes, it can again step into such a stabilizing leadership role, unless, pushed by Bibi and Republicans, we alienate yet another generation of pro American pro democracy ( see 2009) young Iranians
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Time for Israelis to go it alone.
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The reality is that two-state or not, it is impossible for Israel to maintain a Jewish majority in perpetuity. For the simplicity of the argument, let's use the simplest exponential growth model for population. Using the data provided by Mr. Friedman, one sees that, with one-state, there will be more Israeli Arabs/Palestinians than Israeli Jews in about seven decades. With two-state, this will happen in about two and a half centuries. The time intervals are different; but the end results are the same.
The best case scenario is for Israel becoming a multi-cultural/ethnic/racial society like the US, but with Jewish character, where Jews and Palestinians live in harmony.
The best case scenario is for Israel becoming a multi-cultural/ethnic/racial society like the US, but with Jewish character, where Jews and Palestinians live in harmony.
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I agree with you that the only peaceful approach is some kind of pluralist system.
But you are wrong in one sense. The Jewish population is already a minority in the combined lands that were once the British Mandate of Palestine. Mr. Friedman left off the numbers from Gaza, which was 1.8 million. Even if you use his Israeli friendly numbers, the population would be tied at 6.2 each.
I got numbers from the CIA Factbook online almanac. At that site, the number of Israeli Jews is 5.9 million, the number of Israeli Non-Jews is 1.9 + West Bank 2.7 + Gaza 1.8 = 6.4 milliion.
The numbers still favor Israeli-Jews in that 40% of the Arabs are under 15, which means, that the Jewish population is still a majority from the number of people franchised. This explains two things: why the Palestinians are demanding one man, one vote, yet and why Netanyahu was trying to drive the remaining European Jews into Israel last month.
Netanyahu said that those Jews weren't safe in Europe. But Europe is still ruled by law. I'm not sure I'd feel safer in an Israel where I was suddenly a minority either.
But you are wrong in one sense. The Jewish population is already a minority in the combined lands that were once the British Mandate of Palestine. Mr. Friedman left off the numbers from Gaza, which was 1.8 million. Even if you use his Israeli friendly numbers, the population would be tied at 6.2 each.
I got numbers from the CIA Factbook online almanac. At that site, the number of Israeli Jews is 5.9 million, the number of Israeli Non-Jews is 1.9 + West Bank 2.7 + Gaza 1.8 = 6.4 milliion.
The numbers still favor Israeli-Jews in that 40% of the Arabs are under 15, which means, that the Jewish population is still a majority from the number of people franchised. This explains two things: why the Palestinians are demanding one man, one vote, yet and why Netanyahu was trying to drive the remaining European Jews into Israel last month.
Netanyahu said that those Jews weren't safe in Europe. But Europe is still ruled by law. I'm not sure I'd feel safer in an Israel where I was suddenly a minority either.
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"Ruled by law" Tom? You must be joking. Europe has lost control, its culture and traditional Judaeo-Christian liberal but orderly, peaceful society due to its own multiracial "one state" experiment. It just does not work when the new demographic includes a large group who sincerely believe that it is their way or no way. OK you can cast aspersions at what I'm saying but WTC, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Boston, Nigeria, Pakistan inter alia are but a beginning, you mark my words! All this sanctimonious rubbish criticizing is just escapist self denial.
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Why would you count Gaza, Tim? They have their own elections. Israelis do not vote in Gazan elections and Gazans do not vote in Israeli elections.
It's like saying the Democrats would have won last November, if only all the votes from CANADA and MEXICO had been counted.
It's like saying the Democrats would have won last November, if only all the votes from CANADA and MEXICO had been counted.
Bibi says there can be no two state solution on the one land and it is apparent there can be no one state solution for the two people. This leaves only one possible solution that doesn't involve apartheid, two classes of citizens or a catastrophic war. That solution is the establishment of a Palestinian or Jewish state in some other location.
The world has become mostly urban and the relatively small Palestinian or Israeli Jewish populations can easily be accommodated as a separate country somewhere in the middle of North America where there is ample water and arable land.
The time money and energy spent trying to stop this volatile situation can be better spent building homes, cities and infrastructure in what is now Canada or the US. It would spur the North American economy and recruit many talented and capable people into a growth dependent North American economy.
I have watched Alberta grow from one million to three million people in 35 years, I have seen Toronto grow from a million when I first moved there to 8 million today. A new nation of six to eight million people in North America should be a piece of cake.
The world has become mostly urban and the relatively small Palestinian or Israeli Jewish populations can easily be accommodated as a separate country somewhere in the middle of North America where there is ample water and arable land.
The time money and energy spent trying to stop this volatile situation can be better spent building homes, cities and infrastructure in what is now Canada or the US. It would spur the North American economy and recruit many talented and capable people into a growth dependent North American economy.
I have watched Alberta grow from one million to three million people in 35 years, I have seen Toronto grow from a million when I first moved there to 8 million today. A new nation of six to eight million people in North America should be a piece of cake.
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At this point these ancient enemies all deserve one another.
I love Israel, but its smashing success in 1967 against Arab armies may have sown the seeds of its own ruin.
6
Well, I suppose that they could have pushed 70-80% of the West Bank Arabs across the Jordan river then and there, a spasm of ethnic cleansing that they could have blamed upon the fog of war/right of conquest etc..., and then spent the next 150 years atoning for with payments in kind. It would have been very ugly, but it would have left them with the land that they so want. In 67 they and the world were only 22 years since the Holocaust and so they had political capital for doing that - and it would have cost all of it. I think they didn't do it, because they remember having been on the down side of ethnic cleansing themselves. But now the numbers of people in the West Bank and Gaza are far too large for that kind of consideration and the political capital is far too small. Still, it is quite obvious now that the long term plan is to squeeze Palestinians out slowly over time. Another thing they should have done was to have spent intensely on educating the girls of Palestine - the thing that's assaulting Israel is the demographics, and the crazy high Palestinian natural rate of increase. Everyone knows now that education of women reverses that, and the children that they did have they might have educated into better citizens themselves.
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Educating Palestian girls? What would make anyone think Isreal is going to anything to Plaestians but impoverish them and squeeze them into increasingly constrained areas surrounded by Ireali settlements. What could go wrong?
Friedman speaks as if the peace process was going somewhere. It was always dead in the water, but people felt better saying there was a process taking place. Nothing can be worse than what has been. The Palestinians turning down legitimate offers right and left. At least, now, there's a change in tactics. Can it be worse? I doubt it. But maybe by not playing by the same old rules it might actually lead to something better. That's my two cents (sense.).
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Attention! A grownup has entered the conversation.
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Nothing can be worse? I can easily see worse; formal annexation of Gaza and the West Bank coupled with refusal to enfranchise the Palestinians. The formal one state solution that keeps Israel a Jewish State, with democracy only for the chosen.
In the past few weeks Netanyahu has alienated many Americans by his diplomatic fiasco of a speech to Congress. He has alienated many Europeans by attempting to convinced their Jewish citizens that they are unsafe and should emigrate to Israel. And this week he alienated much of the Arab world, and many others, by his denial of a two state solution. It will now be interesting to see how he conducts foreign policy with those he has stepped on in order to get reelected.
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The Republican Congress - voted in by Americans - invited him.
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Lets start by cutting off all military aid to Israel. I don't believe they need our help, they never did and they never will.
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You may be right. On the other hand, if the Israelis offer full citizenship to Palestinians, but also demand that they speak Hebrew at school and work, serve in the Israeli Army, and become fully immersed in Israeli culture - in short if they demand of the Palestinians the normal responsibilities of membership in Israeli society, many may opt out. It would be a revolutionary event if the archaic, static little cultures of the Middle East started to melt away.
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Karl, you know that is not going to happen. The move to disenfrancise anyone is well underway in Isreal - not the other way around.
1
I am so deeply disappointed by Israel. I do not think they will ever get our trust back after this. If enough Americans think as I do, we will retreat from the region.
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Retreat to go where? Globally, there is no such thing as "retreating" into some isolated corner...especially not with a nuclear Iran swearing to destroy Israel...no matter whether left or right runs that country.
1
While I usually agree with Mr. Friedman, I disagree this time. Netanyahu's move to the extreme right, and his rejection of a two-state solution, will not reduce the support that Israel enjoys within America, not one bit. The Republicans in congress, the Democratic elected officials who are gushy about Israel, and the whole Adelson-backed infrastructure, will be only too happy to follow Netanyahu to the rightward fringe. They will be happy with a one-state solution. They will revel in anti-Arab whistles. They will enjoy seeing Palestinian hopes for statehood crushed. That is the unfortunate reality, a reality which Netanyahu well understands.
12
Netanyahu is no statesman, but a lying, racist demagogue.
The Jewish people have seen the kind before, unfortunately. The kind that targets an ethnic or religious minority of a country's citizens in order to get political mileage by appealing to the most ignoble and ignorant kind of racist prejudice. It's shameful that the US would even think of such a duplicitous rabblerouser as an ally.
The Jewish people have seen the kind before, unfortunately. The kind that targets an ethnic or religious minority of a country's citizens in order to get political mileage by appealing to the most ignoble and ignorant kind of racist prejudice. It's shameful that the US would even think of such a duplicitous rabblerouser as an ally.
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