The Silence of the Left

It was a bloody weekend in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, but you'd never know it from the silence of the left.

For the past few days, a mini civil war has been raging between Fatah and Hamas, two of the Palestinian terror factions vying for power, and the result isn't pretty: 25 Palestinians killed by fellow Palestinians, including at least two children.

The two groups have also been kidnapping each other's members, with over 50 Palestinians abducted in the past 48 hours alone.

Hamas and Fatah loyalists have also been firing mortar rounds at each other's offices, directing gunfire at each other's homes, and planting bombs in an effort to kill their rivals.

Interestingly, this spate of intra-Palestinian violence has been largely ignored by the left, and for good reason. The sight of Palestinians kidnapping, shooting and killing each other does little to advance their goal of establishing a Palestinian state and getting rid of the "territories", so the left would rather look the other way and disregard this entire messy affair.

But hiding one's head in the sand is no way to formulate policy or to run a country. What is taking place now in Gaza and elsewhere just serves to underline once again, in very dramatic fashion, just how dangerous it would be to give the Palestinians a state of their own.

Look – and learn. The left might prefer to remain silent - but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to as well.

Comments

[M. D'Souza]

Silence of the Left? Consider it a godsend!!! Hamas will kill Fatah, and vice versa. These enemies of Israel will eliminate themselves, without Israel's involvement in it.

What you have in the Land of Israel, at present, are hawks, doves and ostriches. The hawks are already killing each other in Gaza and West Bank areas. They are the Arab terrorists.

Then you have hawks in doves feathers in the government. We can recognize them by their actions. These camouflaged hawks are trying their best to appease the real hawks, so that they will be the last ones to be attacked.

Then you have a whole lot of left-veering ostriches, that have buried their heads in the sands of Gaza. These are the folks that will get the first rap on their lifted behinds by the terrorist-hawks. That should awaken them from their stupor and stupidity.

Last you have the doves. They are those who love the Land of Israel and believe it to be their safe haven. They are the ones, whom the L-RD will protect.

So what's the fate of all these groups?

It’s given in Isaiah 29:18-21, 24.
v.18 In that day (during the Messiah's reign) the deaf shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
v.19 The humble also shall increase their joy in the L-RD, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
v.20 For the terrible one (terrorist leader) is brought to nothing, the scornful one is consumed, and all who watch for iniquity are cut off --
v.21 Who make a man an offender by a word, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and turn aside the just for a thing of naught.
v.24 These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who murmured will learn doctrine.

It’s worth reading Isaiah 28:14-15. It is against those who rule – in Jerusalem; and verses 16-19 regarding the L-RD’s promises for deliverance from this evil.

What about the fate of Israel’s real enemies – the Arab terrorists? Isaiah 29:5-7 tells us their fate.

[sk]

Michael, you accept way too much of the "Palestinian" narrative, and you do not offer an alternative. Why give Pals a state? Pals already HAVE a state. The question you should ask: Why should the government of Israel be in the business of seizing land from its Jewish citizens in order to benefit killer foreigners? Jews had, at the start, the strongest LEGAL claim to Yesha, and, by now, the land is theirs because they have lived on it (which is a LEGAL principal as well as moral one). This is the consequence of the killer Arabs' decades-long war against the Jews. Israel is under no obligation to allow killers to live in its borders, and they should be driven out as unwelcome foreigners with no more apology than the Turks showed the Greeks when they had a "population exchange."

Then, spend your time thinking of ways of unloading the Pals. Start by charging them triple what Israelis pay for power and water, as opposed to allowing them to get these things for free from Israel. Cut off all medical services. Regulate their "ambulances," so that only approved drivers can drive. Let these killers try to support themselves. Of course, buy nothing from them, deny them entrance for jobs.

IN OTHER WORDS, do not prop them up. You want them to leave. When they do, make sure they are not allowed back.

The Israeli right needs detailed plans.

[Luigi Frascati]

Yes, it doesn’t mean that the rest of us have to remain silent like the left – but perhaps we should, and not only because it would be too dangerous to give the Palestinians a state of their own. The real reason, in one word, is Iran.

Because Iran is a threat not only to Israel but to Sunni Islam as well, paradoxically even Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan do not appear these days nearly as forcefully committed to the ‘Palestinian cause’ as they were at one time or another in the past. And Shiite Iran is, furthermore, the very same reason why Secretary Rice comes once in a while in the Middle East, gives her now customary pep-talk about the Palestinians to whomever is willing to listen, and then goes back to Washington without, of course, ever lifting the economic sanctions on Gaza.

Within the context of the balance of powers in the Middle East, the Re-Engagement War of last summer was perceived by Israel, the United States and the Sunni Arab governments in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan as an Iranian attempt to extend its power into the Levant by challenging both Israel and the Sunni Arab leadership. In the months that have followed, a common policy among the three principal components of the anti-Iranian front has emerged based on a series of presumed mutual understandings.

For its part, the Bush administration has essentially dropped its democratization campaign in the region; beefed up naval power in the Gulf while providing Patriot missiles to the Arab Gulf states to encourage them to adopt a more confrontational posture toward Iran; stepped up military and other support to the Sunni-led, Saudi-backed Lebanese government of Prime Minister Fouad Siniora; and renewed its involvement in promoting a peace process between Israel and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas – but this is only a posture in recognition of the fact that even limited progress will provide diplomatic cover for the Arab states if they are to cooperate more with Israel.

For their part, the Sunni-led Arab states, which include all members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt and Jordan, have agreed to provide major funding and political support to the Siniora government in Lebanon and to woo (or threaten) Syria away from its alliance with Iran. Also, they promise to provide facilities and funding to support US efforts in the region and against Iran, and to try to bring down the price of oil, both to relieve political pressure on President Bush as well as to make life more difficult for Iran – a strategy that we are beginning now to see unfolding with the drop of the price of Arabian crude per barrel.

Israel's contribution is to provide intelligence support to US and, possibly, Arab anti-Hezbollah efforts in Lebanon; keep highlighting the threat that Iran's nuclear capability would pose to it; and stay out of the Palestinian conflict so as not to infringe into Arab pride.

So really, the only one who wants to talk about a Palestinian state these days is President Ahmadinejad – and he does, especially to Europeans. Except that the President has lost a lot of credibility – if he ever had it – with Europe, after his bombastic rhetoric in the matter of ‘wiping Israel off the map’ as well as the contemptuous conference denying the existence of the Holocaust. Not even his declared intention to start charging Euros for his oil instead of Dollars seem to be capturing European attentions. And why not – with the price of crude falling so sharply, it makes little difference for Europeans to pay in Dollars as opposed to their own currency.

So, in essence, I would concur with your closing line of “Look – and learn”, but would also add one of my own: “Shut up”.

[James Biga]

I say let them kill each other. I have been following these events through the Jerusalem Post and Ynetnews.com. I've even found a few articles in the AP, UPI, and Reuters. Whether the political left acknowledges these events or not is a non player. It is up to the rest of us to keep getting the ingo out their along with our, mine being amateur, analysis and opinion. The political left touts what they want and do their best to "suppress" what conflicts with that. It appears to be playing out in Israel as it does in America.

[Danny Simkin]

"to give the Palestinians a state of their own"
I won't mind giving the Palestinians, Tutsis, or Polonesians a state of their own. The problem is, they're receiving OUR state.

[sk]

Clarification: when I said "Pals already HAVE a state," I was referring to Jordan.

[sk]

Sorry, Luigi, I think you're on the wrong track. There's a whole "school" of analysis that focuses on "Sunni vs. Shiite." You say, "Because Iran is a threat not only to Israel but to Sunni Islam as well, paradoxically even Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan do not appear these days nearly as forcefully committed to the ‘Palestinian cause’ as they were at one time or another in the past."

I think this claim is demonstrably false. Egypt is an enemy of Israel, and it continues to build up terrorist forces in Gaza, as well as providing powerful diplomatic cover for the terrorists. The Saudis are also an enemy of Israel, as shown in such pro-"Palestinian" activism as their "peace plan."

Incidentally, Shiites and Sunnis can indeed and do work together. Saddam Hussein (Sunni) had good relations with Assad (Alawi - a schism of Shiism), and decent working relations with Ahmadinijad (Shiite), who is basically a puppet of the Iranian Guardian Council (about as doctrinally pure a bunch of fanatical Shiites as one can get).

"Palestinians" are a weapon against Israel, and both Sunni and Shiite countries desire this weapon to continue to be usable. Don't forget that the Jews (and the Americans) are always enemy #1, and that all these tyrannies are deathly afraid of an Iraqi democracy.

You say, "For its part, the Bush administration has essentially dropped its democratization campaign in the region ..."

Oh no it hasn't. Bush continues his efforts in Iraq to make it Democratic.

[Luigi Frascati]

To "sk":

I was going to answer to you here, but then I noticed Mr. Freund's new article, so I have posted my reply in the next section.

[Tory Burch]

I did a bit of research and discovered an interesting, yet largely unknown, little fact: Arab states provide less than 3 percent of the annual budget of UNRWA, the UN agency that assists Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East.

By contrast, Western countries cover some 95 percent of the organization's finances each year.

[tiffany3uk3]

ttle fact: Arab states provide less than 3 percent of the annual budget o
http://www.tiffanyncouk.com
http://www.swarovskicrystalsale.org/swarovski-rings

[Tory Burch Outlet]

Now, if they really truly cared about the fate of their Palestinian brethren, would oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain be so miserly and cheap when it comes to improving their living conditions?

[リアルマネートレード]

thanks !! very helpful post!Keep working ,great job!

[Tory Burch Outlet]

On her current trip to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been meeting with a series of Arab leaders, patting each one on the back and heaping praise on them for their supposed "moderation".
But just who is a "moderate Arab leader", and is Secretary Rice making a grave mistake when she applies this term to those with whom she meets?