Concept by Jameel

Orlev of the Not Relevant Party made some rather strange comments in an interview today.

I’m sure he was just trying for some cheap populist points with his remark that he “would rather close down a West Bank settlement than a state religious school”.

But I find that remark strange, because with the closure of each settlement comes the closure of quite a number of schools, yeshivas, and seminaries.

I guess (somehow) they don’t count.

He continued with, “But it's clear that in a real peace agreement Israel will have to give up something.”

But since everyone so far thought they were getting real peace (for some reason), I’m now completely confused between the differences in his position and that of Yossi Beilin’s.

Of course he finishes off with the Left’s, “I do not think that in today's world we will be able to rule over three million Arabs”.

So of course his left-wing solution to the problem is to “give up something”, and “close down a west Bank settlement” while throwing a bone to “Jordan is Palestine” which he obviously doesn’t believe in. After all, if “it’s just a matter of time before the winds of freedom and democracy come to the Palestinians in Jordan “, then simply wait out the storm and come out at the end with everything that is ours.

The NRP has failed repeatedly as the self proclaimed banner holder for educating the Israeli public in Jewish values, history, and Torah when it had both the opportunity and power.

What exactly is the National Union doing trying to create an alliance with a party that has failed in both principles and performance, and will obviously only be doing worse in the next election?

Old maps of Palestine (Eretz Yisrael) from the 1800's.
Note the various district names (Judeah, Samaria)



























This one is from 1557:

I 100% support Palestinian Statehood and Palestinian citizenship for all Arabs living in the region defined as Mandatory Palestine.

I 100% demand that a full and free democracy be immediately implemented in Eastern Mandatory Palestine (currently known as Jordan, which stole and occupied 75% of Mandatory Palestine when it was established on May 25, 1946) so that a de facto Palestinian state can be created, and all regional Arabs can immediately receive their Palestinian citizenship.

I 100% do not accept that Israel must accept dual citizenship for any Palestinian citizen, but may allow Palestinian nationals (completely unconnected to any acts of terrorism) to live in the Land of Israel as Resident Aliens with full protection for their civil rights, while being free and able to fulfill all their national aspiration in the existing Palestinian state on the East Bank of the Jordan River.

End the Jordanian Occupation. Free Palestine Now.

What a surreal country we live in.

Today, the first Kassam missile hit Ashkelon from Gaza, meanwhile the government plans more expulsions, this time of Jews from a part of Hebron that was bought by various Jewish families over 200 years ago (and if I got the location right, including land owned by members of my own extended family who barely made it out alive during the 1929 Arab massacre of the Jewish residents).

But if that isn't ridiculous enough for you, today the government attempted to start constructing the wall around Gush Etzion, well actually only part of Gush Etzion, the rest is apparently to be abandoned.

So they came with their chainsaws and were about to cut down the entire beautiful 100 year old forest near the Gush Junction to build a provisional wall, until a last-minute temporary injunction was issued!

This government has decided to simply roll over and die, but not before taking everyone else down with them.

The Suda Forest


The Government Tree Cutters


And while I’m mentioning the ridiculous I might as well add one more item.

A major car bomb was caught today just before it was deployed.

The Arabs of Bethlehem/El Hadr planned to drop a fully loaded car bomb onto the Gush Etzion bridge from the mountain ridge just over the tunnel entrance that the bridge extends from.

Even if there was a plan to build an additional wall on the ridge (there is a fence there already, but it proved to be quite useless today) it won’t prevent the Arabs from simply attacking from behind the wall, after all, the government has no intention of clearing out the mountain face, just sticking its head in the sand behind the walls.

In fact, there have been a number of Molotov cocktails dropped in the past couple of months from that area.

Unless the government finally decides that the best defense is a good offense things will just get worse.

The bridge/tunnel entrance

A few people responded to a Palestinian blogger from Beit Lechem (I won't post the link, because there is no reason to help promote their cause). The blogger was describing her experiences (successfully) passing through some checkpoints to spend time in Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo.

A few commenters left their remarks on her site which aren't on the main page anymore but can be found on the permalink.

Jameel recalled that until Oslo and the advent of Palestinian suicide bombers, there were almost no roadblocks or checkpoints, and just as it is completely safe now for a Bethlehem Arab to go visit the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo without being hurt or killed by Jews, that’s how safe it was just 15-20 years for Jews to visit Beit Lechem, Aza, and other areas occupied by Arabs.

Jameel expressed hoped for the day there would be real peace and then road blocks and checkpoints wouldn’t be needed anymore to stop Palestinians on their way to mass murder Jews.

Does that sound extreme or unfair to you?


Another commenter posted the following version of their checkpoint experience coming from Efrat (just south of Beit Lechem). It was apparently written in response to an article in a magazine.

Sirs,

I read with interest your article on Palestinians, checkpoints and Israel.

As an Israeli living in Efrat, one of the Jewish towns mentioned in your article, I felt I personally related to the description of the humiliation, delays, and inconvenience caused by the various checkpoints.

Let me describe my typical day.

Efrat should normally be a 7 minute drive to Jerusalem, yet when I leave for work I have to drive through 2 checkpoints to enter Jerusalem, often sitting in traffic for as long as a half hour, as each car is checked one by one to make sure no Palestinian suicide bombers sneak through.

Before heading to work, I stop off at the post office to get my mail. At the post office, I empty my pockets, walk through a metal detector, and as I invariably beep, I then face the daily humiliation of the pat down (like when you are at the airport), I usually then show my ID – all to make sure that I am not a Palestinian terrorist planning to shoot up everyone inside the building - again.

Having completed that checkpoint I head over to work. Entering the building's parking lot, my car is then thoroughly searched to make sure no bombs are smuggled inside or attached unbeknownst to me (oh, and I show my ID yet again).

Entering the lobby requires that once again I show my ID. If it is a nice guard that knows me, he'll sometimes skip the humiliating pat down if I beep as I walk through the metal detector.

In the evening, if I want to go shopping with my wife and then catch dinner and a movie, the checkpoints and humiliations become nearly unbearable.

Entering the shopping mall parking lot in Talpiot, our car is once again thoroughly checked for bombs, and depending on the day's warning level, I might have to get out of the car and undergo yet another humiliating pat down (and of course show my ID).

Entering the supermarket, once again I empty my pockets, and get the pat down, my wife has the additional humiliation of not just a pat down, but of some stranger rummaging though her pocketbook and seeing what she keeps in there. Once again, to make sure we are not Palestinian terrorists smuggling in weapons to kill innocent Israelis in a public place – yet again.

Having completed our shopping we head to a restaurant, where yet again, we undergo a full body pat down, and to my wife's humiliation yet again, her pocketbook is rummaged through, all to make sure that we are not yet another Palestinian suicide bomber trying to blow up yet another restaurant and all the Jews inside.

Do I need to describe what happens when then head over to the movie theater?

I probably should, because there we are checked 3 times, as they make sure that the previous guard didn't misidentify us at any point.

Luckily, when we head back home there are no spot checks on the road today and even better, the guard at the checkpoint to our town recognizes us, so we go through unhindered.

As he opens the huge metal gate attached to the wall that surrounds my town, which protect us from Palestinian infiltrators, I feel like I'm entering a big prison.

Prison-like or not, usually our town's security fence works. In the past few years, only 3 Palestinian terrorist got through, but thank God they were killed in time before their attacks actually succeeded.

Though the truth is, the Palestinian suicide bomber in our supermarket only failed because the trigger to his suicide belt malfunctioned when he pressed it.

So I must say, I do relate to the fact that my Palestinian neighbors must go through so many checkpoints, yet not as many as I go through every day.Unfortunately, unless the Palestinians unequivocally give up terrorism, both their checkpoints, and my checkpoints are here to stay.

Tomorrow I am renewing my ID card. It's worn out.

Now I ask you. Do you think it is right that we Israelis have to go through so many checks and metal detectors every day just because Arabs like to blow themselves up and take everyone else with them?

No it isn't.

And do we give a hoot about some whiny Arab from Bethlehem who gets to spend the day safely wandering around Jerusalem's Biblical Zoo or Malcha Mall after passing through some checkpost that was only installed to prevent them from from killing even more innocent people?

No we don't.

A baby elephant was born today at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem.
Currently you can see it live at: http://web11.mediazone.co.il/media/zoo/






Don't worry, the one on the right is asleep.

If you were wondering if elephants can jump click here.


Just in case you were really concerned...

My Leftist friends are in a dilemma. They would love to vote for Sharon (having no one else to vote for) on the off-chance he will cut off more of our homeland. But his willy-nilly gang of mismatched coattail hangers are really turning them off.

Meanwhile, the exodus from the Likud is beginning to make the Likud more attractive. As I implied in previous posts ( Taking out the trash, Running the Likud by Remote Control, and A Quickie Political Analysis ) the Likud needs to clean house, and Sharon’s Refugee party is giving those dead-end power stalkers a place to run to.

With Mofaz now gone, and Silvan being the only one that can do it for Judy (at least according to the advertisements she hung up all over the place), I think the rest of us would be happy if he were also to run on over to Sharon.

Meanwhile the Likud is beginning to return to its roots, and the reason people voted for it originally - ideals and principles that represent the majority of this nation’s beliefs.

Does that mean that Likud could win over Kadima.
Who knows?
Kadima still has the attraction of a new party and Sharon does draw his crowd, but a new Likud that is clean and takes a strong moral position may turn out to be just the crowd-pleaser that the public is looking for.

Once the Likud announces its new leader and gets in gear we’ll see a change in the polls.

As for Sharon, as I asked my leftists friends, besides himself, what exactly does he stand for?

Hmmm. Ze’ev has infected me with the Book Meme which was originally the I-Pod meme. Good thing too, because I don’t have an I-Pod, and don’t really listen to music enough for the original meme to be relevant (I have more than enough CDs/songs, but it just seems irrelevant)

As I choose to understand it, he wants me to name 15 books I am reading or have read recently.

I normally ignore these things, but I guess I’ll do this one, particularly after Jameel called my blog “academic”.

I’m always in the middle of a few books. Some I finish right away and some drag out a bit longer.

Currently reading:

1. Tanach (currently up to Yishayahu, but finding it a bit difficult for some reason to get started).
   
2. The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe. Roger Penrose – Surprisingly interesting. He actually makes the math understandable too!
   
3. What to Expect ™ in the First Year.
   
4. Dr. Spock (8th edition, though wondering if I should have bought the 7th instead).
   
5. The Federalist Papers
   
6. John Locke – 2 Two Treatises of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration
   
7. Clausewitz’s On War. Reading it incredibly slowly though.
   
8. The Chronicles of Narnia

Here are a few I read recently:

1. Caveman Chemistry, Kevin Dunn – Skimming through it again it. It’s a very interesting book.
   
2. A few of James Clavell’s books
   
3. Sharansky’s The Case for Democracy
   
4. Netanyahu’s Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists
   
5. Civil Disobedience and other Essays (Thoreau)
   
6. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
   
7. Rich Dad Poor Dad
   
8. Harry Potter (of course)
   
9. Rectifying the Jewish State, Ginzburgh

I expect to be reading the following in the near future, as soon as I place my order with Amazon:

1. The Immortal, Sy Polsky
2. Surely you’re joking Mr. Feynman
3. QED, The strange Theory of Light and Matter, Feynman
4. The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell
   

I hereby infect Jameel http://muqata.blogspot.com/ with this meme.

The original article seemed unreasonably biased to me. It needlessly drilled down just a little too far without ever looking at the bigger picture.

I've corrected that fundamental mistake in this version.

The Jewish population in Israel is expected to grow faster than in any other Jewish country in 2005, to more than 5.31 million people, the government reported Thursday.

The Jewish settlement population at the end of September was 5.28 million, up from 5.23 million at the end of December 2004, the Central Bureau of Statistics said. If nine-month growth continues at the same rate, then the Jewish settler population would expand 1.7 percent for all of 2005, to 5.31 million the bureau said.

The 5.31 million Jews settlers live among more than 230 million Arabs in territory the Arabs claim for yet another future Arab state.