Israel und Palästina -
Konflikt im Nahen Osten

Die Konterrevolution gegen Israel

Deutsche, Linke und Antisemitismus/Antizionismus
Merkel, Gysi u.a. - Israel und Palästinensische Flüchtlinge

Die Gaza-Flottille

• Criticizing Israel? A controversy between two readers of Pajamasmedia. Learn from Fridtjof Nansen
  The Muslim Palestinians ( yes there are Jewish and Christian Palestinians too ) currently control 80% of the territory of Palestine. On that 80% they have three operating governments. One in Jordan, one in the West Bank and one in Gaza. ... Why are the Palestinians so interested in building on top of Christian and Jewish Holy sites?

  
  

• „Israel ist eine Art Wundergesellschaft“.  8. Mai 2010 von Lizas Welt
   Der linke Antisemitismus ist tief verwurzelt im Third-Worldism, der zum Palästinismus mutiert ist. Der Palästinismus ist eines der schlimmsten Übel unserer Zeit, er korrumpiert den Verstand der Europäer. Wenn Terroristen überall auf der Welt Anschläge verüben oder die Hamas in ihrer Charta schreibt, dass sie alle Juden umbringen will – nicht nur die israelischen –, dann kümmert das niemanden, weil es sich ja um Palästinenser handelt. Mirror here!

• In Israel, the Noble vs. The Ugly. By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF, NYT, July 7, 2010
  Rabbi Arik Ascherman, the executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights, presides over 20 staff members and hundreds of volunteers who sometimes serve as human shields to protect Palestinians — even if that means getting arrested or beaten.... The deepest critiques of Israel’s historical claims come from Israeli archeologists (one archeological organization, Emek Shaveh, offers alternative historical tours so that visitors can get a fuller picture). ... Yet there’s also another Israel as well, one that I mightily admire. This is the democracy that tolerates a far greater range of opinions than America. It’s a citadel of civil society....

• Nimer Simon Haddad: I am privileged today to share with you the tragic events that led our family in May of 1948 to flee the Albassa village, my birth place, in Northwestern Galilee, Palestine. I come from a Christian Palestinian family. My parents were members of the Melkite Catholic Church in Albassa Village.... The news of April 1948 came of the Deir Yassin Massacre. Deir Yassin was a village on the hills of the outskirts of Jerusalem where about 250 people who lived there, were massacred. Psychological warfare as well as force was used  to drive out the natives, Christians and Moslems. Our family crossed the borders on foot and reached the Lebanese Village of Alma Alshaab in two hours. My parents took only two suitcases with them and stayed as guests at a relative’s house, Reverend Bulos Haddad. They assumed, like most Palestinian refugees, that fighting would soon be over and they would be allowed to return to their homes. Not so. The war of 1948 had catastrophic consequences for nearly 800,000 Palestinians who were driven out of their homes to become refugees. Among them were more than 50,000 Christian Palestinians. Thus, about 35% of all Christian Palestinians living in Palestine lost all their possessions, their lands and homes. About half of them fled to Lebanon. The other half settled on the West Bank and in Jordan.(olivesforhope)

Obama Puts the Onus on Hamas, Where It Belongs -- and 1967 Borders, With Swaps, Makes Sense. By Matthew Levitt. NYDailyNews.com, May 20, 2011.
What are Hamas' intentions? In an interview on Hamas' television station last week, Hamas Parliamentarian Yunis al-Astal stated that "in just a few years, all the Zionists and the settlers will realize that their arrival in Palestine was for the purpose of the great massacre, by means of which Allah wants to relieve humanity of their evil."

Geert Wilders: Change Jordan's name to Palestine
"Jordan is Palestine," said Wilders, who heads the third-largest party in Holland. "Changing its name to Palestine will end the conflict in the Middle East and provide the Palestinians with an alternate homeland." "If Jerusalem falls into the hands of the Muslims, Athens and Rome will be next. Thus, Jerusalem is the main front protecting the West. It is not a conflict over territory but rather an ideological battle, between the mentality of the liberated West and the ideology of Islamic barbarism," he said. "There has been an independent Palestinian state since 1946, and it is the kingdom of Jordan." Wilders also called on the Dutch government to refer to Jordan as Palestine and move its embassy to Jerusalem. (Ynet, 6/20/10).

Catholic Church Held Hostage By Islam - Today (10.24.2010), a Synod convened by the Vatican on the plight of Christians in the Middle East came to a close. In its report to Pope Benedict, the Synod called for a two state solution to the Palestinian-Israel conflict, for the United Nations to take a lead role, and for some unspecified changes in the status of Jerusalem. Pope Benedict said that, in numerous countries of the Middle East, there exists freedom of belief, while the space given to the freedom to practice religion is often quite limited. These words are directed at the Muslim countries and the Palestinian Authority which are systematically making it more and more difficult for Christians to openly practice their faith. Pope Benedict has delivered this important point on at least four occasions. Israel is not the culprit but Muslims are the problem.

Ehud Olmert enthüllt geheime Details des gescheiterten Friedensplans von 2008 - Hamas müht sich angeblich um Kontakt mit Washington. (SZ, 20.9.10).
In seinem am Sonntag in Tel Aviv gehaltenen Vortrag sagte Olmert, er habe den Palästinensern für ihren Staat fast 94 Prozent des Westjordanlands angeboten, wobei Israel für annektierte Gebiete zum Landtausch bereit gewesen wäre. Westjordanland und Gazastreifen sollten durch eine Passage über israelisches Gebiet miteinander verbunden werden und arabische Viertel in Ostjerusalem sollten zur Hauptstadt des Staates Palästina werden. Die Jerusalemer Altstadt mit ihren heiligen Stätten sollten von Israel, Palästina, Jordanien, den USA und Saudi-Arabien gemeinsam verwaltet werden. Olmerts Angaben zufolge war Israel auch zur Anerkennung des Leids palästinensischer Flüchtlinge bereit, die bei der Staatsgründung Israels 1948 vertrieben wurden. Aus humanitären Gründen sei Israel zur Aufnahme von weniger als 20.000 Flüchtlingen bereit gewesen, die USA wollten 100.000 weitere einbürgern, um einen Friedensvertrag zu erreichen. 1948 wurden rund 700.000 Palästinenser aus ihren Häusern im heutigen Israel vertrieben. Die Palästinenser verlangen die Rückkehr dieser Flüchtlinge und ihrer Nachkommen - inzwischen rund fünf Millionen Menschen.

Thomas L. Friedman: A tectonic shift that has taken place beneath the surface of Israel-U.S. relations. (NYT, 3/27/10).
Charles Krauthammer (WP, 03/19/10): The Biden Incident. Why did President Obama choose to turn a gaffe into a crisis in U.S.-Israeli relations?
It was no more than a gaffe. It was certainly not a policy change, let alone a betrayal. The neighborhood is in Jerusalem, and the 2009 Netanyahu-Obama agreement was for a 10-month freeze on West Bank settlements excluding Jerusalem. Clinton's spokesman publicly announced that Israel was required to show in word and in deed its seriousness about peace. Israel? Israelis have been looking for peace -- literally dying for peace -- since 1947, when they accepted the U.N. partition of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state. (The Arabs refused and declared war. They lost.) In these long and bloody 63 years (since), the Palestinians have not once accepted an Israeli offer of permanent peace, or ever countered with anything short of terms that would destroy Israel. They insist instead on a "peace process" ---- the point of which is to extract preemptive Israeli concessions, such as a ban on Jewish construction in parts of Jerusalem conquered by Jordan in 1948, before negotiations for a real peace have even begun.
Why this astonishing one-sidedness? Is it because Obama fancies himself the historic redeemer whose irresistible charisma will heal the breach between Christianity and Islam or, if you will, between the post-imperial West and the Muslim world -- and has little patience for this pesky Jewish state that brazenly insists on its right to exist, and even more brazenly on permitting Jews to live in its ancient, historical and now present capital?

Glenn Kessler (WP, 3/24/10): Dispute with Israel underscores limits of U.S. power, a shifting alliance. The blowup shows that the relationship between the two allies is changing, in ways that are unsettling for Israel's supporters. U.S. pressure (on Israel) backfired because it appeared to let the Palestinians off the hook. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas refused to enter into direct talks before a settlement freeze, even though he had done so before.

Thomas Friedman: Ever since Israel occupied the West Bank and its Palestinian population in 1967, Israelis have faced a dilemma: Do they want a Jewish state, a democratic state and state in all of the land of Israel (Israel plus the West Bank)? In this world, they can have only two out of three. Israel can be Jewish and democratic, but not if it keeps the West Bank, because the Palestinians there plus all the Israeli Arabs will eventually outnumber the Jews. It can be Jewish and keep the West Bank, but then it can’t be democratic; Arabs will be the majority. It can be democratic and keep the West Bank, but then it can’t be Jewish. (NYT, 03/16/10).

Während US-Vize-Präsident Biden Jerusalem teilen und ein muslimisches Palästina schaffen will, formiert sich dagegen Widerstand: Oberst Allen West aus Florida und Kandidat für den US-Kongress lehnt das völlig ab:
"I do not support any creation of a Palestinian state, to do so would be to create a terrorist state. There is already a state for the Arabic people residing in the region called Palestine, Jordan. If the Arabs can build an indoor ski slope in Dubai, they can resolve the issue of their Arab brothers and sisters. Instead, they use them as pawns in an international game of extortion and use the subsidies provided not for humanitarian gain but for more weapons, for jihad.
I do not support any division of Jerusalem. If I recall from history and the Old Testament, David, Son of Israel built Jerusalem and his son Solomon made it great. The muslim claims to Jerusalem are based upon a very contentious story concocted by muhammad, and of course the latter conquering of the city, even by Salahaddin. One flag will fly over Jerusalem, the Israeli flag, never any other, certainly not a UN flag." (Issue Israel).
In einem Interview führte er aus:
Der Islam „ist nicht eine Religion, die man bekämpft sondern vielmehr ein theo-politisches Glaubenssystem, ein Konstrukt.
Man kämpft gegen etwas, das schon seit 622 n. Chr., seit dem siebten Jahrhundert also, während ganzer 1380 Jahre zugange ist!
Wollen wir Charles Martell ausgraben und ihn fragen, warum er im Jahre 732 gegen die muslimische Armee in der Schlacht bei Tours gekämpft hat? Wollen wir die venezianische Flotte bei Lepanto fragen, warum sie im Jahre 1571 gegen eine muslimische Flotte gekämpft hat? Wollen wir die christlichen oder vielmehr die deutschen und österreichischen Ritter fragen, warum sie im Jahre 1683 vor den Toren Wiens gekämpft haben? Wollen wir jene Menschen fragen, was damals in Konstantinopel geschah und warum der Ort heute Istanbul heißt? Weil sie im Jahre 1453 diese Schlacht verloren haben.

Getöteter Hamas-Mann Mabhuh: Deutsche Behörden sind den mutmaßlichen Mördern auf der Spur. (Spiegel, 22.2.10).
Killerkommando ermordet Hamas-Mitglied in Dubai. (Welt, 16.2.10). Doch gerade bei dem jüngsten Fall deutet viel auf eine Beteiligung des Geheimdienstes Mossad hin: So soll al-Mabhouch eine wichtige Vermittlerrolle zwischen Syrien, dem Iran und der Hamas eingenommen haben und für den Waffenschmuggel nach Gaza mitverantwortlich gewesen sein. Damit wäre er für die Israelis ein wichtiges Ziel gewesen.

Israels Präsident Shimon Peres:
„Mit Fanatikern sind Kompromisse nicht möglich“.
"Es ist falsch, Iran nur für eine Gefahr für Israel zu halten. Das Land ist eine Gefahr für die ganze Welt, nicht nur für Israel. Besonders die arabischen Staaten sind äußerst besorgt, denn Teheran verschafft sich mehr als nur eine nukleare Option. Es ist eine Option mit Ambitionen, die viel weiter gehen: Die Iraner wollen den Nahen und Mittleren Osten dominieren. Sie erschüttern schon das politische System im Libanon, arbeiten mit Syrien und der Hamas zusammen. Bis nach Lateinamerika reichen ihre Bemühungen. Es ist ein neuer Imperialismus, der religiös verbrämt und motiviert zugleich ist." (FAZ, 26.1.10).

Mike Huckabee in Israel: A Palestinian State Within of Holy Land "Unrealistic". The U.S. has taken too harsh a stance against Israel on the issue of settlements, hindering peace negotiations, Huckabee said during a visit to Israel on Monday. (Huffington Post, 19.8.09).
Obama verweigert Israel Erlaubnis für Angriff auf Iran (Spiegel, 7.7.09).

Dan Diker: Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s recent policy speech at Bar Ilan University in which he underscored Israel’s character as a Jewish State and beseeched the Palestinian Authority to recognize the Jewish State has triggered a fast spreading rumor in Arab capitals. They are convinced of an Israeli government plot to cancel the Israel’s Arab minority right to vote as part of a larger plan to transfer Arabs eastward to the West Bank and even to Jordan. A proposal to regard Jordan as the Palestinian state passed the Knesset by a healthy margin of 53 to 7. The surprise approval relied on Likud and right wing votes but also included support from Defense Minister Ehud Barak and five other members of his Labor party. Even five members of Kadima, the main opposition party, also voted in favor of the “Jordan is Palestine” proposal. (Hudson, 6.7.09)

Where Anti-Semitism Is Mainstream: In the Middle East
Richard Cohen, WP, June 16, 2009: That anti-Semitism is now a part of Middle Eastern culture. It has infiltrated textbooks; it is recited in mosques. It is aired on television -- for instance, the broadcast of a play produced at Gaza's Islamic University in which Jews were portrayed as drinking Muslim blood. "You must drink from the blood of Muslims," a father tells his son, according to a transcript provided by MEMRI. "Okay," the son says, "but just one cup, because I'm full."

Alan Bock (antiwar,June 08, 2009): A Snare and a Delusion- Obama and the Israel-Palestine conflict

Das Uno-Sondertribunal, das die Mordattacke auf den libanesischen Ex-Premier Rafik al-Hariri untersucht, hat nach Informationen des SPIEGEL überraschende neue Erkenntnisse - und verschweigt sie. Schuld war demnach die Hisbollah. (Spiegel, 24.5.09).

The Confrontation Con-Game. By Barry Rubin (April 17, 2009). There are many people eager to see President Barack Obama and his administration bash Israel, or predict that has already happened. But the administration has yet to make any significant direct anti-Israel actions or statements.  I expect this widely predicted conflict isn’t going to take place.

Israel closed the door Sunday on a surge of asylum-seekers from Sudan's Darfur region and from other African countries, the largest influx of non-Jewish refugees in the modern history of the Jewish state. Authorities announced that they had expelled 48 of more than 2,000 African refugees who have entered illegally from Egypt in recent weeks. Officials said they would allow 500 Darfurians among them to remain, but would deport everyone else back to Egypt and accept no more illegal migrants from Darfur or other places. (By Ellen Knickmeyer, Washington Post, 20.8.07).
Israel to Turn Away Darfur Refugees (By MATTI FRIEDMAN, AP, Washington Post, 20.8.07).

Princeton Political Philosopher Michael Walzer on Israel and Iraq (Ha'aretz, 21.5.2003)