Six Days of Seperation

I'm tired of the occupation.It is upsetting the British academics union, the journalists union and even the architects are upset. Lets not forget what it has done for others with a dubious past. The Germans can point and say "See, look at what they are doing." Don't forget South Africa who now claims they had a kinder and gentler apartheid. The UN Human Rights Commision is so involved in the conflict they have no time to deal with the slaughter in the Congo and Darfur. Those people have to wait. The occupation must be dealt with.

I am also confused. The Palestinians talk about the occupation all the time. What I can't figure out is when did the occupation start. When was there ever a sovereign Palestinian government in any part of this land. I know about the Ottoman and British empires that ruled here. I know when the State of Israel was founded. Way back in the day there was a plan to partition Israel. Divide it between Arabs and Jews. A good idea that was rejected by the Arabs. It appears they have no tolerance of others. They would rather have destroyed the Jews and their state then agree to a compromise. Unfortunately for them we survived. So now things get murky. The West Bank which we lost during the war became part of Jordan. They governed it. Gaza in turn became part of Egypt and was governed by them. The Palestinians became refugees in their own land. They were kept in camps. However the occupation they speak of did not start yet. Go figure.

According to the twisted Palestinian narrative that has become part of popular culture the occupation occurred in June 1967. That's when Egypt wanted another go at Israel. This time they would destroy Israel. Israel knew what was coming and asked Jordan to stay out of it. Ever hungry for the destruction of the Jews and their state they said no. Just like they said no to partition. It was all or nothing. Six days later they got nothing.

The Palestinians would have you believe that all was good until 1967. They would have you believe it was the land hungry, uncompromising aggressive Israeli's who caused the situation. People are buying into the myth. My favorites are the British academics who by virtue of being academics should know history. When it comes to antisemitism why should a little history get in the way. The idea of a strong Jew defending himself in his own land is appalling enough for them. God forbid the Jews should be right. Of course the other part of the occupation myth is that they only want to go back to the pre 1967 borders. They want to live side by side with Israel in peace. Well maybe not Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the PRC, the PFLP and the Al Aqsa Martyrs brigade to name a few. But all the others are okay with it.

This coming week I will be celebrating our victory forty years ago. The occupation myth was meant to turn our victory into a loss. They would like to forget that we won and they would like the world to forget why there was a war in the first place. I have not forgotten. I will honor the men and women who fought and won.

When the celebrating is done we will be here waiting for a Palestinian leadership who is ready to forgo terrorism in all its forms and who is willing to recognize our place here so that we truly can find a way to live side by side. But make no mistake, we will be here.

Submitted by Carol

Bottom of the Ninth

Gaza is sinking under the weight of the failed policies of Fatah and Hamas. Fatah, the moderate terrorists, were a corrupt leadership that stole from the people . Hamas gained power. Hamas, the extreme terrorists , turned Gaza into a military zone from which to strike Israel. Hamas brought millions into Gaza through Egypt. None of the money however has been seen since. Power, a more important commodity than the people, can be an elusive thing. Hamas not wanting to loose it to Fatah decided to declare war on Fatah before the scales tipped in favor of Fatah. The Saudi's brokered the Mecca deal which was built on air. This deal was supposed to stop the fighting between Hamas and Fatah. It gave the Palestinians an illusion of a unity government. Hamas never intended to work hand in hand with Fatah. What they needed was time. Time to regroup and get stronger. The Mecca deal was a godsend. The Saudis seem to have no desire to take control. Maybe their fear of Iran has passed for the moment. I would prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch. However Hamas who is looking for cover for their murderous deeds wants to use Israel. Over a hundred Quassam rockets have landed in Israel. It's no longer a spectator sport for us.

It's time for Egypt to step up to the plate. Egypt needs to take it's security force and go into Gaza. They need to stop the violence by patrolling the streets. They need to put an end to the anarchy for as long as it takes. They need to arrest anyone that picks up a gun to kill a rival. The people of Gaza need to feel safe on their own streets and so do we. Egyptian forces could put an end to rocket launches. This force would have to remain until such time when someone is willing and able to govern and create a positive society not based on terrorism. This is a price that Egypt should be willing to pay.

Gaza has a porous border with Egypt. The terrorists slip through to Egypt and become just one more headache they can ill afford. Egypt is currently struggling with the Islamic Brotherhood who would love to turn Egypt into an extremist Islamic state. Having Hamas gain total control over Gaza does not bode well for Egypt. In addition to Hamas' fight with Israel they also want to create an extremist Islamic state. Having their neighbor Gaza turn into an island of extremism is bad for Egypt, It could easily spill over to Egypt. Like it or not Egypt has to take steps. All the moderate Arab countries supported terrorism when it was against Israel. Now it has come around to bite them. The terrorists want complete control of the region. Israel is but the cherry on the top. Sadly I cannot add to the reasons Egypt should do this the most important reason of all. The fact that the Palestinians need their help. They are suffering at the hands of their failed leadership. A leadership that chose to build a terrorist entity instead of reaping the fruits of the disengagement.

I hope Egypt realizes that the days of appeasement are over if they want to survive. I can only hope that the Palestinian people realize they have been lied to and used by the terrorists. The Palestinians must take reponsibility for their future. No other Arab state cares enough to do it for them. In the meantime it's the bottom of the ninth and the Egyptians are up to bat.

Submitted by Carol

Olmert Comes Clean

If Ehud Olmert, the prime minister of Israel, were smart (which, according to the latest polls, 97% of we Israelis know he’s not), he would deliver the speech that follows. Yes, this will be public domain and if Olmert does, in fact, want to use it, he’s welcome to it. I can only promise increased popularity from its use (which is a pretty easy bet at this point). It goes something like this:

My fellow Israelis. Through the use of exhaustive studies, polls, and interviews, I, Ehud Olmert, have come to the conclusion that you are not as stupid as I had hoped. I really thought this whole thing about my ineptitude would blow over in a couple weeks and I could resume benefiting from all the perks and pomp that goes with this office I accidentally fell into. (Stage instruction: smile a little bit right here) I know it certainly has helped fend off all the criminal investigations that keep plaguing me, I gotta tell you.

I know you know we didn’t need Winograd to tell us how badly I screwed up. And I also know we certainly don’t have to wait for the final report in the summer to confirm my inadequacies. Oh…and that whole thing about me being the one to fix things because I’m the one that messed them up? I was really counting on you falling for that one, but again, I underestimated Israeli intelligence. And I’m not talking about the Shin Bet kind, either. (Stage instruction: chuckle a little bit here) I mean, can you imagine a boss not firing an employee for screwing up because only that employee can fix it? (Stage instruction: scratch head in apparent confusion) What was I thinking when I came up with that one?!

So, here’s the thing. I need to keep being prime minister, and I hope you’ll keep me as prime minister. I need to keep being prime minister because it’s the only thing I got. I’ve never had a real job and I’m not as good as Bibi at public speaking. At this point I couldn’t get hired to do Bar Mitzvahs. Let’s face it. That’s the only reason this government isn’t collapsing as I speak. None of us want to get jobs in the public sector! I don’t know if you know this, but there are people out there that work forty hour weeks! I don’t think I could do that. I know most of the people on Labor’s list don’t want to do that, and certainly not the rest of Kadima.

Those of you that know me from being mayor of Jerusalem, know I like to travel a lot. I could never do that if I had to use my own money. Hell, I couldn’t even buy an apartment if I had to use my own money! Is that what you really want? And what about those criminal investigations? You know, if normal people did what I did they’d be in jail right now. Well, I can’t have that.

Therefore, I believe you should all know that I’m going to hang on. I know you don’t like me, you don’t trust me, you have no confidence in my ability, and you know I’m going to continue to make things worse. But I don’t care. Because this isn’t about you. This is about me and my comfort. And as your prime minister, I sometimes have to make some very tough decisions.

So, I pick me.

Thank you.

Submitted by Charley

Welcome

So here we are, two podcasters with too much to say! We can't fit it all in our weekly podcast so we decided to invade the blogosphere. Charley and I ( I being me, otherwise known as Carol) have been podcasting from Israel for two years. Our podcast, Israelisms is about our lives, the crazy things that happen here and of course politics. Charley and I don't always agree so there is that to look foward to! Grab some coffee, get comfy and enjoy the ride...I meant read!