PHYLLIS CHESLER: BLAMING ISRAEL WON’T HELP
Blaming Israel Won’t Help
http://www.phyllis-chesler.com/1034/blaming-israel
On September 16, 2011, the New York Times actually used the word “Islamist” in a front page story—not as often or as prominently as the word “militant” but still, there it was—and in an article titled “At White House, Weighing Limits of Terror Fight.”
For all those who are invested in the Lie that the infidels (i.e. Western civilization} are not under attack, allow me to point out that the anti-Israel and anti-American Paper of Record had, altogether, three articles on the front page about Afghanistan, Bahrain, and about “Islamist militants in Yemen and Somalia” as well as about “Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, and the Somalia-based Shabab;” “Al Qaeda operating in Afghanistan…and in the tribal regions of Pakistan.”
In this same issue, the Times also has articles which focus on or mention Jordan, “Palestine,” Turkey, Afghanistan, Libya, Bahrain, Lebanon, Yemen, Somalia, Pakistan, and the Arabian Peninsula.
Even the Times knows that something is up, something has gone wrong, very wrong in terms of the Muslim world, that it is far bigger than Israel, and that it won’t get better merely by blaming Israel or America.
In my opinion, were Israel to be attacked she would be on her own—and she would blamed for daring to defend herself. This has already happened many times. While the war against the Jews is very hot, it is almost invisible in the western media.
As we know, (but allow me to remind us), in August of 2011, Israel endured 178 Hamas/”Palestinian” terror attacks which included 145 rockets and 46 heavy mortar shells fired into the south of Israel.
That same month, Israel also endured a heavy “surge” of hostile, apparently civilian Arabs crossing Israel’s borders from Syria and attempting to do so from Lebanon, which included the Lebanese Army opening fire on a group of Israeli soldiers.
Also in August, terrorists (Hamas? Al Qaeda? PLO?) crossed into Israel from Egypt, wearing Egyptian military uniforms, and killed seven Israeli civilians, including young children; they wounded at least thirty Israelis. The attacks against Israel in August alone were three times greater than all the attacks against Israel this year.
During this same time, the Turkish Prime Minister demanded that Israel “apologize” for defending herself from a Turkish-launched terrorist attack (the Marvi Marmara incident) and threatened to send Turkish warships into the Mediterranean to accompany a new flotilla to break the Israeli siege of Gaza.
And right around 9/11, Egyptian police forces allowed angry and hate-filled “demonstrators” to overrun the Israeli Embassy in Cairo; Prime Minister Netanyahu made no progress for the safe release of the Israeli security guards trapped in the building; only a phone call, eight to ten hours later, from President Obama presumably persuaded the Egyptians to help the besieged Israelis escape.
Finally, on September 13, 2011, the Turkish Prime Minister blew more smoke, this time in Cairo when he got the crowd to roar its hatred for Israel. He is in a dead heat competition with Iran for leadership of the Caliphate.
During this time, no one really came to Israel’s aid on the ground or in the world’s media. During this time, the various world-wide demonstrations against Israel, calls for a “Palestinian” state at the UN, and calls for the boycotting of Israel continued unabated. (I have no way of knowing what went on behind the scenes in terms of help offered or refused).
True, Israel may turn out to have some unexpected allies (Cyprus, the Kurds, India, Greece—maybe even Saudi Arabia) and yet, Israel is surrounded by “surging” human forces of hate as well and she is really, truly on her own.
Yesterday, I spoke with Mayor Ron Nachman of the mainly secular city of Ariel in the Shomron (Samaria). He agreed with my assessment—an assessment shared by others– that Israel is essentially on her own. Let me quote him at length.
Israel can’t trust anyone, including America. American policy has been mistaken for six decades. America refused to move its Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. That tells us what we need to know.
Now, the Arab “Palestinians” saw they could not get Israel to agree to commit suicide and so they turned to the United Nations. The solution is really between Israel and Jordan. Jordan is the real ‘Palestinian’ state. And by the way, when Jordan annexed the West Bank and Samaria from 1948-1967, no journalist called it an “occupation.” It is only “occupied” when it is in Jewish hands.”
What is this phrase: The ‘West Bank?’ The West Bank of the moon? The sun? The West Bank of America? We need to use the right language. Is California the “West Bank” of America? And by the way, would Americans agree to allow Mexicans and Canadians to carve out a corridor from San Diego to Vancouver so that both non-American groups can come and go without American oversight? This is what Israel is being asked to do.
And what is the meaning of the ’67 lines?’ Do people really understand that Israel is only nine miles wide, just as wide as the distance from the south to the north of the borough of Manhattan? Giving up any more land means that Israel is non-defensible.
Words and how they are used and misused continues to create problems.
The Wall.’ What is that? Think of it as a gated community. There are walls all over the world that are never singled out. Only Israel’s security fence is.
The Arabs simply refuse to accept a Jewish state. A two state solution will not lead to peace. It will lead to more attacks on Israel. They gave Yasser Arafat a Nobel Peace Prize but he brought bloodshed, not peace. Everyone shouted ‘Land for Peace’. It only led to Arab attacks on Israel again and again.”
“Mayor Nachman,” said I, “Nu, what is your solution to this intractable dilemma?”
Solution? At this rate, we need a five state solution. Jordan is one, Israel is the second, Judea and Samaria are a third, Gaza is a fourth—and the Israeli Arabs want autonomy as well.
My friend and colleague Israeli Arabist, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, believes in a confederation of cantons, with local governmental autonomy on many issues and a federal government for security and other issues, based on Dr. Kedar’s understanding of tribal loyalties and conflicts and the Arab inability to create both large and stable modern nation states.
I ask Mayor Nachman if he believes that Israel can defeat Iran. He says, cryptically:
It is not good to push someone whose back is already against the wall.
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