No one disputes that.
He's also a magnificent liar. America’s next president has the rare ability of actually convincing himself he's telling the truth even when he knows he’s not.
But he's wrong on Israel.
If Bush was right to invade Kuwait in 1990, Abbas is right in not wanting Israeli settlements. No one deserves to be occupied.
If Israel should be able to take Judea and Samaria, the Native American’s should get to declare sovereignty over Texas and Virginia.
Occupation precedes annexation.
From 1881 to 1948, european jewry increasingly settled in the Levant. 300,000 came in 1933, the year Hitler was elected. As a result, millions of innocent Palestinians were forcibly removed from their homes and made refugees in countries that treated them as second-rate citizens.
Two-wrongs don’t make a right, not then, not today.
Now the Zionists have a home in the Holy Land, a capital in Jerusalem, beautiful beaches in Tel-aviv and Haifa and access to the Dead Sea. Why do they need to settle in Amona?
Netanyahu is acting like Gaza and the Palestinians of the West Bank deserve much better.
Naftali Bennet, appearing on CNN yesterday, made it very clear that he does not want a two-state solution. He also claimed it wasn’t occupation, as Judea and Samaria were Jewish land far before the United States was born.
Donald Trump should not endorse this thinking and rather pursue realpolitik.
Netanyahu and the Likud party know exactly what they are doing. There is a fine line between immigrants and settlements, in which case the settlements are protected by IDF troops and are exclusively Jewish.
However, they try to make it seem as if Israel, the one’s actively settling and trying to annex the West Bank, are the victims.
What!?
Donald trump tweeted yesterday: “We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!”
He couldn't be more wrong and should be called out on it.
The U.S. gave Israel more than half our military finances while Detroit remains largely impoverished and American citizens in Flint still can’t find drinkable water.
Just because Kerry won’t allow unnecessary Israeli imperialism, that takes us further away from a two-state compromise, doesn’t mean that we’ve abandoned the Jewish State. The 38-billion dollars in aid given to Israel this past year indicates otherwise.
US aid is a blessing, and should not be used to empower soldiers to overrule PA police and tell Palestinian’s they cant walk down al-shuhada street in their very own Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city.
Jewish settlers are far from the peaceful envoys Mr. Netanyahu makes them out to be.
In addition, the settlers are impeding one of Palestine’s key industries: Agriculture. This includes banning Palestinian’s from olive trees.
John Kerry said that the United States didn't vote against Israel, but rather in favor of a two-state solution. Israeli settlements take us further away from this be coming reality, not closer.
In his response too Secretary of State Kerry’s address, Netanyahu tried appealing to pathos and accused the US of not supporting the only place in the Middle east where Christmas can be celebrated peacefully.
This is a non-sequitur, as the Obama administration aims to preserve Israel instead of inciting warfare.
For all his flaws, Obama was right to abstain from vetoing then UN resolution. No president has understood the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict better.
A veto isn't the same as a vote; the veto should be used sparingly. It’s meant to give America a distinct role in governing the world, not the power to push it’s own self-interests against consensus.
Were given this because of our sane, mature and objective judgement. Obama has displayed said judgment.
When a measure passes overwhelmingly on the council, in this case 14 out of 15 votes, it’s not a democratic superpowers responsibility to block the overwhelming majority.
Not one country other than Israel came out against it. This includes traditional allies such as Great Britain, France and New Zealand.
According to Mr. Trump, the United States will is more important than the rest of the world’s combined. President Obama has established his concern for the rule of law and not rule by personal whim.American diplomacy can't solely lookout for Israeli interests; We must protect the innocent arabs who are victimized by Jewish settlers. We also must implement steps to improve Palestinian daily life.
There is a reason that the whole international community, with the exception of Israel, condemned the settlements. It’s not anti-semitism, it’s common sense.
A veto would ruin the US’s credibility as a mediator.
John Kerry stated that “the continued building of settlements by the Israelis on Palestinian territory in the West Bank is cementing a one-state reality that nobody really wants."
According to NBC, “Kerry also ripped the Palestinians for glorifying terrorists, trying to "delegitimize" Israel, and failing to control Hamas, "who have a one-state vision of its own.””
That’s the compromise we need to make. Israel, stop the settlements. Palestine and the international community, please come down against Hamas and stop killing innocent Israelis.
Both are obstacles to a peaceful two-state solution.
There, I said it. Trump is wrong, Obama is right and Netanyahu deserves harsh criticism for his actions.
Happy Holidays,
Dan