Peace in the Middle East? Not in our Lifetimes!

Jerusalem, Israel

I was disappointed but not surprised to read the November 1, 2011 headline "Abbas says he'll never recognize a Jewish state." Read the article here. No Palestinian leaders have engaged in serious negotiations with Israel, and the only border state that has, Egypt, has seen its leader, Anwar Sadat, assassinated by Islamic fanatics.

The previous Palestinian strongman, arch terrorist Yasser Arafat, whose picture stands prominently in Abbas' office, spoke about recognizing Israel to English audiences but said something altogether different to Arab audiences and rejected the Oslo accords and the Clinton peace agreement and its famous handshake on the White House lawn. Even Palestinian tourist sites show Palestine from sea to sea. Israel is not on these tourist's maps.

The state department considers Abbas a "moderate" Palestinian, and he is compared to his rivals in Hamas. They propose a "final solution" of killing all the Jews. Publicly, they propose killing only some of them. (See an articles here and here.) So the "moderate" will never recognize Israel, and the extremists want to kill. There is not much to work with here.

Abbas has backed his words with action, planning to go around negotiations with Israel by seeking full United Nations membership, emboldened by their recent acceptance as a member of UNESCO. (Read the article here.)

Israel has no partner for peace, and should act accordingly, unilaterally setting defensible borders. American policy should reflect political realities, not tooth fairy wishes, and the United States can quit trying to be an "equal partner" to both sides. We certainly should not continue to fund the Palestinian Authority. Instead, the United States should support Israel, democracy, and civil rights, opposing Sharia law and theocracy, which are becoming more common in the Muslim world. We can let the Islamists speak for themselves:

“I want to say: citizenship restricted by Islamic Shariah, freedom restricted by Islamic Shariah, equality restricted by Islamic Shariah,” he [Sheik Shahat] said in a public debate.

Grand fundraiser for Islamic extremism, Saudi Arabia, teaches hate to its school children. Saudi textbooks teach annihilation of Jews (link here). Saudi money makes its way to Palestinian extremist groups.

Jews have waited a long time for the State of Israel, from the Hasmonean dynasty until 1948, around 2,000 years. After the Roman conquest it took two Millenia to see a free and independent Israel again. It may take a few hundred years before the Palestinians put peace and the welfare of their people before their rigid claims: a Palestine stretching from the Mediterranean to the Jordan river. Instead, Israel and the United States should be patient and firmly rebuff Palestinian demands. The United States and Israel can work together and tackle other world problems and issues of mutual interest such as creating renewable energy, increasing irrigation and potable water, and discovering new uses for technology (see link).

It appears that the Obama administration does not agree. In response, Jewish voters are starting to question allegiance to Obama and are starting to break away from him. Obama tries to defend his record here. But here is a good rebuttal to his ridiculous statements saying he is a great friend of Israel. If he gets voted out of office, I expect he will turn on his Israeli friends. Obama will reappear as a Mr. Hyde, or as a Mr. Shahat-alike, similar to the transformation of Jimmy Carter to a pro-Palestinian activist.