Soccer Dad

In spades

In his blog, Daniel Pipes references an article in the Forward about how the Israeli government is now seeking out leftwing groups to get support for its policies in the United States.
Sure enough APN is now hosting an "Ambassadors' Forum" featuring Israel's ambassador Danny Ayalon, Egypt's ambassador, Jordan's ambassador and the PLO's ambassador, Hasan Abdel Rahman.
For the better part of 4 and a half years Americans who supported Israel had to fight the likes of APN who would question every move that Israel made, giving comfort to Israel's enemies.
Why even as Israel's ambassador graces a forum hosted by APN there's an article up on the APN criticizing, not Arab terror, but Israel's response to it, the security fence. It links to organizations like PASSIA and IPCRI but not to the IDF. In other words it has a greater interest in giving a voice to Israel's critics (and enemies) than Israel's defenders.
APN has recently redesigned its website; articles supporting Arafat are "disappeared." How convenient.
At least if the government wants to make its case for disengagement it should go to the likes of Charles Krauthammer. I don't understand why he has suddenly stopped questioning the goodwill or sincerity of the Palestinians, but at least he defended Israel when the NY Times and Washington Post were blasting it. But to go to these people who have consistently argued "A Secure Israel through Peace" instead of the proven "Peace through security" and have favored the likes of Arafat and Assad over Netanyahu and Sharon is an insult to those of us who defended Israel's while it strove to defend itself since the Oslo War escalated in September 2000.
I did a quick search on the PLO's ambassador, Hasan Abdel Rahman. He had a forum with the Washington Post in October 2000, here's what he had to say then:

Hasan Abdel Rahman: There is no doubt that the conditions that the Palestinian people are living in are very difficult, both inside and outside the homeland, whether under occupation or as refugees. There was a hope, after so many years of deprivation and uprooting, that the peace process would bring a qualitative improvement to the lives of the Palestinian people and end those decades of expulsion and refugee life and allow them to live a dignified and free life. But after seven years of peace process the average Palestinian's life has not changed. On the contrary, except in certain circumstances, it has worsened. The Israeli occupation continued and the humiliation of the Palestinians persisted. Israel continued to behave toward the Palestinians as an occupying power, notwithstanding the agreements we had with signed with them. These conditions were tolerated, as long as there was a hope that the final status negotiations would change them.

But in the last few months, Israeli behavior around the negotiating table did not support this hope that Palestinians had. On the contrary, Israelis wanted to have sovereignty in Jerusalem over al-Aqsa mosque and al-Haran Shareef. Out of the 22 percent of historic Palestine that the Palestinians wanted for their new homeland, Israel wanted 11 percent. Also Israel did not want to accept any legal or moral responsibility for millions of Palestinian refugees in West Bank and Gaza and Arab countries. This is what created the frustrated.

The straw that broke the camel's back was Mr. Sharon's provocative visit to al-Haran Shareef.

Sure people change. Clearly PM Sharon did. But everything Rahman said then is still the belief of the PA now. So after thousands of lives have been snuffed out either 1) PM Sharon has come around to the PA's way of thinking and will accede to the Palestinian demands that Israel withdraw totally from Yesha (including Gilo, Ramot, Ramat Eshkol, Efrat, the Etzion bloc and Hevron/Kiryat Arba), will accept a number of refugees or 2) The PA will still insist it has a legitimate claim against Israel and will continue its war when it has had a chance to regroup. (See "Abbas Says Israeli Delays Threaten Peace Efforts":

Addressing the Palestinian parliament, Abbas voiced his toughest criticism of Israel since agreeing a cease-fire with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites) a month ago. Israel froze peace moves after a Palestinian suicide bombing on Feb. 25.

"The Israeli delay in implementing the commitments constitutes a threat to what we have succeeded in achieving and gives excuses to those who are plotting to sabotage the entire peace process," Abbas said, in a copy of the speech obtained in advance by Reuters.

In other words Israeli attempts to maintain its security in the face of continued terrorist threats is "a threat" to the peace process. Not Abbas's failure to live up to his obligation to fight Hamas.)
Now the Israeli government is turning to those who will criticize it for working too hard to defend its citizens or being too slow to make concessions independent of Palestinian compliance.
At the end of his blog, Dr. Pipes asks:

What next? Sharon speaking for the International Solidarity Movement?

We're really not too far from that point right now.
Crossposted on Israpundit and Soccer Dad.

Posted by SoccerDad at March 14, 2005 10:03 AM | TrackBack