The GOP Finally Gets It

For years, many observers have seen the folly in the infamous Oslo Accords, which developed a framework for Israel and the Palestinians in negotiations. In those old naïve days of the early ‘90s, the international community felt that it made good sense to open the door to a Palestinian state.

Following talks in Madrid in 1991 (President George H.W. Bush had plenty of political capital to spend after winning the Gulf War, and he spent it on forcing Israel to the table), the deal was signed at the White House in September 1993. Most of us have seen the image of Bill Clinton with his arms around Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat.

The deal paved the way for the establishment of the “Palestinian Authority” as it morphed from the Palestine Liberation Organization—the Cadillac of terror movements. Arafat had been chairman of the PLO since 1968, and destroyed countless lives in the process.

Oslo brought Arafat to Gaza and parts of the West Bank; Areas A, B, and C were designated in stages for the eventual establishment of “Palestine.” The PA police force was also armed, and the PA set up a quasi-government in Ramallah, just north of Jerusalem.

Arafat famously talked peace in English and war in Arabic. I am convinced that diplomats the world over knew what he was doing, but went along with it anyway. I am a hardliner on this, but I believe every U.S. president that signed on to this fiendish plot is complicit in the deaths of Israelis due to Palestinian terror. One of the most recent is the knife slaughter of 13-year-old Hallel Yaffa Ariel (who was also a U.S. citizen!) as she slept in her bed.

The Oslo framework was flawed from the beginning, because it never took seriously the double-game Arafat and his henchmen were playing. They merely wanted a final staging ground to eliminate Israel. But the world played along. The awful truth is, for most people, Jewish life doesn’t mean much.

For years, sensible observers like Caroline Glick have pointed out the futility of Oslo.

Then, lo and behold, this week came news that the GOP has deleted two-state solution language from the party platform!

Wow, this is really big news. The Republican leadership recognizes clearly that the Palestinians are generations, if not centuries, from being able to govern themselves as civilized nations do. An article in The Forward outlines this stunning development:

“Rejecting decades-old policy, the Republican Party approved on July 12 a platform that does not include a call for a two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Instead, it defers to Israel to determine whether it is interested in negotiating a deal with the Palestinians, and omits any reference to a solution that would establish an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

“The platform subcommittee passed it by an overwhelming majority, and the full committee gave it a standing ovation as they approved it. Now the language goes to the convention, where it is unlikely to change.

“’The U.S. seeks to assist in the establishment of comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, to be negotiated among those living in the region,’ the Republican platform states. ‘We oppose any measures intended to impose an agreement or to dictate borders or other terms, and call for the immediate termination of all U.S. funding of any entity that attempts to do so. Our party is proud to stand with Israel now and always.’”

Folks, we are going to find out in November if “the people” still govern themselves. If Donald Trump wins, it will signal vast changes in American foreign policy. If Hillary Clinton wins, she will finish-off the country.

Since LBJ, official American policy has called for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

The new reality places responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the Palestinians, a radicalized society. For literally decades, we have heard ad nauseam that Israel must practice restraint; Israel must negotiate; Israel must make more concessions.

Those days should be over. I reject the two-state solution for every logical reason, capped by the reality that the Palestinians don’t deserve a state, at least not for the foreseeable future.

Apart from the most important reason—the cold-blooded murder of thousands of Israelis—the Palestinians have also squandered billions in cash from the international community.

When Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, they left business infrastructure for the Arabs! What did the beneficiaries do with their acquired wealth? They took crowbars and other tools to it all, destroying hothouses and other revenue sources. The world and world media just looked on.

So now somebody has the nerve to stare them down and send them to the back of the line.

Good. I am sick to death of appeasement. I don’t condone the murder of Israeli Jews.

Now it looks like we might have a government that agrees.

Killing Jews

I have a title for a new Bill O’Reilly book, Killing Jews. It would be his most controversial title.

This week, more Palestinian murderers/demons murdered Israeli Jews. Can anything at all be more unconscionable than stabbing a 13-year-old girl to death in her bed?

That’s what happened to Hallel Yaffa at her home in Kiryat Arba.

Then on the heels of that atrocity, Michael Mark was shot to death by Palestinian murderers on Route 60, south of Kiryat Arba. His wife was gravely injured as was is daughter.

Oh, by the way, Hallel Yaffa was also an American citizen.

Has the American president said anything? Nope. The American secretary of state blathers on incoherently about terrorism, while the attorney general says we must meet the challenge with love.

I believe the challenge should be met with some good old-fashioned Old Testament justice.

It is common knowledge that part of the PLO/PA plan all along has been to goad Israel into “overkill” (no pun intended) in response to terrorism. The thinking goes, international condemnation of Israel would be so severe that the Jewish state couldn’t recover.

But at what point do you continue issuing strong statements without really doing anything?

I like Benjamin Netanyahu very much. But it might be time for some historical stand on principles. It might be time to say, truly, Enough, and take care of the problem.

I have friends on all sides of these issues. Frankly, I am astonished how many people support the two-state solution. Often, people assume I reject that purely on biblical terms. Actually, I reject a two-state solution for practical and security reasons.

Simply put, the Palestinians don’t deserve a state. A state to do what? As with any other society, they have good apples and bad apples. But in the case of Palestinian society, it seems there is a tree with perhaps a dozen good apples among 100 acres of thoroughly diseased trees.

Too harsh, you say?

How about slaughtering a girl in her bed?

Is that too harsh?

I have come to this conclusion not quickly. It comes after 20 years of studying the issues and visiting the region numerous times. Talking with people on all sides.

This is what I humbly suggest to Israel’s government: send in the IDF to clean out Judea-Samaria. Impose an administered territories concept that worked pretty well for more than two decades.

I’m tired of hearing how the “Occupation” oppresses the Palestinians. In the context of the unabated murder of Jews, I don’t care about Palestinian rights. They have no rights until the killing stops permanently.

I also believe there is an historical moment for Israel to crush the terrorists:

• Egypt’s Al-Sisi not only has denounced jihad, in front of a Muslim audience. He is working with the Israelis in a spirit of unprecedented security cooperation.
• Israel is building new coalition partners on the periphery. This involves relationship building and believe me, even surrounding nations are tired of the Palestinian nonsense.
• ”Popular uprisings” in Britain and the U.S. might signal that regular people are getting fed up with the status quo. And this is key: when terrorism is a threat to you, your perspective changes. What was once an Israel Problem is now Everybody’s Problem.
• Israeli technology, in terms of cyber tech, along with military innovations, makes the Jewish state more than a formidable opponent for any enemy. You see, we too often place too much credit with the enemies. This is like a heavyweight prize fight, when a cocky challenger blusters, then gets his jaw crushed only seconds after the opening bell.

I believe society is moving in a direction in which regular people will have to defend themselves. Our government not only doesn’t protect us, but endangers us. On purpose. Think about that.

Here’s what I predict would happen if Israel were to seriously dismantle the terrorist threat:

Nothing. At least, in terms of international condemnation.

People must ask themselves: why is there a situation in which a strong Israeli response to the murder of their children is met with vicious condemnation? Honestly? I’d like to see the IDF strike a blow heavy enough that the Palestinians will still be talking about it three generations from now.

It’s time to bring back Joshua.