Will US Jewry come through for Israel?

An anonymous commenter left the following comment here the other day:

What's the point of a post like this when all your readers already agree with your views and anyone who doesn't or who might think differently has stopped reading this blog months ago? Everyone gets it.
Settlers: good.
Arabs: violent. Uncontrollable.
Left wing and Tel Aviv: bad.
Olmert: incompetent
Rabin: evil.
We get it. Honest.

Actually, that particular posting was very important in that it showed beyond a doubt, that the more money donated to the Palestinian Authority, the more terror (external and internal) results. You may not like the study or the research, but it's a fact. I don't hide my feelings about Rabin, and his past, yet (as Ive stated many times), I do not condone his murder, nor do I encourage people to follow in Amir's footsteps (or Rabin's for that matter either). Are settler's good? They have more than their share of issues, and I don't recall any posts here praising them at the expense of Leftists or Tel-Aviv. While I wouldn't want to live in Tel-Aviv (and I already did once...) we visit the city from time to time, have friends who live there, and don't view it as Sodom and Amora, let alone "bad".

Olmert's incompetence is perhaps demonstrated best by his 3% approval rating, his poor decisions time after time (releasing terrorists, planning to release more, ignoring the will of the people...all classic signs that brought about a THREE PERCENT approval rating!). Today's Sderot Conference for Social and Economic Policy polled Israelis and found that 69% believes Israeli politics and government are corrupt.

So what do I blog about? I hope I still have a few readers left, because when an Israeli government official does say something important, I think we need to support them.

Case in point is Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni. I've disagreed with her on my blog many times. Yet, as reported by Uri Yablonka at Maariv NRG, Livni bravely faced the US Sec'y of State and stated that Israel would not favor establishment of a Palestinian state immediately, despite American hopes, but only if and when Israel's security is assured.

Long time Muqata friend, Susie Dym writes:

This is an important water-mark for Jewish organizations in the United States. Organizations have sometime said that although they sincerely understand the terrible danger of a new terror state just a bike-ride away from Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem and isolated Israel's sole international airport, as seems to be the preference of Sec'y of State Rice, nonetheless, they cannot make statements pertaining to this terrible problem because this would mean going against the Israeli government. Livni's statement has opened the door which now allows all American Jewish organizations to immediately come forward and strengthen Israel's new resolve: not to set up a Palestinian state if doing so means setting up a new terror state.

Will American Jewish organizations come through for Israel in this matter??

Now is your chance. For a change, instead of Israel "leading the pack" of taking "risks for peace", Israel has clearly stated they see security as a prerequisite for peace.

Americans who care more about Israel's security than sectarian US politics need to make it clear to Sec'y of State Rice that the Annapolis "peace talks" can not come at the expense of Israel's security.

With only a year away to US elections, now is the time to ensure you contact your congressmen or presidential candidates (Democrat or Republican) and ensure their active and vocal support of helping Israel, specifically when Israel is saying the right thing. Tell Rice that Israel's security is not negotiable and the worst thing the Middle East needs now is an additional terror state.

Make your voice heard, since you can make a difference.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael

Arabs betray America (again)...pass the Humus.

Israeli columnist, Nahum Barnea analyzes the Palestinian Authority Meccafest, where terror groups Fatah and Hamas try to live together in harmony (i.e., stop killing each other, so they can focus on killing Israelis)

The bad news is that once again we are like rabbits caught in the headlights of a car. The really embarrassing news is that we are stuck there along with the United States.

By the time the agreement between Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas was signed in Mecca on Thursday, the American Administration had been betrayed three times: Once by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, then by Saudi king Abdullah, and finally by Abbas. These three American allies ignored Condoleezza Rice's pleas; they negotiated with Khaled Mashaal and bent her will in his favor.

The agreement constitutes a severe blow to Rice's reputation in Washington. Despite the White House's warnings, she has been investing much effort in a bid to strengthen and glorify Abbas. Next Monday, on February 19th, she was set to have been rewarded for her efforts in a festive summit under her auspices. The summit between Ehud Olmert and Abbas would have served as a first step towards commencing talks between the two sides. The agreement signed in Mecca has emptied the summit of content.

Currently Rice is debating whether to hold the summit or cancel it. Via diplomatic channels, Abbas promised to wait with the establishment of the Palestinian national unity government until after the summit. From Rice's point of view this is small consolation. Abbas is actually seeking to remain under US patronage as if the agreement he signed with Hamas does not exist, and to cooperate with Hamas as if America, the Quartet and Israel do not exist. Rice is finding this a bit too much to swallow.

Abbas and his associates did not go to Mecca by choice, but rather, out of fear. The violent clashes between Fatah forces and Hamas threatened to escalate into a full blown civil war. Abbas is not cut out for this type of conflict. He feared that anarchy would turn the Palestinian Authority into a Middle Eastern model of Somalia. And perhaps, as Israeli sources argued, he also feared for his own life. Either way, he preferred temporary calm with Hamas over a long-term treaty with the Americans. The Saudis and the Egyptians followed suit.

The US Administration believed it could cultivate a Sunni coalition that would span from North America to Lebanon and would stand up against Iran's Shiite megalomania. The Mecca agreement, signed last week, will force the Americans to rethink the situation. Perhaps those who are proposing that the Administration regard the Arab-Israeli conflict as a lost cause and focus their attention on other parts of the world are right. Perhaps they are right in proposing that Hamas' terrorist traits be ignored. Alternately, perhaps those proposing that the US Administration encourage talks between Israel and Syria are right. (More on YNET)

Unfortunately, Barnea really believes that glorifying Abbas "the moderate Sunni" will bring about the possibility of change.

Fundamentalist Islam is not the only threat to Israel, and "moderate" Sunnis, which the US State Department, Dr. Dore Gold, and others like to consider as realistic alternatives, are only possibilities -- if they aren't terrorists.

Glorifying a terrorist and holocaust denier like Abbas is what exacerbates the problem -- it does absolutely nothing for peace in the Middle East.

Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael