Ted Belman

The truth about “the occupation” and “the settlements”

The pro-Palestinian propaganda machine has succeeded in stigmatizing the Israeli occupation and the settlements. Time and again we hear about the “brutal occupation” and the “illegal settlements”. We rarely hear the truth in opposition to these lies.

US M.E. policy needs a reset

The Iraq Study Group issued its report in late 2006 in which it recommended gradual withdrawal of US forces by 2008, engagement with Iran and Syria and a renewed focus on solving the Israel/Arab conflict which it believed was “inextricably” linked to Iraq.

The right is transparent about its intentions re annexation

Haaretz recently published Endgame in which it set out voices from the right calling for the annexation of J & S. Today they published arch leftist Shlomo Avneiri’s The lie behind the right wing’s truth, only there is no lie. According to this article the right has always wanted this but... It’s just that it hasn’t been easy to openly advocate an explicitly annexationist stance. It has been much easier to speak of our right to the land, of the right of Jews to settle everywhere in the Land of Israel, while ignoring that this involves not only territory, but also people – millions of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza.

The two-state solution is dead. Long live what?

Before delving into the question of what follows the death of the two-state solution we must get a certificate of death. This may prove to be more difficult than getting a certificate of live birth for President Obama.

Parameters for a ME peace deal

Yesterday, Abbas reformulated his terms for entering direct negotiations, namely Israel must agree to the idea of a third party guarding the borders of a future Palestinian state before direct peace talks can start and Israel must also agree in principle to a fair land swap that would compensate the Palestinians for West Bank land absorbed by Jewish settlements in any peace deal.

Delirium in 1947 Jerusalem

In 1947, Zippy Porath (nee Borowsky) came to Jerusalem from NY on a year’s scholarship. Little did she realize she would be a witness to history. She wrote many letters home which were published in Letters from Jerusalem ’47 to ’48. Here’s the one on the partition vote. If it doesn’t stir your soul, nothing will.

Israel’s PR is not the problem

When Israel loses yet another PR battle, many of her friends complain that Israel is partly to blame because she is woefully inept when it comes to PR. I am not one of them..

The shifting sands of the Middle East

Shimon Peres, President of Israel, has, for the last thirty years, called for a New Middle East. In fact he wrote a book by that title in 1993, the year of the Oslo Accords. He believed that economic cooperation in the ME was the starting point for cementing ties and reconciling peoples. The Oslo Accords, of which he was the main architect and instigator, was intended to lead in that direction. It failed miserably.

Obama and Hamas

Pres Obama is not letting the flotilla crisis go to waste. He is using it as a springboard to change US policy regarding Hamas. In his words, uttered in a recent interview by Larry King, "Time to move forward and break out of the impasse" and “the status quo is unsustainable.” Totally aside from whether it is really unsustainable, one need not wonder how he intends to break out of the impasse. He will bring Hamas in from the cold.

Sarah Palin is on a Roll

Since resigning from her Governorship last July, Sara Palin hasn’t made a false move.

An Open Letter to American Jews

I tried to alert you two years ago to Obama's Muslim Connection and to Obama's Marxist Connection and together with other bloggers, made some headway. In fact, Jewish support for Obama dropped as low as 56%. As a result, Obama called on some key Jewish supporters to vouch for him. Alan Dershowitz, Robert Wexler (D-Fl), Martin Peretz and Ed Koch, among others, stepped up to the plate. Not to be outdone, Rabbis for Obama was formed and it managed to get 400 Rabbis, mostly Reform, to sign a letter in support of Obama and decrying the "lies and smears".

Obama’s Pie in the Sky

There is no solution to the final status issues of Jerusalem, borders and refugees that both sides will agree to. Nevertheless President Obama is committed to forcing an agreement.

Obama Seeks to Impose a Solution on Israel—Which Is Not a Change in Policy

After his inauguration, President Obama made it his business to end the Mideast conflict within two years. To achieve that end he embraced the "Saudi peace plan" and put enormous pressure on Israel to accept it.

The Battle for Jerusalem

The focus on settlements or the “occupation” has now taken a back seat to the focus on Jerusalem itself. It is understood by all that so goes Jerusalem, so goes the peace process

What’s the real apartheid?

It's Israel Apartheid Week again on college campuses around the world. The blatant and biased agenda for this series of events that kicked off March 1 continues its attempts to delegitimize Israel through a proposed package of crippling boycotts, divestment and sanctions.

Silwan and the proverbial key

The Mount of Olives is located east of the Old City across the Kidron Valley. It offers a magnificent view of Jerusalem because its summit is 300 feet higher than the city. One can also see the Judean Hills as far as the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab on the east side. It also demarcates the watershed.

Min. Meridor tells all

I attended a large gathering tonight to hear what Min Dan Meridor had to say. He may not have told all but he told enough for me.

Obama’s Brzezinski Plan

In Appraising Obama’s Foreign Policy: From Hope to Audacity, Zbigniew Brzezinski, described Obama’s, and his, world view which he characterized as “reconnect(ing) the United States with the emerging historical context of the twenty-first century.”

The freeze is illegal by Israeli law and International law

In my article Can Israel be both democratic and Jewish. I wrote that one value must trump the other.

Right vs Left

The comments in the last few days attempted to distinguish “real leftism” from “fascist or faux leftism”.