Israel

The State of Israel is 63 years old today.

The day after its founding, 15th May, it was invaded by several Arab States and you wouldn't have bet good money on its lasting 6 months, let alone 63 years.

This blog wishes Israel well, and is prepared to listen to criticism from those Arab countries which, like Israel, are functioning democracies (none of them).

Goldstone

I have just got around to reading the article in the Washington Post by Judge Richard Goldstone.

The Goldstone Report, you will remember, was a UN investigation into the military targeting of civilians in the war between Israel and Hamas in 2008-9.

‘If I had known then what I know now’ says the penitent jurist, ‘The Goldstone Report would have been a different document’. He admits that he had no evidence that Israel had targeted civilians, and is impressed at the way Israel investigates reports of civilian deaths. He says “Israel has dedicated significant resources to investigate over 400 allegations of operational misconduct in Gaza’

Goldstone, however, confirms in respect of Hamas ‘That the crimes allegedly committed by Hamas were intentional goes without saying — its rockets were purposefully and indiscriminately aimed at civilian targets’

You may remember the way the lefty media, particularly the BBC, reported all this: that there were ‘crimes against humanity committed by Israel’ (they often forgot to mention the little peccadilloes of Hamas). I was just wondering if they would care to apologise for their coverage.

Don’t hold your breath, though.

Eyeless in Gaza

There is much to be chewed over in the US Government's promotion of talks between Mahmoud Abbas (confusingly called Abu Mazen in much of the international press) and Benjamin Netanyahu, of Palestine and Israel respectively.

One of the reasons Americans don't play cricket, it is said, is that they couldn't play a game for five days and end up with no winner. So it is that the imposition of a one year deadline for success in these talks seems, to put it politely, to be the triumph of hope over experience.

The various cases against the talks are clear: some believe Netanyahu, in a strong position domestically, is not prepared to concede anything valuable. Some say that Abbas, in a weak position domestically, wouldn't dare concede anything at all. And Hamas is running Gaza; they are not participants in the talks for the simple reason they are not in favour of peace with Israel.

There is a number of counterpoints to these arguments. One of the first, I believe, is Hillary Clinton. The USA has seldom had a more determined, more self-assured Secretary of State; her striving at all costs for a result could be infectious. The second is that it has only ever been the right wing Israeli Likud Party, which Netanyahu leads, which has made any progress in the various negotiations over the years. This is known as the 'Nixon in China' syndrome, whereby if a side which is known to be hard line starts to talk, people think it must be all right. The reason Netanyahu may well make concessions - he has said that everything is on the table - is that his principal concern must now be Iran, which opened its first nuclear power station yesterday.

But without Hamas? Are we saying that Abbas is the President of Palestine which includes Gaza, where there is a hostile local administration? Or is this an attempt at a 'three state' solution?

And lastly, as I always ask, where are the Gulf States in all this, why aren't they involved, more supportive of the Palestinians? That perhaps is the biggest mystery of all.

New Kafka story found

One of the author's traditional horrors of the absurd, in the style of Metamorphosis, in which a country which hadn't even come into existence until twenty years after his death claims his work as a national treasure.

Love and lust in Jerusalem

The Guardian brings us interesting news from Israel. A man, Sabbar Kashur, from East Jerusalem and of Arab origin, has been convicted of rape and sent to prison. His crime was to have had sex with an Israeli Jewish woman, having promised her that he was himself Jewish and interested in a serious romantic relationship. She says she would not have had sex with him had she known he wasn't Jewish.

I think this raises two interesting questions. Firstly, the similarity of the peoples means she could not have known that he wasn't of her race. It seems to put a lot of it into perspective, doesn't it?

The second is intriguing. The judges said the sex was obtained under false pretences. Suppose Mr Kashur had said he was rich and looking for someone to go on holiday to the Bahamas with; supposing he said he was a film director looking to cast an unknown in a major production, or a modelling agent; suppose he had said he was a bachelor when in fact he had a wife and six children?

The prisons would be full.

Flotilla Wars

The National Union of Israeli Students are organising a flotilla to run from Israel to Turkey, with the aim of highlighting the plight of the Turkish minorities, Kurds and Armenians.

Rather amusing, in my view. Let's see how much coverage the BBC gives it.

Israel and Gaza 2

We seem to have learned a little more since Monday morning but not everything.

1. It seems clear that the principal aim of the 'peace flotilla' was publicity, not delivering aid.

2. The Israelis were clearly wrong to make the interception in international waters.

3. There is no dispute that Israel has the right to ensure that goods coming in to Gaza are not weapons.

4. The Israeli restrictions seem to include building materials, which seems harsh.

After that, the debate descends to discussion of 'proportionality': that they shouldn't have used so much force. I don't know about you, but if someone, Iceland, say, decides to invade Britain, I want the **** kicked out of them. I don't want us to send the Women's Army Band, armed only with blanks in case someone is hurt. The full caboodle, if you please.

No, what does it for me with this convoy business is the fact that it took place in international waters. I don't know if it was a cock-up by the Israelis, but these people, ghastly though they may be, have every right to protest outside Israel.

Israel and Gaza

Strange. I never agreed with my late father about Israel. By my early teens I had a large number of Jewish friends and I suppose had absorbed their views. I still harbour a strong sympathy for Israel now.

My father by contrast had been in Palestine after the war and was vehemently anti-Israeli. He even regarded the Balfour Declaration, that there should be a homeland for the Jews in Palestine, as a stitch up.

I asked him once how they had permitted the young state to establish itself. He said that after the war there was no taste for killing innocent people, women and children, particularly those who had been persecuted. They arrived in small boats and were let in.

When I heard of the flotilla of small boats arriving from Turkey I wondered whether the wheel was turning a full circle. I don't know. It appears they were warned not to enter the exclusion zone, that Israel had identified known gunrunners amongst them. Israel says it promised to deliver the aid via the usual channels from Ashdod.

Anyway the Israeli army boarded the ships and several people are dead. The BBC carried a report that some Israeli soldiers had been killed or wounded, but said this was from weapons taken from them. I should like to know more about this: what you have to do to take a weapon from an Israeli commando I'm not sure.

I think we need some independent report on this. I don't buy the business about this being just a humanitarian mission - there are better ways to go about that, which would have assured the aid got through. Aid doesn't seem to have been their principal goal. And we must remember that Hamas is a terrorist group, not a political party.

At the same time this hasn't done Israel any favours. We should let some light into the matter.

Proportional Representation

Every time I hear one more crank go on about proportional representation (often ludicrously referred to, unchallenged by the media, as 'fair votes') I think of Israel.

Israel's insane system regularly delivers two parties with similar support and a host of tiny parties, some of whom are raging nutcases. As with most systems of PR, after the people have voted, the political class gets together and decides what sort of government they are going to get, often having little correlation with the wishes of the electorate. So the parties find that they can only govern with the support of some nutcases; which nutcases to choose?

In this instance, there are the usual deeply religious parties, some of whom believe they should nuke the Arabs, but one nutcase, Avigdor Liebermann, has a healthy vote. Either party could govern with his support. He is rabidly anti-Arab so it would more likely be Netanyahu who would form a coalition with him. So the people, having voted for Livni as the largest party, will likely get something very different.

It probably won't matter because Hamas wouldn't recognise Israel if it had Father Abraham in charge, so there won't be peace anyway.

Israel

Today is the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel, that is to say of the date when David Ben-Gurion made the declaration of an independent state. I mention this because if you believed the press it started to happen ten days ago and indeed scarcely makes the papers today.

I haven’t always agreed with everything Israel has done but what I have liked about it is that it carries on in the face of such resentment, such hatred. It is an example in national courage which I respect and envy.

Happy birthday, Israel.