"That’s why I think the most important thing Obama could do on his trip is to publicly and privately ask every Israeli official he meets these questions:
'Please tell me how your relentless settlement drive in the West Bank does not end up with Israel embedded there — forever ruling over 2.5 million Palestinians with a colonial-like administration that can only undermine Israel as a Jewish democracy and delegitimize Israel in the world community? I understand why Palestinian dysfunction and the Arab awakening make you wary, but still. Shouldn’t you be constantly testing and testing whether there is a Palestinian partner for a secure peace? After all, you have a huge interest in trying to midwife a decent West Bank Palestinian state that is modern, multireligious and pro-Western — a totally different model from the Muslim Brotherhood variants around you. Everyone is focused on me and what will I do. But, as a friend, I just want to know one thing: What is your long-term strategy? Do you even have one?'"
Some quick answers for Tom:
- With respect to Israel's so-called "relentless settlement drive in the West Bank," built-up settlement area comprises less than two percent of the West Bank, most of which is expected to be retained pursuant to any two-state solution involving land swaps.
- There is currently no Palestinian "partner" willing to accept Israel as a Jewish state.
- "A decent West Bank Palestinian state that is modern, multireligious and pro-Western"? Hey, Friedman, what are you smoking?
- Israel's "long-term strategy"? Easy: survival.
Pithy. Accurate. Apt.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Tom could ask the King of Morocco if he wants sovereignty over "...A decent West Bank Palestinian state that is modern, multireligious and pro-Western"
ReplyDeleteIt is not what TomF is smoking. That assumption reveals TomF is living in an alternate universe, you know, where Islam is actually a rational post-Enlightenment religion (rofl)
Thanks for saving me the trauma of reading the whole thing!
K2K
Ha, I am not the only one who can't read Friedman. I actually never was able to read him, even before he really became the leading antisemite of Der Neue Stuermer and before my friends (ex-friends) started to convert ME to antisemitism in the following manner: "But Thomas Friedman says [Jews are bad -a] and our neighbor, who is Jewish, went last week to Iran to denounce .... Israel on Iranian TV" in the hope that I too will go to Iran to denounce ... Israel.
ReplyDeleteSure. Decades ago, I scanned two of Friedman's columns and found him to be a bad writer - pompous, pretentious and idiotic. This was the end of my direct contact with this evil bozo, not counting bumping into him in the street. New York is infested with bedbugs, roaches, rats and Friedmans. Brrr
Yes, I once bumped into him in the street and once some huge rat jumped on my foot on a subway platform. Of all the feet available it chose mine.