Rising Chorus Backs Israeli Annexation of West Bank

[Purveyor]

By Nathan Jeffay
Published January 21, 2013, issue of January 25, 2013.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been conspicuously silent during the election campaign regarding his plans for the Israeli-occupied West Bank. But some of his close associates have been very open about theirs.

Despite their reputation as two of Netanyahu’s favorites in the Likud party, Yuli Edelstein, a Cabinet minister, and Ze’ev Elkin, chairman of the Likud’s Knesset coalition, have called for gradually annexing the West Bank. And while they have left the details vague, they apparently foresee some Palestinians who live there becoming Israeli citizens.

Though Netanyahu has supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2009, the ideas of his two close associates have significant, if still minority, support within the Likud’s Knesset ranks. The annexation move also has the full and vigorous support of the Jewish Home party, the Orthodox Zionist party that is expected to emerge from the January 22 elections as the second-largest party on the right and at least the third largest in the Knesset.

When the right-wing activist group Women in Green organized a special pre-election “sovereignty” conference, Edelstein, who is minister of Information and Diaspora, and Elkin addressed the 800-strong audience from the podium. The Jerusalem event was Women in Green’s third “sovereignty” conference — but the first that has attracted ruling Likud party members of this stature.


Read more: http://forward.com/articles/169463/rising-chorus-backs-israeli-annexation-of-west-ban/?p=all#ixzz2Iirsmdku

[geek tragedy]

1. Slouching towards some combination of apartheid and the death

of Zionism.

Well played, Israel, well played.

[JoeBlowToo]

2. They need lebensraum...

where did I hear about this idea before?

[oberliner]

3. What are you talking about?

Please clarify.

[JoeBlowToo]

6. Annexing territory in dispute

Of course, this is exactly what we did here in North America. Continual expansion and usurpation of territories inhabited by other groups.

[oberliner]

7. That's not what the Nazi-era term you used means

The policy of lebensraum implicitly assumed the superiority of Germans as members of an Aryan master race who by virtue of their superiority had the right to displace people deemed to be part of inferior races.[3] The Nazis insisted that lebensraum needed to be developed as racially homogenous to avoid intermixing with peoples deemed to be part of inferior races.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebensraum

Would you like to reconsider your comment?

[Scootaloo]

8. Why should he reconsider?

You just described what Israel is doing perfectly. Granted, the ethnicities are different, but the philosophy of "we are a superior people so we have a right to take what we want and kick others to the curb" is absolutely the foundational core of Israel - It's called "Zionism" because "shitty racist land-grab philosophy" doesn't sound as austere.

[shira]

10. Actually, you're describing the anti-zionist one-state BDS position....

They think a Palestinian majority state ruled by indigenous Palestinians will become the most super-duper, totally awesome democracy where absolutely no discrimination of any kind would ever in a million years be detected.



IOW, the non-racist, super progressive Palestinians are better equipped to pull this off - being superior people - than the evil, rightwing apartheid loving, low-life Zio-Nazis.

[Scootaloo]

11. Stringing terms together doesn't actually make your argument make sense

But hey. When you're snorting in the trough with neocons like Daniel Pipes and Ed Koch, I guess "Homo-mexi-islamo-fasco-communazi" and similar newspeak strings are fashionable, huh?

[shira]

12. I thought you believed the Palestinians are superior to Zionists...

...WRT establishing a real democracy.

Am I wrong?

[Scootaloo]

14. I'm sure you think a lot of interesting things, Shira.

For instance, you think a political philosophy like "Zionism" can be contrasted to an ideologically-diverse group of people like Palestinians.

Which do you think is better at making cupcakes, Shira? Veganism or Mongols? I'll bet caribou are better at running a nation than essentialism is!

You're trying to compare apples to the planetoid Ceres here, Shira.

[shira]

15. I'd say you're for the 1-state BDS-style version of progressive democracy....

....run by Palestinians (being the majority after RoR) since you believe Zionism is beyond salvation, utterly corrupt, evil, racist, and land-grabbing.

You wrote earlier:

You just described what Israel is doing perfectly. Granted, the ethnicities are different, but the philosophy of "we are a superior people so we have a right to take what we want and kick others to the curb" is absolutely the foundational core of Israel - It's called "Zionism" because "shitty racist land-grab philosophy" doesn't sound as austere.

So it's blatantly obvious you can't stand Zionism. It needs to go.

In its place, you expect Palestinian Nationalism to be a better, more progressive, non-racist, non-land-grabbing solution.

Correct?

Otherwise, WTF are you advocating for?

[bemildred]

4. One state. nt

[oberliner]

5. This is where the far right and far left come together - One State solution

If full Israeli citizenship is granted to the Palestinians living there, how does this differ from the One State solution proposals of the BDSers?

[Scootaloo]

9. We've been over this before, Oberliner

This time you're trying for an "if" approach, granted. Which is a little disingenuous (Oberliner? being disingenuous? Noooooo) because the Israeli right can't even bring themselves to give those "Israel Residents of Arab Nationality" that have been in Israel all along full citizenship.

Remember Oberliner? The Israeli "right" (and center,and most of the left, frankly) are all about that whole "preserving the Jewish character of Israel" thing - and judging by the fact they like to commit arson and assault against Africans and Arabs to demonstrate this, I don't think they mean character in the moral sense. I don't think welcoming Palestinians into the fold with a hug and kisses to the cheek is on the agenda of the bloodthirsty barbarians and pirates calling for annexing the West Bank, given that they can't even stomach the idea of a Jewish guy marrying a blonde chick.

[shira]

17. How is the anti-zio position on 1-state, Palestinian majority, any better?

How will such a government with Hamas, the PA, Islamic Jihad, or the PFLP in charge be any less racist, more progressive, etc.?

[oberliner]

16. The chorus has been silenced

HaBayit HaYehudi - 4th place.

Who could've predicted that?