In the last few days I have read over 100 e-mails, Facebook posts, and articles that had one common denominator: They all claimed Obama betrayed Israel at the UN.
While I am no fan of Obama, I must state – loud and clear – that Obama did not betray Israel. Everything that happened in the UN on December 23 was due to one person and one person only: Benjamin Netanyahu.
Allow me to explain. For the last month, all we talked about in Israel was a town called Amona and how the Israeli government plans on destroying the 40 Jewish homes that have been built there. The families who live in Amona are all religious Zionist; the men served in the IDF, fought for Israel, and risked their lives. They built homes in an area that has not seen more than a goat in over 2,000 years, yet the Israeli government calls their settlement illegal – the same words used by the UN in its recent vote!
Three weeks ago, Netanyahu was interviewed on “60 Minutes” by Leslie Stahl. When asked about his position on a Palestinian state, Bibi said the following: “Two states for two peoples. That’s where I’m focused. I’d like to have President Trump, when he gets into the White House, help me work on that. I’d like to see if the Arab states can help me achieve that. It’s a new reality. A new possibility.” That is an exact quote from Israel’s prime minister, so why is everyone screaming about a UN vote that said the same thing?
Don’t believe me? Well, did you actually read the text of UN Resolution 2334? I did, and will quote some relevant parts here. As you will see, every word – every single word – is in line with the position of the current Israeli government led by Netanyahu, Bennett, Lieberman, and Deri.
The resolution begins by calling Israel an “occupying power.” My non-politically-correct comment is that the UN is right. We are an “occupying power.” Since Netanyahu, Bennett, Lieberman, and Deri are all against the complete annexation of Judea and Samaria, we effectively are occupying someone else’s land! Naftali Bennett and his Jewish Home party call for the annexation of Ma’ale Adumim and a few other areas down the road, but he has stated repeatedly that “Area A” should remain in the control of the Palestinians. In other words, even Bennett wants Israel to continue being an “occupying power” – which is exactly what the UN resolution stated, so why should Obama have vetoed it?
Resolution 2334 then states – and I quote – that it “condemns all measures aimed at altering the status of the Palestinian territory” – a position Bibi agrees with entirely! The resolution “expresses grave concern that Israeli settlements imperil the viability of the two-state solution” – again, in total agreement with Bibi.
The resolution continues that it “reiterates its vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders” – those words were probably written by Netanyahu! As stated above, he virtually said that exact sentence to Leslie Stahl in his recent “60 Minutes” interview!
Wait, I’m not finished. Resolution 2334 continues that it “stresses that the cessation of all Israeli settlement activity is essential for salvaging the two-state solution” – this is the policy of today’s Netanayhu-Bennett- Lieberman-Deri government! No new settlements are allowed, many new pilot settlements have been demolished, and places like Amona, which have existed for 20 years, are about to be bulldozed and destroyed. That’s actually to the left of the UN resolution!
And finally, Resolution 2334 “calls upon all parties to continue, in the interest of the promotion of peace and security, to exert collective efforts to launch credible negotiations on all final status issues in the Middle East peace process” – another line out of the Bibi playbook. He has stated countless times that he is ready to sit anytime, anywhere with PLO President Abbas to continue the “peace” process and negotiate final status arrangements.
Based on everything written above – plus other things, such as the arrest and imprisonment of Jews who have committed the horrific crime of reciting Shema Yisrael on the Temple Mount – the current Israeli government has proven that it has betrayed the Nation of Israel, not Obama! After all, what do you expect from a U.S. president when Israel’s prime minister leads the way for the two-state solution? Should we really have expected Obama to veto a resolution that Netanyahu could have written himself?
The answer to our problems, dear friends, is simple. Israel needs new leadership. This new leadership must annex all of Judea and Samaria, place the IDF – and only the IDF – in charge of its security, build Jewish homes across every inch of land, and, once and for all, defeat the enemy!
In my humble opinion, there is only one political party that can offer such leadership, and it is called Zehut, led by Moshe Feiglin. We must do whatever we can to strengthen this party so that it can lead Am Yisrael.