The International Criminal Court Investigates Israel for War Crimes

The International Criminal Court Investigates Israel for War Crimes

In the decision to investigate Israel for war crimes the ICC discredits itself. They remind me of the most liberal judges in America’s courts that make the U. S. Constitution say whatever they want it to say; even the opposite! Let’s list some of the reasons.

The first point of investigation is that Israel’s settlements in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) are illegal and a criminal violation of International Law. However, for that to be true, these territories by international law have to be the territories of a recognized state. Only the Security Council can recognize a state. To recognize a state there are criteria. One, there has to be a unified government with sufficient state institutions. The two governments, Hamas in Gaza, and the PA in the West Bank make this impossible! Though other nations have recognized the State of Palestine, they have broken international law to do so. These territories have never been recognized as part of a recognized state. This assumes a two-state solution as well, which is now impossible. It is best to have one state or go back to the Alon plan where the Palestinian areas are connected to Jordan and Jordanian citizenship and the Israeli areas are part of Israel.

Israel is being investigated for war crimes for civilian deaths in the last Gaza war. However, the rules for the ICC are such that investigations are to take place when a country maintains a serious independent investigative body for war violations. Israel does so and with great care. Objective observers say that no one could better wage an asymmetrical war with an enemy like Hamas that uses human shields better than Israel. This investigation can endanger the Prime Minister, the Defense secretary, and military figures when traveling.

This is a travesty when one considers the territorial violations of real countries. Note Russia’s violations in Ukraine and Georgia and Turkey’s occupying northern Cyprus.

It is secondly a travesty when one considers the crimes of Saddam Assad killing over 500,00 civilians, Russia’s killings in Ukraine, China putting its Muslim population in work re-education camps and more. It is a travesty in the light of the mass killings in Africa.

And when one talks about the right to a country, how much more do the Kurds show that they should be recognized?

Why does this happen? It can only be due to Anti-Semitism underneath it all. Israel is treated differently than others. The UN has passed resolutions in the General Assembly that does not recognize any Jewish connection to Jerusalem or the Temple Mount! One can see the Last Days on all this.

The International Criminal Court should be disbanded or changed to only investigate real genocide where thousands of innocents are slaughtered. It is now a rogue organization. There are great articles on all this in this weekend’s edition of the Jerusalem Post.

Is the Press Corrupt

I do seek to limit my posts on the issues of Donald Trump and the divisive political situation in the U. S. I have my view of Donald Trump. I will add a bit to this post for you to know.

Recently Chris Wallace said that Donald Trump’s attacks on the press as corrupt and fake news are very bad for the society. He argues that if the trust in the press is destroyed (and to a great extent it has been) then we are not as safe as a society. I have watched him for many years and do enjoy his fair and hard questions for both Republicans and Democrats. Yet in this case, I think he is wrong. We now have a partisan press. The legacy press is so in the tank for the Democrats and so anti-Trump that they have discredited themselves as corrupt. Make no mistake about it, though there is a conservative press when you add in all the news sites and social media, information is still by far to the left. Michael Goodwin, historically a Democrat who voted for Clinton is now blowing the trumpet on this corruption. He even notes an explicit change of policy at the New York Times to become partisan. Important news that could be seen as helpful to the President is suppressed. Whether economic news, progress in enterprise zones in the poor areas of the city, or prison reform and so much more is simply not reported. The most egregious example recently is that the legacy channels, NBC, CBS, and ABC, on their main news broadcasts did not report the huge story on the head judge of the FISA court rebuking the members of the FBI for their errors in seeking a warrant to wiretap Carter Page and thereby the Trump campaign. It got zero coverage on the day it came out. Indeed, how they reported the I. G. report on the history of the Trump Russia investigation was not an exoneration. His Senate testimony said so. It was only the predicate of its beginning that he noted was not provably biased, but the further errors as new warrants and wiretaps were sought left serious questions.

I do note that Fox News really does one thing that its detractors do not credit. Its hard news shows like Bret Baier, are quite factual oriented and not promoting a partisan agenda. Its panels have all sides. We saw such non-partisan reporting with Shephard Smith. When one watches the new channel form Israel, Channel 24, we can realize what a real news channel should be like. It is amazing. The press really has brought this on themselves. There needs to be a press reformation with new organizations that emphasize news and commentary and have a balance of conservative and liberal newscasters and commentary writers. The loss of journalistic standards goes back to our schools where objective reporting is rejected as impossible. All only project their views or so it is taught.

As for President Trump. For my friends, I have noted that I am troubled by the always Trumpers and the never Trumpers. I think both are really over the top. There are now two polarized narratives about the President, that he is almost all good or all bad. When there is such absolutist thinking on both sides, we can be sure that both sides are wrong. This is a principle of historical research and evaluation. Having said that, many Trump policies are very good in my view and some are bad. I have lists I have done and won’t copy them here. But on abortion, religious liberty, constitutionalist judges, prison reform, enterprise zones, getting NATO countries to pay their fair share, fighting crime, Israel, and so much he has been right. But in cozying up to ruthless dictator-murderers and complementing them he violates Scriptural principles about how we are to treat evil people. In speech that is personally demeaning people and name-calling, he violates James and other Scriptures which make this a cardinal issue of morality. It can bring a curse and open him up to demonic attack. Also, if he leaves Afghanistan to the Taliban, he will leave a blood bath that will be horrendous. He has to face that we are in a war for the foreseeable future against radical Islamic movements and need the help of other Islamic leaders to fight it.

I am in touch with the prophetic movement. Credible prophets have helped us know that Trump’s election was God’s doing. It is a time of respite. This is helpful to me. I felt great relief when corrupt Hillary was not elected. Yet this does not mean I lose my sense of proportion and the biblical norms for evaluating human behavior

Israel Government Failure

Unless something happens in just two days, Israel will have again failed to form a government. I see several reasons why. First the fault of Benjamin Netanyahu. Here are the reasons we cannot have a unity government.

He will not give up his Faustian bargain with the Ultra-Orthodox parties. I call it Faustian because I agree with many who see the present direction of this large and growing segment of Israel under the present arrangements as an existential danger to Israel. Most of the males are not trained for any profession, but only to study Talmud and Rabbinic texts. They do not serve in the army. This is a great contrast to the nationalist Orthodox who are a strong part of building Israel. The party under Liberman will not be in a government with them and he has the controlling vote.
Netanyahu has been indicted for bribery and other crimes. Blue and White under General Benny Gantz say they will not join a government under his leadership. Maybe if he promises to step down before six months and give Gantz the leadership. There would have to be compromises from the Ultra-Orthodox. Probably Netanyahu should step down with a promise he could run again for party leadership if he is cleared and wins the case.

So here is Gantz and blue and white to be faulted. He shares the blame here with Liberman. They could form a minority government with less than 61 votes (the required parliamentary majority) if he allows the Arab Israel parties to vote for his government but to not join the coalition government (members in the cabinet etc.) There are enough votes with them to carry him if Liberman would support this. But Gantz and Liberman find the support of the Arabs is so toxic politically that they will not accept their votes to put them in power even if they are not in the governing coalition. The reason is that these parties are anti-Zionist. Yet they are not like Hamas seeking to see the Jews not living in Israel. They want a one-state solution and equality for Arabs and Jews and for the descendants of Arabs to be able to return. This would probably be the end of the Jewish majority. So what? This will never pass parliament, so why not accept their votes. They really want to be treated equally to Jewish neighborhoods in housing permits, roads, and other infrastructure, hospitals, and schools. I don’t think they are treated fairly. But Liberman will not accept their vote and won’t join a minority government and Gantz probably thinks it is toxic. My thought this could happen in a post 8 weeks ago now seems like a fantasy. The other sad point is that if they could do this, then they could invite Likud into the coalition after Netanyahu is no longer leading Likud.

So we will go to a third election. As of now, Gideon Saar is challenging Netanyahu for party leadership. He is very conservative but has a good integrity reputation. Momentum is building for him but he is not there yet. A new election is predicted to lead to the same result. If Netanyahu again fails to have 61 votes to lead, finally he may step down. His court case could also be beginning. The majority of Israelis in the last polls say that Netanyahu is mostly to blame for no government forming.

Down the Memory Hole

One of the big differences between the Jewish majority in the United States and the Jewish majority in Israel is how they perceive the Palestinian Arabs. In the United States the majority Jewish leadership, Reform, Conservative and secular are all for a two-state solution. Somehow, they think Israel and the settlements are the problem. The majority of the Israelis believe that the Palestinians have been profoundly dishonest and never had any intention of making real peace with a realistic solution. When they rejected the Clinton-Barak plan and then the Olmert-Bush plan, Israelis drew the conclusion of their insincerity. The last proposal was probably way too generous and gave away too much. Since that time, Israel has turned to right-wing governments and the left has lost almost all its power in Israel. Blue and White is a centrist party with many conservatives.

About 10 days ago, the Palestinian Authority, the supposed moderates passed a resolution declaring that the Jewish people never were even in the Land of Israel. They have no roots here. It has always been Palestinian. This is even beyond the claim that the Temple Mount is not the Temple Mount. So where was the Jewish War with Rome fought? In Spain? What happens to Josephus the historian and Roman historians or other records. History to the P. A. means nothing. Can we in any way believe that if the P. A. will put out such position papers that they have any real intention of a real and lasting peace with the Jewish state? Then they name their squares and streets after terrorists and pay terrorist families high incomes. Israelis mostly believe that a Palestinian state will be a terrorist state as a base to attack Israel. When one lives in Israel, one has access to so much more information on the situation. It is quite clear to me that the Israeli position is the right one!! George Orwell wrote about the Communists simply making up history and putting real historical records down a hole to be destroyed since it was not germane to their communist goals. The Palestinians have a huge memory hole!

The Prime Minister Indicted, What Now?

This is an update on the very painful situation in Israel. After two elections due to the rigid stand of Prime Minister Netanyahu who wants to keep the ultra-Orthodox in his corner, there is no government. Now there are 21 days for any Knesset (Parliament) Member to gain 61 votes to form a government. But on top of all this, Prime Minister Netanyahu, the longest-serving Prime Minister ever, is under indictment for fraud and bribery. It is not worthwhile for me to recount the case. Readers can easily use their search engine to find out. It does seem credible to me though he is innocent until proven guilty. But the general consensus is that though not legally required a Prime Minister should step down, concentrate on his defense and not weigh down the state. Instead, the Prime Minister doubles down, accuses the police of being corrupt in their pursuit of the evidence, the lead prosecutor as a leftist, and the conservative Orthodox Jewish Attorney General as being weak and pressured. He was appointed by Benjamin Netanyahu.

I do believe that another Likud leader (Netanyahu’s conservative party) could pick another good leader to form a government with Blue and White. But only one prominent member has called for new Likud Party primaries to pick someone, Gideon Saar, who by all accounts would be a capable leader. I think that the longer it goes on the weaker Israel becomes. He could step down and gain a commitment from Likud to run again if cleared. This is a nightmare. I have already noted that the ultra-Orthodox bring tyranny to the government and oppress Messianic Jews and Russian Jews who cannot prove their Jewishness by ultra-Orthodox standards. It really is time for a change and for a government without the Ultra-Orthodox.

Climate Youth Protests

We have just witnessed hundreds of thousands of youth protesting climate change and demanding radical action to stop the progression of climate warming. It is sad to me to see children scared half to death about the climate. Some psychiatrists report an uptick in those needing help and medication due to anxiety brought on by the fear of climate change. It is heartbreaking to listen to a teen activist speak at the U. N. How did she get this platform? She condemned the adults and capitalist greed for the degradation of the climate. The children learned their orientation from their adult teachers who use them to try to force the world to change. How shall we respond to this?

First, we need to note that the science is not settled. I have read papers from a minority of experts in the field who do not think the models are right and that human-caused carbon pollution is not a serious issue. The reader can find these papers. But let’s for argument sake accept the view of the majority that the world is headed for catastrophe if we do not stop the human-caused aspects of the change. As stewards of the earth, the Bible commands us to take care of the earth and to not destroy it. As such, all Bible believers should be environmentalists without idolizing the creation We should take comfort in the promise that the world will be renewed when Yeshua returns and will not be destroyed. Yet, things can get very bad first.

However, if we are to bring radical improvement or change in carbon pollution, the direction taken by the more socialistic anti-capitalists would be a disaster. Only societies that attain sufficient prosperity have the means to address the issues. Indeed, poor societies will not be able to address it without devastating their poor. They need prosperity to overcome their contribution to the problem. Switching to carbon-free alternatives like solar is wind is insufficient. No model predicts that this would be enough. They are also carbon polluting technologies. The mining to get the elements necessary for solar and the steel production necessary for windmills are themselves carbon polluting. Steel is made with coal. Zero carbon emissions is a pipe dream. What can be done really? The best papers I have read have argued that if we are to deal with carbon pollution reduction we will need to do the following.

Allow natural gas as a transitional fuel. Great reductions in carbon pollution have taken place by replacing coal and oil with the cleaner gas fuel.
Have incentives in taxes and grants for the free market to invent alternatives. However, these alternatives have to be evaluated as really a significant gain. Electric cars require electric charging and battery disposal and themselves pollute and add carbon to the environment! They may be better but are not zero emission level inventions.
As part of the incentives go nuclear. One of my friends was a top scientist in nuclear waste management. He says that the waste solution has been found but politics stops safe disposal proposals. However, we can also go full bore to the breeder reactor and if we can perfect it, it does not produce waste or bomb-making material. Sadly, political correctness on the dangers of nuclear power are not allowing this important solution. A former leader in Greenpeace is pushing this solution.
Do not go toward socialism which is so inefficient that it certainly will make things work out badly. Only the inventions of free enterprise can find solutions. The children’s protests on climate change are pushing big government and slamming capitalism. If their solutions were embraced such as in the Green New Deal, tens of millions maybe even billions would slide in to poverty. Development is absolutely necessary to feed the world and lift people out of poverty.
It is possible that oil could be cleaned up, but as yet the technology has not been discovered to do this, but we should keep trying. Cars pollute so much less than 50 years ago.
Plant lots of trees and work on desert reclamation. Israel is a leader in this.

It is a shame that the children are being used to push a socialist anti-free-market solution to climate change. It is a shame that they are demonizing the entrepreneurs whose efforts have largely been responsibility for lifting billions out of poverty. The hate against the business class being spewed by these children is so pathetically wrong. They are being used and abused.

Israeli Elections

The Israel election looks like a stalemate but it really is not. I will make a prediction. First, as I noted in an earlier post, the basic issue was that the ultra-Orthodox pushed so hard to expand their power and control in society and no work and service to the country, that Lieberman campaigned against them being in the government. Had they not been too demanding, Bibi would have been home free.

The ultra-orthodox say that they will not be in a government with Yair Lapid. Lieberman says he will not be in a government with the Ultra-Orthodox. So this makes it impossible for Netanyahu to form a government of the right. He only has 56 votes and needs 61 in the Knesset. So he needs to form a government with the centrist Blue and White. But they refuse to join with Likud if it is led by the likely to be indicted Netanyahu.

Confused yet? Netanyahu rails against the idea of a government that depends on the Arab party, the Joint List, for sufficient votes to gain over 61.

Yes, if Gantz and Lapid have the votes of Lieberman and the left parties plus the Arab party, they will have 64 votes. That is enough though the Arabs won’t sit in his cabinet. So Netanyahu tries to scare people that depending on Arab votes is a disaster and a deep danger. Again, he demeans the Arab Israelis. He is wrong.

Are you confused yet? I hope you can follow this.

Here is a way forward. Gantz and Lapid say they want a government with Likud and without Netanyahu. But if Likud does not replace him, then they will have to depend on the left and the Arabs. It will be Netanyahu’s Likud’s fault. Netanyahu is wrong and this is not so dangerous because the Arabs will not be in the cabinet. Secondly, the Knesset has to pass legislation and the centrist Blue and White and right parties will have the votes to keep things on the right in policy. Once Netanyahu is replaced, Likud can be invited to join the government later.

So here is my prediction. If Gantz and Lapid do not change their stand toward Netanyahu, they will form a government through the votes of the Left Zionist parties and the Arabs. Even Netanyahu reached out to the left to join him but they refused so that is not so unusual. My prediction is that the Netanyahu era is over. But this can change. Blue and White with Likud could be a good government; address housing, costs of living, security, and greater liberty for Russian Jews, their marriages, and better for Messianic Jews without the Ultra-Orthodox.

Demonizing those who Disagree

I mentioned in my most recent post that General James Mattis wrote an article on the dangers of tribalism and a type of tribal warfare in America. Then more recently Carol Roth, a centrist and independent politically, wrote a very strong article expanding on the same theme. It is not that we disagree but that the other side is the enemy and evil. It is not just the loss of real tolerance and respectful speech. Politics is now elevated to religious fervor since for many this is the central meaning to life.

The primary reason I see for this is the breakdown of the moral consensus of society that was based on the Judeo-Christian Biblical ethic and the importance of biblical faith in some way as a foundation to the society. Even civil religion had its benefits as part of this consensus, though of course, people were not saved by it! Mattis and Roth missed a central issue. When one half of the population believes that killing children in the womb is murder and the other half believes it is a right without which women are not respected, we have such a real division that it is challenging to not demonize the other and both sides do. The pro-choice position is heinous to me, but I still must speak to such people with love and not hate. The loss of faith among many of the pro-choice people does not provide an ethical foundation to treat pro-life people other than as an enemy seeking to destroy women’s rights and freedom. The lawyer for the attacker against Judge Kavanaugh attacked him and others who are more pro-life as misogynists, though the Pro-life movement was mostly women! You can see the polarizing narrative creation.

We see this with issue after issue. On one side are the radical Green deal people who say the world will end soon unless we do radical things that will bring millions into poverty. The other side has doubts and quotes reputable scientists who are in the minority who point to other than human causes for warming and that the danger is exaggerated. Some believe if the human cause is important a more gradual approach is warranted that really does not destroy the lives of people. For those on the Green new deal side, the others are the enemy, hated and vilified.

Also on the immigration sides, those who want controlled borders are called racists though they profess to believe in inviting all races but legally. The level of vilification is terrible, and our Presidents rhetoric does not help. On the other hand, some want blacklists of donors and to “out” Trump supporters for shunning and protest. The people are not engaging in reasoned debate but on the campus and in many locales, the response is bullying, shaming, and rage. I do think that the left is mostly to blame but there is plenty on the right as well.

Think about the LGBT movement. They do not want to just have civil rights but to destroy all that does not support their immoral position. This includes Christian Athletes in Action, to the Salvation Army! So they try to shut down the leading Chicken franchise and ban it from airports and universities.

Bill O’Reilly gives an example of a professor who wrote a book on racists. Every white person who believes he is not a racist proves he is a racist by denying it. And if one admits it, then one is a racist too, of course. Therefore, it is a sin that can never be overcome. It is a total trap and a logical error. This kind of rhetoric can lead to race wars. Yet the left does not speak of the murder rate of black on black and care about a solution for the horror. It is the fostering of hatred for whites and many whites on the left go along with it.

The break down in Israel is similar. Our Prime Minister calls his major opponents in the Blue and White party leftists. But they believe in strong defense, security and are pro free enterprise. In most countries, they would be moderate conservatives. They just do not want to be in a government with the Prime Minister who may soon be indicted or yield to the power of the Ultra-Orthodox. The charges are so extreme. The Ultra-Orthodox make statements vilifying the secular as evil and seeks a controlling interest in the next government. The secular vilifies them back. I have longed for a societal consensus in Israel based on belief in God, belief in traditional morality and a more flexible but positive approach to tradition than the rigidity of the Orthodox. Not much chance of that with Israel’s own LGBT radicals and very liberal abortion policies!

So western societies are breaking down into a kind of tribal warfare.

Again there are two reasons; first loss of the fear of God and a consensus on ethics and morals based on that. With that breakdown, a loss on both sides of a commitment to treat one another with respect. I could at least hope that those who profess to follow Yeshua would lead the way in respectful loving speech when they address their concerns.

Speak Loudly, but Carry a Little Stick

We are soon entering into elections in Israel in just over two weeks.

The right of center party of Benjamin Netanyahu is facing off against Blue and White, the centrist party of General Benny Gantz and Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.

One of the interesting aspects of the campaign is that Blue and White presents itself as committed to a much stronger party against Israel’s terror supporting enemies than Prime Minister Netanyahu who has a reputation for being a hardliner and Mr. Security for Israel. What are the facts about this debate? I want to look at three primary battle fronts and ask some hard questions. How has Israel dealt with Lebanon since the last war with Hezbollah? Secondly, how is Israel handling Hamas, and finally, how has Israel handled the terrorism from the West Bank (Judea and Samaria)? President Teddy Roosevelt famously said, “Speak softly but carry a big stick.” In other words, use real and serious power. Then your words do not have to be loud. The accusation against Benjamin Netanyahu is that he projects great strength, but really is speaking loudly and carrying a small stick. I summarize here the arguments.

First in regard to Lebanon. After the Israel-Lebanon War in 2006, a U. N resolution was passed that led to an Israel withdrawal. The war lasted 34 days. I was visiting my brother in an assisted living facility in Valdosta, George. Richard was a Major in the Airforce and had a good grasp of military strategy. We were quite amazed that Israel tried to win this war by air power and only late in the war brought in ground troops. Also, Israel bombed the infrastructure of the nation of Lebanon and did not merely concentrate on Hezbollah which could have freed Lebanon from the tyranny of this group. He thus turned Lebanon more deeply into an enemy and really empowered Hezbollah. My brother and I were amazed at the feckless way the war was fought under Prime Minister Olmert. The U. N. promised a peace keeping force on the Lebanon border that would prevent Hezbollah from rearming. When Secretary of State Condolezza Rice declared that this would be a robust U. N. force, I knew beyond a doubt that the U. N. would do no such thing but that Hezbollah would be rearmed. Today, this has indeed happened. Hezbollah now threatens with hundreds of thousands of missiles and some may be precision ones, even threatening Tel Aviv. Israel policy under Benjamin Netanyahu has sought to prevent transports from Iran, but really has never the less allowed the rearming. His response could have been, “They are rearming, and if you, the U. N. do not prevent this re-arming, we will go back and disarm them. And we will continue to do so again and again until the U. N. resolution preventing re-arming is enforced.” But short term relative peace in the North and the prevention of the loss of Israeli soldiers, has been attained with terrible danger to the half of Israel.

Secondly, we look at the situation in the West Bank. For years Israel has allowed the Palestinian Authority to pay terrorists attackers and their families. If they die as martyrs, the payments to the families are high. The worse the terrorist, the better the payments. Those in jail in Israel find their families are paid handsomely. We would not object if the payments were at the normal welfare level. This incentivizes terrorism. For years Israel protested, but only recently cut off tax payments in the amount of these payments to the P. A. But this took years. Then Israel allows squares and streets in the West Bank to be named after terrorists, even the worst ones. And Israel allows textbooks to teach anti-Semitism and fosters hate for the Jewish people and Israel. As an occupying military Israel could enforce standards so that this would not be done. Could you imagine the parallel in Germany or Japan after World War II? They had to submit in ways that teaching Nazi ideology or Japanese superiority would not be tolerated. How can there be a peace agreement when the whole culture celebrates terrorism and fosters hatred?

Third, Israel under Benjamin Netanyahu, since the last Gaza War, fears the international community and its unfair response were they to fight a war. A war is more difficult since using civilian human shields is a military strategy for Hamas. So Hamas and Islamic Jihad send rockets to terrorize the towns near the border. They protest the blockade but if they gave up violent attacks and arms for the sake of attacking Israel, the blockade would end. We have explained that the policy of the government in Israel is to keep Hamas in power so the Palestinians have divided government (West Bank under P. A. and Gaza under Hamas) and the two-state solution becomes impossible. But it has been pointed out that if Israel would simply take out more of the Hamas leaders, those surviving would be more likely to cooperate and end the rocket attacks and the violent border protests. Perhaps the Prime Minister believes that such a policy could lead to the collapse of Hamas, but others in Blue and White argue against this. The Prime Minister is building a border barrier against Hamas, and bombs military targets while preventing the loss of life. He speaks loudly. Does he also carry a small stick? Gaza simply needs to give up its military arms that are only needed to attack Israel and the blockade is over.

The next election in two weeks cannot be said to be a contest against a hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu and a dovish left-wing. This is simply not true. The Prime Minister has done many things right, but this election is a very difficult one, not only on domestic policy and the power of the Ultra-Orthodox in Israel, but also on Security policy.

The Controversy Over Israel’s ban of Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omer

The Democratic Party is near schizophrenic, having voted with the Republicans against the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanction) movement, but then having a fit over the Israel ban of two radical congresswomen. What should be simple was made complex since they are members of congress but also the first women in congress to take radical anti-Israel stands based on radical movements from the Muslim Brotherhood and aligned with Hamas. Make no mistake about it, BDS was founded by people who seek the full destruction of Israel. “From the River to the Sea, Palestine shall be free.” The founders of BDS do not seek a lasting peace in a two-state solution, but agree with those declaring the State of Israel an illegitimate colonial imposition on the indigenous Arab population. This simplistic narrative is propaganda that in an Orwellian way seek to portray the Israelis as the oppressors without taking the terrorism of the other side into account. If BDS succeeded, it would mean the end of Israel.

Make no mistake about it; Gaza would be totally free and even able to declare itself a nation, have free trade, develop tourism, businesses and more if they would do one thing. That one thing is to give up violent opposition to Israel. The oppression is self-chosen through their violence so they can play the victim card and turn the world against Israel by a false narrative. As for the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority turned down two generous offers for a two-state solution, one under Prime Minister Barak and one under Ehud Olmert. It was quite obvious to most Israelis that the Palestinians were playing Israel and the world and had no intention of an agreement other than one that would lead to the destruction of Israel. Both the Fatah Movement of the Palestinian Authority and the Hamas Movement seek the same goal; the destruction of Israel. The method of the former is more subtle, even to pretend to be open to a real two-state lasting solution for peace. The method of the other is violent resistance and not even to countenance any negotiation that would look like accepting the legitimacy of the State of Israel.

The mistake of the Israeli government was its weakness to first entertain these two congresswomen coming separately from the bi-partisan delegation from Congress that came very recently. They refused to go preferring instead a trip to create a massive propaganda media feast against Israel. The two women have made anti-Semitic statements as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance which has been adopted by many countries including the United States. Just because voters in their districts foolishly elected these two as their representatives does not undercut Israeli right and policy, which is to deny entry to any who are involved in supporting BDS and seeking the destruction of Israel. Nancy Pelosi is trying to hold her radical wing together with the rest of the Party so she wimped out in not passing a resolution condemning the statements of Ilhan Omer early on in this congressional session, but allowing it to be watered down to a statement against all racism and prejudice. The radicals, known as the squad, are playing the Democratic leaders. But by not dealing with this, they are opening the door to the Democratic Party becoming an anti-Israel party. Some have noted the parallels to the anti-Semitism in the Labor party in Britain under Jeremy Corbin and called this the Corbinization of the Democratic party: the drift to socialism and semi-Marxism, the anti- Israel stands and the rejection of traditional moral values. Israel made the right decision to ban these two and there should not have been a question, though Israeli Parliamentarians, American politicians, and media people questioned it. Being elected to the U. S. Congress or to any legislative body in countries in relationship to Israel does not give one a pass to enter Israel and bypass its policy to ban people who support BDS and anti-Semitism. America has banned people from other democracies who they deemed problematic. Messianic Jews in Israel can give us some perspective!!!