June 9, 2013—SnyderTalk Editorial: Pushing Israel and the Palestinians toward Peace will Increase Violence

1--Intro

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2--SnyderTalk Editorial 3

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Pushing Israel and the Palestinians toward Peace will Increase Violence

The 2000 Camp David Summit was President Bill Clinton’s best effort at achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  He called together the leading players—Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and PA President Yasser Arafat—and they did what Clinton and the Palestinians do best: they talked for 15 days.

Beforehand, the three participants agreed that every issue was on the table for discussion but that they would use an “all or nothing” approach.  That meant they could talk about anything and reach tentative agreements on individual issues that might be problematic, but a final deal would require agreement on everything or there would be no deal.  For the most part, the discussions were not recorded and transcribed, so the record is sketchy, but at the end of the summit, no agreement was reached.  We do know this, though: Barak offered Arafat the moon and he turned it down.

According to the BBC, each one of the players—Clinton, Barak, and Arafat—deserve some of the blame for the summit’s failure:

Of the three men, none can entirely evade responsibility for the failure at Camp David. Bill Clinton won points for trying. But it is legitimate to ask whether he was right to force the pace, given the intractable nature of the issues the parties were grappling with.

A leading American specialist, William Quandt, has commented that Clinton was right to try, but should have done so a year earlier, rather than waiting until the tailend of his presidency.

One of the weaknesses of the Oslo peace process, after all, was that it deliberately left the most difficult issues – Jerusalem, refugees, borders – until last, in the mistaken belief that this would make them easier to resolve.

For his part, Ehud Barak showed he has guts but is a poor politician. Even Palestinians privately admit that no Israeli prime minister has ever gone so far towards meeting their demands.

Whether bravely or (as his critics allege) recklessly, Barak has pushed the limits of the possible – gambling that he could reverse his political fortunes at home by bringing back a comprehensive peace deal, and then winning convincing endorsement for it in a popular referendum.

For the moment, that gamble has not paid off. But even Barak’s enemies grudgingly admit he has shown vigour and single-mindedness.

Both Barak and Clinton have, in differing degrees, blamed Yasser Arafat for the Camp David breakdown. In their eyes, the Palestinian leader has proved impossibly stubborn and inflexible.

But in one important respect Barak seems to have misjudged Arafat’s position, believing that he would bargain away sovereignty in Jerusalem in return for most of the West Bank. For any Palestinian leader, such a trade-off was never on the cards. Jerusalem is as much of a red line for Arafat as it is for Barak.

Information Regarding Israel’s Security (IRIS) said that Barak made concessions to Arafat on Jerusalem that were almost unthinkable:

The most painful concessions of all were those made on Jerusalem, the spiritual and (when the Jews lived in their homeland) political capital of the Jewish people for almost 3000 years. All Israeli governments since 1967 and Prime Minister Barak himself have frequently repeated that Jerusalem will remain Israel’s undivided capital forever. Mr. Barak himself said that Jerusalem’s unity was one of his red lines as he prepared to go to the Camp David summit.

But Camp David quickly put an end to this red line. The accompanying map and analysis show the results of Mr. Barak’s capitulation and an American “bridging proposal” which followed and weakened the Barak’s position still further. The final map is an unworkable patchwork that not only would be a cause for constant friction, but would have surrendered the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site, to Yassir Arafat. Nonetheless, Arafat flatly rejected this far-reaching proposal.

(To see a larger version of the map plus further analysis, click here.)

Clinton blamed Arafat publicly for the failure, and Arafat initiated the 2nd Intifada:

The Second Intifada, also known as the al-Aqsa Intifada, broke out in September 2000 following a visit by Israel’s then-opposition leader Ariel Sharon to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount (or Haram al-Sharif). Since the site is sacred in both the Islamic and Jewish religions, and the question of sovereignty over it has been one of the thorniest issues in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, it is not surprising that Sharon’s visit was considered a deliberate provocation.

The following day, Palestinian demonstrators gathered around the al-Aqsa mosque threw stones at Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall below, and Israeli security services responded by firing rubber-coated metal bullets and live ammunition at the crowd. Five Palestinians were killed. Palestinian demonstrations throughout the territories and within Israel followed, and the vicious cycle of violence known as “the Second Intifada” began. By February 2005, when Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas agreed to a mutual truce with Prime Minister Sharon and persuaded the main Palestinian armed groups to declare a cease-fire, 3,307 Palestinians, including 654 children, and 972 Israelis, including 117 children, had been killed.

Sharon’s visit was only the spark that set off the uprising, not its root cause. After seven years of the Oslo peace process, both Israelis and Palestinians had lost faith in its underlying premise that small steps on both sides could build trust between the two parties. Many Israelis felt that their withdrawal from Palestinian territory had not brought them greater security, while Palestinians saw an expansion of settlements and no genuine Israeli interest in creating a viable Palestinian state. The failure of the Camp David Summit in July 2000 entrenched these views. From an Israeli perspective, the Palestinian refusal to accept what Israelis regarded as the most generous land offer they had ever made showed that the Palestinians were not negotiating in good faith and had never accepted Israel’s right to exist securely. Many Israelis came to believe that the subsequent uprising was orchestrated by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to pressure Israel into concessions he could not achieve through negotiation.

I believe that Arafat started 2nd Intifada to save face as much as anything else and that the Palestinian and Israeli people suffered needlessly because of his insecurity and intransigence.  Be that as it may, these facts are indisputable:

  1. In July 2000, Israelis and Palestinians met at Camp David to hammer out a peace agreement.
  2. Barak made generous concessions that surprised everyone, including Arafat.
  3. Arafat rejected Barak’s offers.
  4. Clinton blamed Arafat for the failure.
  5. Arafat instigated a bloody Intifada.

The whys and wherefores are still unclear.  I think Arafat knew that if he signed a deal with Israel, any deal, he would be a dead man.  Barak is no dummy, and I suspect that he understood the situation and was willing to make magnanimous concessions because he knew that nothing he offered would be accepted in the form of a final peace deal.  If that’s true, he wasn’t putting anything at risk.

It’s probably accurate to say that the vast majority of Palestinians would like to live in peace with Israel and that they are willing to negotiate to achieve peace.  But there exists in the Palestinian community a sizable minority that may be as small as 15% of the population that will not accept Israel’s existence no matter what.  Unfortunately, they are the most vocal and the most violent Palestinians of all.  They regard any attempt to reach a deal with Israel as treason, and they will try to kill anyone who signs a peace treaty that recognizes Israel’s right to exist.  As we learned in 1995 when Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an Israeli Jew because of his involvement in the Oslo Peace Process, some Jews in Israel feel just as strongly about a Palestinian state in the Holy Land.

Mahmoud Abbas, the current PA president, understands reality.  That’s why it’s no surprise that he is lobbing grenades at the peace process right now while Secretary of State John Kerry and President Obama are pushing Israel and the Palestinians to begin face-to-face peace talks again.  In yesterday’s SnyderTalk editorial, I discussed the Latrun issue and why it’s a nonstarter.  A few days ago, Abbas also said that there will be no peace without Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.  That’s another nonstarter.  Abbas is walking on very thin ice where Israel is concerned.  One step too far may mean that he’s as good as dead.  Likewise, Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu must wonder about his safety if he signs a peace treaty.

If Obama and Kerry understood the situation correctly, it might change their perspective, or maybe they know and don’t care.  Whatever the case may be, pushing for peace between Israel and the Palestinians is more likely to produce violence than anything else.  That’s what history and the facts tell us.

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Jerusalem is the Most Significant Obstacle to Peace between Israel and the Palestinians

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8--How to Read SnyderTalk

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4--Scripture of the Day

Daniel 11: 20-24

“His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle. He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.”

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5--HNIY Print form

His Name is Yahweh explains why the Name of God, Yahweh, is so important.  It’s available in eBook format and in paperback.  It’s also available for free in PDF format.

  • God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This [Yahweh] is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.” (Exodus 3: 15)
  • “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)
  • “Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land.  In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
  • Yeshua said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 8: 58)

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6--His Name is Yahweh Audio Presentation

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Obey Yahweh and Let the Name Jesus Go

Click here to download the entire audio presentation for free and with no strings attached.  Share it as often as you want.

6--Freely You Received Freely Give

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Hosea 4: 6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

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3--News Content in SnyderTalk

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9--Jerusalem Post

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Report: Syria asked IDF to hold fire as it battled rebels

Syria rebels, Assad troops battle for Golan crossing

German report: Berlin a hub of Hezbollah activity

Palestinians protest against new PA prime minister

US, China say leaders agree North Korea must shed nukes

Social justice protesters block J’lem road, 3 arrested

7 reported killed in anti-militia clashes in Libyan Benghaz

Iran FM: Election outcome won’t change nuke policy

Palestinians Throw Firebombs at Israeli Bus near Ramallah

Palestinians Throw Rocks at Two Fire Crews in Eastern Jerusalem

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10--Arutz Sheva

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Blair: There is a Problem Within Islam

Leftists won’t Apologize over Gay Murder Smear

Bennett: We Didn’t Foil Kahlon’s Appointment

Netanyahu Denies Danon’s Hint He’s Bluffing on 2 States

Large Fire in Lachish

Three Detained Over US Tourist Gang-Rape in India

Obama UN Appointee in Inflammatory 2002 Interview

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The Times of Israel

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Dozens of Syrians try to flee fighting into Israel

US urges Syria, Israel to safeguard long-held ceasefire

UN wants $5 billion in aid for Syrian people

Leading Arab journalist sympathizes with Bin Laden

US military plane nearly hits Israeli jet over Eilat

Arab boycott of Lebanese movie filmed in Israel is the ‘height of obscenity’

France studies tracking arms sent to Syrian rebels

Senior Fatah official: Palestinians suffered more from Munich killings

Top Saudi cleric endorses anti-Hezbollah stance

Youth arrested for asking if shooting at Women of the Wall is kosher

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12--Other News

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Jalili Calls for “100 Percent Enrichment”

Israel Rushing to Complete Golan Fence

Syrian Fighting Reaches Israel’s Border

Palestinians from Syria Torch Hizbullah Aid

SodaStream, Target of BDS Boycotters, Skyrockets

Turkish Protests: Are they Good for Israel?

“The Last Israelis”: Doomsday Thriller Focuses Readers on Iranian Nukes

American and European Lawmakers Call for a United Jerusalem

Obama: U.S., China in ‘uncharted waters’ on cyber

How did secret phone program help foil NYC plot?

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13--Perspectives

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Charles Krauthammer: Message from the Ruins of Qusayr—On Wednesday, Qusayr fell to the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Qusayr is a strategic town that connects Damascus with Assad’s Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean, with its ports and Russian naval base. It’s a major strategic shift. Assad’s forces can now advance on rebel-dominated areas in central and northern Syria, including Aleppo. This is a huge victory not just for Tehran but also for Moscow, which sustains Assad in power and prizes its warm-water port at Tartus, Russia’s only military base outside of the former Soviet Union.

Sam Dagher: In Qusayr, Signs of an Intensifying Holy War—A day after it fell to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a four-hour walk in Qusayr revealed the freshest marks of a war that is inflaming Sunnis and Shiites across the region. Rebels fighting here appeared to be under the sway of Jabhat al-Nusra, a Sunni militia that is linked to al-Qaeda: Notices plastered on mosques praised the group’s defense of Qusayr. In the main Christian church, scenes of Christ’s crucifixion, seen by many Muslims as blasphemous, had been ripped from paintings and altarpieces.

Raheel Raza: Combating Political Islam—Political Islam, or “Islamism” as we call this phenomenon in the West, is an armed political ideology similar to Bolshevism and Maoism. Islamism is Islamic-flavored totalitarianism, based upon the intolerance of others, including Muslims, and the glorification of violence as martyrdom. Historically, this aberrant thinking has only been espoused by marginal groups and kept in check for centuries. However, in 1926, a marginal sectarian movement inside Arabia, the Wahhabis, allied with the Saudi tribe, captured power, and established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which now serves as the bastion of Islamism.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians Threaten Their Own Businessmen—Palestinian businessmen who dared to meet with Israeli colleagues in recent days are now facing threats and calls to boycott them and their companies. Last week several Palestinian unions and political groups held a press conference in Ramallah to strongly condemn Palestinians who meet with Israelis. The chairman of the Palestinian Writers’ Union, Murad Sudani, threatened to publish a “blacklist” with the names of those caught meeting with Israelis.

David Benjamin: Labeling Settler Goods Misses the Mark—European officials are touting EU labeling of products from Israeli settlements in the West Bank as a “service” to the consumer. This assumes that products originating in the territories are somehow legally or morally tainted. As far as international law is concerned, while the question of whether Judea and Samaria are even “occupied” in the first place is hotly disputed, there are no prohibitions whatsoever on economic activities such as investing in occupied territories or running a business there.

Yiftah S. Shapir: Lessons from the Iron Dome—Israel has been under rocket attack for many years. Particularly memorable are the shelling of Galilee panhandle towns in the 1970s, the Second Lebanon War in 2006, when Israel suffered over 4,000 rocket attacks in one month, and the ongoing rocket fire from Gaza over the past decade. Israel is the first country in the world to deploy an operational anti-rocket system to protect the civilian population. Very few countries in the world have suffered such severe attacks on their civilian populations for such an extended period.

Alan Baker: Conflict Resolution through Cultural Diplomacy in the Middle East—Peace cannot emanate only from documents signed by leaders alone, but from mutual good faith and credibility among the peoples for whom the agreements are signed. UN resolutions adopted with a view to elaborating a culture of peace need to be given greater attention.

Liel Leibovitz: Why Rock Stars Love Israel—Israel is among the best places in the world for rock stars to visit. During Justin Bieber’s visit to the beach in Israel in the summer of 2011, Israel’s security personnel saw that the perimeter had been breached and photographers and shrieking fans were moving in quickly. But the men trained in close-quarter combat in Gaza and Ramallah and southern Lebanon are never without contingency plans. Suddenly, an engine roared and a white scooter appeared from somewhere just by the waterline. Before the paparazzi could give chase, the scooter whisked away the boy wonder toward an undisclosed location.

Tova Cohen and Steven Scheer: After Tech Success, Israel Seeks Life Sciences Growth—Inspired by its success in high-tech electronics and software, Israel is hoping to pull off the same trick in life sciences. Israel is first in the world for the number of medical device patents per capita and second in biopharmaceuticals. Israel has nearly 1,000 life science firms, of which 29% are in biopharma, developing proprietary drugs and experimenting with stem cells to treat diseases such as diabetes, Gaucher and leukemia.

David M. Weinberg: The Winning Issues—The week I just spent with Norwegian friends of Israel taught me how the justice of Israel’s cause can be most effectively presented. Israel wins when you speak about justice for Israel; not when you merely proclaim Israel’s desire for peace, talk-up its willingness to compromise, and declare its right to defend itself.

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14--Blessings from Revelation

Blessings in the Book of Revelation is a book that you need to read, especially now.  There are blessings throughout the Scriptures but Revelation is the only book in the Bible actually containing a specific blessing for reading it. It’s repeated twice, once at the beginning and again at the end. This is the reason that I believe Revelation should be the first step toward studying biblical prophecy. Though not easy to do, Revelation can be broken down and understood by anyone, not just the academic elite. So, Revelation’s blessings are for everyone.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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Other Books by Neil Snyder

  • Stand! is a suspense novel that exposes the lies, corruption, and greed underlying the theory that man-made CO2 emissions are responsible for global warming.  Professor Wes Carlyle and Karen Sterling, his research collaborator, carefully scan the audience for their would-be attacker—a member of the enviro-gestapo who has been following them for days.  Wes spots his man in the back of the room leaning against the wall.  Suddenly, another man in the audience steps forward and moves toward Karen at a menacing pace.  With a vicious stroke, he swings a billy club at her head.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.
  • What Will You Do with the Rest of Your Life? deals with a question that every Christian has to consider: what should I do with my life?  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.
  • Falsely Accused is a true story about a young woman who was accused of committing a double homicide.  It’s about a travesty of justice, and it reveals Yahweh intervening in the life of a believer to rescue her from danger in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.  Everyone will enjoy the book, but young people in particular need to read it because the mistakes made that led to the problem could have been avoided.  They were the kinds of mistakes that young people are prone to make.  As they say, forewarned is forearmed.  Click here to order the eBook.  Click here to order the paperback.

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