Arlene Kushner On Netanyahu Submitting Levy Report On West Bank For Acceptance

From Arlene Kushner:
October 17, 2012

The Levy Report

From where I sit, this is the news of the day. 

Back in January Prime Minister Netanyahu appointed a committee -- consisting of former Israeli Supreme Court justice Edmund Levy, former deputy president of the Tel Aviv District Court Tchia Shapira, and former Foreign Ministry legal adviser and expert in international law Alan Baker -- to examine the status of Israeli building in Judea and Samaria.

That report was released on July 8.  It offered both conclusions and recommendations.

What the committee concluded was that the decades-long presence of Israel in Judea and Samaria was sui  generis -- that is, a unique situation.  That presence does not constitute an "occupation," and, based on historical and legal evidence, is not illegal.  From the perspective of international law, Israel has the right to build in Judea and Samaria.

Arlene Kushner On Implications Of the Murder Of US Ambassador to Libya Christopher Stevens

From Arlene Kushner
September 23, 2012

State of the World

As I count down the time until Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement, which begins tomorrow at sundown), I find myself grieving over the state of this world of ours.  In the course of Yom Kippur, we recite Viddui -- communal confessional prayers --  several times, beating our chest with our fist as we do so.

I am of the opinion that a world-wide Viddui with a great deal of breast-beating is in order.  Forgive us, our Creator, for we have sinned.  For the world is without moral compass.

On Wednesday, the day of Yom Kippur itself, Ahmadinejad will be addressing the General Assembly of the UN.  He will not be barred from entering the US, and he will not be arrested for inciting to genocide.  The Israeli government is asking at least that representatives of nations present in the hall get up and leave when he speaks.  I have no illusions that any but a miniscule number of representatives will do so.  Because the world is without a moral compass.   

~~~~~~~~~~

Because I am very careful to avoid sharing undocumented rumors, there are stories that make the rounds that I am reluctant to touch -- even as there is a growing conviction within me that they may be true.  But sometimes I reach a tipping point at which I know it's time to write.

Arlene Kushner On Israel's Rights As Defined By Conclusions Of The Levy Reports

From Arlene Kushner:

August 1 3, 2012

The Levy Conclusions

Whatever else is going on in this unsettled and fairly insane world of ours, it's important for us to not lose sight of the need to stand up for Israel's rights.  In fact, given the state of the world, it's more important than ever that we do so, and recent events right here in Israel provide us with a clear basis for declaring those rights.

What I'm referring to are the legal conclusions of the Levy Committee:

Video: Latma -- Evil Settlers Continue To Flout International Law

A committee of legal experts have written the Levy Report, explaining why Israel has sovereignty over Yehudah and Shomron (the West Bank) and has the right to legally build and live there.

The failure of Israel's critics to respond to the report on its legal grounds speaks volumes.

Here is how Latma describes the reaction to the Levy report so far:

The Middle East Media Sampler 7/13/2012: Key Parts Of Levy Report Translated

From DG:

1) False history 

A reader has provided Elder of Ziyon with a translation of some important parts of the Levy committee's legal reasonning. One of the central features of current critiques of Israel is claiming that it violated (or is violating) the Fourth Geneva Convention with its policy of allowing Jews to live in Judea and Samaria.

The Levy committee wrote:

We do not believe that one can draw an analogy between this legal provision and those who sought to settle in Judea and Samaria not as a result of them being "deported" or "transferred" but because of their world view - to settle the Land of Israel. 

We did not ignore the view of those who think that one should interpret the Fourth Geneva Convention as also prohibiting the occupying state to encourage or support the transfer of parts of its population to the occupied territory, even if it did not instigated it (on this issue see note 13 here). 

Arlene Kushner On The Case For Israel Retaking The Philadelphi Corridor Between Gaza And Egypt

From Arlene Kushner:

July 12

The Philadelphi Corridor

The Philadelphia Corridor is a narrow stretch of land, mostly sand, ten kilometers long and some hundreds of meters wide, that separates Egypt (the Sinai) from the Gaza Strip; it runs from the Mediterranean Sea to the Kerem Shalom crossing between Israel and Gaza. 

The town of Rafah straddles this corridor and is the crossing point between Egypt and Gaza.

The Middle East Media Sampler 7/12/2012: What Israeli "Occupation" Really Means

From DG:

More on Levy

Jeffrey Goldberg responded to James Taranto's comparison of Judea and Samaria to Samoa. Goldberg writes:

Well, okay, let me explain: I suppose that Israel could indeed have unincorporated territories, like the U.S. does, if the people who lived in the those unincorporated territories wanted to live as "resident aliens" of Israel. But they don't. This is one difference between the West Bank and Samoa. The people of Samoa seem content to be citizens of a territory of the United States. At the very least, they're not in perpetual revolt. If they were in perpetual revolt, or even sporadic revolt, does James Taranto really believe that the President, Congress and people of the United States would attempt to force Samoa, through arms, to remain a territory of the U.S.? Or we would we let the Samoans have their independence, or whatever it is they said they wanted? I imagine the American people would choose the latter option.