Arlene Kushner: John Kerry Incites Palestinians Against Israel

From Arlene Kushner:
November 8, 2013

HE'S CROSSED THE LINE!

I'm talking about John Kerry, and actually, he's crossed it twice.

I had no time to write today, with Levy Report work and a very early Shabbat. But I must write, ever so briefly, because people must know about this.

Yesterday, Kerry, who is here, gave a TV interview.  And this is what he said (emphasis added):

"The alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos. Does Israel want a third intifada?" 

Read: Kerry: Does Israel Want a Third Intifada?

I repeat: Does Israel want a third intifada?

This is a form of intimidation and blackmail: Israel, make additional concessions to the PA, or face the consequences of violence.

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MEQ 2002 -- Jonathan Schanzer: Palestinian Uprisings Compared

The following by Jonathan Schanzer is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Palestinian Uprisings Compared

by Jonathan Schanzer
Middle East Quarterly
Summer 2002, pp. 27-37

History, it is said, does not repeat itself, or revisits tragedy as farce. This is not so in the Palestinian case, where tragedy has been followed by tragedy. A critical look at modern Palestinian history reveals that the current crisis, driven by the so-called "Al-Aqsa intifada," fits a recurring Palestinian pattern of miscalculation, fratricide, religious radicalism, economic despair, and self-destruction. By comparing the recent violence with Palestinian uprisings in the 1930s and the 1980s, and now, a clear pattern can be discerned. This is the third time in seventy years the Palestinians have orchestrated a nationalist uprising, and the third time it has led them to disaster.

The Middle East Media Sampler 2/25/13: Media Covers For Palestinian Intifada Violence

From +David Gerstman:

Intifada: then and now

In response to a recent news program in Israel, Col. Jonathan D. Halevi wrote The Palestinian Authority’s Responsibility for the Outbreak of the Second Intifada: Its Own Damning Testimony for the Jerusalem Center of Public Affairs. Even now, as Halevi writes:

More than ten years after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, there are still journalists, former security officials, and pundits who raise questions about the role of the Palestinian Authority in the devastating violence during which suicide bombing attacks struck Israel’s major cities, leaving more than a thousand dead and many more permanently maimed.

What he has compiled shows:

This body of material, presented here in an unvarnished way, reveals that Yasser Arafat and important segments of the Palestinian leadership at that time were directly responsible for what happened and no amount of revisionist history can exonerate Arafat for standing behind one of the bloodiest periods in Israel’s modern history.

Efraim Karsh On The Israeli-Arab Intifadas

The following by Efraim Karsh is reposted here with permission:

Israel's Arabs: Deprived or Radicalized?

by Efraim Karsh
Israel Affairs
January 2013, pp. 1-19

http://www.meforum.org/3423/israel-arabs-deprived-radicalized

October 1, 2000, was a watershed in Arab-Jewish relations in the state of Israel. On that day, as most Israelis were celebrating the Jewish new year, their Arab compatriots unleashed a tidal wave of violence in support of the 'al-Aqsa intifada', an all out war of terror launched by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority a couple of days earlier.

For full ten days, Israeli Arabs blocked several main roads, cutting off Jewish localities and forcing some of them to defend against armed assaults by neighbours with whom they had maintained cordial relations for decades. Scores of Jewish families spending the holiday season in the Galilee found themselves attacked by frenzied Arab mobs wielding Molotov cocktails, ball bearings in slingshots, stones, even firearms. Stores, post offices, and other public places were ransacked as rioters clashed with police. Forests were set ablaze. In Nazareth, thousands of Arabs marched in the streets chanting, 'With our souls and our blood we will redeem Palestine'. Jaffa and Haifa, the showcases of Arab-Jewish coexistence, were rocked by violence and vandalism.

Arlene Kushner On Upcoming Israeli Election, Third Palestinian Intifada and More

Arlene Kushner:
January 6, 2013

Sure Not Dull

Some months ago I wrote a number of times about a little boy named Zakkai, in the US, who was undergoing severe medical problems.  I learned about his situation from his grandmother, whom I know -- who had written and asked for prayers:  He had an extensive tumor growing up his spine and into his thoracic area.  At first it was thought be a rare form of malignancy and then was declared benign.  This was cause for celebration, but he certainly wasn't home free.  Non-cancerous, rapid growing tumors can do extensive damage.

Zakkai underwent two serious surgeries to remove the tumor.  The surgeries, in spite of minor hitches, were considered successful, and he then received follow-up treatments -- physical therapy because of damaged muscle, etc.  A scan indicated that there were two small spots on the spine and it was not clear at first what they were.

Now, with the latest scan it is clear: the two lesions on his spine were tumor-tissue and are now growing, rapidly.  The doctors have not yet determined what to do.

But we can do starting immediately is pray for this brave and happy little boy, who is now a little over two:

Rephael Zakkai Avraham ben Yakira Avigael

 

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We are now deep into the throes of an election campaign, which is just a bit more then three weeks away.  I am not going to write about all of the inter-party goings on, which often have something of a "madhouse" tone about them and frequently make me very weary. 

All this said, however, this is potentially a very significant election, with shifting alliances, new people coming to the fore, and a chance for some real changes.