Union of Reform Judaism Supports Settlement Freeze
There’s been a concerted effort under way to portray Barack Obama’s approach to the Middle East as badly out of step with Jewish opinion, and those Jews who support him as somehow marginal. I think the resolution adopted today by the Union of Reform Judaism should go a long way toward debunking that. The text isn’t exactly what I would say, but on all the core points they’re supporting the administration’s policies. Notable excerpts:
The new Israeli government has been reluctant to commit to the two-state solution and the settlement freeze embodied in the Roadmap and reaffirmed at the Annapolis Conference. The Israeli Interior Minister announced on June 3rd, 2009 that he will move to expand settlements in the West Bank. The destructive impact of the settlements is aggravated by fringe settler groups that have expanded their lawless reach into newoutposts and hilltops, challenged the authority and legitimacy of the Israeli government and courts, encouraged insubordination by Israeli soldiers tasked with enforcing the law and keeping the peace, and escalated violence against Palestinian civilians. [...]
Although we are mindful that it is still quite early in the Obama Administration, the first months suggest that it can provide the type of creative, determined and sustained leadership that is necessary to help the parties move forward. The President and his national security team have pledged to make the pursuit of Israeli-Palestinian peace a priority and have begun taking encouraging steps and actions to achieve it, including appointing Special Envoy George Mitchell and training a new and professional Palestinian Authority security force that can defend Israelis and Palestinians against extremist violence. The greatest contribution the United States can make in friendship and support of Israel’s future is to help create the conditions that will ensure a lasting peace, by, among other important steps, supporting efforts to strengthen economic, social and security infrastructure necessary for a stable and visionary Palestinian leadership capable of working with Israel to establish peace. [...]
Although Israel may need to retain some areas technically classified as settlements, the failure of the Israeli government to meet its commitments regarding the removal of unauthorized settler outposts and the halting of settlement growth are sources of concern. The settlement controversy is exacerbated by the exceedingly high current 4.9% population growth rate in West Bank settlements. Indeed, the population has grown from 100,000 in 1993 to nearly 300,000 at the end of 2008 according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. We are concerned as well with the establishment of some 100 unauthorized outposts since 1996.
They reach the following specific conclusion:
Support the calls by the United States government, in the spirit of prior URJ Resolutions (1978, 1983, 2001, 2004 and 2007), for the government of Israel to freeze all settlement construction and immediately dismantle illegal outposts, not only to fulfill its prior commitments, but also to do so as the politically wise and morally right action that enhances Israel’s efforts to preserve a secure future for Israel as a Jewish and democratic state;
There you have it.
32 Responses to “Union of Reform Judaism Supports Settlement Freeze”
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June 16th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
BIBIS DEMOGRAPHIC TIME BOMB!
(Bill Clinton and the Demographic Reality)
Bill Clinton laid out the Demographic Reality of the (AIE/W) American Israeli Empire-West, that of a “Colored Muslim” majority by the year (2050) a mere (40) Forty-Years, away and that is a blink of an eye in Global Time. Both the Demographics of the STATE OF ISRAEL and the (AIE/W), and time are running out. It has now come to the point were the very existence of the Jewish Culture, either Non-Israeli-Jews or Israeli-Jews, is at a critical mass. As the country that most provided military and political support in global affairs will no longer under a Muslim majority either support but will be a Clear and Present Danger to their existence with the largest Nuclear Arsenal, and Military Industrial Complex on the globe will be aligned against their survival.
(New State of Israel)
The STATE OF ISRAEL, and the Non-Israeli-Jewish Community must come together as a culture and take by force the entire former nation of Israel and reestablish it, by force and preemptively nuclear attack the Shi-ite Persian Republic of Iran and any other Arab or Persian culture that would threaten its existence. The millions of Palestinians must be expelled from the reestablished NEW STATE OF ISRAEL, a reservation state of Palestine, or apartheid rule is not an option, leading to decades of nightmare diplomatic demands made by the global community, an demographically changing (AIE/W) as it turns from Ally to Enemy of the State of Israel due to the unchecked demographic change within its own geographic, geo-political sphere.
(Radical Surgery)
There comes that pivotal moment in history, when decisive action must be taken or all will be lost and that time is now for Israeli (PM) Prime Minister Benyamin “BiBi” Netanyahu, who can no longer count on the support of the (AIE/W), but in fact can only count upon a former Ally becoming a Clear and Present Danger to the continued existence of the NEW STATE OF ISRAEL. The NEW STATE OF ISRAEL must be rapidly, forcefully, and dramatically established, and the coming (40) Forty-Year period of the decline of support between its former Ally must be used to fortify the NEW STATE OF ISRAEL, and the cementing of new geo-relationships with other “Spheres of Influence” in the New World Community of Nations. It is a matter of cutting out the Cancer radically, followed by long term treatment allowing healing of the wounds. (PM) Prime Minister Benyamin “BiBi” Netanyahu, is the right surgeon at the right place, at the right time, the patience can not wait, time can not be wasted, as the hour glass of the demographic reality runs out, and BIBIS DEMOGRAPHIC TIME BOMB DETONATES!
TRIATHLON
June 16th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
This “union for reform Judaism” sounds like another Zionist PR group. “Illegal outposts”? Please. As if there’s anything at all legal in what Zionists have been doing. Zionism is a disgrace.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
The resolution unambiguously states that it is in line with the previous URJ resolutions, that it is not, in fact, news.
It is also hard to see the point of Yglesias’ post. It is hard to imagine non-Jewish Americans, this far from 2012, caring much whether the President’s approach to the Middle East as in or out of step with Jewish opinion. And Jewish Americans know their own opinion.
In any case, Most Jewish Americans, I think, agree with the statement that Israel ought to abide by its commitments regarding the removal of unauthorized settler outposts and the halting of settlement growth. If Israel does (finally!) abide by those commitments, it is hard to imagine friends of Israel will support the president if he continues to insist that kitchens cannot be remodeled in Gush Estyon.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
Even if you think this is politically helpful – this is pathetic: no mentioning of the single most central fact of life – THE ISRAELI OCCUPATION OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. The fact that it’s all written as if the settlers are doing anything despite, instead of UNDER Israeli government (as well as the courts and every single official establishment) makes it a bad joke. The fact that it’s better than what AIPAC would say or do, doesn’t make it less of a joke. “The failure”? “Sources for concern” – the government is behind all of this from top to bottom and back. A half-way to the truth is sometimes worse than a flat out lie.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Can’t…stop…laughing…
Can’t…catch…breath.
Dude, Google is your friend.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Reform Judaism was opposed to zionism until the 1930s. I am guessing that Kristallnacht was a major factor in their decision. Perhaps as they think about it more and more, they will retrace their steps.
June 16th, 2009 at 6:12 pm
This “union for reform Judaism” sounds like another Zionist PR group. “Illegal outposts”? Please. As if there’s anything at all legal in what Zionists have been doing. Zionism is a disgrace.
Are you seriously that stupid? Or do you merely lack reading comprehension skills?
June 16th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
For anyone wondering, Abb1 has a bit of history (even the left-wing, hardly pro-Israel bloggers on Crooked Timber finally lost patience and banned him). “Anti-Zionism” doesn’t really cover it.
June 16th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Re abb1
Mr. abb1 is a fucking asshole who repeats the same meme over and over again: Zionism is a disgrace. It would be nice if he came up with something new once in a while.
June 16th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Coming from SLC “Hama Rules” Fruitcake, that post was a laugh.
Repetition is SLC’s primary M.O. Repeat the bullshit, repeat the lies. Most people here think he’s a bot.
From Matt’s post: “…that enhances Israel’s efforts to preserve a secure future for Israel as a Jewish and democratic state;”
In other words, enhances Israel’s right to be an imperialist, colonialist, rogue, terrorist state that was illegally created in the first place. You see, this is the whole point of the “settlement controversy” – to divert attention from the entire Zionist enterprise which is illegal on the face of it. As long as Obama and the Israelis dance around the settlements, the actual question of resolving the overall conflict will be sidelined for another four years by both sides.
June 16th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Re Richard Steven Hack
I wasn’t aware that fuckface Hack had made threats against commentor Mr. Hector, in addition to his usual advocating the assassination of police officers and threats against Michael Savage and Hiam Saben. Mr. Hack, the blogs resident ex-con bank robber who spent 9 years in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth getting his asshole reamed out several times a week. In addition he is addicted to Hagen Daz ice cream and pizza which explains why he’s a fat slob.
June 16th, 2009 at 9:43 pm
This is what we refer to as Mr. SLC’s pot calling calling Mr. abb1’s kettle black.
June 16th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Still don’t remember ever threatening Haim Saban – although I’m sure he deserves it.
SLC probably has me mixed up with Don Williams. SLC has a lot of things mixed up, like when Israel supported the war in Iraq and what actually happened in the USS Libery incident.
As for butt reaming, I’d say SLC has had far more than his share given the way he bends over for Zionism.
June 16th, 2009 at 11:55 pm
SLC,
Still waiting for my answer from yesterday on the “Bibi’s Speech” thread. What exactly do you mean with your repeated use of the term “Fakestinians?”
As long as we’re criticizing others for repetition.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:16 am
“What exactly do you mean with your repeated use of the term “Fakestinians?””
I’d really like an answer to that, too. Unlike the Israelis, the Palestinians have been living there for centuries. So why don’t we call the Jewish population there “Fake Is Real”? Given that there is no Israeli family there that can date back before 1870, why are they the real people there? It’s totally fake. So Fake Is Real.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:31 am
And let’s be real about it, an abused culture that was dispersed throughout the world came into Palestine and simply declared it theirs. They obviously had British and American help. And oddly, enough, Hitler sent a lot of Jews to Israel. At no point did anyone consider the fact that people actually lived in Palestine. It was the Land With No People For A People With No Land. And that’s what we all considered it. The half million people living there were considered not to be people. They weren’t even random human tissue that might be used in experiments (although they were). They were considered to be non-existent. And when the Jews were 5% of the population, they were considered to be people. The other 95% weren’t even considered as important as the dogs living in the streets. The Palestinians have done little to help themselves, but England, America, and Israel have done everything they can to make sure Palestinians never get the small portion of their country that they were promised.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:58 am
While we’re at it, what do we mean by “freeze.” It’s traditionally meant that Israel get’s to build anywhere they want in the West Bank, and then connect those places with special roads. We’ve had a building freeze in Boulder since I’ve lived here. That means that the percent growth will be set at a limit a little above what the growth is. That way, there’s always extra permits if you want to build something. The limit is that we set a moving limit that never restrains any growth. It’s just this theoretical concept that someone in the future might think about not giving you a permit. Ooowwww! Don’t touch me with that feather so hard! The Israeli government already has to pay people to live there, maybe even the Israelis don’t want this. Yet they keep voting for it. But they are even more heavily subsidized than Alaska, so they don’t make rational decisions. They make decisions based on the concept that they can do whatever they want, and we will pay for it. If we want to send Israel into a crazy self destructive path, then that’s a really good way to do it. And we are doing it. But our system is such that aid to Israel must always be increased regardless of Israel’s behavior. We’re driving a car with no brakes, the accelerator is locked down to “all the gas there is”, and Israel controls the wheel from the driver seat. Maybe it’s time to stop the car, and figure out where we’re going, who’s driving, and how to regain control of the pedals. And, yeah, who get’s the steering wheel.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:33 am
Re: Given that there is no Israeli family there that can date back before 1870, why are they the real people there? It’s totally fake. So Fake Is Real.
Given that there were small numbers of Jews living in Palestine at the time of the Crusades (unhappily for them), this seems like a slight exaggeration.
You realise that when they were kicked out of Palestine in AD 70, the Jews did not just go kindly into the good night. Some diehards stayed, and in fact they went to the extreme of teaming up with the Persians to (briefly) reconquer Palestine from the Byzantines in the early seventh century.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Re: Still waiting for my answer from yesterday on the “Bibi’s Speech” thread. What exactly do you mean with your repeated use of the term “Fakestinians?”
Is it that hard to understand? SLC means that claims to a Palestinian identity and Palestinian nationhood are fake, hence “Fakestinians”. In the same way as I might refer to Northern Ireland as a fake country.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:41 am
Re Richard Steven Hack
Mr. hector claims that Mr. Hack made threats against Hiam Saben. I consider him a more reliable source then Mr. Hack.
Re Sahu
The so-called Palestinians are Arabs who happen to live in an area that was called Palestine. These Arabs only started calling themselves Palestinians in 1967, after the six day war between Israel, Egypt,Jordan, and Syria, when the West Bank and the Gaza Strip was occupied by Israel, after the other three participants lost the war. Before that time, there was no such independent entity as Palestine nor was there any such nationality as Palestinians. Thus, the appellation Fakestinians.
Re fostert
The subject of how many Arabs lived in what is now Israel, the West Bank prior to the late 19th century has been hashed out numerous times in previous threads on this blog. Most of the Arabs who currently reside in Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and various and sundry refugee camps in the Arab World are decedents of Arabs who migrated to the area called Palestine in the late 19th century, drawn there because of the economic development generated by the competition between Great Britain and Germany. They are not descended from Arabs who have lived there for centuries, which is the big lie perpetrated by the Arab states opposed to the founding of the State of Israel, as the area was almost depopulated prior to the late 19th century. Before Mr. fostert cites census data from the Ottoman Empire, that data makes no distinction between Arabs who had actually settled there and Bedouins who traveled all over the Muslim World and were not permanent residents of “Palestine” and just happened to be in the area when the census was taken.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:59 am
SLC,
Uh, I believe I was quoting you about Mr. Hack’s threats to Haim Saban. If you disclaim knowledge of that, then I apologize to Mr. Hack. The fact still remains that he has threatened to assassinate me, fascist talk show host Michael Savage, and police officers. He has also proposed genocide against all Christians and Jews. QUite a pleasant fellow is our Mr. Hack.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Same meme today, same meme tomorrow, same meme forever.
The so-called Israelis are Jews who happen to live in an area that was recently renamed Israel. These Jews only started calling themselves Israelis in 1946, after the first of many wars between Israel, Egypt,Jordan, and Syria, when the original borders of Israel was proclaimed to be Israel, after the other three participants lost the war. Before that time, there was no such independent entity as Israel nor was there any such nationality as Israeli. Thus, the appellation Fake Is Rael.
June 17th, 2009 at 9:16 am
Re joe from Lowell
Excuse me, the Jewish people have always considered the land of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. The proof is the oft repeated saying, next year in Jerusalem.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:10 am
RE: SLC #20
Ahh… so Bedouins are fake too. That makes sense.
By the same logic, Native Americans have no claim on North America. Very convenient.
Oddly enough, I can see some use in the “fakestinian” pejorative. It suggests to me that fixing the current situation is entirely the responsibility of the Israeli government. They hold all the cards, it’s up to Israel to come up with a solution acceptable to the West-Bank, and it’s their failure when they do not.
June 17th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Re joe from Lowell
Mr. Joe apparently has a reading comprehension problem. The Bedouins certainly exist, they were not permanent residents of “Palestine” at the time but were nomads who traveled all over the area stretching from Iraq to Algeria. As we sit here today, the Bedouins are not considered “Palestinians” (nor are the Druze who inhabit Israel and the West Bank).
As for Native Americans, they indeed have a claim on North America. It’s just that I’m not planning to hand over my house to them.
June 17th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
RE: 25
I am not “joe from Lowell”.
I’m not sure what my comprehension problem is. Probably a gratuitous insult.
As near as I can tell, you are making the argument that population statistics compiled by the Ottoman empire are not legitimate because some unspecified portion consisted of nomads, AKA Bedouins. I have no idea why you consider nomadic status relevant, but I’m willing to take it at face value.
All I am doing is pointing out that this same logic applies to Native Americans. They were almost universally nomadic, therefore, following the logic you suggest, they should not be counted as historical residents of North America.
Not too surprisingly, this same line of reasoning was used in South Africa, roughly, only the Hottentot were deemed to have legitimate claims to ancestry by the Boers, and since they constitute a very small percentage of population, the Boers made the claim that their roots trumped any others.
For what it’s worth, I think justifying modern claims with spotty historical research is fundamentally flawed. Notions of “citizenship”, “government”, “country”, “border” and the like were fluid. Nation states are a pretty recent idea.
All of this is moot, as there are a lot of non Israeli people on the West Bank, whatever you call them, however you view their rights. Any effort to expel them will come at a tremendous cost. Ironically the last 40 years of slow motion expulsion quite possibly has exacted the greatest cost.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Joe F,
Actually, I believe that (in contrast to a common stereotype) most Native Americans were settled or semi-settled agriculturalists. The Arabian Peninsula is an unforgiving environment which compelled people to adopt a nomadic environment; North America, on the other hand, is a much richer environment and people did not need to be nomadic.
June 17th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
SLC,
Thank you for your explanation. Now I can officially start referring to you as an ignorant, uninformed bigot, instead of an apparently ignorant, uninformed bigot.
Tell me, if my family toasted St. Patrick’s Day with “next year, in Belfast,” would it give me a legitimate claim to go evict some Scots-Irish family and move in? I mean, they came later than my ancestors, who clearly had a prior claim to the land.
Nice try, but your “logic” is ridiculous.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Re Sahu @ 28
Mr. Sahu is cordially invited to take his fucking comment and shove it up his fucking ass.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
SLC,
I’ll take that suggestion under advisement, Mr. Ignorant Uninformed Bigot.
June 17th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
SLC: “Mr. hector claims that Mr. Hack made threats against Hiam Saben. I consider him a more reliable source then Mr. Hack.”
Hector: “Uh, I believe I was quoting you about Mr. Hack’s threats to Haim Saban. If you disclaim knowledge of that, then I apologize to Mr. Hack.”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
The fruits come out at night!
BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!
June 17th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Excuse me, the Arab residents of Palestine have always considered that land to be their home.
Excuse me, the Serbs have always considered Kosovo to be their homeland.
I. Don’t. Care. People’s feelings about territory the don’t actually own doesn’t create a legal, moral, or political claim on that land.