Kerry lets Europe play the boycott card with Israel

[Jefferson23]

US Secretary of State John Kerry’s team is looking here in Israel for a university to host the secretary’s possible address to the nation. The idea that the secretary would address the Israeli public directly to convince it of the necessity of resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been in the making for the past few months and was first unveiled Jan. 30.


While a final decision has yet to be made, its necessity is nevertheless unquestionable. Polls in Israel indicate that Israelis have lost trust in the United States as the one that would safeguard the interests of the Jewish state in times of trouble. Some 70% of Israelis believe that the United States is not an honest broker. Incidentally, if similar polls had been conducted among the Palestinians, I would venture to say that an even larger Palestinian majority would have also said that Kerry was not an honest broker. If Israelis and Palestinians alike are convinced that the United States is leaning toward the other side, it's a sure sign that Kerry is in a good position. He apparently is doing something right. But would that cut the mustard? History and statistics suggest that it will not. In the Middle East, you will always come up short when trying to achieve something positive. But Kerry nevertheless remains adamant.

As this article was being written on Feb. 7 before noontime, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman was addressing the Commercial and Industrial Business Club in Tel Aviv. Much has been written about the Liberman of 2014 as being the responsible adult in the entire region and the main significant force in Netanyahu’s coalition that supports saying “yes” to Kerry. In his address, the foreign minister cemented his standing even further. His text might have well been signed by President Shimon Peres. This is what Evet (Liberman) had to say: “John Kerry is Israel’s true friend. I don’t think it is very wise to take friends and turn them into the enemy. When it comes to the American initiative, we have a rhetorical competition among us as to who is more blustery and blunt. … I see Minister of Economy and Trade Naftali Bennett darting toward the microphones, but I don’t see him dashing just as quickly toward the opposition. Kerry is leading the process correctly. … I am certainly in favor of an arrangement with the Palestinians but I am opposed to being a sucker. … Willingness such as we see in the moderate Arab world is something I do not recall. We have opportunities we never had before, and we must take advantage of them. The integrity of the people is more important than the integrity of the land.”

This is a seminal text. The new Liberman is moderate, astute, peace-seeking and a negotiations-monger. He has come to the realization that it is better to succeed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than to be Bennett’s understudy.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/john-kerry-avigdor-liberman-european-boycott.html##ixzz2sr1l9JoU

[Jefferson23]

1. UK’s Hague: ‘Dark time’ awaits region if talks fail

British foreign secretary predicts rise in international pressure, praises Kerry’s peace efforts

British Foreign Secretary William Hague warned Thursday night that failure to forge a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians would lead to “terrible consequences” for both sides, and significant international pressure on Israel.

“I have warned Israeli leaders, as well as Palestinians, that much of the world will see this as the last chance at a two-state solution,” said Hague during an interview on the BBC HARDtalk program. “I really pay tribute to [US Secretary of State] John Kerry and to the energy and commitment that he has put into this. And many observers will say if it doesn’t work, that if John Kerry, with all the weight of the United States, all his experience and standing in the Middle East and the world, cannot bring the two sides together to reach final-status agreements, then who can?”

Hague rejected the claims from some Israeli politicians that Kerry and the international community were trying to pressure Israel into accepting an unsatisfactory peace agreement.

“Nobody is putting a gun to anybody’s head. If anything, what the EU is offering with our strong support is an unprecedented package of economic partnerships and assistance, to work with Palestinians and Israelis if this is successful. There is a real positive vision there.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-hague-dark-times-await-region-if-talks-fail/

[Jefferson23]

2. Israel boycott fears prompt foreign bidders to abandon ports tender

Only three groups remain in contention to build the private facilities in Haifa and Ashdod.

By Avi Bar-Eli | Feb. 18, 2014 |

The deterioration of Israel’s international standing has been evident this week as at least two leading international companies bidding to build private seaports here dropped out of the government’s tender due to concerns over the political repercussions.

Royal Boskalis Westminster, a Dutch operator of ports that had submitted a proposal under the name Holland Terminal in the prequalification stage last December, dropped out shortly thereafter. More recently, Italy’s Condote de Agua withdrew after passing the prequalification process.

The companies that had initially expressed their interest in the PQ stage last April made their decisions to drop out in recent months as boycott pressure on Israel has grown. The deadline for submitting bids was Monday.

In addition to the companies that withdrew from bidding, a third company – Jan De Nul from Belgium – only agreed to submit its bid after it was permitted to do so through a company registered in Luxembourg called Ludreco, out of fear of jeopardizing its business in the Arab world.

The government is developing private seaports in Haifa and Ashdod to create competition with costly and inefficient state-owned facilities. Officials, led by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, see port reform as a national project that will lower the price of imported goods and the cost of living.

Three other companies also dropped out of the bidding over the last several months – FCC and Cyes, two Spanish companies; and Germany’s Möbius Bau. Those three, however, are believed to have dropped out due to financial problems or because they couldn’t agree to terms with the Israeli partners they were jointly making bids with.

http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.574821

[Jefferson23]

3. Unreal, no one said he supported a boycott, he used it as a threat. lol@descriptive statement.

Israel's U.S. envoy: Kerry didn't talk about boycott to pressure us

Ron Dermer comes out in support of the U.S. secretary of state, who has faced criticism from senior Israeli officials recently.
By Barak Ravid | Feb. 11, 2014

Israel's ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, defended U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in a number of interviews to the American media Monday. Dermer emphasized that Kerry does not support a boycott against Israel.

"I think he was making a descriptive statement," Kerry told Time Magazine, in reference to Kerry's speech at the Munich Security Conference two weeks ago. “I don’t think he was doing it in order to pressure Israel."

Dermer added that Kerry was talking about pressure on Israel that already exists. “Secretary Kerry is opposed to the boycotting of Israel, something he made clear again this week. President Obama has also been crystal clear about that,” he told Time.

Dermer's remarks come after Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's defense of Kerry on Friday. Lieberman also attacked Economy Minister Naftali Bennett's criticism of Kerry.

Lieberman called Kerry “a true friend of Israel,” focusing his barbs at Bennett. “Where is the wisdom in turning friends into foes?” he asked. “John Kerry is leading the process correctly. We are now creating principles vis-a-vis the Americans on the basis of which to negotiate directly with the Palestinians.”

“John Kerry is not a member of the settler council and he has a right to think differently than the screaming Naftali Bennett,” he said, adding that he sees Bennett “running to the microphones but I don’t see him running to the opposition.”

Demer was also interviewed by the Jewish Telegraph Agency. “We deeply appreciate Secretary Kerry’s commitment to Israel’s security and to helping Israel achieve a lasting and secure peace with the Palestinians,” Dermer told JTA. “Throughout his nearly 30-year tenure in the U.S. Senate and as secretary of state, Secretary Kerry has been a staunch supporter of Israel and of strengthening the U.S.-Israel alliance,” he said.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.573571

on edit to add:

European Parliament President: We won't boycott Israel

On visit to Israel, Martin Schulz says any moves made toward boycott will be by individual countries, not by the EU.
By Haaretz | Feb. 12, 2014 |

The European Union has no intention of passing a resolution boycotting Israel, European Parliament President Martin Schultz, on a visit to Israel, said Tuesday evening, Channel 2 reported.

Schultz said that should any moves toward boycott be made, these will be by individual countries in the EU, and not by the union itself.

Schulz also commented in his speech about the ongoing peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, the possible failure of which has raised concerns in the Israeli government, would be followed by a boycott of Israel as a punitive measure.

In his address after receiving an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he said that the best approach toward a resolution of the conflict is through negotiations, and added that the EU will not interfere in this process.

Schulz met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas this week, and is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres on Wednesday.

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.573803

[Jefferson23]

4. Kerry: I'm not in the business of bad deals

* If there is a mention by Kerry of the Palestinian perspective, please point it out to me...I could not
find it.



US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that he is "not in the business of bad deals," and stressed that he remains "committed" and "determined" to reaching a peace accord between Israelis and Palestinians.

"I have no argument with anyone who says no deal is better than bad deal. I'm not in the business of bad deals. I am working with both sides on security arrangements," Kerry said in an interview with Channel 2's investigative program Uvda.

"You cannot turn to the people of Israel with the prospect that what you are offering will turn the West Bank into Gaza. Israel's security is iron clad," he added.

Throughout the interview, Kerry repeatedly insisted that he is not distracted by the naysayers and has not given up hope.

"That's not the way I operate. People who know me know that when I sink my teeth into something ... I try to get it done," he said.

He also noted that he isn't naive, and seeks to reach a realistic agreement.

"My job is to help create a situation where the realities of the agreement are such that it is not such a leap of faith. I want this to be a leap of reason, of choice and of rationality based on a very understandable and tangible agreement about security," Kerry noted.

On the opposition to the talks coming from right-wing coalition members, Kerry said that while there will always be those who support a Greater Israel, 70 percent of Israelis support the two-state solution.

Kerry also responded to claims that previous failed attempts – like the 2005 disengagement from Gaza – serve as proof withdrawal of land is not the answer.

"I would say very respectfully to people… in the current government who were opposed to (the Gaza disengagement) who argued that if you just pull back it wouldn't change the dynamic, because they didn't do what we are doing today and that is to put the end game on the table," he said.

While he is the only one allowed to publicly discuss the negotiations, Kerry repeatedly refused to go into the talks details.

When pressed about the viability of an agreement in regards to settlers, he asserted that "I don’t know that the settler will have to leave his home. That’s for the parties to decide."

At the beginning of the interview, journalist Ilana Dayan opened by asking Kerry about his spat with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, who called his efforts "messianic" and "obsessive," claiming Kerry's security arraignments "were worth the paper they were written on."

The secretary of state dismissed Ya'alon's claims, saying that he is not obsessive, but rather committed.

"I don't want to get into food fights … there is a bigger picture and concept called peace…I've learned to be called everything in the book, but I am able to stay focused."


From Vietnam to Israel

Uvda's profile focused on Kerry's personal life as well as his political activities, reviewing his years fighting in the Vietnam War. During the interview, Kerry was asked whether he had ever spoken with Israelis about his experience in Vietnam vis-a-vis Israel's security concerns.

"The people of Israel know war. It would be almost insulting for me to assert my experience when Israel has experienced wars and siege," he said, adding "I would not venture there except to say that my experience … helps me peruse diplomacy instead of war. (Vietnam) was defining for me, but not imprisoning… I am informed by it. I don't see everything through that prism."

The secretary of state also described his experiences visiting bomb shelters in Sderot and Kiryat Shmona, and even recalled being in Tel Aviv when a bomb went off on the last day of the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense.


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4490831,00.html

[Jefferson23]

5. Public apathy may help Israeli-Palestinian peace

Palestinian and Israeli negotiators might have stumbled across two powerful weapons that could help them convince their publics to support a compromise peace agreement — political exhaustion and apathy.



While the issues surrounding the peace talks, such as refugees and Jerusalem, are emotional triggers that easily move public opinion, the parties to the decades-old conflict appear to be slogging through a period of political fatigue. Hot button items that would usually bring crowds into the streets and force politicians to backtrack are not producing these effects.

On the Israeli side, the public is enjoying an unprecedented calm in terms of security, and an economic boom has made many Israelis seeming apathetic to the comings and goings of politicians and negotiators. On the Palestinian side, the continued occupation and colonization of Palestinian lands, coupled with the implosion of major Arab countries, seem to have had a discouraging effect on the public mood.

The reaction to the conciliatory speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to a group of 300 Israeli students on Feb. 16 is a perfect example of how this exhaustion is playing out. A review of media reactions and interviews with opinion makers illustrates this point.

Ari Soffer, the managing editor of the settler mouthpiece Arutz 7, was at the Muqata when Abbas gave his speech and took questions, yet his paper's coverage included a relatively mild headline. Israeli media generally gave positive coverage to the gathering, but it is clear that the Israeli public today will not be rapidly moved in any direction, indicating that politicians have ample room to maneuver toward peace if they so choose.

The political exhaustion on the Palestinian side is perhaps more apparent. A number of Palestinian journalists and columnists interviewed by Al-Monitor confirm that today’s public is indeed exhausted and willing to accept almost anything resembling a relatively fair deal. If the statements Abbas made on Sunday had been made 10 or 20 years ago, there would have been street demonstrations, negative editorials, fiery statements by political groups and possibly an emergency meeting of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization to explain itself. None of this happened.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/02/palestine-israel-apathy-abbas-peace.html##ixzz2u3qRfwdm

[Jefferson23]

6. Gaza's economic woes pile up, unemployment soars

Reuters, Gaza City
Friday, 21 February 2014

Voices of construction workers and the noise from their tools used to ring out in Gaza's streets. Now hulks of unfinished buildings stand in eerie silence, and the idle builders are left to worry how to make ends meet.

An Egyptian-Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, run by the Hamas Islamist movement, has left industry and construction gasping for resources, pushing unemployment to dizzying heights and deepening suffering for impoverished residents.

The problem intensified after a campaign begun in July by Egypt's military-backed government to close cross-border smuggling tunnels that used to provide Gaza with basic goods including food, fuel and building materials.

Joblessness jumped to 38.5 percent at the end of last year from 32 percent in the third quarter of 2013, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

The downturn has put Hamas, deemed a terrorist organization by many Western states, in a financial and political bind.

Buoyed by the Arab uprisings which brought its Muslim Brotherhood allies to power in Cairo, Hamas shunned its old patrons in Iran and Syria. But when the Egyptian army ousted the Islamist government last July, Hamas was left isolated.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/business/economy/2014/02/21/Gaza-s-economic-woes-pile-up-unemployment-soars.html

[shaayecanaan]

7. "Some 70% of Israelis believe that the United States is not an honest broker."

Holy shit. I mean, they're right, but not in that way.

[Jefferson23]

8. Exactly. Bibi has been demanding more ever since the plan was first presented to him

by Kerry..and he seems to be getting pretty much what he wants. The idea that the Israeli
right wing should fear the Kerry Plan is ridiculous...unless your goal was to continue the
occupation indefinitely. Status quo on a 40 plus year occupation seems about what they
would prefer.

[Jefferson23]

9. The threat of Israel boycotts more bark than bite

Contrary to Israel's growing concern that boycotters are economically isolating State, trade with foreign countries not harmed; exports to Europe rise 6.4% in 2013, global brands invest in country.

Crispian Balmer, Reuters
Published: 02.24.14


Though voices are getting louder inside and outside Israel about the threat of economic boycotts for its continued occupation of Palestinian territories, there seems little prospect of it facing measures with real bite.

With a number of European firms already withdrawing some funds, Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid has warned that every household in Israel will feel the pinch if ongoing peace talks with the Palestinians collapse.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has also warned that Israel risks a financial hit if it is blamed for the failure, but investors and diplomats say they are unconvinced.

It is true that some foreign firms have started to shun Israeli business concerns operating in East Jerusalem and the West Bank – land seized in the 1967 war – and the European Union is increasingly angered by relentless Jewish settlement expansion.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4491697,00.html

[azurnoir]

10. Israel has little to fear Congress is here and it's an election year

Report: Congress to Deny Aid to PA Until Incitement Stops

Channel 2 reports Saturday night that the US Congress House Appropriations Committee is debating cutting off aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) unless its ongoing incitement against Israel stops or is significantly curtailed.

Under the new law, aid to the PA will be frozen until a reliable report is released proving that it has begun cutting down its incitement against the Jewish state.

US lawmakers believe that the bill is expected to pass by a large majority vote in Congress, according to the daily. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz spoke with several US Congress members earlier this week and expressed his appreciation about the legislative initiative.

"I met this week with members of Congress and thanked them for proposing a law designed to stop the incitement against Israel in the Palestinian Authority," Steinitz stated Saturday. "The initiative would curtail the aid that the US gives to the Palestinian Authority until it stops or at least significantly reduces the level of incitement it levies against Israel." Steinitz added that the precondition of reliable accountability for PA incitement before aid resumes is a major step to solving the ongoing incitement problem.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/177735#.Uwu5uIXA8-s

[Jefferson23]

11. Right, because continuing settlement expansion, among other actions is not incitement.

How they sleep at night, I'll never understand.

[azurnoir]

12. we're told that Palestinian children are taught to hate Israeli's by their parents and other adults

as if the daily almost casual brutality of the occupation has nothing what so ever to do with it

[Jefferson23]

13. Upside down world...been that way for a long time...the enablers of bullshit:

Textbook Study Debunks Myth of Palestinian Incitement

For years, the Israeli government, backed by “watchdogs” — such as Palwatch, IMPACT-SE (Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education) and MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute) — has accused Palestinians of inciting hatred against Israelis through the content in schoolbooks. This allegation has been perpetuated for so long that it has almost become conventional wisdom that Palestinian children are being taught to hate and instigate violence against Israelis.


Last week, however, "Victims of Our Own Narratives? Portrayal of the 'Other' in Israeli and Palestinian School Books" — the largest report to examine textbooks on either side of the Green Line — formally debunked some of these myths, noting that there is scant evidence of “dehumanizing” and “demonizing” in Palestinian and Israeli textbooks despite the presence of examples of omissions of each other’s points of view and flaws in mapping.

Three years in the making at a cost of $500,000, the U.S. State Department–funded report explores textbooks issued by the Israeli government, the Palestinian Authority (PA), and religious bodies. The research, overseen by Sami Adwan from Bethlehem University and Daniel Bar-Tal from Tel Aviv University and designed by Yale psychiatry professor Bruce Wexler, examined 94 Palestinian and 74 Israeli schoolbooks published between 2009 and 2011.

The study was carried out under the auspices of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, a Jerusalem-based body representing Christian, Jewish and Islamic leaders. A team of Palestinians and Israelis trained by Adwan and Bar-Tal conducted the research, which involved going through books used in West Bank and Gaza Strip schools run by the PA, UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and religious bodies. On the Israeli side, the research examined books used in secular and religious schools run by the state and others catering to the needs of ultra-Orthodox students.

The books were analyzed for historical referencing, mapping, narrative of the "other" and religion and other areas, aiming for comprehensiveness, accuracy and impartiality. The data was sent to Yale for independent analysis.

Despite the report's evenhandedness, it was boycotted by Israel’s Ministry of Education, which slammed it as “biased, unprofessional, and significantly lacking in objectivity.” The ministry issued a statement that said, in part, “The clear impression formed is that it is a ‘study’ with findings that were predetermined even before it was carried out professionally, and it certainly does not reliably reflect reality.”

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/02/israeli-palestinian-textbook-study.html##ixzz2uHdWfbQ8