I've Been JTA- Noted

In this JTA backgrounder:

E-1, Olmert and peace: Are Netanyahu’s detractors hypocrites?

By Daniel Treiman · December 7, 2012 

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert has been outspoken in assailing the Netanyahu government's move to begin planning for construction in the so-called E-1 area.

But Olmert's own history with E-1 -- the currently undeveloped area between Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim -- is drawing similar scrutiny from a strange collection of bedfellows.

From the right, the pro-Netanyahu Israeli daily Israel Hayom noted that in 2006, when Olmert was prime minister, he had said that "it is unthinkable that we would talk about Maaleh Adumim as part of the State of Israel and leave it as an island or isolated enclave. It is absolutely clear that there will be built-up continuity between Jerusalem and Maaleh Adumim." (Settler spokesman Yisrael Medad found a similar collection of Olmert quotes from before he was prime minister calling for Israel to retain control of E-1 and build there.)

and

Olmert is not criticizing Netanyahu for supporting development in E-1 but rather for pressing the issue now, before there is agreement on borders with the Palestinians and while the U.S. strongly opposes such a move (as past U.S. administrations also have). That doesn't seem to be inconsistent with Olmert's criticism of Netanyahu's E-1 move. (Though it is a departure from Olmert's vow shortly before he became prime minister to pursue construction in E-1, a past stance that is noted by Medad.)

I left this comment there:

what is missing from this analysis review is the simple fact that the basis for Olmert's criticism is the assumption that all he calls 'friends' and 'supporters' are indeed so. Rice forced Sharon to yield on the Philadelphi Corridor and Obama backtracked on the Bush Letter Understandings which formed the basis for the Disengagement. So, are they friends? Can they or their policies be trusted as supportive of Israel?

^

Did Ehud Olmert Say That?

He said, according to Maariv, quoting the Jerusalem Post,

It is clear that at some point in the future there will be a contiguity between Maaleh Adumin and Jerusalem and the area will be built up.

And from the New York Times:

Olmert Outlines Plans for Israel's Borders By GREG MYREPublished: March 10, 2006

JERUSALEM, March 9 — In the most detailed description yet of his plans if elected prime minister this month, Ehud Olmert, Israel's acting prime minister and the front-runner, said that he intended to set the country's permanent borders by 2010 and that they were likely to run near the West Bank separation barrier.

Mr. Olmert also said he planned further development in Israel's largest settlement, Maale Adumim, which would eventually link up with nearby East Jerusalem. Palestinians vehemently oppose such a move, because it would further isolate the Arab parts of East Jerusalem. The United States has also objected.

...But Mr. Olmert seems to believe that Israeli voters see the Hamas victory as an opportunity to set their own future borders without needing to negotiate with a Palestinian government, since Hamas refuses to recognize Israel.

...Mr. Olmert said he would wait a "reasonable time" to see if Hamas was willing to recognize Israel, disavow violence and accept previous agreements. But if Hamas "is not willing to accept these principles, we will need to begin to act," he told The Jerusalem Post. He has also said he does not plan to meet with Mr. Abbas, regarding the Palestinian Authority as one entity that is now effectively controlled by Hamas.

Mr. Olmert said recently that Israel would not undertake any major infrastructure projects in West Bank settlements, though he appeared to be referring only to those that are beyond the separation barrier.

In his latest comments, he said he planned to go ahead with the so-called E-1 development plan, which calls for building some 3,500 homes in the land between East Jerusalem and the large Maale Adumim settlement. Maale Adumim, which has more than 30,000 residents, is a couple of miles from East Jerusalem.

"It's entirely clear that the continuity between Jerusalem and Maale Adumim will be a built-up continuity," Mr. Olmert was quoted by Haaretz as saying. "In my view there is an absolute consensus in Israel on this issue."

There was this earlier:-

In early 2005, the Ma'ale Adumim city council announced plans for the residential neighborhood and the police station, and in August of that year, there were submitted for public review, a bureaucratic formality preceding final authorization. The same months, Netanyahu kicked off his campaign to regain leadership of the Likud in E1 and a day later, vice premier Ehud Olmert declared that Israel would build homes to connect Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem "at the appropriate time." 

And this

In October 1994, while in the midst of hammering out the Oslo Accords, then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin declared that a “united Jerusalem” would include Ma’aleh Adumim as the capital of Israel under Israel sovereignty. As part of the effort to make sure Ma’aleh Adumim remained an integral part of a “united Jerusalem,” Rabin provided then-mayor Benny Kashriel with annexation documents for the E1 area –a strip of land that connects the capital with Ma’aleh Adumim. As prime minister in 1996, Shimon Peres reaffirmed the government’s position that Israel will demand applying Israeli sovereignty over Ma’aleh Adumim in the framework of a permanent peace agreement. Dovish politician and co-author of the Geneva Initiative, Yossi Beilin, supported annexing Ma’aleh Adumim. And the 2000 Clinton Parameters called for Israel to be compensated for the partitioning of Jerusalem by annexing Ma’aleh Adumim. During the 2008 Annapolis negotiations, then-prime minister Ehud Olmert and then-foreign minister Tzipi Livni demanded that Ma’aleh Adumim remain a part of Israel.

So, who is kidding who when he now said:

“there was one request by the American government — and there was no question president [George] Bush and [secretary of state] Condoleezza Rice were friends of Israel — they asked me, ‘Please don’t build in E1, because if you do, it will be beyond the capacity of the Palestinian leadership to sit with you.’”

Olmert said he told the American administration that “one day Maaleh Adumim will be part of Israel because we will not leave them as an enclave.” But, he added, his government agreed not to build in the area in order to enable negotiations with the Palestinian Authority to take place.

E1, Olmert suggested, was a point of particular concern for the American administration.

“So [for the Netanyahu government] to build in this one piece of land,” he said, “requires creativity which is beyond my comprehension.”

=============================

The original Hebrew write-up:-

"נבנה בין י-ם למעלה אדומים"
אולמרט אמר כי ישראל תחדש את הבנייה באזור אי-1. עוד הצהיר: גבולות קבע ייקבעו בתוך 4 שנים
NRG מעריב | 10/3/2006 0:16
בדרך לעימות עם הממשל האמריקני? ממלא מקום ראש הממשלה, אהוד אולמרט, מבהיר כי ישראל מתכוונת לבנות באזור אי-1 בין ירושלים למעלה אדומים בארבע השנים הקרובות, כאשר בתקופה זו ייקבעו גבולות הקבע של ישראל. אולמרט אמר את הדברים בראיון שערך עמו העיתון "ג'רוזלם פוסט".
אזור אי-1 נחשב לנקודת מחלוקת בין ישראל לבין הממשל האמריקני, כאשר הממשלה הודיעה כי בכוונתה לבנות כ-3,500 יחידות דיור שיבטיחו כי מעלה אדומים תישאר בידי ישראל בכל הסכם קבע. לפני כחצי שנה אמר אולמרט כי הפרויקט הוקפא, אך הדגיש כי בכוונת ישראל ליישם את התוכנית בעתיד. "ברור לחלוטין שבנקודה כלשהי בעתיד ישראל תיצור רצף בין ירושלים למעלה אדומים, ואין אפילו ויכוח על כך שבסופו של דבר נבנה את הפרויקט".
בראיון שיפורסם היום הבהיר אולמרט כי בכוונתו לקבוע בתוך ארבע שנים את גבולות הקבע "שיפרידו לחלוטין מהרוב הפלשתיני וישמרו על רוב יהודי גדול ויציב בישראל". עם זאת, אולמרט סירב לצייר את תמונת הגבולות, אך ציין כי הקווים המנחים הם שמירה על גוש עציון, עוטף ירושלים, מעלה אדומים, אזור אריאל ובקעת הירדן כגבול ביטחון.
אולמרט התייחס לדברי ראש השב"כ לשעבר ומספר 5 בקדימה, אבי דיכטר, שאמר כי גושי ההתיישבות כוללים את בקעת הירדן, עפרה-בית אל, קרני שומרון-קדומים וקריית-ארבע-חברון. "דיכטר הוא מועמד להיות בממשלה הבאה, תלוי באיך שהדברים יתפתחו. אבל הוא לא מיועד להיות ראש ממשלה", אמר אולמרט.
לדברי מ"מ ראש הממשלה, לפני שיתחיל לעצב את הגבולות הוא יקיים "דיאלוג פנימי בתוך ישראל כדי לקבל הגדרה שתשקף את הקונצנזוס הציבורי הרחב לגבי מה שצריכים להיות הגבולות. אני מתכוון לדבר עם כל אחד, ובראש ובראשונה עם הציבור שחי בשטחים".

The 'Gush Yamim' Poster:

^ 

Is Netanyahu An "Olmert II"?

The Ihud Leumi has produced a short political ad suggesting that Netanyahu is just a repeat of Olmert.  They've copied the Likud's 2006 spot that attacked Olmert for the Amona expulsion and ask whether the votes of the National Camp that elected Netanyahu have paved the way for more 'Amonas', at Migron, Ulpana Hill and Hebron.


I've posted the clip here.

^

No Double-Billing for Olmert, I Presume

Note:

Olmert to Give Keynote Address at JStreet Conference

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to give the keynote address at the annual JStreet conference, on March 26.

and note:

The Jerusalem Post Annual Conference April 29, 2012, Marriott Times Square

The Jerusalem Post is holding its first annual conference in New York on Israel-US relations, featuring top personalities from Israel and the US, as well as the newspaper’s top editors and journalists. There will be key addresses and panel discussions on the major issues facing the Jewish people in the coming years.

Special guest – former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert

Since the events are a month apart, I presume there'll be no double-billing.

^

Olmert vs. Obama

From his Washington Post op-ed:-

How to Achieve a Lasting Peace
Stop Focusing on the Settlements

By Ehud Olmert
Friday, July 17, 2009

Israel's partnership with the United States is one of its greatest strategic assets...yet today, instead of a political process, the issue of settlement construction commands the agenda between the United States and Israel. This is a mistake that serves neither the process with the Palestinians nor relations between Israel and the Arab world. Moreover, it has the potential to greatly shake U.S.-Israeli relations.

The settlements are a known issue of contention between Israel and the United States; although America has not supported their construction, it has, on some occasions, recognized the realities that have developed over 40 years.

Sharon reached understandings with the U.S. administration regarding the growth and building of settlements, as part of the road map. The understandings included that:

-- No new settlements would be constructed.

-- No new land would be allocated or confiscated for settlement construction.

-- Any construction in the settlements would be within current building lines.

-- There would be no provision of economic incentives promoting settlement growth.

-- The unauthorized outposts built after March 2001 would be dismantled (a commitment that Israel, regrettably, has not yet fulfilled).

These understandings provided a working platform and, in my opinion, a proper balance to allow essential elements of stability and normality for Israelis living in settlements until their future would be determined in a permanent-status agreement. I adopted these understandings and followed them in close coordination with the Bush administration.

Moreover, during the run-up to Annapolis and in meetings there, I elaborated to the U.S. administration and the Palestinian leadership that Israel would continue to build in the settlements in accordance with the above criteria.

Let me be clear: Without those understandings, the Annapolis process would not have taken on any form. Therefore, the focus on settlement construction now is not useful.

The insistence now on a complete freeze on settlement construction -- impossible to completely enforce -- will not promote Palestinian efforts to enhance security measures; the institution building that is so crucial for the development of a Palestinian state; better movement and access to the Palestinians; nor an improved economy in the West Bank. Nor will it weaken the Hamas government in Gaza. It will not bring greater security to Israel, help improve Israel's relations with the Arab world, strengthen a coalition of moderate Arab states or shift the strategic balance in the Middle East.

Only a political process that demands courageous decisions from leaders on both sides will bring a solution to the issue of settlements.

To this day, I cannot understand why the Palestinian leadership did not accept the far-reaching and unprecedented proposal I offered them. My proposal included a solution to all outstanding issues: territorial compromise, security arrangements, Jerusalem and refugees...it is crucial to review the lessons from the Palestinians' rejection of such an offer.

The focus on settlement construction, while ignoring the previous understandings, unjustly skews the focus from a true political process and from dealing with the real strategic issues confronting the region.

Settlement construction should be taken off the public agenda and moved to a discrete dialogue, as in the past. This would enhance our bilateral relations and allow us to deal with the essential issues: the political process; preventing Iran's attempt to obtain nuclear weapons; eliminating Islamic extremist terrorism; and creating the necessary dialogue for normalizing relations between Israel and the Arab world.

The time to deal with such important matters is running out. We cannot waste what time we do have on non-priority issues.

New Portrait Pic of Ehud Olmert

Tess Sheplan

RishonTours

House on Cremieux Street

Center for Small Businesses

Talansky Envelopes

Etc.

Etc.

The 17th Commemoration of The Passing of Menachem Begin

Today, the family of Menachem Begin marked his passing in 1992 and a small group of the 'faithful' showed up including the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the Prime Minister-Designate Benjamin Netanyahu and other MKs.

Some snapshots:

The graves of Menachem and Aliza Begin:



The graves of Meir Feinstein and Moshe Barazani, who blew themselves up in the Central Jerusalem Prison in May 1947, directly below the Begin graves:

Prime Minister Olmert:



MK Benjamin Netanyahu:

Coalion Talks Chairman MK Gideon Sa'ar:

MK Tzipi Hotevli:

MK Dan Meridor:

As Olmert passed by:

For The Record: 60,000 vs. 13

George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's new Middle East envoy, was meeting Ehud Olmert, the incumbent Prime Minister, in Israel.

Mr Olmert was reported to have told the envoy that Israel would be willing to evacuate some 60,000 settlers in the West Bank and hand over much of east Jerusalem as part of any permanent peace arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians.

But that policy would be thrown into doubt if Likud and Mr Netanyahu win.

vs.

Israel Police say they will question outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Friday for the 13th time over corruption allegations that forced him to resign.

Detectives are investigating suspicions that Olmert accepted cash-stuffed envelopes from Jewish-American businessman Morris Talansky and claimed false travel expenses before he became prime minister in 2006. Olmert denies any wrongdoing.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Thursday that Olmert would face questions for about two and a half hours on Jan.30 at his Jerusalem residence

.

Ehud Olmert's Hubris or: Understatement of the Day

Hamas had underestimated Israel's decisiveness, had been "surprised" by
the launch of the offensive, and was still not fully aware
of how badly it had been damaged.

Source

Condi vs. Olmert, Round Four (and Who Is Dennis Kucinich?)

It seems that Haaretz knows, after making inquiries with people uninvolved in the spat between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that it is his version of the lead-up to America's vote on last week's Security Council resolution that is closer to the truth than hers.

Here's the story:-

Last Wednesday, the only proposal on the council's table was a completely one-sided Libyan resolution. Since it was clear to everyone that the United States would veto it, Israel had no reason to worry. But then, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, a former senior World Bank official, decided that this was the moment to make use of his Washington connections.

Fayyad persuaded the Americans to support a softened version of the resolution, which called for a prompt cease-fire, hoping that such a resolution would speed up the ongoing truce talks. He asked the British and French for help, and they agreed. Rice signaled her French and British counterparts, Bernard Kouchner and David Miliband, that she was on board.

European diplomats, UN officials and a senior PA official all said Thursday that as of last Friday night it was clear to almost everyone that the U.S., like the other 14 Security Council members, would vote for the softened resolution. They said Rice had promised as much to her European colleagues.

In Jerusalem, however, officials went to sleep thinking the Americans had only agreed to support a 48-hour humanitarian cease-fire. At 1 A.M., final confirmation came from New York: The U.S. had promised that no cease-fire resolution would be brought to a vote any time soon. An hour and a half later, however, it became clear that not only was the Security Council due to vote on a cease-fire resolution at any minute, but Rice had ordered America's UN ambassador to support it. Olmert promptly telephoned U.S. President George Bush to complain about Rice's behavior and demand that he restrain her. What Bush said to Rice remains unknown. What is known, however, is that the U.S. suddenly changed its vote from "yes" to "abstain."...

And I also would like to know what Condi replied to this patsy, Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who made an:

assertion...that Israel's use of U.S.-supplied weaponry against Hamas constitutes a violation of the 1976 Arms Export Control Act.

That law states that U.S. weaponry must not be used to, in the words of the statute, to increase the possibility of outbreak or escalation of conflict, but does permit use of arms for what the law calls legitimate self-defense.

Pelosi did not have an immediate detailed reaction to Kucinich's statement. Congressman Kucinich's office declined to provide information Thursday on whether U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has responded to a letter from the lawmaker on the matter.

Er, Rep. Kucinich, it does read "legitimate self-defense".

He's a busy bloke, aint he? He's been a hospital orderly, newspaper copy boy, teacher, consultant, television analyst and author. And Cleveland's mayor, too.

Then there's this:

Kucinich Speaks Against Israel Resolution

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today spoke out against a resolution affirming U.S. support for Israel’s military action in Gaza. While a firm supporter of the people of Israel and a critic of rocket attacks by Hamas militants, Congressman Kucinich led opposition against the incomplete resolution.

H.Res. 34, “Supporting Israel in Its Battle with Terrorist Hamas,” is incomplete because it does not address the humanitarian crisis of Palestinians in Gaza, fails to insist on an immediate ceasefire, and neglects Israel’s potential violation of the Arms Export and Control Act which governs U.S. arms exports to foreign countries.

Well, there are many things that could be an influence on his political outlook, like His father, a truck driver, was of Croatian ancestry or that his third wife, Elizabeth Harper, a British citizen, is 31 years younger than Kucinich. But this is really funny: the book "Best and Worst of the Big-City Leaders, 1820–1993", by Melvin G. Holli, in consultation with a panel of experts, placed Kucinich among the ten worst big-city mayors of all time for reasons of temperament and performance. He signed a letter of solidarity with Hugo Chávez in Venezuela in 2004. He voted against the impeachment of President Clinton, by the way. (Elizabeth?)

And wait, it gets better. Kucinich voted against the Rothman-Kirk Resolution, which calls on the United Nations to charge Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with violating the genocide convention of the United Nations Charter based on statements that he has made. Kucinich defended his vote by saying that Ahmadinejad's statements could be translated to mean that he wants a regime change in Israel, not death to its people and supporters.

This is funny: on October 30, 2007, NBC's Tim Russert cited a passage from a book by Shirley MacLaine in which the author writes that Kucinich had seen a UFO from her home in Washington State. Russert asked if MacLaine's assertion was true. Kucinich confirmed and emphasized that he merely meant he had seen an unidentified flying object, just as former US president Jimmy Carter has.

More relevant info:

Dennis Kucinich addresses Arab-American voters in Dearborn, Michigan, October 28, 2007

CAIR executive director Nihad Awad thanked Kucinich for his rousing keynote speech at CAIR's annual fund-raiser addressing issues of concern to Muslim-American voters in 2004.

And James Zogby noted Dennis Kucinich for the most dramatic policy on Middle East issues in November 2007.

Rice, Olmert, Bush & The UN - For The Record

On the tiff in an interview With Mike Schneider of Bloomberg TV:-

QUESTION: Back once again with the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her last few days here at the State Department. We saw newspaper headlines which have surprised, shocked, and disturbed many people, remarks made purportedly by the prime minister of Israel, ostensibly made in the southern part of the country saying that he was unhappy about the direction the U.S. was going to take regarding a resolution in the Security Council, and that he called up the U.S. and said he didn’t want to speak with you, he wanted to speak with the President. He interrupted a President’s speech, he got him on the phone, and basically ordered that we not follow through on a course that you wanted to follow through on, according to him, in the Security Council regarding a resolution on what’s happening in Gaza. How much of that is true?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, first of all, I don’t know if the prime minister was – I hope – quoted out of context, because the story that I read in the newspaper is fiction.

QUESTION: You had – what did you want to do with that resolution? We abstained.

SECRETARY RICE: The President and I talked about the resolution, about the importance of allowing the Council to send a signal even though the United States believed that the resolution was premature. And I had made very clear that I thought the resolution was premature, and there were also concerns about a resolution that had Israel, a member-state of the United Nations, and Hamas, which is a terrorist organization, you don’t ever want there to be any equating those two.

And so we talked. We talked about abstention as a good option. And I was quite aware of the President’s call to Prime Minister Olmert. Of course, Prime Minister Olmert is not at all aware of what the President said to me. And I repeat, his rendering of this is fiction – if, in fact, that was his rendering of it. And I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps it’s not exactly what he said.

QUESTION: Well, you also find yourself being criticized by former Ambassador Bolton, who said that the U.S. should veto --

SECRETARY RICE: There’s not much new in that, Mike. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: Why do you think that is – I mean, there are some people who think that the U.S. should not just abstain in the situation, but should continue to do what it’s done in the past, which is to say a member-state, Israel, is being rocketed by a terrorist organization and they deserve the right to self-defense.

SECRETARY RICE: I think we’ve said precisely that, that --

QUESTION: Why not veto then?

SECRETARY RICE: No, the resolution does not in any way say that there’s no right to self-defense. In fact, what the resolution says is there should be an immediate and durable ceasefire. And by the way, that had been American – the American position for days that we were seeking that kind of ceasefire. What will make a ceasefire durable? Hamas has got to stop rocketing Israeli cities. What will make a ceasefire durable? Something has to be done about the ability of Hamas to smuggle arms in with Iranian backing through tunnels that have been created there.

QUESTION: Are we going to get more cooperation out of the Egyptians on this matter?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, the Egyptians, I think, want to do the right thing here. We are providing some assistance through the Army Corps of Engineers, have been for some time. So a durable ceasefire is in everybody’s interest, because the one thing that you want to be very clear about is that the United States wants Israelis to be safe, it also wants Palestinians to be safe. And we have spoken also very forthrightly about the humanitarian needs there, which I think Israel is trying to address.

But we were very clear. Hamas started this. Hamas started this when they refused to extend Egypt’s – the calm that Egypt had negotiated.

QUESTION: You mean the truce that had --

SECRETARY RICE: But we abstained on this resolution because we wanted it to allow the Council to go ahead and speak even though we believed that it was premature.

And on diplomacy, peace and whatnot:

QUESTION: President Bush has said that one of the goals of his last year in office was to have some sort of Mideast peace agreement in place. President Clinton, in the last few days of his administration, finally, in frustration, realized that he could not achieve the same thing. Do you – as you leave this office, do you think that, realistically, there’s any chance of working this thing out in --

SECRETARY RICE: Yes, I do. I do. And I think that the foundation that was laid at Annapolis, which, by the way, is now enshrined in the Security Council Resolution 1850, which says that the two parties should negotiate as they have been doing. The representative – the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, President Abbas, has been negotiating with the prime minister, with Prime Minister Olmert, and also Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister. They’ve made quite a bit of progress. They don’t have an agreement yet, but they have made progress.

QUESTION: But does he – does Abu Mazen have the clout – I mean, there were those who say he’s been – that Hamas prior to this was actually being degraded, that it was weak, it was – its stand in the polls, it was low, and that, in fact, it’s been bolstered by what’s happened here, and Abu Mazen and Fatah have been weakened.

SECRETARY RICE: Well, you hear that, but if you look at the West Bank, the Palestinian people have got to be able to see that the West Bank economy has actually been growing for the first time in years. It’s far more peaceful. Nativity Square in Bethlehem, where in 2002, completely by accident, an Israeli tank shell hit the Church of the Nativity – just a few months ago, Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the Palestinians held an outdoor dinner for an investment conference for more than 1,200 people. And so the Palestinian security forces, which are being trained in Jordan and taking over responsibilities in Hebron and in Nablus and in places like this – this is a different place.

If you contrast that with Gaza, where you have Hamas throwing people off of roofs and then getting down and praying, where you have them trying to make the schools as Islamist as possible, where you have them engaging in policies that have isolated Gaza, I think that’s a contrast that the Palestinian people can see.

But yes –

QUESTION: But what are they going to do about it?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, it’s a good reason –

QUESTION: What can they do about it?

SECRETARY RICE: It’s a good reason that hopefully the ceasefire, a durable ceasefire, can take place.

QUESTION: And that Hamas is what? Is eliminated from the scene, or –

SECRETARY RICE: No, I don’t think you’re going to eliminate Hamas by military means. But it’s a matter of showing that Hamas’s dark vision for the Palestinian people is not the only one, and it’s not the one that the Palestinian people want. And we have to remember, again, Mahmoud Abbas was the elected President of the Palestinian people. He still is. And he has a lot to show for his engagement on a basis of negotiation and peace with the rest of the world.

Olmert maintains his story:

Ehud Olmert's bureau maintained on Wednesday that the outgoing prime minister had correctly described moves that led to a United Nations resolution on a truce in Gaza, despite a United States rejection of his account, Israel Radio reported.

The U.S. State Department on Tuesday flatly rejected Olmert's assertion Monday that he had convinced the Bush administration to abstain from last week's resolution calling for an immediate truce between Israel and Hamas in the coastal strip.

Manny Winston Told Us So

“I TOLD YOU SO”

by Emanuel A. Winston, Mid East analyst & commentator

On December 13th I published a forecast on the high probability that Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (resigned due to imminent criminal indictments but still in power) and Defense Minister Ehud Barak would launch an attack (years too late) but, in sufficient time to help them and their cohorts in elections.

Today, December 31st, FOX NEWS with Bill Reilly and Dick Morris were discussing the Israeli retaliatory attack on Hamas in Gaza. Dick Morris, a well-known analyst, said that Hamas wanted a fight which gave the Kadima Party (Olmert, Barak and Livni) a better chance to succeed in the coming elections and to keep Bibi Netanyahu out of power...

Manny, who with his wife, Gail, fight the good fight and have been personal friends for years and I salute them.

His articles appear all over and can be found archived here. And alos at this site.

The "Three" Are Meeting

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni are set to meet Friday morning to discuss the pros and cons of proceeding with a major military operation in Gaza to destroy terrorist infrastructure and reduce, if not entirely end, the rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel.

But shall we make that "two"?

Olmert's Infamous "Tiredness"

Last September, I blogged about Ehud Olmert's dangerous "tired" theme and that I had found a similar attitude over 50 years ago:

There Was Someone "Tired" Before Olmert

"We are tired of fighting and winning", bemoaned Ehud Olmert.

Well, there was someone before him.

Moshe Sharett's volume of selected speeches and documents has just appeared and on p. 554 I found that in a speech to the 24th Zionist Congress, on April 24, 1956, in response to an attack on the government by Menachem Begin, Sharett said:

"This government...prefers peace to victory".

Other nations call this defeatism.

Olmert, back in June 2005, had pronounced this:

We are tired of fighting, we are tired of being courageous, we are tired of winning, we are tired of defeating our enemies.

Well, now I can say that Olmert's attitude is that his government prefers politics above anything, fooling around while the terror grows.

His "tiredness" has desiccated this country's gumption, weakening national fortitude.


P.S. ObiterDicta pointed me here.

Well, We're To Be Tackled

To tackle:

1. The act of stopping an opposing player carrying the ball, especially by forcing the opponent to the ground, as in football or Rugby.
2. The act of obstructing a player in order to cause loss of possession of the ball, as in soccer.
1. To grab hold of and wrestle with (an opponent).
2. Sports.
1. To stop (an opponent carrying the ball), especially by forcing the opponent to the ground.
2. To obstruct (a player with the ball) in order to cause loss of possession of the ball.

We all know that, right?

Read on:

Gordon Brown tells Ehud Olmert to tackle Israeli settlements - Israel must tackle illegal settlements in the West Bank in order to achieve a durable Middle East peace settlement, Gordon Brown has said.

Mr. Brown, let me assure you, we will score. The ball will be carried over in to the endzone, will be placed into the net, will be kicked through the goalposts.

Rest assured.

Oh, did you wish Ehud Olmert well in his criminal investigations, future trials and possible jail time?

VOA has it a bit more moderate:

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has held talks with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the issue of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Mr. Brown said Monday the settlement issue must be resolved if there is to be lasting peace in the Middle East.

Int'l Herald Tribune:

Brown also raised the issue of tensions over Israeli settlement activity. Fayyad has asked European leaders to support his call on Israel not to expand West Bank settlements..."The prime ministers discussed the issue of Israeli settlements and the importance of the Palestinian economy and measures that can be taken to reduce the constraints on the Palestinian economy," Brown's spokesman said.

And The Guardian gets us back to sports lingo:

Gordon Brown has called for an end to the "blockage" caused by Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land to make 2009 the "year of peace" in the Middle East.

Have You Heard the Latest Ehud Olmert Joke?

Well, I haven't, but just hearing his name I



laugh.

P.S.

Just in case no one thought the above was funny, I found one joke that Yossi Klein-Halevi published (which means that if you don't think it funny, blame him)

What do Olmert and the Torah have in common? Parshat hashavuah -- a Hebrew term that translates as 'the weekly Torah reading' but could also mean the "scandal of the week."

Actually, in the version I first heard, an Orthodox Jew keeps hugging Olmert incessantly while Olmert is on a visit to N.Y. Olmert, trying to shake the man off, asks why he's being hugged so. "Why, for me, you are a Sefer Torah (the Scroll of the Torah)." Aghast at the comparison, Olmert queries, "How could you compare me to the holy Book of the Law?" and the man replies, "Because just like with the Torah, every week there's another parashah (with parahsa meaning scandal).

The News We In Israel Have Been Waiting For

AG plans to indict Olmert over double-billing affair

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz told Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday that he will likely be indicted for allegedly using state funds from multiple public bodies to finance private family trips.

A Justice Ministry statement issued Wednesday said Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz had told Olmert the charges under consideration stemmed from allegations he submitted duplicate billing of travel expenses while serving in previous posts.

It's a great start.

Finally, Olmert Doing Something Right

Kadima officials: Olmert sabotaging our campaign

Senior members of the Kadima party have claimed recently that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is sabotaging Chairwoman Tzipi Livni's election campaign and not behaving as would be expected from a prime minister during elections.

The criticism grew stronger over the weekend, after Kadima members read the public opinion polls and realized that their party was losing power, while the Likud and Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu were gaining popularity.

"Olmert fails to consider the fact that Kadima has entered an election campaign period," said one senior official, known as the prime minister's close associate.

The criticism was mostly directed at Olmert's statements during the state ceremony in memory of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on Jerusalem's Mount Herzl, when he said Israel should return to the 1967 border.

"His remarks are irresponsible, particularly when it comes to diplomatic issues, and voices opinions which suit the Labor Party or Meretz," said one of the officials, a Kadima minister.

Senior party members have also claimed that the prime minister excludes the foreign minister from diplomatic processes and is trying "to make her look small"...

Zionism Interruptus

Yesterday, PM Ehud Olmert addressed the special Knesset memorial session for Yitzhak Rabin and said, and I have commented, the following:

Thirteen years ago, the late Yitzhak Rabin, along with Shimon Peres and a great many good people, started out on a path which was unavoidable. There was a basis for disagreement with them - and I too was part of it and I shared my opinion and even voted against them. However, the direction was inevitable and reality proved that it was stronger than the murderer's bullets. I am not trying to retroactively justify the Oslo Accords, with which I disagreed. However, a direction was defined - and that direction was inevitable.

[that is a contradiction and illogical; one can usually stop anytime, especially in diplomacy and political maneuvering and even more so when the policies are wrong, dead wrong]

Since that time, after having learned to live with the feelings of guilt and pain resulting from the costs of the Oslo Accords - the continuation of terror and the disappointment of the diplomatic standstill - we have returned to the heart of the disagreement. Only this time, the decisive moment is growing closer and we are standing at its threshold.

[with more pain and hurt and grief and guilt feelings?]

This decision will be difficult and painful and will intensify the internal disagreement which for years has been and is being conducted by the Israeli public. Any new Government will not be able to avoid such a confrontation. If it wants to: it will have to risk a difficult domestic confrontation unlike any previously experienced. If it refuses: it will lose the international sympathy and support granted to the State of Israel by the international community since the Disengagement and for the duration of the present Government’s tenure.

[in a democracy, and in a confrontation the government can also reconsider its moves and decisions and can avoid confrontation and change its path]

Whoever thinks and believes that he can avoid the decision while at the same time maintaining Israel’s international position; whoever assumes he can continue the internal status quo and also benefit from the warm and supporting embrace of the leaders of the Western world, especially those who support Israel and are friendly towards it - is deluding himself and may deceive the Israeli public. Whoever thinks it is possible to avoid the decision and continue to build a broad system of relations with Arab and Muslim countries, as we are doing today - is living in a dream.

[and Olmert would rather us live in a very real nightmare of death and destruction?]

I am convinced that we have no realistic option other than an internal decision, and I am afraid of its consequences to the fragile fabric of the tense relations which already typify sections of the Israeli public. The Government, any government, must tell the truth, and this truth, unfortunately, will obligate us to rip away many portions of the homeland - in Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. This decision, when it is made, will not be an indictment against the settlers, the vast majority of whom are not violent, but rather an integral part of a dedicated, loyal public, one which loves the land and builds it up.

[and in doing so, he will rip the 'heart' out of Zionism and, indeed, the Jewish people and will endanger the existence of the state without solving any of the real problems we face]

This is the time to appeal to that public and say: you are unparalleled in your love of the land, in your dedication to it, in your willingness to sacrifice yourselves for it. There were moments, which we were all party to, during which we desired with all our hearts to leave our indelible mark on the land. I too was party to it. We were wrong; we did not see the big picture; we thought we could succeed in having a country which was Jewish, democratic, decent, violence-free, one which welcomed and embraced its neighbors within the borders of our sovereignty. It will not work. It is already not working. It claimed a price from us which we do not have the moral strength to bear - and it will claim even heavier costs - which will unravel the fragile bonds which still preserve the social solidarity of Israeli society.

[the same message was trumpeted by Yaakov DeHaan in the early 1920s, by the German professors and the infamous 'Group of Five' in the 1930s, and by various parties in the Yishuv who hewed to a line of pacifism, defeatism and lack of ideological belief and intrinsic faith in Zionism as the national liberation movement of the Jewish people and if we had followed that advice, there would be no state, no Knesset and no position of Prime Minister]

I am not criticizing anybody nor am I preaching. I do not have the right to do so. However, I do have the duty to appeal to you, the builders and settlers, and tell you with great respect and appreciation that you too must search your souls and reach a decision.

[we have, for the past four decades, and we have found you and other to be enfeeblers and have come to realize the none of your withdrawl plans have ever solved anything in the face of intractable animosity from the Arab and Islamic wordl]

Not due to conflict and strife, not due to the rift which will tear the most sensitive fabric of our agonizing society, but rather as a result of inevitable acceptance, as a result of noble understanding - that this is the only way - one strewn with dangers and uncertainty, paved with obstacles - but the only way.

[nothing is inevitable except death and you, sir, with your "tiredness" and your unworthy Zionist spirit and plans that have little merit and your fawning before diplomats have made a significant contribution to Israel's current weakness and ability to pursue a sane, reasonable policy that will benefit the Jewish people, our neighbors and the world. Your personal failings will be dealt with in criminal court, it would appear. The court of history will deal with the rest of your enterprises]

So, there it is - Zionism interruptus.

and at another graveside ceremony:

If we want to keep Israel Jewish and democratic, we need to give up parts of the homeland we have dreamed about for generations and [mentioned] in our prayers, even Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and to return to a 1967 Israel with certain amendments," he said, at the state ceremony on Mount Herzl, where Rabin is buried.

"The decision must be made now. The moment of truth has arrived. There is no escaping it, but [the opportunity] can be missed. If, God forbid, we dither, we will lose the support for the idea of two states.

------------

P.S.

Interviewed by Army Radio, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said, "I as Kadima Chairwoman am not committed to the outgoing prime minister's comments - but to Kadima's platform, and this is what determines exactly how we will hold negotiations," adding, "You can't just throw the key to the other side and hope for the best, especially not in Judea and Samaria."

Now, "Collective Punishment"

In response to Ehud Olmert, the departing prime minister of Israel, announcing a series of measures directed against Jewish residency in Judea and Samaria (see bleow full details), my colleague, Dani Dayan, was quoted in the New York Times

Dani Dayan, the chairman of the Yesha Council, an umbrella organization that represents the settlers, attacked Mr. Olmert’s announcement about financing as “collective punishment” and said that politicians were mounting a campaign of incitement and demonization against the settlers before the national elections set for Feb. 10.

Mr. Dayan said that the only government investment in the outposts today was indirect, in the form of the regional council funds, which go to services like garbage collection and school buses. “Does this mean that they won’t clear the garbage?” Mr. Dayan asked, adding that he hoped “this bad government will be replaced with a better one in four months.”

(I may be on Al-Jazeera later. Check back for update)



Full details:

Prime Minister Olmert said: “Of late, we have witnessed several very serious phenomena. I would like to say at the outset that the overwhelming majority of residents in Judea and Samaria live there legally. They are law-abiding citizens. They love both the people and the land. We have only high regard for them. But there is also a not small group of wild people who behave in a way that threatens proper law and governance, not only in the areas in which they live but also in the overall atmosphere of the State of Israel. This is unacceptable and we cannot countenance it. These violations of the law have been accompanied, more than once, by violent behavior toward security and law-enforcement personnel. Attacking soldiers and their commanders, attacking policemen and other security personnel, and injuring them are unacceptable. We are not prepared to countenance it and we will not.”

Prime Minister Olmert emphasized that measures would be taken so that the West Bank would not be Israel’s ‘wild west’.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Israel Security Agency Director Yuval Diskin, Justice Minister Prof. Daniel Friedmann, Attorney-General Meni Mazuz, Public Security Minister Avi Dicter, Israel Police Deputy Inspector-General Shahar Ayalon and other senior officials briefed ministers on the issue of law enforcement in the territories including relations between extremist settler groups and the security establishment, the prevailing violence, and the responses of the law enforcement system against the surging violence that threatens the rule of law in Judea and Samaria, and in Israel.

Following the subsequent discussion, Prime Minister Olmert concluded as follows:

A. The recent disturbances constitute a threat to the rule of law in the entire State of Israel.

B. Dealing with the issues requires special preparations and cooperation between the IDF and the judicial and enforcement authorities operating in Judea and Samaria.

C. Measures necessary today will be increased as much as possible, including increasing enforcement personnel, documenting disturbances, arresting those who break the law and bringing them quickly to trial, the use of administrative detention and distance orders, and such additional measures as may be necessary.

D. All possible measures will continue to be used in dealing with illegal construction. Residents of Judea and Samaria will receive appropriate and effective responses vis-à-vis legal construction permits in accordance with the Government’s international commitments.

E. The judicial will formulate legal measures so as to increase punishment of those who break the law along the lines that have been witnessed in recent weeks.

F. Justice Minister Friedmann, in cooperation with the legal establishment, will continue to initiate legislative amendments wherever existing measures are found to be ineffective, and will act to complete legislative processes already underway.

G. Defense minister Barak will be responsible for coordinating efforts on the issue, in cooperation with the ministries of Justice and Public Security, Vice Premier Haim Ramon (as Prime Minister Olmert’s representative), the IDF, the Israel Police, the ISA and Attorney-General Mazuz.

H. Defense Minister Barak will brief the Government on the issue and submit general recommendations for dealing with it, within two weeks.

I(ii). The involvement of public employees in incitement will be examined and appropriate measures will be taken against them.

(ii). All direct or indirect financial support of illegal outposts, and their infrastructures, will be halted.

And this update:

The Committee of Samaria Settlers is set to file a complaint against Vice Premier Haim Ramon and National Infrastructures Minister Binymain Ben-Eliezer, claiming that remarks made by the two made during a cabinet meeting Sunday constituted libel and incitement against the settler community.

While Ramon had expressed displeasure over "discrimination and apartheid in dealing with Palestinians and Jews involved in disturbances in Judea and Samaria," Ben-Eliezer warned of political violence and said of the settlers: "They don't think like us; their thought is messianic, mystical, satanic, and irrational."

..."Leading the libelers and defamers is convicted criminal Haim Ramon," the complaint read. "He initiated the meeting and called for the arrest of hundreds of civilians on the basis of 'intelligence.' Following in Ramon's wake was Minister Fuad [Binyamin] Ben-Eliezer, who called the excellent settler community people with 'satanic thought,' no less, and went so far as to recommend that a 'blitz' be opened against them, (a word which in German means a swift murderous battle)."

In his letter to Mazuz, the representative of the settlers, lawyer Doron Ben-Zvi went on to assert that "failure to initiate an investigation of the ministers will constitute clear favoritism… Regrettably, you not only participated in the cabinet meeting but stood aloof while several of the senior ministers (as well as the prime minister himself) made horrible incitive remarks