King David for the Occupation

In recent weeks, the Yesha Council (Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip) launched a new campaign by the name of "Yehuda and Shomron - Every Jew's story". This name was used in order to blur any political elements and to provide the campaign with an educational character. Advertisements and commercials bear the signature of a new organization from the creative offices of the Yesha Council called "Yehuda and Shomron - Hasbara Center".

In the framework of this campaign, biblical heroes and legendary figures were recruited to participate in the debate on the fate of the settlements; from King David and Yehuda the Maccabi to Rachel and Shmuel the Prophet, all were called aboard to fight for the vision of Greater Israel and the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the territories.

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The radicalization of the right-wing

From the moment I joined 'Peace Now', threats, hate mail and hostile telephone calls have become the norm. Sometimes, the actual amount of letters and phone calls served to indicate the level of influence of 'Peace Now'. In periods where we were able to influence the public agenda, public attacks on the organization and on our persons increased accordingly and when our voice resonated less, the threats lessened accordingly. Nevertheless, I never felt that there was a tangible reason for worry, beyond the episodes of spontaneous violence during demonstrations, particularly in settlements. The feeling was that hate mail would not translate into actual physical harm. 

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Accept the cease-fire

The recent Knesset decision opposing a major IDF invasion of Gaza was not made in vain. Even if the reasons to go ahead with such plans seem justified and public support is wide, the ministers along with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak know that the chances of a large operation achieving its goals are slim.  

If IDF soldiers were to enter the crowded refugee camps, they would be forced to contend with a society that is hostile and starving under a suffocating siege that has been in place for over a year, a society that thinks that it stands nothing to lose. Beyond the hundreds of casualties that both sides would suffer, an Israeli offensive would unite Palestinian society as a whole behind Hamas and the images of Israeli tanks chasing Palestinian children will once again return to TV screens worldwide.

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Iran or the Golan

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's relaxing vacation in the Golan is just bad timing. It serves to fuel the conflict that exists within Israeli society which grapples between staying in the Golan Heights and the need for a peace agreement with Syria.

Truthfully, when the North is brimming with tourists and activities, when Golan wineries are awarded international prizes and when the Golan's communities see renewed vigor, it seems unnecessary and unrealistic to give up the Golan. The Israeli public does not sense directly the extent of the damage caused to our country due to the lack of peace with Syria nor does it understand the hefty price we are paying because of the continued hostilities with Syria.

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A rightist government in disguise

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's speech at Harvard University on the policy of settlement expansion points more than anything to the increasing gap between the government's public stance on the matter and the reality on the ground.

If we are judging based on actions, the Israeli government - disguised as a center-left government - is in fact a rightist government that continues to build settlements, which undermines the chances of reaching a political settlement, thereby turning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict into an unsolvable one. Bibi Netanyahu could not have done it better.

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Time is not on our side

At a time when the government of Israel is dragging its feet and essentially dissolving all efforts to reach a permanent agreement with the Palestinians, in international public opinion the idea of the division of the land into two states is becoming irrelevant. In its place is the vision of a bi-national state, which in practice would mean the end of Zionism.

This month, for the fourth year, 'Israel Apartheid Week' will take place in campuses across Canada, Europe and for the first time, in the US. This "week" is dedicated completely to portraying Israel as the South Africa of the 21st century. In the 'Hasbara' framework of Hillel Canada - which acts on campuses across the nation in order to promote Israel's stance and the position of the Jewish people in the student battle between Jews and non-Jews - I had the opportunity to attend Apartheid Week. I tried to pass on to the students an image of Israel other than the one associated with the conflict.

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Concept failure in Gaza

The collapse of the border between Gaza and Egypt represents more than anything the collapse of the Israeli concept which holds that Hamas can be made to break through the suffocation and complete blockade of the people living inside the Strip.

After the unilateral disengagement from Gaza and the rise of Hamas, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority stood united to face this new political and military challenge and sought to oust Hamas from power and have it rejoin the PA under Mahmoud Abbas's leadership.

Israel's working assumption was that a complete blockade and making life intolerable inside Gaza would stir up general discontent and bring about Hamas's downfall. Israel's method - the closure of all crossings, the lack of basic necessities including fuel and electricity - sought to cause the Palestinian population living in Gaza to lose faith in the Hamas leadership and to sooner than later overthrow it.

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Olmert must remain the PM

In preparation for the publishing of the final Winograd Report on the Second Lebanon War, the legitimate demand from Labor Chairman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak to announce that he intends to leave the government if and when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remains in his position is resurfacing. 

I admit that it is not easy to deal with the simplistic and popular catch-phrase which argues that those who failed should "take responsibility" and go home, as if we are talking about a soccer coach or a government clerk who erred.

The attempt to portray the issue as if it were Olmert's personal matter buys him wide leverage in the battle with many who turn a blind eye to the dramatic consequences of such a move.

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Evacuation - Compensation - Now

Defense Minister and Labor party Chairman Ehud Barak's announcement that he supports the evacuation/compensation legislature [intended to compensate West Bank residents who wish to relocate to within the Green Line] spurred anew the public debate surrounding the fate of settlements still beyond the security fence.

The waves of terror that plagued Israel earlier in this decade and the construction of the separation fence thereafter brought about a situation in which 65,440 settlers in approximately 74 settlements reside to the east of the fence, deep in the heart of the West Bank.

At the basis of the proposed legislation is the Israeli government's moral obligation to allow settlers who live beyond the fence to re-settle inside the borders of the Green Line. It comes as so surprise that the leaders of the settler movement, officials in the Yesha Council, whose role it is to represent the entire population in the territories, choose to act in a comprehensive manner to the proposed initiative and turn their backs on those who are ready to leave immediately. 

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