“The two-state solution is the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians,”
Well, that or genocide and Israel taking everything.
Guess which one Bibi thinks he’s entitled to.
Let the next long-distance bromance begin. We’ve had Trumputin. Now get ready for: Trump’nYahu!
(reposting a previous comment here coz it’s more appropriate on this thread)
My husband and I appreciated Josh’s take on this in his post “Much Ado About Nothing.” Lots of good information.
Thanks for your insights, Josh.
Kerry’s speech was nothing short of brilliant. An hourlong summary of 40 years of the history of the settlements. Maybe Ivanka can explain it to her father.
Turns out it’s a slippery slope from “never again” to “it’s our turn now.”
“. . . [E]xpanding settlements stands in the way of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Seems obvious to me, apparently not to Netanyahu, however.
Trump: I am for One State solution. I will let Putin decide and take over. Cheaper for us and we pay less taxes.
This was a magnificent and even historic speech, and lays out a viable path toward a two-state solution.
Israel and the incoming Trump administration should give it serious consideration or find themselves increasingly isolated diplomatically.
I’d have preferred Kerry step up to the microphone and proclaim for all the world to hear - “We will no longer grovel at the feet of this little welfare-state-in-the-desert.”
Great speech, full of thought, intelligence and passion. Will be rejected by Israel. There will never be peace in the Middle East as long as humans cling to religious and nationalistic belief. It’s just one of those tragic quagmires that is unresolvable under those circumstances.
We’ll miss a lot of good people come January.
Indeed. JM is on top of his game. I’m interested in more of his perspective about whether and to what extent Israel really is being increasingly driven to instigate and perpetuate this conflict in order to manufacture its excuses for pursuing further expansion and land grabbing, perhaps finally getting its excuse to go whole-hog on the Palestinians…and how much it really does revolve around the sort of extremist religious idea of the “promised land” etc. etc. I mean, the vehemence of Bibi’s response here is a bit stunning, particularly in terms of its apparent singular focus on the US for abstaining, instead of all its other allies who actually voted for the resolution. He seems to be implicitly indicating that he views Israel as above the rest, more powerful, and that the US is the only threat to its expansionist Zionist plans for the region. Then again, I have this recurring thought that folks like Bibi and Putin are simply well aware of just how off the rails American politics has gone…just how nuts the right has become…and are playing some of these games to further the divisions. I dunno.
Also, I read the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Faux News article yesterday and was fucking appalled. The last couple paragraphs seemed to be almost an admission that they believe they are entitled to all of that area, because something something God, despite it being outside their borders, and that nothing will stop them from trying to grab it. How do we even approach the idea of peace if Israel has that kind of mindset and now feels like a badger backed into a corner, finally forced to make public that it never intended peace in the first place, ever?
And also, that list of 3 sarcastic “achievements” of Obama and Kerry in the Middle East is a fucking joke. I mean, I don’t see how that article is even remotely intellectually honest, let alone how it could possibly be interpreted as anything but an attempt to further demarcate battle lines and inflame the situation. But I’m just some dumbass raised Irish Roman Catholic, so alot of this is hard to process for me without feeling like I’m risking venturing into the taboo with my opinions. More feedback from Josh would be great on that front.
MSNBC is reporting that Abbas just offered to resume peace talks if Israel freezes the building of new settlements. I realize the chances of something permanent coming out of any talks isn’t great, but it does give some weight to Kerry’s speech and positions.
The Jewish people are a people of memory.
Reminds me of my exwife. Never let a damn thing go. Holds on to every perceived slight like a security blanket.
“Does this land grab make me look fascist?”
I agree! Though I have long been familiar with the history and evolution of the problems surrounding Israel and the Palestinians, I found Kerry’s comments to be very informative and enlightening. He did a good job of reminding us of many of the key elements of the difficulties that plague the peace process.
Thank you to all the idiots who voted for this moron.
Mr Natanyahu’s purpose is to keep himself in office. The purpose of the settlement policy is, evidently, to inch into Palestinian territory until Israel dominates in the way that God apparently promised to the Patriarch Abraham. This is known as the Genesis theory, or Neo Milk and Honey. It has been the policy of the United States that the settlements are illegal. Mr Netanyahu is complaining because we put that policy into action. Good for us, frankly. I think a two state solution is still possible, but it won’t be possible forever. Resolution of this issue is going nowhere until the discussion includes the Palestinians.
True.
A one-state solution requires genocide or tyranny. We Americans would like to believe Israel is better than that.