Israel’s
Prime Minister is due in the
United States on September 2 where he will be peace processed by
George Mitchell, Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, and an entity called the “Quartet” a
chummy foursome comprised of
the United Nations, the United States, the
European Union and Russia, joined by Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and King
Abdullah of Jordan.
The
group, all accompanied by special envoys, and “observers” and the
honorable Tony Blair, reminds one of the joke: “A flight
attendant asks a jazz group: ‘How many of you are there in the
quartet?’ ”
George
Mitchell, the midwife to the summit, declared at a recent press
conference
after the usual blather about the conflict placing blame equally on Israel
and its enemies:
“We
don't expect all of those differences to disappear when talks begin.
Indeed, we expect that they will be presented, debated, discussed, and that
differences are not going to be resolved immediately.”
Gee thanks
George. And then he added:
“I
do want to take a moment to acknowledge and recognize the enormous support
and assistance we have received from many of our friends and allies: Egypt,
under President Mubarak; Jordan, under King Abdullah; many of the other Arab
states; the other members of the Quartet; the United Nations under Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon, who has been extremely helpful in this process; the
European Union, with Lady Ashton as the foreign minister; and the - Russia,
with Foreign Minister Lavrov, have all been active and very helpful along
with other European states.”
By
George, George…you left Israel out of your obsequious and oily gratitude.
For
good measure Secretary of State Clinton chimed in with a deadline of one
year to complete negotiations. It reminded one of a hanging judge who gives
the convicted a year on death row.
There
is a lot of writing and hand wringing even from those quarters that prodded
or bullied Israel into the two state dissolution. What now? What can
Netanyahu do?
Here
is one suggestion: A letter from Prime Minister Netanyahu to President
Obama.
I
know it's wishful thinking, but......
Dear
President Obama:
Greetings!
I deeply and respectfully regret to inform you that I must cancel my
forthcoming visit to the United States for the purpose of commencing
negotiations. I recognize and share your sense of urgency in resolving the
current impasse, but grave international events which threaten Israel as
well as the United States make the regional war of Arabs against Israel less
pressing and an item for another time and another venue.
Please
let me explain.
Your
State Department has tried to reassure us that Iran will not complete
nuclear arms for one year. However, one of the “Quartet” members, namely
Russia, helped finish building the Bushehr Iranian Nuclear project which is
well on its way to becoming weaponized. Reliable sources are
convinced that the reactor will be fully operational since military action
against it could lead to widespread contamination in the entire Middle East.
There
is an old saw, Mr. President: “If you want to know what a man is thinking,
listen to him.”
Iran’s
ruthless tyrant has issued genocidal threats to destroy Israel, and has
repeated them virtually every day. I would be remiss not to heed him and I
would be equally remiss in trusting any dialogue on the future survival of
my country with any nation that continues to enable and encourage Iran.
Furthermore,
I cannot accept the participation of entities such as the United Nations and
the European Union who continually indulge in the most anti-Semitic and
anti- Israel harangues, as participants in any discussion of my nation’s
security and destiny. They share the conviction that Israel, of all the
world’s nations has a negotiable “right to exist” and may not make its
own decisions on what constitutes secure and defensible borders. While they
maintain a studious silence on massacres, famines, civil wars elsewhere they
join their own enemies in denouncing Israel. This “quartet” would not
play Brahms, but would gladly perform a funeral dirge for Israel.
Furthermore, Mr.
President, what constructive input can come from nations such as Egypt and
Jordan whose bias against Israel and Jews is evidenced daily by their media,
their schoolbooks, their sermons and their national rules forbidding Jewish
ownership of land and citizenship?
In
fact, President Obama, the Arab League recently announced a summit, where
Jordan and Egypt will convene with Syria, “Palestine” Saudi Arabia,
Libya and Algeria next February in Qatar in a conference to discuss the
status of Jerusalem.
Would
you countenance discussion of the status of Washington D.C. by any foreign
powers, let alone enemies?
Finally,
Mr. President, there is no need to travel so far for meaningful discussions.
Our land is small and enjoys a fine highway system. Mr. Abbas can take a car
to Jerusalem or I can take one to Ramallah. We would both be home in time
for dinner.
And,
speaking of Mr. Abbas, it certainly did not enhance our confidence when he
and other members of his governing committee recently attended the funeral
of Amin Al-Hindi, the mastermind of the massacre of Israeli athletes at the
Munich Olympics, and praised him in the most lavish terms as a martyr and
leader.
Mr.
President, you and I are both democratically elected leaders with a
fractious body politic. We both face serious security threats which must
continually be balanced with utmost respect for the civil liberties of our
citizens.
The
media reports of daily threats to the United States from North Korea, from
China and from the drug cartel war on your southern border which has
already claimed thousands of lives and threatens to infiltrate your cities.
On your northern border there is increasing activity of terrorists plotting
attacks on the United States. Your economy is still in precarious
condition.
How
could the disposition of approximately two thousand square miles of West
Bank alter any of these crises?
Mr.
President, your nation and mine are beacons of freedom and democracy. Our
destinies are intertwined and Israel is the greatest supporter and ally of
the United States in the world. We are bipartisan in our respect for
America. Since President Harry Truman rose in the middle of the night and
against the wishes of his State Department gave de jure recognition to our
independence, we have enjoyed the support of thousands of legislators from
both parties.
July
fourth is a national holiday for America and a day of national pride for
Israel because on that day in 1976 when the United States was celebrating
the Bicentennial, Israel conducted the most dazzling rescue of hostages in
Entebbe. My brother Lt. Col.
Jonathan Netanyahu was killed on that day in that operation. He is a hero in
that long line of Israelis and Americans who have died in defense of
freedom.
Mr.
President, on September 8th Jews throughout the world commence
observance of a new year marking 5,771 years of Jewish existence. The
holiday Rosh Ha Shana culminates on Yom Kippur a day of atonement, fasting
and renewal.
Among
my prayers, I will include a prayer for peace and
prosperity for both our nations.
What
I will not do, Mr. President, is come to Yom Kippur atoning for having
endangered Israel by attending the September 2 meetings.
God
bless our nations.
Respectfully
yours,
Benjamin
Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel