MK Naftali Bennet: "No Palestinian State." I'll believe it when I see it.

י' לחודש הרביעי תשע"ג

Arutz 7: Bennett: Palestinian State? Get Over It

Minister Naftali Bennet

Bayit Yehudi head, Economics Minister Naftali Bennett, said Monday that the idea of establishing a Palestinian state has reached a dead end and should be forsaken.

"Never in the history of Israel has so much energy been invested in something so pointless,” Bennett said at a conference on the Jewish settlers in Judea and Samaria and their depiction in the media.

Regarding the idea of a Palestinian state, he said, "We need to go from a situation in which we try to convince people that it is a bad idea, to one in which this idea is behind us. Anyone who travels around Judea and Samaria knows that what they say in the hallways of Oslo and Annapolis is detached from reality.”

"There are 400,000 Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria, and another 250,000 in eastern Jerusalem,” he noted. “More than 10% of the residents of Israel live in what is called the Green Line. The attempt to establish a Palestinian state inside our land is over.”

(Tip Credit: Tomer Devorah)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
"The idea of establishing a Palestinian state has reached a dead end and should be forsaken."

Oh, really?

What the above Arutz 7 report does not mention is that these statements of Minister Bennett were made at today's YeSh"A Leadership Conference.

What was also not reported was the following additional statement made by Minister Bennett. Fortunately, our man Yosef Stein was there to report on it:

If you were hit with shrapnel, and it was embedded inside you, and you had two choices for treatment, to risk having it removed, with only ??% chance of success of surviving the surgery, or leaving it inside of you, but not being 100%, which would you choose? (translated from Hebrew and paraphrased)

In other words, from what I gather, we have two choices, attempt to remove the Arabs (shrapnel) from our body (Judea and Samaria, Israel) with less than 100% chance of success, or to leave the Arabs where they are, and just deal with them being there.

Apparently, Bennett received criticism for using this metaphor. However, since Arabs have been described previously by some politicians as a "cancer needing to be excised," I have no doubt that Bennett will survive.

So, Minister Bennett simultaneously sees that the last chance for a Pseudostinian State has passed, yet also seems to believe in the virtual impossibility of removing the shrapnel (Arabs),...even though the shrapnel is not just sitting their but 

That is a concession he is willing to accept? Or, he believes that his plan to annex parts of Yehudah and the Shomron (Judea and Samaria) grant citizenship to those Arabs residing in those parts.

Bennett's Plan vs. Arafat's Plan
I don't see much of a difference. Do you?

Well, I guess he certainly not concerned with accusations from the "international community" that Israel is an apartheid state. Well, neither am I. But, somehow, I think that the Bennett is concerned about such things.


Been there, done that. 

It was the proposal of the Techiyah Party, which included MK's formerly of the Likud and National Religious Parties, such as Geulah Cohen, Hanan Porat, and Yuval Neiman.

The Techiyah Party also happened to be the primary force behind the banning of Rabbi Me'ir Kahane hy"d, and his Kakh Party from the K'nesseth.

But, I digress....

Minister. Bennett, pray tell, what is this?

Set aside for a moment, only a moment, that the Bennett Plan looks suspiciously like the Arafat Plan, and let us point out a few things about Yishma'elim (Arabs), which Bennett has failed to consider:

1. The Bennett Plan will create a defacto Pseudostinian State, which he himself, claims that the creation of which has missed its window of opportunity.

2. Bennett also appears to have forgotten his history lessons, both modern and ancient. The
Yishma'elim will undoubtedly scream and yell about quite probably picking up on the "apartheid" buzz word which has been circulating around for years now. Yet, in private, the Bennett autonomy plan will be hailed as a victory.

Many of them are patient, and are quite willing to accept such apparently small victories, "chipping away" Israeli control, a little bit at a time.

PA "President" Mahmud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and his vision of "Palestine"

The Yishma'elim operate by saying one thing to us, another to the UN, and all the while secretly discussing what they really believe and desire amongst themselves. It used to be in English vs. Arabic. But, they have become so brazen, having successfully pulled the wool over the eyes of the West, including many Jews, that they need not concern themselves with what gets publicized, and what does not.

It is still much clearer to us what the Yishma'elim want, than it is to the rest of the world as to what Jews want. What have will be doing to demonstrate our desires for maintaining sovereignty over our Homeland? Giving pieces of it away? Allowing outside forces determine how and when we should (or should not) defend it?

That does not sound in the least bit logical to me. In fact, it sounds quite insane, not to mention self-destructive.

I am ALL for talking about, and responding to, the "reality on the ground." However, what I am unwilling to do, what I refuse to do, is to stop talking about the ideal and correct situation in which Jews should exist, whether we are currently capable of achieving it or not.

Some Jews sit around and talking about waiting for Mashi'ah to come, and take care of everything for us, including bringing of all Jews back to Israel, their (our) only true Homeland, rebuilding of the Miqdash (Temple), reestablishing the Sanhedrin, and, of course, ascending the throne, and defeating our enemies,... once and for all.

But, even these Jews never cease talking about the ideal, how things SHOULD be, in other words, the leKhathillah manner in which Jews are supposed to live.

Galuth (exile), physical AND spiritual galuth, is the bedi'avad manner in which most Jews currently exist, and which is not our natural state of existence.

Minister Bennett is free to be a realist. He is free to play politics, in his attempts to "get the best deal he can" for us.

Who is "occupying" whom?
(Click to Enlarge)

Yet, there is no excuse for ceasing discussion about what is supposed to be, that Eretz Yisra'el, ALL of Eretz Yisra'el, belongs to us, AND only those non-Jews permitted to live here al pi halakhah,...are permitted to live here.

Perhaps he believes that such discussion, such talk, would hinder his efforts to "get the best deal he can" for us.

That does not sound terribly "Religious Zionist" to me. Actually, it sounds like hoser emunah (lack of faith).

If that is what "being realistic" means, then I do not want to have any part of it.

Rabbi Meir Kahane would tell us to say the truth, and to do the truth, which is Torah, and whatever happens as a result was min HaShamayim (Heavenly Will).

And for beliefs like these, he was branded an "extremist."

Well, then, if believing that the Torah is an integral part of EVERY aspect of a Jew's life, and not just "shabbos and kashrus shailos," if believing that following this very Torah takes precedence over following those laws of the State of Israel which are in conflict with the Torah, then I plead guilty.

Of course, I prefer the term "Real Religious Zionist."

What Naftali Bennett prefers, I am still trying to figure out.

But, so far, and especially after his speech today, I am not optimistic.