Meanwhile back in Israel

I wish I had solutions. I've already told you what I think ought to happen. As for cutting the government loose - only the ICC (if they do at all) possess the power to make that happen.

I'm sure this is fraught with issues, but my first thought on it goes like this.

1) Using the BDS movement and the ICC examination, exert global pressure to force Israeli attention to the situation at hand. America should withhold military funds from Israel, and stop sending arms to Saudi Arabia as well in the interest of impartiality. The contingency should be that any forms of aggression from external parties will resume the military funding America brings Israel. Alternatively, any aggression from Israel should sever the American/Israeli alliance.
2) Insist on a legally binding definition of the Jewish identity of Israel. If Israel is here to stay (a non-negotiable for most Israelis), then Israel as a Jewish state is here to stay. If the Jewish state is here to stay, what makes it Jewish must be defined.
3) Audit the Jewish identity of Israel. If any portion of it presents inequalities, they must be minimized first, then stricken.
4) Once the Jewish identity is defined, audit the rights that a Jew has in Israel, a non-Jew has in Israel, and a Palestinian has in the Palestinian regions. Lay out plans to normalize these rights with specific deadlines.

This is all before even discussing self-determination for the Palestinian people: this is about granting basic human rights to all humans in the region.

As an aside - of those ten little douchebags who burnt down the church, I'd bet not a single one of them had government ties, so sadly after all of this is said and done - Israel's likely in store for a civil war when those who are racist to their core will not accept each other's presence. As I've said too many times to count, this fact is likely exacerbated by the reiteration of the shit (or at least perception of shit) that each has suffered at the other's hands.

badbrains said:

Sorry, but you can't compare the 2 sides when it comes to suffering. No way

This is a real problem, Nart. I specifically said perception of suffering for that reason: I seriously hope at this point you know I don't think for a second their suffering is comparable. It's not relevant whether or not the suffering is real, just the perception. And the perception is 100% there in the minds of all. And if you'd like, disagree with me on that, but please don't disregard everything else I said there just because of one sentence that honestly was practically an aside compared to my main point (i.e. find solutions, not problems).

I'm also curious to hear opinions on this editorial. The last paragraph sums it up for me. I think what's been missing is a 'plan' agreed upon by Fatah, Hamas, and the Israeli government.

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/6/19/palestinian-political-crisis-deepens-with-collapse-of-unity-government.html

My thoughts after reading the article:

-Hamas won't relinquish security control, nor actively condemn anti-Israeli violence or rhetoric, if these actions create perceived certain stagnation in a solution and/or statehood for the Palestinians. Until word from Israel comes that a solution is to be agreed upon - in writing - the violence will continue, because the resistance force will be in full throttle
-Fatah won't assist the restoration and rehabilitation of Gaza and its citizens until Hamas relinquishes security control, or actively condemns anti-Israeli violence or rhetoric
-Israel won't back a two-state solution until it perceives its situation to be safe and secure

If the national unity government is redefined with what's likely to be a Hamas/Fatah split, Here's what I think ought to happen:

1) All three parties must sit down and arrange for Hamas and Fatah to join forces and crack down on anti-Israeli violence and rhetoric, and for Israel to crack down on anti-Arab/Palestinian violence and rhetoric. An agreement on the locations of the borders of a new state of Palestine should be negotiated and defined by both the Israeli government, and Fatah and Hamas. Settlement construction must be ceased, border crossing policies must be relaxed, and restoration efforts in Gaza must be increased. BDS campaigns should be halted.
2) There must be a deadline where the security efforts of all three parties is thoroughly audited.
3) Contingent on validating significant efforts worthy of further faith from all parties, and ensuring border controls on both the Palestinian and Israeli side, the Palestinian state should be recognized by Israel and the world alike.
3a) Should Israel's efforts be deemed unacceptable by a global governing board (possibly the UN), the ongoing ramifications should be a permanent cessation of settlement construction, the cessation of condemning BDS campaigns, and a regrouping of the three parties, at the UN, to discuss a permanent solution. Essentially, it's a reset switch on this idea, with a green light for global economically unenviable sanctions, and a hard halt to expansionism in the region.
3b) Should the Palestinians' efforts be deemed unacceptable by the same global governing board, the ramifications should be the nullification of the above. Life is hard enough as a Palestinian that the maintaining of the status quo should be punishment enough.

Not one of these steps works on its own: this must be a written plan, agreed upon by all parties involved. With exceptions to any one of them, I don't see it working. With all agreed upon, its odds of success are probably just above 'crapshoot' which is better than the current 'nil'.

You can keep Thurston Moore and the rest of the BDS anti-semites. And yes, BDS is antisemitism, plain and simple. We'll just have to see Bon Jovi instead. http://ukmediawatch.org/2015/06/08/bon-jovi-to-perform-in-israel-bdsfail-britishmediafail/

Such tired bullshit....
Who are you talking to? Who supports Hamas?
These kinds of posts really do a disservice to your cause, Johnnie. You might not realize it, but anyone with a basic understanding of the occupation has an adverse reaction to people screaming anti-semite and terrorist. The constant portrayal of Israelis as victims, when there is a large and growing opinion that Israel's hawks are oppressors and war criminals (state terrorists), only reinforces that opinion. Most people with a basic understanding of current events see right thru this posturing, and recognize it as the 'politics of fear'. Which in turn makes them suspicious of ulterior motives and full of doubt about the legitimacy of the claim. So really....You are fostering support for the Palestinians when you do this. Nice work.

Right, mickey.... Israel's apologists have managed to water down that accusation to the point that I don't really care if I'm called it any longer. If they define criticism of Israel and supporting non-violent means of protest as anti-semitism, then I guess that makes me an anti-semite. Whatever - sticks n stones. I know what's in my heart, and it is not hate of Jews. But if this is how they want the world to think - to accept the label of anti-semite as a condition of supporting equality.....then they need to accept that as the BDS movement continues to grow with every new settlement, every new bombing campaign (and international support for israel showing an equal/opposite effect) , that they are degrading the power of the anti-semite card they love so much to play. My children understood the parable of The Boy That Cried Wolf by about age 5....yet so many adult supporters of the Israeli govt cant seem to grasp the concept.

No wonder the anti-semite card is being pulled in regards to BDS....

Foreign direct investment in Israel dropped by 50% in 2014 and expert says it’s due to the Gaza war and BDS
http://mondoweiss.net/2015/06/foreign-investment-dropped#sthash.v1kCy0zZ.dpuf
Foreign direct investment in Israel dropped by 50% in 2014 according to a 2015 World Investment Report issued yesterday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Newsweek reports: Foreign investment in Israel drops by 50%

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Israel dropped by almost 50% last year in comparison to the year before as the country continues to feel the effects of last summer’s Gaza conflict, a new UN report has revealed.

The report, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), shows that only €5.7bn was invested into the country in 2014 in comparison with €10.5bn in 2013, a decrease of €4.8bn, or 46%. Israel’s FDI in other countries also decreased by 15%, from €4.2bn in in 2013 to €3.5bn last year.

Newsweek cites one of the authors of the report, Dr. Ronny Manos from the Open University of Israel, as speculating the declining investment is fallout from the Israeli military onslaught on Gaza last summer and “international boycotts” against Israel for “alleged violations of international law.” Ynet adds that, according to Manos, “these are only conjectures that can explain the sharp decline”

As we reported in 2013 investment committees for European banks were considering recommending their institutions bar loans to Israeli companies that have economic links with the Palestinian occupied territories. At the time Haaretz reported the investment committees “submit a report to their clients with recommendations about where to invest − and where not to invest. The process of examining the Israeli companies that operate in West Bank settlements involved the exercise of due diligence.”

From Haaretz:

According to the report that landed on the relevant desks here, a large number of those investment committees considered recommending to the banks to prohibit loans or aid of any kind to Israeli companies that operate in the West Bank − manufacturing there, selling their products, building homes and so forth − and also to Israeli banks that grant mortgages to home builders or buyers across the Green Line

Investment committees do not issue recommendations to boycott or sanction per se. They make prudent investment recommendations and in the case of Israel, a recommendation of this nature functions more as a warning to investors that profiting off the occupation, a business could become ensnared in being complicit and held legally responsible for crimes against international law.

Speaking of which, Palestine’s foreign minister Riad Malki visited the Hague today in his official capacity and submitted files to prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) charging Israeli with war crimes, the crime of apartheid, and other charges.

As an investor, it’s merely a matter of common sense not attaching your business to a potential minefield of liability.

Wait. Turning over more land? Look at a map of borders in 1966 then one of israels current version. Big fucking difference.

Not much better than fucking squatters.