ISRAPUNDIT, 10/22/05
Don’t Mess With Texas
Gerald A. Honigman
Some statistics to keep in mind before we begin:
Texas covers about 268,000 square miles
Israel covers about 8,000 square miles.
About 34 Israels fit inside of Texas.
The almost two dozen nations which make up the “Arab World” cover over 6,000,000 square miles of territory–land mostly conquered and forcibly Arabized in the name of the Arab nation and/or the Dar ul-Islam from mostly non-Arab peoples.
Abu Mazen came a callin’ the other day.
The Holocaust denyin’, sweet-talkin’ Arafatian in a suit and darlin’ of the West, Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, came to visit Dubya and to demand yet more one-sided concessions from the Jews. He’s got them on the run, ya know…Lebanon, Gaza and all that. Strike while the iron’s hot (and the Jews can’t seem to muster the backbone to do what must be done regardless of whose hypocritical feathers get ruffled)!
A number of years before Dubya became President, he allegedly commented that some Texas driveways were longer than the width of Israel at its waist, where most of its population and industry are located.
Boy, does he need to remember this!
Not long ago I heard a catchy tune and pride of my Houston friends, Don’t Mess With Texas. This saying has become like an oath, second only to the Pledge of Allegiance in the Lone Star State. Soon afterwards, three more young Israelis were deliberately murdered by the bad cop half of the Arab good cop/bad cop team operating against the Jews.
Dubya’s buddy, Abbas, gave the standard empty condemnation for Western consumption: He’s against this sort of thing–for now at least, with Israel in retreat and constantly caving into pressure from others who have conquered and acquired lands far and wide in the name of their own nations’ security interests–because the timing is bad and it may hurt the Arab demand to create a second, not first, state for themselves in “Palestine.” Bad press, and all that stuff. Never do we hear from any of these folks (the alleged “moderates,” mind you) that it is morally wrong to kill innocent Jews. And for good reason…
In Arab eyes, no Israeli Jew is innocent. They who have conquered and continue to conquer scores of millions of non-Arab peoples and their lands–Kurds, Berbers, Black Africans, Copts, Jews, Assyrians, Semitic but pre-Arab Lebanese, and so forth–simply see the Jewish babe that they disembowel as an occupier of “purely Arab land.”
Read the above sentence carefully, dear reader, for it sums up the Arab-Israeli conflict in a nutshell.
Movin’ on…
All of this–the song, the latest atrocity, and so forth–got me to thinkin’.
What would the Don’t Mess With Texas crew do if faced with what the Jews have to deal with on a daily basis?
I mean, I’m at least a fourth generation red-blooded American boy too, but a few facts need to be considered here.
Texas, after all, was conquered from Mexico as part of a drive by America to further its own “Manifest Destiny.”
Might made right.
And, unlike Jews with thousands of years of history and land ownership in the disputed territories now in question, Texans had no prior connection to the land they grabbed from Mexico.
The Alamo was no Masada.
This is an important point, but readers, who probably know something about the Alamo, will have to search themselves about Masada on the internet or elsewhere. The story of the Jews’ heroic stand for freedom against their Roman conquerors–documented by the contemporary Roman-sponsored historians themselves–demands more than just the few lines I can give it here.
Imagine, please, what a Governor Bush’s reaction would have been (or a President Bush’s after 9/11) if Texan kids were deliberately gunned down in their schools, blown apart on buses, at night clubs, or eating pizza with their friends, and such. Better yet, what would Dubya’s reaction be, G-d forbid, if the young women recently murdered waiting for a ride were his own daughters instead? Would he try his best to prevent this from happening again? Would he worry about any “inconveniences” he may cause to an enemy population deliberately targeting his people and who rejected Texas’ very right to exist–regardless of its size? Would Dubya listen to others who demanded that he do nothing, or at least nothing meaningful, to stop the barbarism? Do I even need to ask such questions?
Yet the President has recently told the Jews that their moves to prevent this sort of thing from happening again to their own kids must come to a halt. Checkpoints, detours, and such–that America has in place in Iraq–cause too much “inconvenience” for Abbas’ folks. That evidently is more important than saving Jewish lives. Not to mention the fact that without the terror, there would be none of these “inconveniences.”
Hey, did ya’ll know that there’s a big fence out West keepin’ Mexicans from crossing the border mostly just to find jobs? But Dubya–Israel’s alleged best friend–demands that any such thing the Jews erect to keep Arab jihadists at bay be rendered virtually useless at the most sensitive locations. Instead of allowing for the needed buffer, Israel is being forced to cling to the ’49 Auschwitz/armistice lines. It’s main airport, for example, Ben Gurion, is thus left exposed and vulnerable.
The President knows full well that U.N. Security Council Resolution 242–which supposedly forms the basis for any future peace making–does not demand that Israel return to its vulnerable, pre-’67, 9-mile wide armistice line existence. Indeed, it calls for the creation of “secure and recognized borders” to replace that earlier travesty imposed upon the Jews. Back in April 2004 he publicly acknowledged this himself. But, what a difference the past year has made…especially since his reelection. Now, instead, he, along with Condi, demand that the second state for Arabs to be created in Palestine (Arab state #22) be no bantustan, have contiguity, and the like. What this means for an Israel that one already needs a magnifying glass to find on a map of the world is apparently of no consequence.
Recall that, regarding those armistice lines, as would become the routine, the U.N. stood by and did nothing when a half dozen Arab armies invaded a reborn, miniscule Israel in 1948. Only when the Jews turned the tide did the U.N. step in…to limit Arab losses, not to halt their aggression. Armistice lines (marking the point where hostilities ceased)–not borders–were then set before Israel could advance any further.
Judea and Samaria–only in the past century, due to British imperialism and “Transjordan’s” land grab in ’48 known as the “West Bank”–were non-apportioned areas of the original Mandate for Palestine that Britain received on April 25, 1920, after the Paris Peace Conference ending World War I. The non-Arab Turks–who controlled much of the region for over four centuries–chose the wrong side during the war and saw what was left of their over-extended empire carved up as a result.
As leading experts like Eugene Rostow (one of 242’s architects) have pointed out, Jews, Arabs, and others were entitled to live in these non-apportioned lands. Indeed, as I’ve often written before but which necessarily–for the sake of new readers–has to be repeated anyway, the League Of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission and other sources documented that many, if not most, so-called native Palestinians came from elsewhere themselves during the Mandatory period.
Indeed, when the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) was set up exclusively to deal with Arab refugees created as a result of the war their own brethren started in 1948 (while there was no such U.N. help for a like number of Jews from “Arab” lands who were forced to flee as well), the very definition of the word refugee had to be modified to accommodate all of the new Arab settlers.
Recall also (another fact that must be repeated, like it or not) that “purely Arab” Transjordan was itself created in 1922 from 80%–the lion’s share–of the original 1920 Mandate of Palestine. As no Jews were allowed to live in what became known as, after 1948, “Jordan” (since it now held both the east and west banks of the Jordan River), only Arabs were subsequently able to take up residence. Prior to this, Jews had been slaughtered there earlier in the Mandatory period.
But, enough of the past…
Back to the present, Dubya now needs to regain the moral high ground he assumed back in April 2004 when, standing across from Israeli Prime Minister Sharon, he uttered simple yet magical words…the key to any real peace between Arab and Jew in the Middle East.
Dubya stated, before millions watching him on television, the two key ingredients for such a recipe:
Israel should not be expected to return to the indefensible armistice lines of 1949 (and he called them just that, not “borders”), and real and fudged Arab refugees would have to go to the proposed new Arab state, not overwhelm the Jews in what was left of Israel. Again, half of Israel’s Jews were refugees from Arab/Muslim lands–but without the almost two dozen states that Arabs already have to call their own.
Einstein was not needed to concoct such a recipe.
But Arabs have long been given reason, via the world’s actions, to hope that Israel would yet become an updated Czechoslovakia with the West Bank serving as its Sudetenland. All that was missing was a resurrected Chamberlain to allow for another Munich-type sellout to achieve “peace.”
President Bush’s April 2004 words, as simple as they were, remain the necessary magical ingredients to end this conflict.
Unfortunately, as we have seen, they apparently proved to be fleeting.
No sooner than they were spoken, the Foggy Folks began to water them down.
No surprise here. The State Department fought President Truman over the very rebirth of Israel more than a half century earlier.
That Dubya, himself, has backtracked on this as well over the past year, however, is a far more serious–if not totally unexpected–development.
“Born Again” or not, Dubya’s family, after all, has considerable ties to Arab petrodollars, and close family friend, James Baker, Bush the First’s Secretary of State, is notorious for his Jew-hatred as well as his anti-Zionism.
Baker is famous for his “_ _ _ _ the Jews, they don’t vote for us anyway ” comments; speaking of his “Jew Boys” working for the State Department; referring to Israel as a turkey that needed to be carefully stalked; has his own law firm representing the Saudis in this country; and other such goodies. Not long ago, Dubya made him his Special Middle East Envoy. This can’t be good news for anyone who cares about Israel getting a fair hearing. Remember, Dubya can’t run for reelection and doesn’t need millions of Evangelical voters again any time soon.
Bush’s apparent flip flop seems to have coincided with the onset of America’s Iraqi prison problems.
After the scandal erupted, this–added to an already increased overall level of Arab animosity surfacing regarding America’s invasion of Iraq, the Arab-Israeli conflict, etc.–led the Foggy Folks to quickly search for additional ways to appease the Arabs. The Jew of the Nations has always been their favorite sacrificial lamb in these regards.
Puff…
Gone, apparently in an instant, was the magic of April, vintage 2004.
As we have seen, both State and the President himself have since made statements which basically retracted much of what Dubya had said standing across from Prime Minister Sharon two Aprils earlier.
But consider, please, what this all says to Israel…
At the first sign of problems, its best friend, America, is all too willing to retract its support for what all other nations would naturally expect…the right to protect itself from an alleged “peace” that is really designed to bring about its very destruction.
Remember that the alleged “moderate” Arafatians in suits still insist that they will never recognize a Jewish Israel and declare that a 9-mile wide Israel must consent to being overwhelmed by millions of jihadist-raised, allegedly “returning” Arab refugees. This would all be funny if it wasn’t deadly. And if Arabs didn’t have America now assisting them in forcing the Jews to cave in.
Trying to look at all of this as optimistically as possible (not really my nature, however), and despite his recent mess-ups in these regards, President Bush still has time to make this right.
The basic ingredients of the recipe for peace are what they are. They will not change.
It’s still a matter not of how big Israel is that causes Arabs grief–but that Israel is.
And the Arabs are quite open about all of this, as a visit to all of their official websites, maps, textbooks, media outlets, mosques, and such illustrate.
The most that even the so-called “moderates” offer Jews for the latter’s giving away the entire store is a temporary hudna, not peace (despite what the President tries to claim for them), with the Jewish State. Furthermore, they call all negotiations with the Jews merely a Trojan Horse designed to bring about their own updated version of the “Final Solution.”
In a world in which perfect justice is non-existent among the realm of man, relative justice demands that if Arabs ever expect to get anything meaningful regarding that additional state they insist upon, they will have to come to understand that others, besides themselves, also have a right to a bit of justice in the region. When they do this, they will find an Israel forthcoming in its willingness to meet them far more than half way. But, in the meantime, America (and given certain “realities” at the State Department, this means the American President) must also demand no less.
The time for America forcing repeatedly unilateral, dangerous, and concrete concessions from Jews in return for mere sweet-talk from those who still plan their destruction must come to an end.
Posted by Ted Belman at October 22, 2005 05:20 PM
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Comments
1. BobW said:
Gerald A. Honigman is approaching the apex of Jewish political writers. Always look forward to reading his articles.
I know he lost getting his PhD because of his support for Israel. Had initially wondered why Jewish educators did not establish an independent institute free of the restrictions and traps such as experienced by Honigman. RAND Corp first started off with only a small PhD program. No longer do I wonder about all these things because the sell out is easy to witness.
The article mentions Eugene Rostow, “(one of 242’s architects)”. Eugene Rostow was Jewish. The original family name was Rostov, who had emigrated from Russia.
It was the brother Walt Rostow, who was more famous. He was a close political advisor to both JFK and LBJ. It is generally believed that Walt Whitman is the author of the expression “The New Frontier”. The Brits awarded him an OBE for his wartime service. He left Washington, D.C. to teach at the LBJ School, Univ of Texas. He died in Texas a couple of years ago.
Also mentioned was the Alamo. Abraham Wolf, a Jew, was killed in the famous battle.
When Texas was an independent Republic under Sam Houston, a key diplomat was Henry Castro, Consul General To France. He was Jewish. The surgeon who accompanies Gen Sam Houston during their war was Moses Albert Levy.
Many Texas cities have Jewish sounding names. There’s a reason for this.
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on October 23, 2005 09:09 AM
2. georg von mecklenburg said:
All of my American relatives almost to the person have committed themselves to bolt from the Republican Party and either vote for another candidate or not vote at all. All of my American relations are not Jews, but they are sick of the way Mr. Bush has handed Israel over to the Palestinian Terrorists. My Southern relations some of whom have been residents of the USA since its founding have sworn to never vote for anyone who is favored by Mr. Bush and his crowd.
Posted by: georg von mecklenburg on October 23, 2005 10:33 AM
3. Bill Narvey said:
Georg, for those in America, be they Jew or non-Jew, who support a strong Israel and who see no prospect for peace with the Palestinians because of their implacable Jew hatred and refusal to give up their agenda of destroying Israel, G.W. Bush’s waning support for Israel is indeed troubling.
It is noteworthy however that the snivelling, whining and demanding Abbas was sent packing by Bush with no goodies for his basket of wishes.
It is too early to think that this necessarily connotes Bush once again leaning more towards Israel as opposed to leaning more on Israel. The ensuing weeks and statements by Bush and C. Rice will tell us just what Bush disappointing Abbas really means.
You have like me probably read the views of quite a number of Americans who have denounced Bush for this and claim they will not vote for him again though that point is moot since Bush will not be running again. One can take it to mean that these disgruntled Americans will not vote Republican again, assuming the next presidential candidate from Republican ranks appears to be as soft on Palestinians and tough on Israel as Bush has been over the past year.
You may have noted that these Americans do not say they are going to vote for the Democrats.
On the issue of American support for Israel, if one considers the musings of John Kerry and Hillary Clinton to name a few about the importance of working in tandem with other Western nations and in particular Europe which is anti-American and for the most part no friends of Israel, I can see the Democrats selling Israel out for the allied consensus it seeks far faster than the Republicans.
In the next presidential election, unless the presidential candidate from either party gives clear and unequivocal support for Israel’s need for secure defensible borders, for Israel to remain strong in order to balance not just the forces of the Palestinians, but the entire Arab world that stands behind the Palestinians and further unless the candidate makes clear that the Palestinian Jew hatred and their steadfast agenda of destroying Israel by inches with the world’s blessing are bull shit and will no longer be humored or tolerated, Americans who care about Israel are going to be faced with the difficulty of making the best choice out of two bad choices.
Posted by: Bill Narvey on October 23, 2005 11:58 AM