For Israel and For Palestine; Bibi goes to Congress….by Jamil Shawwa

Everything Bibi Netanyahu of the State of Israel said in Congress yesterday came to no surprise to those that know that the ultimate strategic goal of the state of Israel is the establishment of a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank; he did it Bibi style.  He performed well, politicians must be performers, and must be smart public speakers, and must have the charisma to motivate their audience. The audience was very friendly, and the atmosphere was festive for Bibi to do his best. Bibi acknowledged publically and enthusiastically, in my opinion, the genuine desire of the majority of the Israeli people to have peace with their neighbors in the West Bank and Gaza, and with their extended neighbors in the Arab and Muslim countries, Bibi acknowledged- correctly- that Jerusalem will not be divided; it will not, Jerusalem will be shared by both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Bibi talked about the Palestinian style of missed opportunities, and he was right, so it is up to the Palestinians to think of changing style, see, maybe it will work. Basically, Bibi gave advices, and if you listen and watch the speech again, the road map is already there, the car is already there, the passengers are in the car, the tank is full and the car is ready to move, the drivers to the destination can help each other, the car has two drivers, but once it reaches it’s destination, each driver will have their own car. The borders will be drawn but will be open, political parties will be established and will play the game of politics. He acted and represented his country, the State of Israel, and he spoke on behalf of those who elected him. No one expected Bibi to talk on behalf of the Palestinians, he should not, the Palestinians need to have their own, leaders like him, who cares about their country, and who strongly and enthusiastically represent the views of the people that entrust them and choose them for such responsibility. See, the Palestinians have a political model in Bibi and actually other Israeli leaders; the model is that when you are elected, you are powerful, even if you have different parties and different point of views. You are the head of the state- in Israel, the prime minster is the executive, and the president is a ceremonial post- although the influence of the president has varied through out the history of the state starting with the first president, Haim Weisman, until now with Shimon Peres playing the elder statesman role very positively for his people. For generations the Arabs and the Palestinians expected the Israelis to succumb to their demands, why should they, the Arabs rejected them since 1947, why should the Israelis hand to the Palestinians on a silver platter what the Palestinians are asking for, I personally would have made the Palestinians work for it, and this is what Israel, the US and the world are doing; make the Palestinians appreciate this historic opportunity to have their own homeland side by side of the State of Israel. The Palestinians need to help themselves first, need to clean their house, and need to get their act together, and need to hold elections, and need to have a national referendum, maybe, on how to proceed and need to have clear answers to the refugees issues, and Jerusalem and need to create a goal and a political agenda, and finally, need to act like business people; in business- as I once read in a magazine- you do not necessarily get what you think that you deserve, but you get what you negotiate. People who want to see a Palestinian state do not send suicide bombers, do not fire rockets across the border at a neighboring state and do not talk about the right or not of this country or that to exist. The State of Israel is not a Palestinian business, the Palestinian business is the West Bank and Gaza; shift the focus inward, and you will have your state.

The Art Of Political Bluntness; Bibi’s style..By Jamil Shawwa

Many were shocked at the way, style and words of Bibi Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister during his meeting with the US president in the Oval Office couple of days ago. The range of the reaction has varied from describing him as obnoxious, to just describing him as being frank, honest and straightforward. Bibi Netanyahu was blunt but this is the style of the political school that he was raised in, the school of Menahem Begin, Yitzchak Shamir, and Ariel Sharon. Some also said that Bibi is influenced to a large degree by his father that is considered an ultra conservative in Israeli politics, and that Bibi was raised on hard line politics when it comes to peace with the Palestinians. Bibi also carries the burden of his brother, Col. Netanyahu, who was killed while leading the rescue operation of the Air France plane hijacked to Entebbe, Uganda in 1976. Also he has a deep rooted sense of responsibility to ensure that the people of Israel are protected and secure in an area that is technically still hostile to them. In addition, if we go a little more back in history, it is the school of Ze'ev Jabotinsky, the revered political leader in the beginning of the last century that inspired many leaders from the right in Israel. Having said the above does not mean that Bibi rejects a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza, he does not, and he knows that it is coming and that the final solution will be a two state solution. Menahem Begin, before Bibi, swore many times by his mother’s grave that he will never withdraw from Sinai and that he will never dismantle Yamit, the main settlement in Sinai, Begin did both. Ariel Sharon did the same before withdrawing from Gaza in 2005.  What people expect Bibi to do is what Bibi is doing right now, which is to be a hard liner and to sound tough and to be adamant in regard to certain concessions in the West Bank or the withdrawal to the 1967 lines. It is an art, it is politics, and it is mainly rhetoric that analysts and observers know that it does not mean much. If Bibi did not talk the way he talked to Obama, people would have thought that there is something wrong with Bibi, so he must rise to the occasion, and he must rise to the expectations of the right and the conservatives and the religious leaders in the State of Israel.  Bibi could be very well the Israeli leader that will sign the declaration of independence of the state of Palestine in Gaza and the West Bank. The conservatives have done it before and they are the ones most capable- or have the power and the confidence of the Israeli people, according to many- to handle a revolution that the ultra religious might stage once the painful process, to many Israelis, of the withdrawal from the West Bank starts, and once the more painful process for many Israeli starts, which is having to share the city of Jerusalem. There is no country in the Middle East that deserves to exist more than the State of Israel, and there is no country in the Middle East that deserves to exist more than the State of Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza.

For Israel and For Palestine, The Obama Speech by Jamil Shawwa

The president in his Middle Eastern speech tonight restated the declared and the ongoing US policy and strategy in the Middle East which includes the establishment of a Palestinian State in the West Bank and Gaza within the 1967 borders; all agree on this one. The differences are on certain technicalities that can be resolved if there is a political will to move forward and to stop the bickering, the haggle and the rhetoric about this and that from all parties. We need to look at the big picture, it is not only that geographic area that consists of Israel, and the West Bank and Gaza, but it is the surrounding Arab countries and beyond that to the Islamic countries. It is the new Middle East and the end of the dysfunctional Arab League and the establishment of a viable Middle Eastern organization or union, maybe, similar to the EU that will have Israel and Palestine as prime members. It is time as well for Israel and Palestine to compete within their continent; Asia, for world sports, no need for Israel to compete with the Europeans- Israel is a Middle Eastern/Asian country. Basically, peace means peace, and means historic and larger view of the region than just looking at Israel and Palestine. Israel will withdraw from the West Bank and will recognize Jerusalem as capital for both states, an open city, but must have the rest- Arab and Islamic countries- do the same with Israel, recognize, establish peace and normalization. The Palestinians need to have a strong elected parliament and leadership that can embrace the only way to achieve the state which is the negotiations with the State of Israel. It is there, and it has been there for generations but the political blindness, the hypocrisy and following the Arab discredited regimes, lack of vision and confidence and the lack of determination to keep the eye on the prize which is statehood side by side with the State of Israel and Jerusalem as an open city and capital for both states, have made the case for the Palestinians ridiculous; if they cannot help themselves, who will, and why should anyone help those that are not willing to help themselves.

It is time now for the Palestinians to know that Palestine is and only the West Bank and Gaza Strip, there is nothing else called Palestine beyond Gaza and the West Bank. There is a next door neighbor called the State of Israel.

The Ultimate Terrorist Killed....The Demise of Bin Laden and a Word to the Palestinians...by Jamil Shawwa

The ultimate terrorist has met his destiny; a destiny he wrote with blood and murders. Today, I have a message to those lowlifes in Gaza- the Hamas organization and its idiot, Ismail Haniya- shame on you praising the ultimate terrorist, Gaza needs to put those "mini terrorists" and pretenders in the garbage cans now. The Palestinians need to start living like humans, need to be smart, enough of your sickening pretentious, and enough of your stupid hypocrisy, enough of allowing the criminals of Hamas and other so called organizations to manipulate you. Refuse to be mouthpieces to those semi humans, rise and reclaim your shredded dignity and kick them out once and for all. The choice is yours, go now to the streets of Gaza and kick them out and kick out any of your leaders who continue to manipulate you in the name of the Palestinian cause. The path is clear and the road to a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank is clear, as long as you have the right map and the right flash light so you can differentiate the evil from the good. Actually, you know who is who; the problem is the stupidity of not taking action.