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.