The Olive Branch

SabaShimon Dave (or Dan), what is your vision of a "link" between Yehuda and Shomron, and Gaza? Overland raised bridge? Underground tunnel? A land corridor splitting Israel in two? There are many awful things that we have to deal with, not least that we are dealing with an entity on eithe...

Its almost a wonder that Saeb Erakat is still around, probably more a testament to his irrelevance that nobody could be bothered to bump him off from within.

This guy has the dubious distinction of making snake-oil salesmen appear truthful and honorable.

This article was printed up in the Thursday Sept 9 issue of the National Post, got front page coverage too. Its interesting how people change as they get older which is something that we are all aware of, it just tends to strike home more when we see it in world leaders or in people who have shaped ...

a Martian visitor might conclude that the obstacle to peace is Zionist resistance to a Palestinian state. For the enlightenment of Martians, it isn't. It's Arab/Muslim resistance to a Jewish state. A surprisingly frank comment in a national newspaper. "Palestinians must eliminate any doubt, on...

This analyst "gets it". to pick up a newspaper at random -- The Denver Post thinks Israel's decision on new settlements could "save or kill" the peace talks. Hello! If the Middle East conflict were about Jewish buildings in East Jerusalem, it would be tractable. It's intractable ...

George Jonas, National Post Anything is possible, including a Middle East peace agreement. It's possible, even though Israel's Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, says it isn't going to happen. Lieberman is probably right -- but it's possible. After all, the Holy Land is notoriously miracle-prone. ...

John Ivison, National Post OTTAWA -Perhaps it should be no surprise that the Palestinian Authority is unhappy with Canada's foreign policy in the Middle East. But it is a shock to hear a Canadian minister admit to a relationship that is anything less than cordial. Peter Kent, the Minister of State f...

Peter You talk of the Palestinian people being a fiction, you talk of us 'ceding' towns full of Palestinians as concessions, you speak of the possibility of holding onto all of Jerusalem of the idea that there will not need to be a link between gaza and the west bank and THEN you tell me that I am ...

why don't you just accept I am right and admit you don't really want peace anyway, because you would never get it - even if it were possible to be reached. Your non acceptance isn't really about the Palestinian violence, it is about your refusal to trade on ideological grounds. If you were complete...

If they demand concessions on the rights of the refugees or the 1967 borders, I will quit. I can’t allow myself to make even one concession-Abbas Start laying out the foundation for the forcible transfer out of Yesha and you'll see how fast he and hamas come running to the table. The last thing in ...

Peter. In my experiance it has always been true that understanding something was much better then not understanding it. Of course you may ignor the feelings of Palestinians and then decide for yourself what it is that motivates them and not reexamine your assumptions in light of evidence. This of c...

For some then it is not really about the Palestinian violence as the offer they give in return is to paltry to ever gain acceptance from the other side , and therefore the Palestinian violence is used as an excuse, a tactic I no longer wish to participate in. Arab terrorism impacts peace only in th...

Peter, we are of course on the same page. I do however feel that it is not correct to put aside the feelings of Palestinians that they have been wronged, even if we do know that most of the pain was self inflicted. The feelings of the palestinians aren't our problem especially since they have littl...

Dan, The first thing we have to get out of the way is that we are clearly on the same side of things even if we see different tactical sides of the issue. What I am trying to explain to you is that this ongoing "compensation of the refugees" is a roadblock to moving forward and nothing els...

I do not think that Israel should be led by the actions of these great democracies which could serve as guiding lights unto the nations..... Dan, Israel doesn't need to be a light unto the nations, she just has to exist for the paltry 15 million Jews in the world. We have enough tzures dealing with...

By the way I believe that the Jews of the Mahgreb deserve compensation as well. I don't believe anybody "deserves" compensation, nobody owes you anything in life, its what you can make out of it. This assumption that people can just sit on their collective ass's and wait for somebody to t...

There is only one question here. Did Israel mean to steal the lands of Palestinians? it did not. So they deserve compensation. Did these palestinian cought in a world they had little control over with lousy leadership and lousy institutions unable to act in their own interests intelligently deserve...

Yes...but I'm not familiar with the site and didn't go to check out what it was.

deja vu all over again and again...

An honorable solution would be one which will allow all refugees to start living their lives as equals somewhere on this earth. All these are legitimate concerns which should be addressed by a peace arrangement. With all due respect that is bullshit. There have been 75 million refugees since the 19...

Shana Tova to all

Similarly, King Abdullah did not travel to Washington because he really cares about the Palestinians and the peace process. He, too, has been facing increased pressure at home, especially from Jordanians who are worried about the Palestinian majority in their kingdom: calls for revoking the Jordani...

Essentially what I am trying to explain to you is that peace has nothing to do with palestinians, it really has nothing to do with ROR either and these are things that we need to put on the line and use to force their hand. I'm a proponent of the Province Plan and continue to be despite my comments ...

I believe that there exists a solution which the Palestinians will consider honorable and is also in the interest of Israel. Perhaps you are right and they do not want peace on any condition and they enjoy living in misery and at the permanent risk of war. In that cas the plan I described will not ...

What has to happen is some alternative to ROR which would justify a feeling among Arabs that the peace is honorable and that a just solution to the refugee issue had been obtained. Honorable???? Please, that is the last thing that is needed. Its what has brought us to this point, the Left keeps try...

As for Peter. I consider Milosevich the worst kind of criminal. When the enemy is deamonized and dehumanized, perhaps it is time to move back and try to understand how human beings act that way. Fine, except I don't see what Milosevic has to do with what I said. I didn't suggest or infer killing or...

The upshot is that removal is not a credible threat. However there is no need for that. The pain the Palestinians are suffering now and the threat of future wars should give enough motivation for peace. However this will work only if there is a credible path to peace. It is very much a credible thr...

UK Government Cabinet minutes 22nd February 1979. "5. THE FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH SECRETARY said that the most important consequence of the change of government in Iran was likely to be the eventual effect on the whole of the Middle East problem . Because of its internal preoccupations the ne...

However the demand for the ROR came about right after the war of independence when the Arabs were dreaming of the "second round". As time went on it became a sacred cow on its own "merit". It is unsleighable today as things stand because abandoning it would seem to Arabs like ab...

Happy Birthday Iva...

We'll all meet in Tel Aviv one day....together.

davebt, you're free to take out of context and judge however you want, you are also free to continue trying to ram home a point despite it being pointed out just how incorrect it is. You are free to moralize and feed some inner satisfaction or need to equivalize. Shimon is free to display his rage a...

I suggest less breast-beating, less expectations of sympathy...which wouldn't help matters anyhow.
The perpetrators need to be found and killed.

Oh please,
This one is to congratulate our Dr.Lynn, not to roast her.
We can save the skewering or attempted skewering for another thread.

Over here, for now...she is goddess and deservedly basking in glory.
Here's to Lynn.....

hmmm....Eve was bright enough to count Adam's ribs when he came home late....

This suggestion will be met with a rolling of the eyes and snickers, followed by"see I told you so"....those land grabbing Israelis blah blah....all on the basis of what a ludicrous idea it is to even consider a freeze on Arab construction. The mere suggestion of it is an impossibility, it...

I don't know what the position is today, the Yesha Council has been making all kinds of moves lately (years) to try and change their image including appointing a secular Dani Dayan...who has made inroads with the gov't by not being in your face. The reality, as opposed to the fiction in the media, i...

Spy vs Spy is still being created, though not by the original creator of the piece.
A Cuban who fled to America in 1960, Antonio Prohias brought Spy vs Spy with him and introduced the characters in MAD magazine in 1961.
Its 3rd or 4th generation cartoonists keeping it alive today.

whew..this sounds so familiar.. What's shocking is only how "natural" it is for Arabs to build while at the same time being "natural" for Jews not to in the eyes of so many. The attempt to "freeze" things in time goes only to a Jewish presence and not to Arab. By the wa...

Oy...our daughter the Doctor...
you make us so proud...

Mazal Tov Doctor Lynn

Hard to believe that bits and pieces of the truth like this, something we have been mentioning for years, is getting into mainstream newspapers now. I could be wrong, but it does appear that there is a general feeling of maybe "things aren't the way we think they are" backlash to Obama and...