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14.02.10

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Cohen ignores that historically settlements necessary condition for continued IDF deployments: Flaws in General Eiland's Alternatives, Prof. Stuart A. Cohen

Law and SocietyMiddle East

42 hours ago

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:
 
Stuart Cohen is hardly alone in suggesting that settlers be expelled from a given
area while the IDF remain because Israel needs the IDF to remain in the area.

But experience has demonstrated time and again that for a variety of
reasons - be it lack of will or something else - when Israeli civilians are
no longer in an area, the IDF is ultimately pulled from it.

Would it have been easier not having to devote IDF resources protecting
civilians in area "X"?

Perhaps.

But. Again. Is that really the relevant policy consideration?

Isn't the overarching policy consideration, if control of area "X" is vital
to Israeli interests, is how to insure that in a moment of weakness that the
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Haaretz spares English readers from seeing ideologically disappointing poll resu

Law and SocietyMiddle East

2 days ago

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA

So your Yossi Verter at Haaretz, just raring to go with a write up that is
going to use a simply devastating poll to attack those Neanderthals who
don't believe in the truth that he holds so dear - that he and all his
enlightened pals know is the absolute and incontrovertible truth (that if we
would just agree to withdraw to the '67 lines that there would be utopian
peace).

You already have prepared a some fantastic lines [in the Hebrew edition
version you can almost see the saliva dripping as he compared the Land of
Israel lobby to  "the heroes of Peter Pan.  It doesn't matter what the
diplomatic situation will be in the region, doesn't mater what is the policy
of their government, doesn't matter what the position is of their prime
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PM Netanyahu's Herzliya Conference Speech: Back From The PM Netanyahu's Herzliya

Law and SocietyMiddle East

4 days ago

Dr. Aaron Lerner                   Date: 4 February 2010

I know that one of my predecessors, Ariel Sharon, spoke from this podium
about disengagement.  Today I would like to speak not of disengagement, but
rather of engagement: engagement with our heritage, with Zionism, with our
past and with our future here in the land of our forefathers, which is also
the land of our children and our grandchildren.
. our existence depends. on our ability to explain the justness of our path
and demonstrate our affinity for our land - first to ourselves and then to
others.
.  Our purpose today is to reignite the flame, to introduce a new spirit
into the blaze of our lives and reconnect with this land - our land - the
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Abdullah Bristles As Palestine Fizzles

Law and SocietyMiddle East

5 days ago

King Abdullah with interviewer Fareed Zakaria

Jordan’s King Abdullah is clearly feeling the pressure as the spotlight increasingly focuses on the role Jordan will have to play in resolving the allocation of sovereignty in the West Bank between Jews and Arabs.

This became very clear in the interview given by the King to Fareed Zakaria, in Davos Switzerland during the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on 29 January. 

The two-state solution - designed to create a new Arab State between Israel, Jordan and Egypt in the West Bank and Gaza - has comprehensively failed despite the most intensive diplomatic efforts to achieve such an outcome during the last 17 years

The root cause of failure has been the Arab League’s refusal to budge from its 43 years old negotiating position that demands:
  1. the ceding by Israel of sovereignty in 100% of the West Bank and Gaza and
  2. Israel accepting millions of Arabs into the Jewish State
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[Poll: takes out the tunnels to Israel] IAF Strikes Targets in Gaza in Response

Law and SocietyMiddle East

6 days ago

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA

Israel has a constantly growing target bank of terror tunnels, used for the
infiltration of terrorists into Israel.  It is Israel's policy today not to
independently initiate any activity against this growing threat.


Telephone poll of a representative sample of 510 adult Israeli Jews by
Maagar Mohot Survey Institute (headed by Professor Yitzchak Katz) on 4-5
January 2010 (survey error of +/- 4.5 percentage) commissioned by
Independent Media Review & Analysis:

Question: The Palestinians continue to build tunnels between Gaza and
Israel, that could be used for attacks against Israeli civilians and
soldiers. What do you think should be done about this situation?
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Logic hiatus?: DM Barak: Israel should make deal with Syria to leave Golan beca

Law and SocietyMiddle East

6 days ago

Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA:

So here is the logic of  DM Ehud Barak - the military genius who opposed
buying submarines that could launch Jericho missiles because he didn't think
Israel needed a second strike capability:

#1.  "If the other side believes it is possible to bring down Israel...it
will prefer to do so"

#2.   "Just like the familiar reality in the Middle East, we will
immediately sit down [with Syria] after such a war and negotiate on the
exact same issues we have been discussing with them for the past 15 years."

Questions:

#1. And if, thanks to an Israeli withdrawal from the Golan, Syria "believes
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