Thank you, Eli Yishai, for exposing the peace process masquerade

..... Your understanding of world politics is bordering on total ignorance, and the result is that you will eventually be almost solely responsible in turning away the few alliances that we are still able to muster for our cause to survive here as a Jewish entity, alongside our neighbors. Your party's business should focus on your constituents and their fate as equal citizens in this land, not by offering them second rate housing projects in the heartland of Palestinian and Israeli Arab heavily populated centers. However, I increasingly find that Shas in particular, as well as most religiously motivated political movements, have cut insincerity down to a fine art. I have become totally and utterly convinced that you are out to sabotage our presence in this land, without of course bearing the consequences, or for that matter, paying the price by at least significantly increasing the numbers of military recruits from your ranks. I expect no reply from you for the reasons stated above. I write to you in English with the explicit purpose of disseminating this letter after you have received it and offering you the opportunity to debate my severe allegations.

Text of a letter sent to the Minister the morning after - needless to say that a response is much to hope for - Yesterday's diplomatic fiasco of which you were the culprit, has finally brought me to the point where I can take no more of the shenanigans that you and many of your party members of the Knesset have been up to ever since you have existed as a political entity. Your construction declaration of yesterday was an irresponsible, conniving, undermining and severely damaging act, that could be seen as the direct cause of eventual casualties resulting from the new waves of violence that you and the likes of you are cultivating in this part of the world. Continued in next response......

Isrealis have become wimps, and will lose their nation iot you continue to allow people like Levy and his Fellow Travellers to give voice to such vile and traitorous thinking. There are just too many self-hating, fascist Jews in the world today. It's simply hard to imagine. This portends for an ominous future for all Jews. Wake up Isreal and world Jewry! The ideology of facist Jews is in sync with the fellow travellers in Europe and the Islamic world. Just remember all those Jews who loved their German neigbors not too long ago.

The ICJ, every country in the world, and even the Israeli Supreme Court have said that the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem and Golan are occupied by Israel. What is the point in your denying this fact? The international courts and governments have also said, many, many times that GC4, Art. 49, last sentence, clearly means that all Israeli settlements in these areas are illegal. What makes you think that your opinion is better than theirs?

It's Jordanian land that Jordan abandoned and does not seek to claim. Hence it does not satisfy any definition of occupied territory. And even under the nonsensical notion that it is, international law only stipulates that forced transfer of population is prohibited. It does not under any circumstance prohibit private individuals from building if they so choose.

however, we've been coexisting for centuries in the Middle East with Muslims and Christians, so why shouldn't this coexistence continue if the Palestinians want to signify their capital city (not necessarily their religious capital because Mecca is their holiest site) also to be part of Jerusalem? The majority of Palestinians in Jerusalem live in the east part and outskirts. Are we not living in a different era and Jews could now have access to the Eastern part of Jerusalem anyways?

Recently some Turkish diplomat was insulted, almost nobody was interested in that, I don't remember his name either. Former German foreign minister Steinmeier got to hear from Netanyahu the Westbank wouldn't be "judenrein". Now Biden's glamourous evening was spoiled. Let's not care about such "humiliated" politicians. Israel is run by adult men, secret service and military intelligence work well: they know what they do. There's no need to believe they hope for the love of some Europeans or Americans. The anti-jewish reality is proponderant and won't change in one or two years and Israel's rulers know that. They can give a fuck on a formerly pro-Israeli, now disappointed minority like they give a fuck on Palestinian subsistance. They even give a fuck on Jews who are not pro-Israeli as Israel would like them to be: remember that "lost Jew" campaign. Israelis may want freedom. Maybe they believe they can do without us. Whether we criticise or support them, they stick to their own designs

Jerusalem is the holy city for Jews, Moslems and Christians.But it was originally the holy city solely of the Jews. Before 1967 Christians had very limited access to the the holy sites. Jews had none. Jerusalem today is an open city to all...of any religion.

Israel never agreed to a freeze in Jerusalem. If the Palestinians wish to negotiate later when there are many more Jews living in east Jerusalem that is worse for them. Why does Levy never tire of attacking Israel and taking the side of our enemies.

Embarrasing the US Vice President Biden. First they gave him a framed photo of his mother that someone had stepped on and behind the shattered glas she didn't look the same and nor do Israel from the days before Anslusch, Lebensraum, barbed wired fences, camp guards with German Alsatians, torture, nightly mass arrest etc etc etc etc etc etc etc.one wonders what Mrs Biden would have felt today, about Israel.

Saudi Arabia never pretended to be a democracy - It's a kingdom with all the autocracy that comes with it. Israel should drop the democracy charade, the world won't be so hard on its murderous thieving ways then. A ruthless kingdom for Jews - won by war and kept till eternity by war. But Israelis want it all ways, to have the place be for Jews - but most don't practice, to be democratic - as long as you're not Arab, ethiopian, bedouin etc. and moral - as long as the world doesn't count massacres of Arabs every odd year. Israel will declare itself the Barbaric Kingdom or make peace but won't walk the fence for much longer. There are many including European governments who itch for a cleansing war, one in which even the winner won't have an inch of infrastructure left intact - after which they get to right past mistakes and start from scratch. That's why you don't see many of them seriously holding back Israel's attack on Iran. The Gods may weep, but time to let it rip!

Why so many people wonder when all is crystal clear. We have lived for quite some time, or to be exact since the 1967 war, in a purely nationalistic-theocratic-democratic republic. All steps toward arrangement with our neighbours are conroled and limited by the ultranationalistic lobby, by the various ethnological parties(such as exsoviets, Sepharadis religious party etc) the different rabbinical obediances hareddis and hassidc ones, and some those who represent the remaining of the original movements who preached liberty, equality and fraternity in the prestate era and the few years that that followed independance.So there is no solution to our existential problem unless people wake up and dicover that fascist ultra nationalism is wrong, that religion only can't solve the national problem, that the rabbi could and should limt his authority to pure religious problems, that under the ethnological cover are real and different problem to treat that got nothing to do with being russian

Jerusaleum = Ramat Shlomo = Israel Not Negotiable whether the PA, Biden, Obama or the Israeli left do like it or not. As Bugs Bunny used to say "THATS ALL FOLKS"

It's a scary thing to read a Gideon Levy article... and agree with every sarcastic word. It actually puts a perspective on things. A chilling perspective... but hey, I guess realism isn't known for separating us from illusion for nothing. So onward to delusion y'all. Abbas will come back to negotiate anyway. And Biden and the US administration aren't reshuffling their priorities. Indeed... onward to the trivial dream of peace once again. Let's just continue to believe everything is okay. Yeah... all these problems are in our head. It's not like someone has snatched something... and painted it red.

Because it's Jewish. And why the world supports the Muslims in this? Because Jerusalem is Jewish In other words,there would be no big fuss about Jerusalem if it wasn't Jewish. After all,there's no fuss about Mecca or Medina,because no Jews are allowed there.....

Californian writes "Building kindergartens and flats on abandoned Jordanian land does not an obstacle to peace make." After the horrors of WWII, the countries of the world decided to outlaw colonising occupied territories. They all agreed that building kindergartens and flats in someone else's country was a huge obstacle to peace. So they drew up the Fourth Geneva Convention, which banned the practice. And every country, including Israel, signed up to that. But hey, you know better, don't you?

Jerusalem is mentioned over 600 times in the Torah. 0 times in the Koran. Jews pray toward Jerusalem three times a day. Palestinians pray toward Mecca with their dirty, hairy, sandy Arab assholes toward Jerusalem. You want us to give half of Jerusalem? Fine, give us half of Mecca. Otherwise, at least fight us like men, you terrorists...

MK Yishai deserves our greatest praise for making sure Arabs don't get their hands on our land and I am sure that mk yishai would make a deal that Israel wont take over mecca if the world leaves Jerusalem the undivided capitol of Israel

This latest Israeli move may well be seen in the future as the turning point in the death of a democratic country, and the start of the Jewish Taliban state of Israel.

Ierushalaim on the bayonets of 3rd motorized. Your praetorians murdered our mothers 2000 years ago and you are calling them back in... as if you do not know how much heart they have for our nation. I guess nothing can replace a warm and fuzzy interest on shares held somewhere... not in homeland. I am not questioning your patriotism, not for a moment. What I question is your grasp of metal stamina and our nation history. You are leading us into the same trap we already went through once. Our only way is to remove our nation from strategic "alliance" with super powers and seek own path into the future. The Arabs are not our enemy, even though they were killing our nation for the past 60 years. And we shell not allow our true enemies to walk amongst ourselves as if the blood they draw belongs to chimanzee on Kalahary, hoping "God! not me, someone else's Gilad... PLEASE!!!"

I appreciated Gideon's commentary supporting Barack Obama in the beginning of his term because it gave us a sense of hope that peace would some day come. His more recent pieces have been characterized by extreme self-loathing and borderline anti-Semitism. Yes, the decision to re-employ settlements was heartbreaking and will certainly set back the peace process but Eli Yishai does not speak for all of Israel or all Jews for that matter. He was able to attain influence through the formation of the current right-wing coalition which will hopefully fall soon. It is a shame that Tzipi Livni was unable to form her government in late 2008, but to be honest the peace process will be futile anyways. We need to look for structural changes that can adjust the perceptions of both Israelis and Pals away from mutual distrust and hatred.

I appreciated Gideon's commentary supporting Barack Obama in the beginning of his term because it gave us a sense of hope that peace would some day come. His more recent pieces have been characterized by extreme self-loathing and borderline anti-Semitism. Yes, the decision to re-employ settlements was heartbreaking and will certainly set back the peace process but Eli Yishai does not speak for all of Israel or all Jews for that matter. He was able to attain influence through the formation of the current right-wing coalition which will hopefully fall soon. It is a shame that Tzipi Livni was unable to form her government in late 2008, but to be honest the peace process will be futile anyways. We need to look for structural changes that can adjust the perceptions of both Israelis and Pals away from mutual distrust and hatred.

Gideon Levy is the reason why Haaretz is #1. The first two paragraphs are crazy. One thing is certain, there is a tremendous freedom of the press in Israel, no question. Israeli politics is the best in the world. There is more action in one month than a year in my country!

and murder of hapless fleeing Zimbabweans,corruption and cronyism.

So..? dear Arnold. If he Palestinians and Arabs neglected Jerusalem, would that give you the right to occupy and take it by force.? Again, suppose you happen to mistreat your children for example, would that entitle me to steal them and include them withing my family..?

described by the "Haaretz" totay . Yossi Melman mentioned Finkelstein quoted by the site as an "authority on Jews".Levy sounds as their authority on Israel,filled with hatred to the state. "Scoundrel Yishai" done less damage to the state than the scoundrel Rabin and certainly less than Levy.

Gideon Levy wants Israel to make one-sided concessions to the arabs and to the pals in particular.Gideon Levy never even criticised the pals for wanting to name one of their Ramallah squares after a female suicide bomber, who massacred 35 Israeli civilians. Gideon Levy is very happy with Israel democracy, which he constantly takes advantage of.If he lived in any arab territory and spoke like that, he knows very well they'd hand him for treason.I am not saying that Gideon Levy is a traitor.I'm saying that it's time for Gideon Levy to show a little love for Israel, instead of constantly bashing it.Or maybe Godeon Levy's ego and pay checks are preventing him from doing so?

Great article which frankly talks about Israel's true face. I am a huge friend of Israel, however looking at the Zionist state's action, I honestly feel they don't want and deserve peace.

Israel has every right to build in Jerusalem. Gideon needs to stop making a living off hating and be a journalist.

The unification of Jerusalem is declared only by Israeli "law". It has never been accepted by the international law. There is a little minority of the UN nations which have not been against the unification. But as you surely know, the UN declarations mean almost nothing to Israel.

This was a plan that was started when olmert was mayor eight years ago and advanced during rice's visit in 2008. Rice was asked about it meeting with livni. Kadima's hypocrisy here is breathtaking. Bibi has stopped all new projects and he is paying the price for kadima's projects while kadima benefits. The double standards from the media in how they reported the 2008 incident is awful. Worst is same thing happened to livni and she bashes bibi. Same thing with livni where she lied and the eu froze relations with israel during the gaza war but when she left office she turned around and blamed bibi. The most scary thing I have learned from this is livni could be the next PM and she doesn't have an honest bone in her body.

Most of Israel's citizens born after 1967 don't know the difference between the disenfranchised Arab residents of the territories Israel conquered in the Six Day War and Israel's Arab citizens. As a result, 50% of them think Arabs should not have the vote in Israel. This fading out of lines and limits has been a long process. Israel was founded as a secular state, on the basis of a biblical right to this area. In itself, not a disaster but in its attitude to the people already living here, a catastrophe. The result is never going to equal democracy unless those people's rights are guaranteed too. The way this is done depends on Israel at the moment. Israel has to urgently analyze what it aspires to be. If this results in a religious state, so be it. There's another not so far away from us called Saudi Arabia and yet another called Iran. If it wants to be a democracy, it has to make concessions that will see most of the areas that are holy to Judaism in Palestine.

".....After all, time heals all wounds. The Americans will soon forgive, the Palestinians will have no choice, and once again everyone will stand ceremoniously on the platform and the process will be "jump-started" again - despite everything that the sole enemy of peace around here....." And just don't forget...... Sanctions.....against...... Iran are looming.

Gideon Levy, you usually fly too far to the post- Zionist left of my personal radar to be picked up but this time you hit the nail squarely on the head. The myopic focus on "timing" in this fiasco begs the question concerning core policies and mercilessly exposes the knee-jerk blinkered view of 99% of the local media.

peace and 'build baby build ( quote from talkbacker Petra) I know what it will choose! Do you? ;-)

on this. It was NOT cleared with the PM.!

Either Jerusalem is the undivided capital of Israel, or it isn`t.

and that's a good thing. It's been heavy on our necks. Now it's obvious to everyone so another link or two is gone. Soon WE will be free. I'm talking about America of course. Not sure what will happen to Palestinians.

for making it so obvious that even a slick 'isreal firster' like biden cant miss it....you are on your own

Since no Canadian prime minister visited Windsor for the past 10 years, can we annex it to Michigan and make it an undivided part of Detroit?

palestinians in jerusalem were offered citizenship. p.s. i hope your aba is well? regards and shalom.

That's right Gideon Levy- the "peace process" IS a masquerade but not in the way your convoluted logic perceives it. For the last 100 years, the Jewish "Yishuv" in Israel has been bending over backwards in attempts to live in peace with our arab neighbors. Our pleas for peaceful coexistence have ALWAYS fallen on deaf ears. The arabs have NEVER given up on their hallucination of "driving the Jews into the sea" and the phrase "Itbach Al Yahud" (butcher the Jews)is still very much alive in the arab street. So i ask you Levy- what "peace process" are you talking about? Every generation of Jews since Abraham has had their Korachs, Datans, Avirams, etc. We've got Gideon Levy, Naomi Chazan, Tzipi Livni, Shimon Peres etc.

i never met someone who is so negagtive, everything that comes out your month is negagtivity. you love to hate the israeli gov. you like the PA do not want peace otherwise you will both be without a job as you will have nothing to write......your brain does not allow you to write anything nice.

200,000 Palestinians living in Jerusalem? These residents of the area have been there for centuries (beyond our residency living in Canada & we have citizenship here) which makes them as legitimate owners of properties within Jerusalem and they don't belong anywhere? We're not talking about Biblical times, we're talking about today. For them Jerusalem is also the holy city. What's difficult to understand about this? Yes the Hebrews through King David established the united capital of Jerusalem for the Jewish people as both religious and political capital, but for the Muslims its significance cannot be discounted as well.

And next time Joe Biden returns then Yishai can come over and knee Ol' Joe in the balls again. And then Bibi can help Biden off the floor, dust him down, and nervously say "Those whacky Shas guys, heh? Always with the whackyness, heh!" And you, Californian, can continue to say that this is No Big Deal, and What's Your Problem?, and then wonder out loud why anyone should think that kneeing your one and only friend in the balls may not be such a good idea....

I was a passionate advocate for Isreal for a long time. Then I began to realize that the settlement building just continued unabated regardless of WHATEVER government was in power. Despite the corrosive effect that it had on the peace process, and despite all the posturing of so many people, including the Isreali left, the settlement building just went on and on. You've described it exactly right. And maybe Netanyahu will make the world finally acknowledge that there will be no real peace process, so let's begin to discuss what the real future of the Palestians will be.

"Occupied, stolen land" you write?! Jerusalem?! Are you a complete idiot Mr. Levy?!

Let's look at 1492 (the expulsion of the Sephardim), predominantly absorbed by the Ottoman empire yet no triumphant return to your most hallowed and sacred city? Perhaps, using your words, Jerusalem "was then considered a backwater city". Perhaps "the city suddenly seem(s) to (have) take(n) on a magical, magnetic meaning" for Jews as well.

Jerusalem was annexed so it has their own statutory power and this committee can't be reversed once it makes a decision. Bibi has stopped new projects and permits and yet gets pounded for projects started under olmert eight years and advanced further three years ago. Livni was meeting with rice two years ago when settlement plans were announced.

to be a better man. I guess what you learn with milk of mother is not going to leave till the grave. Racism isn't a virtue... but if it's a popular one you have a chance of giggling corners and lost of admiration from like minded racists...

Building kindergartens and flats on abandoned Jordanian land does not an obstacle to peace make. How you guys have convinced yourself otherwise is beyond me.

a. Jerusalem is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible nearly 700 times, while not once in the Koran. b.When Jerusalem was in Jordanian hands from 1948 to 1967, not a single Arab leader besides Jordan's king chose to visit what was then considered a backwater city. c. Only when all of Jerusalem fell into Israel's hands in 1967 did the city suddenly seem to take on a magical, magnetic meaning for the Arab and larger Muslim world.

Israel is now worse than South Africa, which leads the world in rape and murder rates. Gideon Levy is a great journalist.

Is it self censorship in the North American media? If it isn't read or kown to anyone how can it expose ANYTHING?.........PEACE NEVER?

Couldn't you have held off till tomorrow? I was rather enjoying the day... but No! you have to go and drag reality into it!

:)

peace would decieving the Americans again.

Thanks to you Gideon Levy for this excellent valid analysis, and for speaking truth to power. It's time for Abbas and his corrupt PA to dismantle their headquarter in Ramallah and go home. Sari Nusseibah's view that it's two late for a two-state solution is valid. Palestinians should indeed ask Israel to annex them and, subsequently, ought to begin a civil rights movement for equality with the Jews.

Gideon, Gideon, Gideon: You will never learn rule #1 for Americans. It is a felony to say anything bad about the policies of "poor widdle Isweal", the olny nuclear armed perpetual victim of the Middle East. Trust me, Obama and the rest of us in the United States of West Israel will soon forget yet another slap to the face from our good friend, "the only democracy in the Middle East".

Gideon hits the bulls eye again! He has a way of getting through all of the spin and exposing Israel and its leadership for what it is ... hypocritical, deceiving, and an entity that has no desire for peace. BRAVO, Gideon!! You are the best!

We have been working very hard here and other places to show that Israel; does not want peace. Now our work is getting way much easier to show the real face of Israel.

for all haaretz writers and establish yourselves in a new land. gaza should be investigated as seat of your excellent yellow journalisim

Also Israel has given a new ultimatum of "4 to 8 weeks" for serious sanctions on Iran. Well, now, ask Russia, China and Brazil. They have other ideas. So after you set the Saudis ablaze, go on to Iran. But please do it on your own. It is time the US cut the cord.

Yeah, no non-Muslims allowed. But by all means, continue your rants about Israel.

Israel keeps recycling its ministers so that the status quo continues forever. Only when the current generations of Ministers expire/retire will there be hope for peace through fresh round of ministers.....Fate helped the Pals by taking Arafat from the arena...

When a conflict persists for as long as this one the question needs to be asked, who wins from prolonging the conflict? Just as a divorce lawyer makes a killing from messy divorces there are those who perceive themselves winners from this conflict. Settlers get to settle, Israel gets lots of US aid, the Palestinian elite get privileges and the US gets to sell arms at inflated prices into a destabilized region. Let the dancing continue.

Welcome to the Israel/Palestinian Peace Process, the tiresome and repetitive soap opera in the galaxy.

Thank you. Gideon Levy, and Eli Yishai, for exposing this tattered charade of a "peace process." How can there be a viable Palestinian state in the scattered gulags that Israel has made of the Ocupied Territories? Perhaps the very public humiliation of his vice-president will stir even Barack Obama to action. But don't bet the farm on it.

..not this time.. We have a new Adminstration, 14 months old, and US -Israeli policy is different. This will continue for another 30 months.. Obama's teanm will not give up and American taxpayers have had enough.

Yep, this is precisely the problem. Hareidim, whose world view resembles ancient israel bring that biblical attitude to modern peace deals.

After the last ten years, anyone who still thinks Israel actually wants peace is going to be impervious to ANY evidence. Israel could nuke Mecca, and some would say she wants peace. In fact, most of her current fans would like that. Come on, guys. Don't be shy...