It used to be that threats against Israel's existence came from various Arab and Muslim terrorist communities around the world. Now it's the adopted country of American Jews that is threatening Israel.
Walt, Mearsheimer, Carter and other American antisemites must be ecstatic. But wait, I'm getting ahead of myself. What's the threat?
Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA summarizes:
.... President Obama wants Israel to withdraw to fundamentally indefensible {"Auschwitz"] borders and that includes an end to Israeli control of the Old City and other areas in Jerusalem. But if we refuse to halt settlement construction he threatens that he won't sponsor the talks where he will pressure us to agree to do this.
If you would expect this news to be in our state-controlled media, then you haven't been paying attention. The report came from a Lebanese newspaper, through Israel Radio and Haaretz:
The United States has given Israel a six-month deadline to accede to its demand to freeze all construction in West Bank settlements, France's foreign minister told his Lebanese interlocutors during an official visit to Beirut.
Israel Radio cited a report which appeared Saturday in the Lebanese daily newspaper an-Nahar.
According to the report, Bernard Kouchner told Lebanese officials that the U.S. could extend the six-month deadline, though Washington will not provide sponsorship to a renewed peace process if Jerusalem continues settlement construction.
On Friday, Kouchner held talks with a Hezbollah legislator in the latest European outreach to the Iranian-backed militant group....
Don't feel badly if you never heard any of this before. The Israeli government didn't know about it either. According to the Jerusalem Post:
"Israel is unaware of any six-month deadline placed by the US for freezing settlement construction in the West Bank," Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said on Saturday night.
No doubt they'll be asking the White House Czar on Jews to confirm or deny, so don't go back to bed just yet.
I know we're into the Three Weeks already, but at first glance it might not be all that bad if the U.S. were to carry out its threat and withdraw its peace processors.
Either way, we are not the first to be confused, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
"Akiva, why do you laugh?" the sages asked him when they heard the clamor of Roman legions.
"Why do you cry?" Rabbi Akiva replied.
"Idol worshipers dwell in peace and security, while the Holy Temple is burnt to the ground ... shall we not cry?
"That's why I'm laughing," said Rabbi Akiva. "If this is how G-d rewards the Romans - who are so wicked and cruel - for the good deeds they sometimes do, how much more will be the reward of the righteous people in the World to Come."
"Akiva, how can you laugh?" they asked standing at the Temple ruins.
"Why do you cry?" he replied.
"The Holy of Holies about which it's written, 'Any unauthorized person who enters shall die,' and now foxes play there? Shall we not cry?"
"That's why I'm laughing," said Rabbi Akiva. "Seeing the fulfillment of the prophecy - "Zion will be plowed like a field" - I more deeply internalize the knowledge that all the prophecies will be fulfilled, including those that foretell the rebuilding of Jerusalem!"
Deeper version here.
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