A Comparison of Peace Plans

A peace process should have the potential to lead to actual peace. If it does not, then it should not be considered a viable option even on a temporary basis. Each time a peace deal fails radical elements become even more radicalized. True lovers of peace, should therefore have zero tolerance for fake peace processes.

Two State Solution Based Peace Plans

• Madrid Talks
  
• Oslo Accords 1 & 2
• Roadmap to ?Peace?

All of these have thus far been unworkable. From an International Law perspective, any compromise of Jewish religious sites, with no true expectancy of Palestinian compliance with Succession laws, is illegal from the start. The reason the Quartet are forcing Israel into a continued cycle of violence rather than using a more workable plan is perhaps threefold...

1. Israeli governments literally asked for it.
2. The potential economic boon for all nations from a peace deal is just too alluring to ignore.
3. The focus is on assembling a united world against Iran, so even International Law itself needs to take a back seat, they apparently argue.

One State Solution Based Peace Plans

• The Friedlander Peace Plan, as briefly described in the previous post. This requires the tying of West Bank/Gaza Arabic naturalization rates to the immigration rates of foreign born Jews. Nobody has to give up their homes. Palestinians slowly but surely become complete Israelis.
  

• The Binational Solution, which is supported by many right wing Israelis, and parts of this plan have been accepted even by some American Republicans, including former Presidential candidate, Sen. Sam Brownback. Essentially it calls for Arabs in the East Bank of the Jordan and Jews on the West Bank, in the spirit of the Balfour Declaration. This is consistent with some aspects of Kahanism, in that the Arabs relocate; only in this case it is to a legally declared target country. Such a target country's population would increase in Palestinian favor, rather than what would occur in being sent to a random country. Thus Palestinians would at least get the benefit of increased political power from this forced exile than what they currently have in the West Bank.
  

• The Saudi Plan calls for a Palestinian Right of Return whereby the goal is possibly to overwhelm the Jewish population of Israel with an influx of many immigrants of Palestinian descent, who have been living in Arab lands since either 1967 or as far back as 1949. The ultimate result would be to vote in a Hamas like government over the entire state of Israel, not just Gaza. The Saudi plan, therefore, is consistent with terrorism. ...If there should be a Palestinian Right of Return, it must be decided upon by Israelis, all Israelis. Jew and Arab alike. The Friedlander Plan allows for this debate as to whether there should be further Palestinian immigration in the future, but the Saudi plan attempts to prejudge, preempt, forestall and force dangerous and economically destructive immigration practices down Israel's collective throat. Saudi Arabia could become a force for peace in the future, but this current plan of theirs doesn't come close to fulfilling that role.
  

Thus out of all the plans reviewed, the Friedlander Peace Plan sounds like the most fair and therefore the best plan of all of these. It seems to be the most consistent with true American values, and therefore should be the selected vehicle of American Foreign Policy towards the Palestinian issue. I recommend that all parties involved adopt this plan immediately.

An Alternative Peace Plan

"Israeli Government Supports Kahanism - Only Against the Jews! ...Enough! ... Here is the Alternative Peace Plan You Have Been Waiting For!!"

Or

"An Alternative Peace Plan" by Alan Friedlander

In the March 30th 2008 Israel National News article, "Livni in Favor of Paying Jews to Leave East-of-Wall Towns" Left wing Jewish supporters describe the ethnic cleansing of the East Jerusalem suburbs of Jews as "relocating (them) back (home) to Israel." Either Kahanism is legitimate or it is not. If it is, then it is stupid to do it against yourself. I claim, however, it is not, so even against the "other side" I do not support ethnic cleansing and even by non-violent means. The key question then is what then is the alternative? An important question to address as for the sake of the lack of a workable alternative alone did Israel succumb to the dreadful Oslo Accords.

In an effort to end the cycle of self-destructive false peace deals, by the grace of God, I will suggest an alternative that is consistent with democratic ideals and does not embrace relocating any one who desires to live in peace.

The current roadmap to a Two State Solution is unworkable in practice and under International Law.

A One State Solution has previously been rejected by Israeli governments due to fear of a potentially overwhelming Palestinian Arabic birthrate.

Many Palestinians in the West Bank wish they were full fledged Israelis, but the Israeli governments have refused to allow them such an option.

But there exists a missing key that has eluded opponents of a One State Solution that is hidden deep within the recesses of bureaucratic organizational theory.

It is completely possible and even likely to workout a completely evenhanded policy of immigration rates between Jews and Arabs that will allow the slow but sure immigration of West Bank and Gaza Arabs into the State of Israel, without endangering the State one iota. I have written an extended work up of how this can work exactly, but skipping to the key point, all that needs to be done is to tie West Bank/Gaza Arabic naturalization rates to the immigration rates of foreign born Jews. As there are more Jews world wide that plan to "one day" make Aliyah than there are Palestinian Arabs who reside in the West Bank and Gaza, it does not take a mathematician to see how this can work out.

A major problem with this plan, you may say, is that at the current rate of immigration, this plan could take decades to complete. I would answer, well, if it took 60 years to get into the current quagmire, then 30 years doesn't seem like such a long time to work things out slow, sure, safely and fairly. But the truth of the matter is, once there is true peace, and people know that 1) Israel will not be endangered not just by Arabs, but by any weak leadership in the future, and 2) the economy will improve exponentially after such true peace occurs, then the Aliyah/Jewish immigration rate will more than triple current immigration rates and correspondingly hasten Palestinian redemption as well.

If this occurs, it will not be because you heeded the good advice of this political scientist, but because you heeded the Holy Word that the God of the Jews commanded through His servant, Moses, (Exodus 12.49) "A single law you shall have for the native born and the stranger who dwells among you."

Why I Still Reject Kahanism Despite Palestinian Support of Terrorism

You may be wondering the following: If I am blaming the majority of Palestinians for supporting terror in their hearts and with their votes, then why do I still reject Kahanism despite Palestinian Arabic support of terrorism. It's simple, the Bible says that there should be a single law and single ordinance for the stranger and the native of the land (Numbers 15.16). Kahanism removes voting rights from Palestinian Arabs. Not all Arabs would be ejected from Israel under Rabbi Meir Kahane's plan, those who swore allegiance can stay, only without voting rights.

Obviously whoever is chomping at the bit for bloodshed has no place in the Israel of the future. So what Kahanism is effectively saying is that those Israeli Arabs who befriend Israel should be rewarded with no right to vote. The Torah is always current. The Torah is always vibrant. Therefore how can a belief system like Kahanism fit within the context of a Torah nation that exists in an age of democracy? To have less democracy than the Kingdom of Jordan is not the way to honor the God of Israel. Therefore, in my opinion, pure Kahanism is inconsistent with Torah ideals.

That being the case, why do more than a few religious Jews support Kahanism? Because they are grasping at halachic straws out of desperation at the seemingly endless cycle of bloodshed, and we all know how important saving lives is to Judaism. Judaism is all about life (Deuteronomy, Chapter 30). The one thing that is true about Kahanism is that it is an effective method to eliminate immediate danger to the state of Israel by eliminating the policy of accommodation to terrorist organizations like Fatah that recent Israeli governments seem to be willing to put up with. Long term though, where does Kahanism place the friends of Israel? Where is the Jewish Light unto the Nations? Where then is the sanctification of God's Holy Name for which Jews have been willing to be martyred over throughout history? Only by focusing on God's long term plan for the Jewish people can we rise above knee jerk reactions to punish any relatives of our enemies, even if they wish to befriend us. But such a reaction misses a very important concept in the nature of God himself...

We are commanded to emulate the Lord of Yisrael. What then is His nature? Come and see that the nature of the God of Israel is not like the nature of mortals of flesh and blood. What is the nature of flesh and blood? If a man has a mortal enemy he will endeavor to destroy him and any and all who support him, lest they rise up again to cause danger at some later date. But what does God do with His enemy? Which nation is God's greatest enemy in the Bible? Amalek would be a good choice for God's eternal nemesis (Deuteronomy 25.17-19). Now even though there are some nations that were so perverted that God forbade their entry into Judaism, lest they harm the spirituality of His people, God did not prohibit the Jews from accepting a true convert from Amalek. Why? For the Lord is filled with kindness. Also, the Almighty Lord knows that His enemies cannot harm Him. Whereas with the enemies of His people, to those He is not so forgiving of. But of His own enemies? God is forgiving of the truly sincere penitent.

As we are commanded to emulate God (Deut. 28.9), we must accept that it would take a direct prophecy from God or the equivalent in order for Jews to be empowered to reject "true converts" i.e. true friends, from any specific nation. Therefore we must cultivate and not utterly reject true friendships wherever we may find them. The first step is stopping the violence by eradicating the forces of terror. But then what? We have to plan for the day after victory. You do that with the Will of God toward your friends in mind. I can understand if you may bear skepticism at the likelihood of success, but neither should you reject the possibility thereof.

Today you may think of peace loving Palestinian Arabs as the brothers and sisters of our enemies, and potential enemies of the future. But when we keep our faith in God close to us, it keeps the heart too warm to become cold to our friends. May God bless us with true friendships and true peace speedily in our days.

How the Palestinians Can Redeem Themselves

The recent revelation of the Palestinian mindset changing from a silent majority of peace loving Arabs held hostage in a cycle of conflict with Israel by an internal radical terrorist fringe, into an all out terror worshiping nation had its roots in four major blunders. Many world leaders are turning a blind eye or trying to ignore this by other means, and therefore they have no hope to pinpoint these issues. The better international leaders, such as President Bush, are aware of the problems, but they have bigger issues demanding their priority, and so a full review of these issues never gets added to the sum of what Western Foreign Policy should be in the Middle-East. But I have the luxury of speaking of Utopian ideals, so I intend to, and hope that others will do likewise.

My one goal in this blog is merely to guide a discussion in methods to seek a fair and conclusive end to violence and fulfill International Law without treading upon the Religious Freedom of the Jewish People.

The Lord has said in the Book of Ezekiel (Chapters 18 & 33) that He desires not the death of the wicked and therefore I wish to present a road map for the Palestinians whereby they may regain hope of peace without forcing Israel to impose upon them a Kahane-esque plan of relocating them... (which would at least be better than slaughtering them en masse in an all out war. ...God, International Law and I do not like that genocide stuff...)

Someone with the courage to stand tall to opposition needs to speak up or else someone who is sufficiently insignificant enough to not get any opposition needs to speak up. I am such a man. Such a person would be willing to face the plain truth of things and offer a solution to avoid the end which the incredibly poor choices and actions of the Palestinians currently beg for.

The Four Deadly Palestinian Sins:

1. Bloodshed (Either you desire to be a member of civilization or you worship death. There is no middle course.)
   
2. Deceit (Why do they keep pretending that Jews don't have a 3500 year history in the Holy Land. They lie about blatant historical and archeological facts. Are they subconsciously admitting the Jews have more rights to the land? Why else would they try to haggle basic truths? Fast talkers try to make a sale. To a fast talker, truth is but the illusion that the buyers purchase, not a reality unto itself as truth truly is. ...This is the reason that makes it impossible to trust Jewish religious sites to the Palestinian Authority. The beginning of confidence gaining is the cessation of deception.)
   
3. Ingratitude (No matter how much Israel or the West gives, there is only mentioned what the Palestinians currently do not have. This leads to a fixation on only their own agenda, and makes negotiations near impossible. As negotiations lead to peace, this makes peace deals difficult. Further you cannot expect peace loving TV and other Media programming when the public perception and preferred entertainment is for hate-programming like kids shows that talk about the glory of homicide martyrdom instead of interracial groups of kids singing about how they love to play together, etc.)
4. Undemocratic (Try voting smarter, like for a democratic party, not a terrorist group. If tired of Fatah corruption, third way parties such as the one lead by Hanan Ashrawi are better alternatives than voting for Hamas which is essentially a declaration of war.)
   

Only by addressing these major moral issues within their national psyche can the Palestinian Arabs have hope to regain their lost right of a homeland. A right lost by the weight of their own transgressions. Of course they never had a right to have that homeland with Jerusalem as their capital but that is a discussion best left for another blog-post on another day.

Palestinians Choose Violence Over Peace

As Reported in the Jerusalem Post, according to a NY Times Poll, 84% of Palestinians approve of the slaughter of the innocent, peace loving youths at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva.

(Photo: Yehuda Boltshauser, Israel National News)

While one should not hastily decide the fate of an entire people based on the results of a single poll, the horror of recent times and the collective body of evidence points to one thing, the fact that the dream of Palestinian Statehood West of the Jordan has come to an end. It is a dream I must confess that I too dreamt. Imagine… Israel performing charity that no nation would have seriously even considered attempting… ( …for themselves… even though they have tried to force it down Israel’s throat). Only in an act of pure kindness and charity could Israel hope to give up an inch of God’s Land without desecrating His Holy Name. Yet, every government involved in the peace processes over the years has fought against spirituality. Fought against kindness for its own sake; fought against fair homage to the Faith and history of Israel, for they, and the faithless leaders of Israel included, had no respect for any of it. Instead new morals were created. A hodgepodge synthesis of their best estimation of what fair play is under these circumstances or that.

Who has cursed the Palestinians even as Israel and the West has tried to aid them? What is the culprit of the fall of the Palestinian Dream? Nothing other than their own lack of morality! Palestinians have proven themselves willing to ignore any evil they do, and in fact, now they rejoice over the evil they do. They are willing to ignore any good Israel does. Since the 1970s they followed Arafat’s bad advice and rejected Israel’s offered hand of friendship. And the moment President Bush grants them $150 million even as the USA suffers a national financial set back, the Palestinians go completely barbaric in their near unanimous joyful support for the slaughter of the innocent. No respect for their benefactors, beginning with the Almighty, and not a drop of gratitude for anyone. They have collectively forsaken both common decency and the rule of law, and therefore no nation can be expected to make peace with them.

They have proven that they do not understand the meaning of objective peace, nor of objective truth.

I said twenty years ago that Kahane was wrong, but the Palestinians have elected him to be right. But if twenty years ago Kahane was indeed wrong, he was not evil incarnate. The failed leaders of Labor and Kadima branded Kahane an anti-messiah, and the arch-terrorist Arafat a man of peace. Twenty years of lies as foreign policy later, Olmert, Sharon, Rabin, Barak and Peres all seem cruelly detached from reality and the needs of both peoples involved. I cannot blame the American Presidents involved when the leaders on the scene were so perversely wrong.

Twenty years ago most people thought Meir Kahane’s plans were racist. Now they seem more compassionate than the legacy of continual violence and death that the Oslo accords have brought us. Kahane wanted to pay money to Palestinians to relocate abroad. How many lives on both sides, especially among the Palestinians, would have been saved had we listened to him?

Who advocates for the Gypsies of Europe? Who mourns the divided Kurds of Mesopotamia? How then shall any person or nation continue to hold high the goblet of Palestinian Arabic independence in the face of their dastard inhumanity? To reward a nation such as this with a state at this point in time would be to perpetuate all that is wrong in International Politics today.

Succession in International Law

If the Palestinian Entity is considered a full fledged legal state, and at this stage they are not. Any attempt to give them territory would fall under the rules of Cession (explained well in Shaw, 1997, Pp 339 & following). This would require the Palestinians to respect third party rights to the land (such as Jewish rights to the visit the graves of their ancestors without danger). The fact that the Palestinians have yet to show that they would respect International legal rights of the Jews in their midst if Israel were to fully withdraw from the West Bank, makes it foolish and immoral to consider such a withdrawal, and illegal to implement such a withdrawal.

If the Palestinian Entity is a nonstate organization, and at this stage, they are. Any attempt to give them land would fall under the rules of Succession. (Shaw, 1997, Pg 930) And that would mean that Israel would need to fully consider the rights of the owners of the religious sites in question. As the State of Israel never annexed sites such as the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, and they preserved the rights of Jews to practice ritual and dwell near the Holy Sites of the West Bank, they have defacto declared the Jews of the West Bank as the rightful owners/representatives of these Holy Sites. Therefore any attempt to surrender West Bank Holy Sites, would require some sort of binding referendum of the Israelis in the West Bank as to the future of the Holy Sites.

This is not the case with East Jerusalem, which in its entirety, including all its Holy Sites has been annexed already by Israel. If however, Israel's government would reject its ownership of the East Jerusalem Holy Sites, it would require two referendums. One of Jews within the Green Line, and only if the Jews forsake their religious rights would it make sense to bother with a full referendum of all Israelis, Jew and Gentile alike, to seek political permit of any transfer. If, however, indeed the very freedom of religion for the Jewish People realistically depends on their possession of all their Holy Sites, then they cannot choose to surrender that which they must have. Primal law trumps political expediency every time.

The Massacre At Mercaz Harav Yeshiva

The Jews of Israel can't depend on the government to protect them. As the holy sages of the Talmud say in Sotah, "Upon whom can we rely? We can only rely upon our Father in Heaven."

As an act of faith we should increase our recital of Tehillim/Psalms, make daily declarations of penance towards Hashem/God and anyone we may have hurt, be diligent in avoiding desecrations of God's name, such as dishonesty, plus I would suggest two security oriented policy changes at yeshivos, (especially by large yeshivos):

1. Plain clothes armed guards (could be filled by yeshiva faculty with army experience)
2. Divided lunch schedule, only 50% of the students are in the lunch room at any one time.

Hashem will help us! Fear only Him.

The massacre will not likely affect the secular government, but it can and should affect the Torah world.

The gedolim (leading sages) should be respectfully mobilized in demanding,

1. An end to Shas party participation in the Olmert government. The time for new leadership has long since arrived.
2. A weekly prayer rally gathering in Yerushalayim/Jerusalem that Hashem should have mercy and send us moshiach tzidkenu/our righteous messiah, as soon as possible.

Hashem will help us! Fear only Him!

Diaspora Jews Are People Too

The current Prime Minister of Israel did more than insult countless benefactors and donors to his constituency when he discounted the opinions of any Jew currently living outside of the Holy Land. He attacked fundamental beliefs within the Jewish faith. While our prayers are directed towards Jerusalem, the holiness of our people transcends borders, just as God Himself transcends the physical.

Any religion can tell you that the righteous certainly have meaning in God's eyes, wherever they may sojourn. The example of Joseph in Egypt comes to mind. An appropriate Talmudic quote on this is, "Even for the sake of one righteous person, the world can continue to exist, as it says "A righteous man is the foundation of the world (Proverbs 10.25)" (Yoma 38b)

But in Judaism, even the non-righteous can gain merit from the performance of a mitzvah, and this merit is potent enough to help others throughout the world as well. "If this person does one mitzvah, he is praiseworthy, for he has caused himself and the entire world to be on the balance of merit." (Kiddushin 40b)

How can Olmert attack such a basic concept of the Jewish faith and get away with it?! How can he have any significant following in this?! We are the people who believe, "All Jews are responsible, one for another." (Shevuos 39a)

But even for those Olmert followers who reject Judaism itself, and only believe that the righteous and otherwise great people deserve attention, even such people as these, according to this twisted belief, deserve zero acknowledgment.

We are not discussing allocating a preserved historic site for destruction, for the sake of progress. Matters of ecological preservation alone properly belong to the people living in whichever particular country that such a issue arises in. An exception to the rule is if there would be a risk of some sort to other nations from the loss of the ecological site, such as the Rain Forests of the Amazon.

In this case we are discussing uprooting free access, that is, access that is free of bodily danger, of those to whom it belongs, specifically, those Jewish people who are religious or care about religion. This situation is comparable to a person without an artistic bone in his body trying to destroy every piece of art that he finds because in his view all that art ever does is wastes people's time. A modicum of humility, wisdom and civility would call for allowing the art to flourish in the hands of artists and those who appreciate art, and let the anti-artistic people attend to matters they prefer and understand. Therefore this matter represents a breakdown in humility, wisdom and civility by those who would deny the Jews of the Diaspora from having a say in the matter.

But one thing is clear. Even secular people should value Human Rights, and the physical city of Jerusalem as explained before is intrinsic to the spirituality upon which the Jewish faith rests. So if you do not believe in Judaism, then don't you dare try to alter the practice of its adherents by changing the status of the seat of their religion without their consent!

A Democratic Messianic King

It is a matter of prophecy that Moshiach (the Messiah) be a king with not just the pomp and pageantry of royalty, but the legal power of life and death over his enemies within the society itself. Now in Halachah (Jewish Religious Law) matters of practice take on a religious import. If something is recognized as the best way of doing things, it is likely that when in pursuit of God's Honor, we must do things in that very way. And it is a matter of practice in our times that society considers good governance that which is closest to democratic ideals, and that which avoids the potential ability to abuse power by individual leaders. This brings us to the question. How do we have a king messiah in the age of democracy? According to God's own rules, this seems to be almost a paradox.

Well we already showed how it is possible for the world to come to a time where rebuilding the Holy Temple is not considered an act of war, but this concept of the messiah being a powerful ruler is perhaps more intrinsic to the entire messianic project. Once the temple is rebuilt, it is there. Once the king is in place, any time there is a lack of democracy, wouldn't there be the potential for discord against the king if indeed he were a fully fledged king? How can the messiah be a "peaceful ruler" (Isaiah 9.5) if his every command is open to question and a potential source of national strife. A "peaceful ruler" also cannot be a monarch who rules with an iron fist, placing extraneous fear in the hearts of his people, who he is obligated to view as his flock that he must lead closer to his Master, the Living God of Israel.

There is no need to show how it can happen that Israelis could choose the absolute rule of a messiah king over democracy. We need look no further than at Russia to see how a country whose governmental system, if it is viewed as the main problem, and not the main solution to the ills of state, how the people of a nation can reject their current form of governance for a more effective, albeit less democratic form.

Yet the crux of the matter is in the nature of the king, not the nature of monarchical governance. From a faith based perspective, the King Moshiach is absolutely guaranteed to be the perfect ruler, the most just leader, so the people will trust him to the extent to which no other people could trust a standard king to lead them. From a psychological perspective, Moshiach is described as having a Davidic style of personality. King David eventually became head of the Sanhedrin (Supreme Court) due to his incredible level of scholarship. Moshiach will be more scholar than politician. He will look for ways to avoid getting bogged down with day to day affairs of state. Therefore he will avoid tampering with the republican nature of the Jewish State. The more he can leave to the Knesset, the more of God's Holy Word he can study, and then inculcate into his lordship persona. The weight of prophecy and history will bear down upon him to be as perfect in his judgment as any king ever was. In the words of Maimonides (from 'the Laws of Penance' 9.2), "He will be wiser than Solomon, and like unto the greatness of Moses."

So what this means is in relation to the current Israeli system, if Moshiach came today, he will likely say that the Knesset should continue to run the daily affairs of state. Only in the event of war, or a complete break down of government sensitivity to the needs of the public, would the king ever act as king. For the most part he will be the most studious of scholars. It is mainly on the side that he will police the policies of the government to make certain everything is running smoothly. To do this most efficiently and effectively, he needs the full powers of a king.

One way this could work, without creating many new offices of government, would be to revamp the office of President of the State of Israel. Give the ceremonial tasks that the current Presidency calls for to the Vice President. Then give three main powers to the President:

1. The power to not only line item veto, but also to initiate legislation, and approve it without governmental support. (I call this the Power of the Super Veto) The check and balance to this is that the Knesset can appeal to the Sanhedrin to override the Super Veto. Thus there is a method to limit monarchical power, but rather than making it hard to get anything done, as it is in current bureaucracies, this way would make it hard to overrule the king. Obviously there is a need of having a king you can really trust for this kind of power to be in place, and Moshiach fits that bill.
2. The Power of Commander In Chief (as per the USA version of this concept)
   
3. The Power of Absolute Immunity (he can be removed from office by vote of the Sanhedrin for egregious acts, but never physically or otherwise punished for any crime he commits).
   

This would also fit in nicely with the Prophecies of Ezekiel who calls the Messiah and his son and grandson, The Nasi, which is Hebrew for prince, and in modern Hebrew, the word for President.

In Honor of my father, Rabbi Leon Eliezer Friedlander, Esq., of blessed memory on 17 Shevat, 5768, the third anniversary of his passing to the World of Truth

The Iranian Dilemma

The likelihood of war happening as soon as this year only increases when you reduce the consequences for a county with the current kind of leadership that Iran has. The weak opposition by the West to Iran going nuclear has strengthened the danger of war with Iran. Friends of Iran, including nations like Russia, should be thinking tough love, not codependency, at a time in history like this.

Ahmadinejad’s ploy is currently working. How do you keep both the American military and your political competition at bay at the same time? Shell game tactics. Just as he was coming under pressure from moderates in his own government, this change of rhetoric from the White House is taken as a breath of fresh air, and more. As the Iranian leader values his stated declarations almost as much as actually following through on his threats, he views the White House disclosure to be a major victory of his regime against the "Great Satan". Moderates in Iran are silenced while extremists are strengthened, because it was only through Ahmadinejad's diligence in harsh language against the West that this "victory" was won. This strengthens his grasp on power, and serves to legitimize radical policies in the future.

Israeli intelligence has not relented from its view of danger from Iran. As they have more at stake than we do, they have less room for error, and therefore their press releases on this issue may be more on target than the USA's. The more isolated the Israelis are made to feel by the West, against an enemy more powerful than Saddam Hussein at the height of his power, the less likely they will be able to avoid personal involvement in a conflict with Iran.

I only oppose Iran going nuclear with their current regime in power, but with a Shah-like regime, only with more democratic institutional guarantees, I would support their pursuit of nuclear power. But with Iran's currently leadership, it not a question of recommending war, it a matter of finding a way to avoid it, otherwise it will happen, and it will happen soon. Pressure needs to come especially from Iran's friends. Perhaps the West can work out with Moscow a way to finance a freeze of Russian labor for Iran, without damaging the Russian economy. But as long as Iran can sit back while Russia does the work for it, this does not seem to be heading for a peaceful resolution.

The Definition of True Peace: Truth

When someone criticizes the way peace talks are held, some reports call this "opposing Peace" or "creating an obstacle to peace". This method of journalism is best defined as the LIE method. A peace process does not always equate with peace, and in the Middle-East, it usually does not.

The difference at this juncture in history, as opposed to prior to 9/11/01, is that the reason is becoming more and more clear. And the lack of a solution is becoming more and more connected to the lack of a will to listen to opposing views by Western diplomats. No, it's not wrong to not give in to terrorists. It is not wrong to kill them before they can get you. That part is good. The problem is that they are so focused on killing flies, while our leaders are leaving the screen door open, that the problem is just going to get worse, no matter how hard they swat at the flies.

You got to take out the trash or close the door, and stop thinking and working in half measures.

If you want to end the continual growth of terrorism and new terror cells, either you have to crush every terror cell in the world with your armed forces, or you need to strengthen the hand of anti terror forces within the Islamic religion by proving that their faith is not at risk. Why do our leaders not understand that Islam feels that we are at a cultural war with them? The threat to Islam is not perceived as the financial benefits of Globalization. Muslims are not idiots, they can see how they can make money from capitalism too. No it's not an 11th Century mindset of fear of the West, or even anger over cultural erosion. It's when the culture is allowed to grow, but religion is not given an equal footing. It's when it APPEARS that children will become more excited at a glimpse of someone dressed up as a burger selling clown than the sight of other children dressed up as angels at a school play.

By being in the face of Muslims and telling them, eat our products and surrender your souls, we are perpetuating the main root cause of anti-Western sentiment out of Islam. Only by being diligent about supporting Freedom of Religion as a Jus Cogens can there be an easing of Islamic fears that future pilgrimages to Mecca may turn out to be more interested for hedonistic fine dining than for religious purposes. This is a core fear at the spiritually reckless onslaught of an unfeeling West.

Now this concept, if it became a worldwide norm, would mean that Muslims would have to allow Jews to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem. Wouldn't that be a problem? Not like the current situation. If Muslims knew that Mecca and Medina were safe forever, they would be willing to even forsake Jerusalem (once again) to protect what is theirs. As the prophet forecasts, "And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness. ...even the temple, that it might be built. " (Zechariah 8.8)

The foundation of the support for the terror will have been removed once Islam can trust Western justice is fair for all. As the prophet continues in that same chapter, "execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates" (Zechariah 8.16)

The lack of peace in the Middle-East stems from a lack of objective truth. Whether by Word of God, or by International Law, as long as an objective standard of truth is incorporated into the cultural mindset of the peace process, the peace process can hope to be successful. But if the leaders fool around with the truth until it comes out more in their own favor, they end up fooling themselves and apparently many journalists around the world, that we are one step closer to peace with each unjust concession and with each insincere declaration. If it is impossible to ascertain the whole truth of the matter, it is impossible for the matter to lead to peace.

Whether the standard used is sectarian or non-sectarian, until there is more objective truth in the Middle-East, there will be no true peace. To either dishonor God, or to risk human life for such a fake peace, no good person should accept without protest. Lovers of peace must practice zeal for truth, otherwise things are only going to get worse. Yet if objective truth is recaptured as the medium for peace talks, true peace and hope can return once more to the Middle-East and to the entire world.

Jerusalem & Jus Cogens

The Israeli retention of Greater Jerusalem and the Temple Mount represents a fundamental Human Right for the Jewish people. When the Jordanian government held Jerusalem between 1948-1967, Jewish holy sites were desecrated and Jews were allowed no free access to their most holy of places. Whereas Israel guarantees freedom of religion to all who live under her protection.

As we have mentioned before, time and place have more profound meaning in Judaism than in Christianity. Jews may never, under the terms of their faith, forsake Jerusalem. Indeed, whether in the Holy Land or in exile Jews have prayed towards the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for the past 3000 years. There is no Judaism without Jerusalem.

Fundamental International Laws are called Jus Cogens. There is much academic debate over whether freedom of religion should be covered as a fundamental norm in International Law. This very debate is a great example of a powerful source used by the extremist Islamic revolt against Western influence. The hook of logic that Islamic extremist groups use to prove that the West is attempting to override their faith is that freedom of religion is not protected universally by current International norms. By strengthening the protection of religious belief, the United Nations could go far in preventing future religious extremists from rising to power.

Yet the truth is, freedom of religion is truly a fundamental international norm that even the United States of America was founded upon. The founders of the USA spilled blood in the name of freedom from over-taxation. But why? Why didn't they just move back to Europe where the taxes were lower? Because there was no significant freedom of religion in Europe at that time.

Therefore in the true spirit of International Law, religious freedom is in fact a Jus Cogens. And those who wish to prevent future religious extremism should support the full recognition of religious freedom as a inalienable right, protected fully by the rights of Jus Cogens. Therefore the Israeli retention of Greater Jerusalem and the Temple Mount represents a Jus Cogens for the Jewish people.