The Times of Israel reports that President Joe Biden is going to push Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for concessions to the Palestinians as a condition for an Israeli-Saudi peace deal.
This is absurd, for three reasons:
1. It flips the logic of the Abraham Accords on its head, which is that the Palestinians do not get a veto over peace between Israel and other Arab states.
2. It is a demand with which Netanyahu cannot possibly comply, given the fact that his governing coalition is made up of right-wing parties who would bolt if Netanyahu offered deep concessions to the Palestinians. Biden might welcome that result, since he would prefer a different Israeli government, but it would not bring a peace deal closer.
3. The Palestinian fate does not depend on Israeli concessions. It depends on a complete change in Palestinian leadership. The Abraham Accords are showing, every day, that there is nothing to preclude Jews and Arabs, or Jews and Muslims, from getting along in the Middle East, other than the outdated Cold War/Holy War mindset to which the Palestinian leadership, and Iran, are still clinging. If the Palestinian leaders stopped supporting terror against Israel, there would be peace and concessions galore.
In a related story, a bunch of left-wing American Jewish "leaders" has written a letter to Biden stating that a Saudi-Israeli peace deal "must" include steps toward a Palestinian state. That implies they would reject a peace deal -- even if the Saudis accepted it -- that did not include Palestinian statehood. It is a radical, absurd demand -- one that can only encourage extremism.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
