US recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel

[T.Lex]

Wait. Raid at Entebbe is already a movie. (And a darn good one.)

What new angle does this one have?

Not that it needs a new angle, but... it would kinda help.

ETA:
Benjamin Netanyahu's brother was the only commando killed in the raid.

 

[indiucky]

Wait. Raid at Entebbe is already a movie. (And a darn good one.)

What new angle does this one have?

Not that it needs a new angle, but... it would kinda help.

ETA:
Benjamin Netanyahu's brother was the only commando killed in the raid.

Yes sir...

As far as the "new angle"? The documentary Jetta and I were referring to was just done a couple of years ago and those guys were just then allowed to go into the details of "how" it was pulled off....IDF declassified much of the information that would not have been available to the film makers back then..

This looks good....

[video=youtube;ehyVfmEvgt0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehyVfmEvgt0[/video]

This is that documentary...Warning..If you start watching it you will not stop....

[video=youtube;4acDtx85CBw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4acDtx85CBw[/video]

 

[T.Lex]

Oh cool.

May have to watch that with my son over the holidays.

 

[GIJEW]

I see to remember reading somewhere, Israel was Palestine before 1948.
This is the entire problem. The UN took away the country and real property of Palestinians to create a place for Jewish people to live after the holocaust ( No other country or countries would take all of the Jewish refugees displaced by Hitler's final solution.)

I read this a long time ago so my memory could be faulty.

Here's a historical review:
When the romans destroyed the kingdom of Judah, they weren't content with killing everyone they didn't sell into slavery to the far corners of their empire, they also changed place names to erase our memory: i.e. Schem>Naples (Nablus, if you can't say P). They decided to rename our country after the philistines (plishtim=invaders in Hebrew). Palestina in latin.

In spite of their best efforts, Jews remained there, albeit under Christian and later Moslem rule. It was there from the roman period through the Middle Ages to the 1500's that some of Judaism's most important documents were written: the oral law was compiled as the Mishna to preserve it after the roman destruction; the Jerusalem Talmud; Shulchan Aruch; Zohar/Kabbala.

When the British took possession of 'palestine' after they carved up the Ottoman Empire with the French, the country had an Arab majority with a sizable Jewish minority (Jerusalem had a Jewish majority by the mid 19th century and Tel Aviv had 20,000 residents before WW1). There was sectarian tension (like every else in the ME) and the British put their bets on the Arab community and held the door wide open for a large Arab immigration while locking Jews in prison camps in Cyprus when they tried to immigrate, and later to escape the nazis.

After WW2 when the British gave up trying to maintain their empire, sectarian violence increased while the British left and the UN drafted a partition plan. The plan divided the country into a Jewish state and an Arab one, along the general population areas of each group with two exceptions: the Negev was assigned to the Jewish state and Jerusalem (with it's Jewish majority) would become a UN protectorate....like Srebrenica, Bosnia. We agreed and the Arabs--and the Arab League--said they didn't need to compromise and coexist, they'd just kill us all and take everything. God was on our side and they lost--given the odds, that was a miracle. Right?

As always, human misery and war go "hand in glove". There were 750,000 Arab refugees. In addition to Jewish refugees from communities destroyed by the Arabs, there were 850,000 Jews driven out of Arab countries in retaliation for Israel winning/surviving the war.



As for moving the embassy, Israel's governmental institutions are on the west side of the city; an area built by Jews in the last 180 years; an area that was on Israel's side of the 1948 cease fire lines, deemed to be Israel's "proper pre 1967 borders" in western capitals. Given that, the fuss about putting embassies there comes off as delegitimizing Israel's right to exist.

 

[GIJEW]

This does help our relations with the one ally in the Middle East we have, after much harm inflicted by the previous administration.

It does nothing to really harm our relationship with any of the Arab states. The ones that really hate us do not need another reason. Their reasons for opposing us and Israel are not based on whether our embassy is in Tel Aviv or in Jerusalem. The Arabs that actually work with us but like to flaunt their Arab solidarity in public have happily used Israel as a whipping boy to cover their problems with the "Palestinians" and other malcontents in their own countries for decades. For years they have used support of terrorism against Israel as a way to give their troublesome Arabs something to do, otherwise the trouble makers might turn on their governments. The fact that the troublemakers have been spectacularly unsuccessful in bringing down Israel, and the realization that they are being played by their own governments has also fueled to the rise of al Qaeda and similar groups. The Islamic fundamentalists have realized they have to clean house in their own countries before they will be strong enough to overcome Israel and the rest of the world. Or they will have to get some nukes.

There will be some public tantrums by Arab governments for the cause of Arab solidarity for awhile, then the governments will get back to business, because they know Israel is not a threat to them. This has been true before the move to Jerusalem and will be true after, and when it changes it won't be cause of where we put the embassy. All the Arab states know that Iran is and will be a much bigger, more strategic threat right now than Israel ever was or will be, and it is a threat to Israel as well. Hence strategically Israel and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states are all allies whether they like it or not.

This does not inflict any harm on any peace process that is alleged to exist. If peace really is closer than it was in 1948 or 1967 or whenever(a dubious proposition indeed, to put it kindly), it's because the Israelis defeated the Arab armies, not because we kept our embassy in Tel Aviv. There have been numerous chances for the "Palestinians" to have peace and have their own state, and to borrow from Abba Eban, they never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. The goal for those who continue to attack Israel, both Sunni Palestinian and Iranian-sponsored Shiite, is a single state with no Jews in it. Period. There is no gainsaying that every "peace agreement" that the Palestinians (in particular) agreed to was simply for the opportunity to give them some breathing room to rebuild for the next campaign.

Right now is an excellent time to move the Embassy because

a) Yes it is disruptive. This phony peace process template that people have been following for years over and over does not work. So Blow It Up. Stop fooling with it. You won't be able to tell the difference, except that the Israelis can stop figuring out what other piece of land they have to give away or cede control over. Refuse to let Palestinian and (lately) Hezbolla terrorism force Israel to negotiate. Let Israel's campaign against them (and their own ineptness) force them to come up with a peace process for once.

b) Even if the Arab states really gave a crap about Jerusalem, there's not a lot they can do about it. The US is effectively energy independent (yea frackers!), and the Arab oil states are losing revenue. They are in no position to get feisty with the US about this, especially in light of c) below:

c) The Arab states are all scared ****less of Iran, and they know Iran is a true threat, to the very territorial integrity of the Gulf States, and the to KSA's own perceived leadership of the Muslim world -- not to mention to their oilfields. The Arab states actions are focused on Iran, our embassy in Jerusalem is a sideshow. Make some pronouncements, pound the table a couple times, and then get back to the real problem.

When 9/11 happened, the Arab states, especially the Gulf States, happily forked over space in their countries for the US to build (mostly air) bases on, or to expand existing facilities. Yes they had an interest in seeing al Quaeda like movements suppressed, but more strategically it would help bind the US to them to oppose the real enemy, and that was and is Iran. Not Israel. Shoot, one of the Arab-hosted bases I was at I got to drink Corona beer bottled in Israel. The whole bottle was printed in Hebrew except for the word "Corona."

And if Rex is not onboard with this, Trump should fire him. Immediately.

^^^THIS^^^

 

[GIJEW]

Practically speaking, I also reject the "God gave this to me" excuse. But I cannot deny that the Jews did try to live in relative peace with the Palestinians, and the Palestinians wouldn't have it. They fought, and the (now) Israelis won. It's their land to do as they please. What I don't agree with, is how they administer that land, and treat the Palestinians. And before someone chimes in with some nonsense, the Palestinians aren't a monolith, and the prison they find themselves in, is controlled by criminal thugs. I imagine living there is something similar to the movie "Escape from New York."

There seems to be some cognitive dissonance in your post. You say you don't agree with how "Israel administers that land". Are you referring to the "West Bank"? 95% of Arabs there live under the rule of the Palestinian authority, maybe they're who you meant by "criminal thugs"? If you're referring to Arabs who are Israeli citizens, I'll Sarah Zoabi tell you about that:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTh4ReWk_jY

 

[historian]

U.S. "taking names" at U.N. vote:

US 'will be taking names' during UN vote on Jerusalem - BBC News

 

[jamil]

U.S. "taking names" at U.N. vote:

US 'will be taking names' during UN vote on Jerusalem - BBC News

I saw that on twitter. I like the moxie. Translation in the language of jamil. All y’all mother****ers taking our aid can kiss our ass if you don’t like our policies. It’s fair that handouts have strings attached. Don’t bit the hand that feeds you.

of course I’d rather we didn’t do handouts as a government.

 

[2A_Tom]

You do not have to agree with us, and it may make no difference in how we treat you, however it could affect our generosity toward you.

 

[jamil]

You do not have to agree with us, and it may make no difference in how we treat you, however it could affect our generosity toward you.

I prefer the translation with colorful metaphors.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

U.S. "taking names" at U.N. vote:

US 'will be taking names' during UN vote on Jerusalem - BBC News

I saw that on twitter. I like the moxie. Translation in the language of jamil. All y’all mother****ers taking our aid can kiss our ass if you don’t like our policies. It’s fair that handouts have strings attached. Don’t bit the hand that feeds you.

of course I’d rather we didn’t do handouts as a government.

There's plenty for which to criticize Trump...but I kinda like this.

 

[indiucky]

I prefer the translation with colorful metaphors.

 

[DukeofHazmat]

Here is what scripture says about subject...Numbers 24:9 says, "The nation is a like a mighty lion; when is sleeping, no one dares wake it. WHOEVER BLESSES ISRAEL WILL BE BLESSED, AND WHOEVER CURSES ISRAEL WILL BE CURSED." Pretty strong statement I do believe. I believe this is prophecy coming to fruition. President Trump did the right thing no matter what everyone is saying. I think God will bless our country because of this.

 

[T.Lex]

Jerusalem: UN resolution rejects Trump's declaration - BBC News

So now we have a list of most of our prominent allies. Disagreeing with us. Vocally.

Yes, I'm including the "abstentions" like Canada. Because, if they aren't with us, then they are against us.

Besides that, the whole notion of taking away aid because of their policy position strikes me as more interventionist than most neo-isolationists are comfortable with.

 

[jamil]

Jerusalem: UN resolution rejects Trump's declaration - BBC News

So now we have a list of most of our prominent allies. Disagreeing with us. Vocally.

Yes, I'm including the "abstentions" like Canada. Because, if they aren't with us, then they are against us.

Besides that, the whole notion of taking away aid because of their policy position strikes me as more interventionist than most neo-isolationists are comfortable with.

I'm not opposed to saying **** you to my friends when they're full of ****. It's not that I think moving the embassy to Jerusalem is a such a grand idea. But it is the law, and has been since what, 1995 or something? Also, I'm not all that fond of the US being the world's welfare department. **** them all day long. If we have to be their welfare department, I think it's appropriate to attach whatever strings we care to attach to that. So **** them long and hard.

 

[Sylvain]

Jerusalem: UN resolution rejects Trump's declaration - BBC News

So now we have a list of most of our prominent allies. Disagreeing with us. Vocally.

Yes, I'm including the "abstentions" like Canada. Because, if they aren't with us, then they are against us.

Besides that, the whole notion of taking away aid because of their policy position strikes me as more interventionist than most neo-isolationists are comfortable with.

That's a silly and pointless vote as it's non-binding anyway.

It doesn't cancel the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.I
It doesn't, and cannot, "reject Trump's declaration".
It's just a vote to say that the UN doesn't recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel which has been their position since 1967.
Not that Israel gives a **** since it's de facto their capital (at least East Jerusalem).

So voting either yes or no doesn't change a thing for anyone involved (just like many US decisions).

It's still Israel's capital and it's still recognized as such by the US.

 

[T.Lex]

I think it is important because it was symbolic.

Since there was nothing at stake, why didn't the UK vote with us? Or our Middle East allies?

 

[actaeon277]

I'm not for giving other countries our money.
But if we do give our money to other countries, and they want to go "their own way", then I have no problem withholding money. It's our money.

 

[HoughMade]

I think it is important because it was symbolic.

Since there was nothing at stake, why didn't the UK vote with us? Or our Middle East allies?

...because there was nothing at stake.

Look "progressive", placate the obnoxious elements of your populace, but know the U.S. will always have your back anyway.

 

[actaeon277]

In other news, the US announced that the earth does in fact, orbit the sun.

Widespread panic and now mobs are threatening to burn down cities.