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Blow by blow refutation of SoS Kerry’s speech of December 2016 – an exercise in hasbara

This commentary is especially written for those who thought that the Secretary of State (SoS) John Kerry’s speech at the State Department on December 28th, 2016 was very reasonable, and also for those who are so incensed about it, that they cannot find the words to debunk it, who just know that this is not completely right or true but feel confused, powerless or speechless (pun not intended).

Let us tress that this is not an attempt to convince arch enemies of Israel. Rather, this is to give arguments to refute them when they challenge the Jewish State in public: to show the wider public why they should discard their hatred and lies. (There are no honest virulent Jew haters!)

It easily will take easily over 10,000 words to analyze the almost 10,000 words from the SoS to show their value and implication. We hope that our commentary is not only clarifying but also will inspire others to re-find their voice against such talk – an exercise in hasbara (explaining Zionism).

For those who will not read everything, but want to know what this speech was all about, here a summary of background, context and analysis:

Background: SoS John Kerry used 73 minutes in a State Department speech to “explain” US abstention at the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2334 vote. This passive approval was unexpected because President Obama is on his way out and not supposed to take revolutionary action, yet not surprising because he’s been increasingly antagonistic to Israeli Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Letting the Resolution pass, and this apologetic Speech were fiercely condemned across the Israeli political board and also by US Congress.

Content: *Blaming Israel and Arab Palestinians equally for not negotiating peace, but especially being critical of Israel, explaining that this Resolution was urgently needed because of sharply increased building plans for Jewish settlements in the West Bank. *Talking to Israelis, trying to explain that this is criticism of a friend and also a honest broker.  At the end, proposing a plan for reaching peace, against asking Israel to give in more.

Analysis: Numerous articles can easily be found on the Internet analyzing this Speech and the US abstention at UNSCR 2334 vote, all of them critical. At the end of this document, you’ll find some dozen of them. The main points of our running commentary are: *This abstention was only punishing the Israelis, and the SoS is only addressing Israelis. *This Resolution supports BDS openly. *This Resolution is a complete break of US policy: 1. Labeling Israeli presence at the Wailing Wall illegal occupation (down from: illegitimate control) by Israel and implying that Israel must return the Golan Heights to Syria. 2. Pressuring Israel about the Peace Process via the UN, instead of leaving the outcome to direct negotiations between the parties. (Previous negative UN Resolutions critical of Israel were about selective points, not about the PP.) 3. The US Administration coordinated this attack with the Arab Palestinian delegates and left Israel in the dark. 4. US Congress was against this but because President Obama and his Administration are on their way out, there are no repercussions for them. *This attack speaks of being bad losers in the White House and trying to limit future options for President-elect Trump. *Sorry to say that this Speech is a bag of lies, full of twists and turns, full of false equivalence, and convinced no one, of any good US or UN intentions. *These kinds of UN resolutions are not binding, but they still have international standing as “the opinion of the world.” *The six points at the end of this Speech are unacceptable for the Arab Israeli leaders, but Israel should still make the concessions demanded of them? *This is the total denial of the total failure of this Administration towards the Middle East (including Syria!) and putting all the blame and chagrin on Israel, erasing any last appreciation for or doubt about President Obama, who now acted like someone who screams at his deathbed: I hate you! You can’t make love of it, it can’t be undone and it stains his whole life.

The below text is a stenographer’s work (the text the SoS actually spoke) that we found at: timesofisrael.com and that no doubt has copyright – so support the Times of Israel and visit their website.

Scribal errors or confusing text, we checked and if needed corrected in blue [between] from the SoS’s prepared text, as we found here: haaretz.com or from the SoS’s speech as it can be heard at: youtube.com.

My 30-page blow by blow refutation of this speech you’ll find here: drive.google.com!!!

Sharp analyses, very much worth reading and hearing, here:

An Open Letter to John Kerry

Ten Most Hateful Points About Kerry’s Post Abstention Speech

12 reasons the US should never have allowed UN Resolution 2334

Alan Dershowitz: Kerry’s Speech Will Make Peace Harder

Kerry’s Biased Anti-Israel Speech Ignored Facts, Promoted Falsehoods

Analysis: Are Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem legal under international law?

How the EU’s settlement policy legitimises mass dispossession

Israeli Deputy Minister for Regional Cooperation Ayoob Kara: “The settlements are not the problem”

Analysis: Are Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem legal under international law?

Two Statism Gone Mad

NO HOLDS BARRED: OBAMA AND ISRAEL: THE FINAL INSULT

FULL SPEECH: Israeli PM Netanyahu Responds to US Sec of State John Kerry on Middle East Solution

About the Author
The author is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (DES - Diethylstilbestrol), born in 1953 to two Dutch Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork, and holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam). He taught Re-evaluation Co-counseling, became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a vegan for 8 years now. * His most influential teachers (chronologically) are: his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach and lehavdiel bein chayim lechayim: Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo and Rav Zev Leff. * Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years he wrote hasbara for the Dutch public. His fields of attention now are varied: Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science, Politics (Israel, the US and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight Truth), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, GLBTQAI, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), Ecology and Veganism. Many people can't understand or like him because he has such a wide vision that he never fits any specialist's box. But that exactly what others love about him. Many of his posts relate to affairs from the news or the Torah Portion of the Week or are new insights that suddenly befell him. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, reassure the doubters but make the self-assured doubt more. He strives to bring a fresh perspective rather than bore you with the obvious. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds must be disputed. In short, his main political positions are: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, democracy, anti the fake peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, Science, Free Will, anti blaming-the-victim and for down-to-earth optimism. Read his blog how he attempts to bridge any discrepancies. He admits sometimes exaggerating to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quit a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. November 13, 2018, he published his 500st blog post with the ToI. * He likes doing age-appropriate and age-inappropriate things and looks forward to getting to know his timeless mature out-of-the-box soul mate. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me.
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