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Ken Abramowitz

US Deals Blow to Peace in the Middle East

The United States’ recent decision not to veto the United Nations security council resolution condemning Israel for constructing settlements in “Palestinian land,” declaring the actions illegal and demanding they end, is just plain outrageous. The Obama administration has continually upheld a biased and untenable view of Middle East politics, as illustrated in Secretary of State John Kerry’s 70-minute speech that, despite its length, added nothing of value to the discourse.

The security council passed the resolution on Dec. 23 — on a Friday night, the timing of which was pointedly insensitive to religious Jews who would be preparing for and observing the Sabbath — with a 14-0 vote. While the United States abstained, a move that clearly showed its endorsement of the resolution as a veto would have taken it off the table, every other country sitting on the council voted in favor of it. This decision was wrong religiously, historically, politically and nationalistically.

It is undeniable that God gave these lands — which should rightly be called by their original names of Judea and Samaria — to the Jewish people 3,800 years ago. The Bible is very clear on this front. Obama and Kerry purport to be good Christians, but religious Christians acknowledge this promise of a homeland that God gave to the Jewish people. Kerry began his longwinded speech, which he delivered on Dec. 28, five days after the vote, with a heartfelt wish for everyone to have had a “wonderful” Christmas and a terse “Happy Hanukkah” to acknowledge the holiday that was still occurring. How can Kerry — and his puppet-master, Obama — dismiss religious precedent while invoking religious celebration in his speech? Either acknowledge religion or do not; don’t use it when it suits you.

And even if Kerry is willing to overthrow God’s mandate, how can he ignore history? The Jewish people and their ancestors have lived in Judea and Samaria for the past 3,800 years. The Jewish people have called this land home for millennia, for far longer than the vast majority of peoples living in the countries on the security council have built a home on their lands. And yet, would these countries deny their people the right to live on their lands? The ancestors of the Jews have been living in Judea and Samaria longer than the current majority of those living in the United States. Why hasn’t the U.S. government ceased building homes on land that — under its own logic — belongs to the indigenous peoples?

The main point of Kerry’s speech — which was admittedly a tad difficult to parse after wading through 70 minutes of bloviating — was that vetoing the vote would detrimentally affect the peace process. What peace process? More than once Israel has made friendly overtures to the Palestinian Authority in an attempt to reach peace and effect a two-state solution. But Kerry did not mention Yasser Arafat’s rejection of a proposal by Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak in 2000-2001 for a two-state solution, or Mahmoud Abbas’ failure to even respond to Ehud Olmert’s offer in 2008.

Rather than protect the “peace process,” this vote has seriously harmed it. The PA is hereby emboldened to reject future negotiations with Israel; it is strengthened by the sanction placed against the Jewish state by the U.N. Rather than promote peace, this resolution has further destabilized an already precarious situation.

About the Author
Ken Abramowitz is the Chairman of American Friends of Likud and the founder of SaveTheWest.
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