For the first time in nearly two years, Israel and the Palestinian Authority resumed direct negotiations in Washington this week amid a great deal of fanfare.

In a clear sign of the occasion's significance, President Barack Obama personally set aside several hours in between his frequent vacations to host the restart of the talks, while former British Prime Minister Tony Blair abandoned the lucrative lecture circuit for a few days in order to attend the ceremony.

Can this possibly be just business as usual?

With all the clinking of the champagne glasses at the festive diplomatic dinner, and the inevitable poses for the political paparazzi, some might be tempted to get swept away by all the hope and change that seems to be in the air. 

After all, the diplomatic process has been stalled for some 20 months now, and the fact that Israel and the Palestinian leadership are again looking at each other across a table clearly marks an advance in the right direction.

Or does it?

Before you get too excited, consider the following. Even before the talks began, Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was already at work blaming Israel for their imminent failure.

In a speech in Ramallah on Sunday, Abbas said, "I clearly state today that we notified the Americans and international officials that Israel will bear sole and full responsibility for the collapse of negotiations should settlement building continue" (Ynet, August 30).

Like a bride placing a call to her divorce lawyer as she saunters down the aisle, Abbas is laying the groundwork for a letdown.

Before setting foot in the American capital, he was effectively trying to compel Israel to extend the 10-month freeze on construction in the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria that is due to expire on September 26. By asserting a linkage between settlement building and the continuation of the talks, Abbas is seeking to impose unilateral preconditions on the nature and conduct of the negotiations.

This, of course, is completely unacceptable and should be met with a straightforward, yet firm Israeli response.
In other words, it is time for the Jewish state to rev up the bulldozers. Let's start building again throughout the length and breadth of Judea and Samaria. This is the only way to ensure that the Palestinians will at last understand that they cannot decree the outcome.

Sure, you might be thinking, but then won't Israel be giving Abbas precisely the excuse he wants to slam his fist on the table and storm away from the talks?

But the question itself contains the answer.

For if Abbas is already looking for a pretext to walk out, then what is the point of negotiating with him in the first place? If he isn't serious about talking, then why on earth should we be?

Like it or not, if the diplomatic process is to have any chance at all of succeeding, then Israel cannot, and must not, allow the Palestinians to think that they can dictate what Israeli policy should be, whether via threats, pressure or intimidation.

The last thing Israel, or the process itself, can afford is for the Jewish state to exude a further sense of weakness or frailty. Time and again, since the start of the Oslo track in 1993, Israeli concessions and capitulation have only invited a still more aggressive Palestinian stance.

It is time to break the cycle of submission, and underline our right to each and every part of this precious land.
For far too long, the left and the media have fed us with the mantra that "Settlements are the obstacle to peace". Despite the rhetoric, they never have been. Not once.

The true obstacle to peace remains what it has always been: the Palestinian refusal to accept a permanent and sovereign Jewish presence in the land of Israel. Palestinian leaders continue to harbor fantasies of annihilation, which is why they have been loath to accept even the most generous of Israeli offers over the years.

Indeed, it wasn't a lack of Israeli generosity that torpedoed peace, but an excess of Palestinian audacity.
And that is one reason why settlements are so important: they disabuse the Palestinians of their deeply-held notion that Israel is a passing or temporary phenomenon.

Think about it: every red-bricked Israeli roof that is erected on the outskirts of Ramallah, every Hebrew hothouse that goes up south of Hebron, is a tangible reminder to Mr. Abbas and his colleagues that the Jewish people are here to stay.

If each time they look out their windows, the Palestinian leadership is faced with a steadily–growing Jewish horizon, they will be forced to accept this basic and fundamental truth. Then, and only then, will peace possibly have a chance of breaking out.

Personally, I believe Israel should expand Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria because of our Divinely-given right to these areas. And I do not want Israel to give up control over any part of our ancestral patrimony.
But the bottom line is that wherever you stand on the question of territory - right or left - settlements serve to advance Israel's values and interests.

So let's get those engines going and start pouring some more concrete. Both because it is good for Israel and, ironically enough, also for peace.

Over the weekend, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas once again demonstrated his true colors by heaping praise on a mass-murderer.

According to an INN newsarticle based on a CNN report, Abbas sent his condolences to the family of Abu Daoud, the mastermind of the terrorist attack against the Israeli athletic team in the 1972 Munich Olympics, who passed away on Friday evening.

"He is missed," Abbas wrote in his letter to Abu Daoud's family, praising the terrorist as "one of the leading figures of Fatah" and thanking him for having "spent his life in resistance and sincere work as well as physical sacrifice for his people's just causes".

Among Abu Daoud's so-called "just causes" was the taking of 11 Israeli Olympians hostage in Munich, all of whom were killed during a failed rescue attempt by German police.

"I regret nothing," Abu Daoud told Germany's Spiegel TV in 2006, defiantly adding that, "You can only dream that I would apologize."

This incident provides a timely reminder of just what kind of person Mr. Abbas is. Despite the Obama Administration's efforts to cultivate him and portray him as a man of peace, Abbas does not hesitate to heap praise on a man who attacked the Olympics and bore responsibility for the murder of innocents. His words and his actions speak for themselves.

If this is Obama's idea of someone with whom Israel can do business, he is sorely and gravely mistaken. 

experience demonstrates that when we embrace universalism at the expense of particularism, and reduce Judaism to nothing more than a hodge-podge of liberal causes, we do both ourselves and the world a great disservice

The former community activist and senator, known to friends and foes alike as both a great orator and accomplished author, is apparently striving to add yet another lofty title to his already remarkable resume.

Not content with merely being the President of the United States, Obama evidently wishes to assume the role of Chief Rabbi as well.

That, at least, is the impression one gets from the remarks he delivered last week in the East Room of the White House to mark Jewish American Heritage Month.

Speaking to a cluster of prominent invitees, the Commander-in-Chief suddenly morphed into the Interpreter-in-Chief, as he expounded on a theme taken straight from Jewish belief.

Invoking the principle of "Tikkun Olam", or repairing the world, Obama chose to twist this age-old idea almost entirely beyond recognition, suggesting that it encompasses everything from "rebuilding our economy" to "strengthening old alliances and forging new ones".

And then, taking this dubious line of thinking a step further, he even linked it to his efforts to create a Palestinian state.

Needless to say, it is quite common for politicians to wrap themselves in the flag, or in this case a prayer shawl, in an effort to cloak their positions with a semblance of authenticity and legitimacy.

But this time, Obama has gone too far. His distortion of the concept of "Tikkun Olam" is so breathtaking in its arrogance, and offensive in its ignorance, that it cannot be overlooked.

Not only does it exhibit a fundamental misunderstanding of Jewish theology, but it is also an insult to Jewish history and destiny.

To be sure, the term "Tikkun Olam" has taken a beating in recent decades, primarily thanks to various liberal groups which have misappropriated the expression to further their social-action and political agendas.

Often concerned more with saving trees in a South American rainforest than with assisting their fellow Jews in need, they slap the label of "Tikkun Olam" on to their activities with utter disregard for the origins and meaning of the phrase.

The term "Tikkun Olam" first appears in the Talmud, where it is used primarily in connection with rabbinical enactments concerning, of all things, divorce.

But the phrase is perhaps most well-known because of a reference to it in the Aleinu prayer, which is recited thrice daily at the end of services.

And that is what makes this all so deliciously ironic, because if Obama, or for that matter, many of his Jewish supporters who bandy about the term, would bother to take a look at its context, they might not rush to employ it as frequently as they do.

"Therefore we place our hope in you O L-rd our G-d," begins the second paragraph of Aleinu, "that we shall soon see the glory of your power, the elimination of abominations from the earth, the idols felled, and the repair of the world ("Le-Taken Olam") through the kingdom of G-d."

That hardly sounds like the platform of the Democratic party, don't you think?

Indeed, it is evident that the ultimate "Tikkun Olam", the one which Jews enunciate three times a day every day, has nothing to do with multiculturalism, pluralism, or even global warming.

It represents a yearning for the day when the entire world will acknowledge the G-d of Israel as Creator of the Universe.

Somehow I doubt that is what Obama has in mind for the rest of his term of office.

But the irony gets even better. For according to tradition, the first paragraph of Aleinu was authored by Joshua, who led the Israelites in conquering the very same Land of Israel that Obama now wishes to divide as part of his ambitious plan to "repair the world".

And the second section was said to have been composed by a Biblical figure named Achan, who took part in the capture of Jericho.

Thus, if one were to insist on applying "Tikkun Olam" to modern-day political agendas, it clearly would resonate more profoundly with those who wish to settle the Land of Israel, rather than carve it up.

But that has not stopped Obama and others from seeking to redefine this religious term, misrepresent it and then exploit it in order to score a few political points.

And that has got to stop. It is time that we take back the term "Tikkun Olam", which has often become a cover for some Jews to dilute Judaism and transform it into little more than fighting oil spills or salvaging endangered species of birds.

Now don't get me wrong. I am of course all in favor of Jews playing an active part in public life and contributing to the betterment of society and mankind. Looking beyond ourselves and helping others is surely something to be encouraged and fostered.

But experience demonstrates that when we embrace universalism at the expense of particularism, and reduce Judaism to nothing more than a hodge-podge of liberal causes, we do both ourselves and the world a great disservice. This, after all, is the road which leads directly to assimilation and to ruin.

It is precisely by caring for our own, and putting Jewish concerns first, such as Israel and Jewish education, that we can continue to have a lasting and profound impact on the cosmos as proud and knowledgeable Jews.

The fact is that we do not need to make the world a better place in order to keep Judaism strong. The opposite is true. By strengthening our practice and our faith, we can then contribute the most, both to ourselves and to others.

So by all means, if you care about the fate of toads in Wyoming or salmon in Oregon, go ahead and do something about it.

But in the process, don't overlook Torah study, or the campaign to free Gilad Shalit, or the need to help Ethiopian Jews build a better life in Israel.

The surest path to repairing the world starts right here at home. And if we don't start worrying a little more about ourselves, you can rest assured that no one else will do it for us.

--- from the June 4 Jerusalem Post

it was precisely 25 years ago next month that French intelligence agents, acting upon the orders of then-President Francois Mitterand, covertly attacked and blew up a Greenpeace vessel in New Zealand
Among these leading the charge to denounce Israel in unsparing terms over the Gaza flotilla incident have been the pusillanimous paragons of piety in Paris.

On Monday, without even bothering to check the facts, French President Nicolas Sarkozy reflexively condemned Israel and accused it of a "disproportionate use of force".

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said he was "deeply shocked" by the Israeli raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla and insisted that "nothing can justify the use of such violence".

As always, it is hard to take Paris' moral posturing all too seriously, given their track record of cozying up to dictators and selling arms and ammunition to just about everyone except the Devil himself (though I'm sure they tried leaving messages for him.....).

But what is particularly galling about this Gallic gumption is the sheer hypocrisy that it represents.

After all, it was precisely 25 years ago next month that French intelligence agents, acting upon the orders of then-President Francois Mitterand, covertly attacked and blew up a Greenpeace vessel in New Zealand to prevent the environmental activists from disrupting a French nuclear test.

The ship, known as the Rainbow Warrior, was docked in port of Auckland, New Zealand's capital, and as a result of the blast, a photographer on board was killed.

So just exactly who do the French think they are to be lecturing Israel?