by Stephen Lendman

Blaming victims repeats with disturbing regularity. More on this below. Extremist ideologues run Israel.

They're criminals. They're thugs. They're militantly hardline. They threaten humanity. They deplore democratic rights. Rule of law principles are ignored.

Institutionalized racism is official policy. So is occupation harshness. State terror reflects it.

For over six decades, Palestinians endured its worst form. They still do today. Daily suffering persists. No one's sure each day who'll live, die, remain free or be arrested, imprisoned and tortured. State terror occurs daily.

In the week ending January 1, Israeli forces conducted 53 Palestinian community incursions. Defenseless civilians were terrorized.

Israeli warplanes bombed Gaza multiple times. Fishermen were attacked at sea. Peaceful protesters were beaten, tear-gassed and arrested. Photojournalists were targeted.

An elderly man died from tear gas inhalation. Women and children were wounded. Dozens of Palestinians were wrongfully arrested.

Settlement construction continues unabated. Another 272 units were approved. Stolen Palestinian land will be used to build them.

On January 2, Israeli Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar laid a cornerstone for a new Jordan Valley settlement. His deputy, Ze'ev Elkin, said "Israel will build, will continue to build and expand the settlement."

They're illegal. It doesn't matter. Palestinian land is stolen daily to expand them. Residents are dispossessed to do so. They have no say.

On January 7, Israel kidnapped five Nablus residents. Several East Jerusalemites were abducted at the same time.

A Palestinian man was crushed to death inside an Israeli checkpoint. Marauding security forces raided Beit Awwa. The entire town was closed off. It's under siege.

Racist settlers stormed Orif village. Israeli soldiers accompanied them. They protected their lawlessness. They broke into a school. They struck a water tank. They damaged a power panel.

They terrorize Palestinians freely. They commit violence and vandalism. They do so repeatedly. They do it with impunity.

Netanyahu reflects the worst of Israeli lawlessness. He deplores peace. He makes achieving it impossible. So do likeminded ideologues.

They infest Israel's Knesset. They control key ministerial portfolios. They reflect racism writ large. On Saturday, Netanyahu said:

"I don't want a binational state, and I don't want (Palestinians) as either citizens or subjects."

"There's a problem," he claims. It's because Palestinians aren't going away. Even if some minimal agreement is reached, he added, "there's still no guarantee that the incitement against us would change."

In other words, peace in our time won't happen. Occupation harshness will continue. Millions of Palestinians will be terrorized. They'll be blamed for Israeli crimes.

During his weekly Sunday cabinet meeting, Netanyahu accused Palestinian officials of "inciting hatred."

"The Palestinians are continuing their campaign of inciting hatred, as we have seen in the last few days with their refusal to recognize Israel as a state for the Jewish people."

"This is the main issue that we're discussing with (Kerry). Among other topics are Israel's security, which must remain in its hands."

Fact check

Palestinians are longstanding victims of Israeli "incitement" and much more. They're terrorized daily. They're denied all rights. They're blamed for Israeli crimes.

Their right to self-defense is called terrorism. Their West Bank leadership is illegitimate. It's more appointed than elected.

Millions of Palestinians are on their own. They're without international community support. Demanding recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is unacceptable. It's outrageous.

Should America be declared a Judeo-Christian state? Should Canada be declared one? Should European countries be so designated? Should other religions and ethnicities be marginalized and denied?

The 1947 UN Partition Plan granted 56% of historic Palestine to Jews. Palestinians got 42%. They comprised two-thirds of the population at the time.

Jerusalem was designated an international city under a UN Trusteeship Council. It's status remains unchanged.

Resolution language denoted Jewish and Arab states. It did so in undefined general terms. It explicitly said these states cannot discriminate against their minority populations.

Israel's peace treaties with Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994) include no reference to recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. Nor does Oslo or initiatives relating to it.

Israel stipulated this demand for the first time during Annapolis 2007-08 talks. Doing so then and now is lawless. It has no basis in international law.

It's obstructionist. It's a pretext to prevent peace. America doesn't recognize Israel as a Jewish state. It's embassy is in Tel Aviv. Other countries operate the same way. They respect Jerusalem's international status.

Washington and Italy maintain Jerusalem consulates. Many countries have them in various cities in countries with which they have diplomatic relations.

Recognizing Israel as Jewish state would marginalize nearly 1.7 million Arab citizens. They comprise over 20% of the population.

They practically have no rights now. They'll be entirely denied in an officially recognized Jewish state. So would diaspora Palestinians. Their right of return would be harder than ever to achieve.

Recognizing a Jewish state declares surrender. National identity would be lost. Ethnic cleansing would be facilitated. Israel would take full advantage.

Netanyahu's demand assures continued conflict. It prevents resolution. It reflects blaming Palestinians for his obstructionism.

He's going all-out to prevent peace. He's done so throughout his political career. Ongoing peace talks are more sham than real.

Kerry's latest plan is totally one-sided. It denies fundamental Palestinian rights. Netanyahu's accusations don't wash.

Israel teaches hate. Children are brainwashed. Textbooks use inflammatory language. So do teachers. On the one hand, Jews are called industrious, brave and superior.

Dozens of pejoratives describe Arabs. They include calling them hostile, deviant, violent, cruel, immoral, unfair, bloodthirsty, vengeful, dirty, noisy, colored, inhuman, dogs, wolves of prey and vipers, among others.

Children internalize fear and loathing. They do so early in life. They're taught to hate, not tolerate or respect. They're told Arabs are enemies.

Doing so continues throughout childhood, adolescence and young adult years. It prepares Israelis to become warriors. Militarism is dominant in Israeli society.

It's considered a desirable way to solve problems. Arabs are vilified. They're Israel's enemy of choice. State-sponsored indoctrination fills young minds with racist hate.

Lawlessness is considered righteousness. Aggression is called self-defense. Palestinians don't incite hatred or violence. Israeli accusations are wildly exaggerated.

The Center for Monitoring the Impact of Peace (CMIP) originated them earlier. CMIP is now called the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-SE).

Its advisory board includes Daniel Pipes. He's a notorious Islamophobe. He supports the worst of Israeli crimes. CMIP, now IMPACT-SE, reflects Zionist ideology.

It ignores racist Israeli textbooks. It vilifies Palestinians unjustly. It's linked to racist Israeli groups. It supports settlement expansions. It turns a blind eye to land theft, ethnic cleansing, and other Israeli high crimes.

So-called Palestinian textbooks it claims include anti-Semitic hate-mongering are Egyptian and Jordanian ones. Palestinian education is polar opposite.

A previous article discussed a June 2004 Israel/Palestinian Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) report. It's titled "Analysis and Evaluation of the New Palestinian Curriculum." It said:

There's "no indication of hatred of the Western Judeo-Christian tradition or the values associated with it."

"(T)he textbooks promote an environment of open-mindedness, rational thinking, modernization, critical reflection and dialogue."

They "promote civil activity, commitment, responsibility, solidarity, respecting others' feelings, respecting and helping people with disabilities, (and) reinforce students' understanding of the values of civil society, such as respecting human dignity; religious, social, cultural, racial, ethnic, and political pluralism; personal, social and moral responsibility; (and) transparency and accountability."

Israeli and Palestinian education reflect opposite values. Israel vilifies Muslims unjustly. Islamic tenets are ignored.

The Koran teaches love, not hate; peace, not violence; charity, not selfishness; and tolerance, not terrorism.

Its five pillars include profession of faith, prayer five times daily, fasting during Ramadan, charity, and performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime for those able to afford it.

It doesn't matter. Muslims are stereotypically mischaracterized. They're portrayed as dangerous gun-toting terrorists.

Hate messages repeat. Fear is stoked. Israeli high crimes are ignored. They're called self-defense. Waging war on Islam is longstanding Israeli policy.

America operates the same way. So do many European countries. Palestinians are isolated on their own.

Long denied peace awaits better times. Hopefully it won't take long coming. World community pressure is needed to achieve it. So far, it's nowhere in sight.

A Final Comment

On January 7, The Times of Israel (TOI) headlined "US said to seek adding 'Jewish State' language to Arab Peace Initiative," saying:

He's "exploring the possibility." Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam cited Western sources," said TOI.

Changed language "would insert a key Israeli demand into the 2002 Saudi-drafted Arab Peace Initiative..." It would "stipulat(e) that Israel's Arab citizens not be affected by" doing so.

Current language calls for Arab countries offering "comprehensive peace with Israel in exchange for" relinquishing control of Occupied Palestine.

On Sunday, John Kerry met with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. He said:

The Kingdom's "initiative holds out the prospect that if the parties could arrive at a peaceful resolution, you could instantaneously have peace between the 22 Arab nations and 35 Muslim nations, all of whom have said they will recognize Israel if peace is achieved."

On Monday, Netanyahu said "there is no American framework document yet." Nothing was agreed.

Israel's Channel 2 said if agreement is reached, it won't be binding on either side. They fundamentally disagree on core issues.

An unnamed Palestinian official said: "We talked about everything, but without agreement on anything."

It's hard agreeing to provisions favoring one side over the other. Netanyahu wants every concession given him and more. It's longstanding Israeli practice.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book is titled "Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity"

http://www.claritypress.com/Lendman.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com

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