Netanyahu's West Bank Nightmare -- An Exclusive Video Report

JERUSALEM -- I just spent the evening in a small park overlooking occupied East Jerusalem at a gathering of the Israeli settlement movement's movers and shakers. The settlers were there to cheer three of their leaders who would be presented with the Irving Moskowitz Prize for Zionism. Few of the ultra-religious attendees seemed aware that Moskowitz was a California casino baron who has exploited cheap undocumented Mexican labor to fund the proliferation of radical settlements in the West Bank. None seemed to care. The fulfillment of Greater Israel, an ethnically cleansed Jewish homeland from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River, was paramount.

"This is the future of Israel," Kiryat Arba settlement founder Noam Arnon flatly remarked to me. "We won't let the Arabs and their propaganda network CNN confuse us into thinking anything else."

The settlers were confident that the Israeli army, and by extension, the Israeli government, remains firmly on their side. "We're brothers, we're the same people," one young settler from Gush Etzion told me of his community's relationship with the IDF. "Of course they are on our side."

Israeli Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau, an important cabinet member and ally of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, sat in the front row throughout the ceremony. Afterwards he told my reporting partner Jesse Rosenfeld that the land of Israel belongs to Jews, therefore settlements could never be dismantled. Can anything Benjamin Netanyahu says to Barack Obama about the settlements be taken seriously? The dozens of settlers I spoke to certainly did not think so.

The Moskowitz Prize ceremony was held next to Silwan, a thriving Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem where residents are currently confronting the Israeli government's plan to forcibly demolish 86 of their homes in order to build an archeological park. Last week, I met Rabbi Arik Ascherman of Rabbis for Human Rights in front of a Silwan home that was recently demolished. Rabbi Ascherman told me the demolition order raises the question of whether Israel values rocks more than human beings. Fakhri abu Diab, one of the 1500 residents who will be forced into the streets by Israel's home demolitions, told me he avoids discussing with his children the impending destruction of their home because he has no means of allaying their fears.

Part One

Part Two

Despite Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's criticism of the demolitions, Israel has already bulldozed two homes. The survival of the remaining homes depends entirely on international pressure. But Silwan is only the tip of the iceberg. After spending a week on the West Bank, I concluded that the recognition by the U.S. and the West of a viable Palestinian state in partnership with Israel has never seemed more like a pipe dream.

Jewish settlement of the West Bank is being consolidated and expanded. Armed resistance by Palestinian groups lies dormant -- most fighters have been arrested or killed -- while those Palestinians who employ nonviolent means to resist the Israeli government's plan to divide and annex their land are being met with draconian and sometimes lethal force (I learned this last fact the hard way when I was teargassed while covering a non-violent Palestinian protest of the Israeli separation wall). The refugee camps are increasingly overcrowded and seethe with resentment of nightly Israeli raids that seem to accomplish nothing beyond antagonism. And the Palestinian Authority is viewed as a brutal collaborationist force while Hamas is still incipient.

You can see for yourself what I experienced on the West Bank in my two part video documentary for the Daily Beast, Bibi's Big Problem.

Comments

[Sentientbeing09]

Thanks Max!

[zius]

a Journalist must pursue the truth at all times ...and inform the public about it ....thank you so much... excellent work....god bless

[mginla]

Excellent work? Blumenthals bias is betrayed in his first sentences when he goes out of his way (and out of context) to try to slander this Moskowitz fellow. "Exploitation"? Every major real estate project in CA in the last 30 years has used some form of undocumented labor.
Clearly, this is biased from the start.
The large majority of Americans support israel because we see it as the only thriving democracy, surrounded by enemies who don't share our western values, who don't value human life. I disagree with israel about the expansion of settlements, but blumenthal just ignores the context here.
How can israel make peace with groups that REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE ITS RIGHT TO EXIST?
Why do palestinian schools teach hatred and anti-semitism?
(here is one of hundreds of sources that show the hatred taught to palestinian children):
http://www.pmw.org.il/tv%20part1.html
Why isn't hamas and palestinian leadership held responsible for peace?
Until israel has a stable partner for peace that recognizes its right to exist, Blumenthal is right, a viable palestinian state is indeed a "pipe dream".

[zius]

stop selling hate ........i want peace this is why i will answer you.....

1-a quote from your post : -":Every major real estate project in CA in the last 30 years has used some form of undocumented labor".(end of quote)..this is wrong and just because everybody is doing this "exploitation " this doesn't make it right ...so his statement that "moskowitz was a California casino baron who has exploited cheap undocumented Mexican labor to fund the proliferation of radical settlements" ..is TRUE ..and thats whats important .

2-the majority of americans support justice and fairness ...

3-why did israel elect a right wing government after the gaza massecre ? why do israelis support expansion of illegal settlements ? why are they taking land away from palestinians and denying them a home state?... ...maybe it's because isreali schools teach children that its ok to take other peoples land and that the palastineans are subhuman..

4-why isnt avigdor lieberman and netanyahu committed to peace and a one state solution?

5-until the palistinans have a stable partner for peace that recognizes their right to exist peace will indeed be a "pipe dream"

[littlepeople]

What came first.....Israeli contempt for Palestinians or Palestinian's hatred of Israel?

[msfsi]

Interestingly enough the founder of Palestinian Media Watch (your... ahem "unbaised" link). Itmar Marcus is a settler himself.

[Freenation]

if Palestinians are taught anti-Semitism in school what were the kids from the settlements doing, throwing roses at Palestinians whose land they grabbed…the only irony is one side gets focus and other side gets protection from MSM specially US media…thank you Max….

[greatscot]

Israel a thriving democracy? Yes, in the same way South Africa was a thriving democracy pre-liberation! The majority of Americans DON'T support Israel, just look at the polls. Except for the area of Palestine that was partitioned to become Israel in 1948 (about 30% of present-day "Israel") all other land occupied by Israel is stolen property. Something horrible is brewing in the Middle-East, and it will likely come to a head when Israeli arrogance meets Iranian intransigence.

[skialethia]

Where is Abbas??? Where is the West-approved, Israeli-approved so-called leader of the Palestinian people??? HE HAS BEEN THE WEAKEST, MOST INEPT, MOST ENABLING PM Palestinians ever had the misfortune to represent their rights!!! Abbas was Sharon's lap dog! He handed the West Bank to Sharon on a silver platter while he bowed at his feet! Abbas betrayed everyone in the ghettos on the West Bank!!! No wonder Arafat couldn't stand him; he probably saw him immediately for who he really is! It was just too easy to get rid of Arafat! The Israelis have a GREAT INSIDER!

How does Abbas feel watching the settlers live in luxury on Palestinian land where Palestinian homes used to stand, stealing water resources and beating up on senior Palestinians and meanwhile he enjoys his own comfortable life and DOES NOTHING!

Thank you for this article. Please everyone: keep denouncing the destruction of property, the theft of land and the oppression imposed on these people by Israel! These are all crimes against humanity! Please keep exposing the deception and fighting for the truth!

[jwcmass]

In all fairness- and I'm not defending Abbas against all charges-- you can't hand over what you don't control in the first place.

The West Bank is. and since 1967 has been occupied militarily by Israel.

There have been some small parts under Oslo that were "handed over" to the PA-- but the Palestinians never have had or were offered any REAL sovereignty (not even in 2000 Camp David) over the West Bank.

Sharon did what he wanted in sending in the IDF (even as a general in the IDF, he didn't get along with his fellow officers--mainly because he had this problem with following orders)

[Justtellthetruth]

God Bless you Max (et al) These are truly heroic efforts. Please keep up the great work.

[rf dude]

But, but -

that arid, hot, dusty, worthless stretch of land on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea was given to the Jewish People by none other than The Biggest Real Estate Owner Of All.

Consider: (S)He is the original owner of not only the Jordan River Valley, but all of Mesopotamia - oh, and the rest of the known and unknown Universe (including stars, galaxies, dust, gas, rocks, etc etc) as well!

So yeah - if the Creator of the Universe wants to concern himself about property transfers to migrant sheep herders, who are WE to argue?

(Ummm - I don't suppose anybody got his signature on the title transfer papers, did they??)
--

[elghoul]

but ...but....but

Your logic is flawed...are we talking about the same god...who let atrocities and even
a genocide be commited on Israel...Thank god for other non " chosen " nations who were
there to stop it....so who are the chosen ones now...
All what we know as believers is that the all mighty is all justice...and all nations
have the right to live and prosper...so go back and review the true meaning of the
words of god...Israel has been on the wrong side of god for a long long time...

[jwcmass]

I could be wrong, but I think rf dude might have been using sarcasm there -to make a point. (God is not a real estate broker)

[newworldman777]

Dick Cheney argues for the justification of American torture of detainees, saying that it doesn't create more terrorists. He said that terrorists hate us for what we stand for and not for how we treat our Islamic prisoners.

Cheney is dead wrong about everything that he said. They hate us for torturing their brethren, as well as for our actions around the world that are counter-productive to good relations with Islamic countries. Our unwavering support for Israel, at the expense of the Palestinians, is a prime example. That is certainly not what the America that I believe in should be doing. Cheney is falling back onto that tired old conservative neocon mantra that "they hate us for our freedoms," trying to appeal to the most ignorant among us. I hope that most of us are now savvy enough to recognize this as unadulterated bs.

They hate America because we are conducting a crusade against Islam, as was revealed by those notorious "Crusade memos" delivered by Rumsfeld to Bush in our rush into the Iraq War. Our determined support for all things "Judeo-Christian" in the Middle East can be compared to the campaigns of the "Knights Templar" of the Middle Ages, and this is exactly how Islamic countries interpret our disturbing behavior. Though Cheney is now devoid of power, he continues to peddle his lies to the American people. Shameful...and shame on anybody dumb enough to buy into it.

[EspressoAtNoon]

Let's hope Iran can stand up to this apartheid nation, and liberate the poor Palestinians. Unfortunately, the US Congress is also occupied territory - making it virtually impossible for us to help stop the ethnic cleansing ... Unfortunately, our tax money funds the ethnic cleansing, the land theft, and the killing of Palestinians and there's nothing we can seem to do about it.

[AbrahamSadegh]

What Israel is doing to the Palestinians with full awareness of the entire world is analogous to what Hitler did to the Jews. How the world allows what Israel is doing to continue is beyond comprehension.

By the way, I am not an Arab and I do believe that Israel can be and should be a blessing in the Middle East rather than a curse as symbolized by the likes of those who made the Irving Moskowitz Prize for Zionism possible and those who receive it.

There is a glimmer of hope, however, in what seems to be our re-evaluating our unconditional and undemocratic support for a nation that is a democracy only for the Jews and not all of them at that.

And I would urge the Jews in America to be Americans first and Israeli second rather than the other way around. That would go a long way to severe the umbilical cord connecting Israel to us in a manner that has been detrimental to everyone including the long-term interest of Israel itself.

[skialethia]

"There is a glimme of hope..."

There is??? Where? Please! Share your perceived glimmer of hope! Please! Because I just don't see it!

How do we push this ten ton boulder up the mountain??? I'm tired!!! Tired of screaming, writing and fighting for justice!

How do you make blind, selfish, arrogant and corrupt politicians and all Americans, and the Israeli apologists here see that this is blatant INJUSTICE and INHUMANITY funded, enabled and abetted by the U.S. of A.???

So pleeeeeeez share your glimmer of hope with me, because I just can't bear the inpetitude of our Government to oppose this crime against humanity any longer!

Please give me a glimmer of hope so I can keep fighting in my own way for this cause, because I am at my wits end!!!

[AbrahamSadegh]

President Barack Obama.

[zaz33]

Anyone that knows what's happening, understands what's happening and supports it, cannot have a soul. ( including Obama )

[Goefel]

Now if this type of reporting was front page on Huffington Post, there might be a dead reckoning with the public in regard to our 'special' relationship with this government. This type of reporting will only increase until Israel can actually change their corrupt and rotten principles & practices.

Barack Obama knows that this problem of illegal settlements and outright oppression of people is why the hostility exists toward Israel. It is not 'their' land and God did not promise this land to one people.
The values of Israel are corrupt and it's reflected in their leaders.

Max Blumenthal has the courage to expose this. Good for him.
Rabbi Ascherman restores hope in peace.
Pastor Hagee can suck an egg...

[SadButWiser]

Come on, Israel is the only democracy in the region.

[rosiebond007]

They have never given the Palestinians the smallest chance.

They STEAL their land, their homes, their money, their education, their medical assistance, their livelihood, their land, KILL their families, children, relatives and friends.

WHAT KIND OF DEMOCRACY DO YOU CALL THAT??

THE CIVILIZED WORLD CALLS IT A HOLOCAUST !!

[petecook5]

Israel is a theocracy. The U.S. shouldn't be in the business of supporting theocracies. I wouldn't support a christian theocracy, a muslim theocracy. Why should I support a jewish theocracy?

[newworldman777]

Considering the negative consequences of America's unwavering support of our "friend and ally" Israel -- "the only democracy in the Middle East" -- who needs enemies? Our interminable, hard-headed support for this country can be diagnosed as being nothing less than "self-destructive behavior." 9-11? We can put that into the category of "the price of supporting the Israeli state," since it was cited by the terrorists as having been the number one reason for their attack on us.

[jwcmass]

SadButWiser

Being a democracy does not mean that a society cannot be tyrannical.

The US was a republic (with democratic institutions evolving) at teh time of its birth. Yet it was nation that had the institution of race based slavery, and basically violated every treaty it made with the native peoples of this continent (with one President, Andrew Jackson, openly defying a Supreme Court order when the Court supported the Cherokee Nation)

So democracies can behave just as tyrannically as despotic regimes.

[quoththemaven]

Step up world, it is time to halt these land grabbers. I worked at Saks Fifth for awhile in NYC. In the cosmetics dept. They would give free spa events to get women in to buy. I worked one where the ladies were offered either the eyebrow waxing or the facial. The deal was one, not both, very clear. When the Hassidam ladies heard free deal at Saks many signed up, came in with their grabbing children and I spent the whole of my day fighting, holding my ground, enforcing the rules, physically removing the screaming beatch who insisted, fighting all the way, she was having the waxing. This after I knew she'd just had the G.D. facial. Sounds petty? Yes, but it has been my metaphor ever since for what I believe now, may be some kind of genetic or deeply entrenched prediliction to not play fair. I had none of these feelings before I lived in NYC. I moved. Note- When I was in Jr.& High school I kept photo of holocaust victims in notebook, so disturbed by mans inhumanity to man I was. I still am.

[temashana]

You cannot condemn a whole religion or culture because of some annoying women. If you were to do so, no religion or culture would ever be looked upon in a positive light. Individuals do not make up a whole "genetic" group or however you care to label people.
It's a shame you left NYC instead of getting to really experience all the wonderful things various cultures can open you up to.

[AbrahamSadegh]

Israel is no longer about Judaism. Israel is about tradition. Had Israel for thousands of years carried out its fundamental and universal mission of being the light unto humanity, there would have been no need for the likes of Christ to give his life to reinforce the essence of Judaism at the foundation of the Arbrahamic faiths that had been degraded to mere tradition constituting only the tip of a vanishing iceberg.

[Garioch]

Watch yourself there, the IDF have a tendency to use rather more lethal force against everything from non violent demonstrations through children in classrooms to farmers in their fields.

[Muskered]

Good Lord, America! What have you done?

[newworldman777]

Where should I begin? How about my beginning with European (and African, and Oriental, and yes even Jewish) Americans' own occupation of lands stolen from the Native Americans. Our own troubling and highly questionable situation really gives America the moral high ground to condemn, or even advise, others in similar situations, now doesn't it?

[genofear]

I don't dismiss your point. However I consider this case to be somewhat different because:

1. Due to our overwhelming financial and military support of Israel, we are effectively part of the Israeli aggression. Their actions are 95% enabled by the US. We are not bound by our past atrocities to therefore enable modern atrocities.

2. We are talking about displaced people who are still living. I know people who still have the keys to their homes in the occupied territories. I know a guy who came to Jordan when he was 17 to visit family and was prohibited by Israel from returning home to his parents - five years ago. I have Palestinian friends in Jordan who get to watch people from all over the world pass through to visit Palestine while they're not allowed to go to their own country (so, there wasn't 'a flag' - but that doesn't negate the fact that their families lived on the land there for generations).

[alexa07]

Yes, it still does. Times have changed since the end of WWII when many of the international laws were set down. The the Zionists, so to speak, were about a century or so too late. Additionally, the foolish US Congress allocated heaps of my tax dollars to Israel to support a brutal occupation & theft of land, water et al. No way. I can say stop, loudly.

[plebeianswillrevolt]

nice reporting Max, heads-up to the world, this powder keg is getting ready to blow.

[zaz33]

If the powder keg blows it will accelerate the exodus of Jews leaving Israel.

The demographics are changing rapidly.