The Government Press Office was kind enough to send me a notice from the Municipality of Ariel:
Some 600 American Christian Zionists, led by well-known Evangelical leader, Pastor John Hagee, will arrive in Israel this week to express their support for Israel on the Jewish Homeland’s 60th year of Independence. One of the highlights of their visit will take place on Thursday evening, April 3rd in Ariel…
Pastor John Hagee, who established Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, is considered the leading Evangelist in the U.S.A today…
Since anyone visiting this fair blog knows my view of Hagee, I won’t repeat that. But it’s worth pointing out to the flack who produced this note that “evangelist” (a preacher or missionary) doesn’t mean the same thing as Evangelical (the type of Protestantism that stresses Bible study and adult acceptance of Jesus). Furthermore, crowning Hagee as the leading Evangelical is awfully unfair to Evangelicals.
And furthermore, and moreover, and pay attention here, Rev. Hagee: Ariel is not in Israel. It is in the West Bank. According to Israeli law, it is in territory that Israel holds under military occupation. Supporting Ariel means supporting the growth of a settlement that Israel will almost certainly have to evacuate in any final-status agreement - except that Rev. Hagee’s purpose is to help prevent such an agreement. Which is not a great way to support the State of Israel.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Y. Ben-David // Apr 1, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Ariel, like Hevron, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and many other towns are in Eretz Israel. Mail is delivered addressed to
“Ariel, Israel”.
No one in the world recognizes the “pre-1967 green line” as a political boundary, except for the Israeli Left. It is no more than an cease-fire line. UN Security Council Resolutions call for an Israel withdrawal “from territories occuped in the Six-Day War”, not “THE territories”, thus showing they do not recognize it as a political border. No major country ever put their embassies in WEST Jerusalem, thus not recognizing the Green Line as a border. The Palestinians do not recognize the Green Line as a border because they insist on the “right of return” to within the Green Line, thus not recognizing Israeli sovereignity even within that line, since they do not recognize Israel’s right to decide who has the right to live within it.. The US and others recognize the right of the Palestinians to demand the “right of return” and that it is subject to negotiation, thus agreeing that Israel is not really sovereign within those lines.
The only lines that have any possible legal validity are the 1947 UN Partition lines, but then that makes Jerusalem, Ramla, Lod, Ashdod, Ashqelon, the Jerusalem Corridor and many other places “occupied territories” also, since they were captured in the 1948 War of Independence, yet you claim they ARE in Israel. Totally arbitrary. Jewish claims to Eretz Israel are historic and religious. An arbitrary cease-fire line takes away no legitimacy whatsoever from Jews living within their historic homeland that happens to be outside that line.
It is these historic and religious ties that were recognized by the League of Nations which gave Jews the right to live not only in Judea/Samaria/Gaza BUT ALSO IN TRANSJORDAN. The “Peace Treaty” with Jordan has (temporarily) suspended those Jewish rights there, but no such agreement has ever been signed with the Palestinians (Oslo makes no mentions of the settlements in Judea/Samaria), nor will any such agreement be signed in the future.
2 William Burns // Apr 1, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Shorter Y. Ben-David:
It’s in Israel when that’s convenient, it’s not in Israel when that’s convenient.
3 The Other Alan // Apr 2, 2008 at 12:10 pm
How confusing when we all know that Israel is Palestine, Palestine is Israel, and it’s all occupied by residents who call it home. Sounds like a problem when we insist that what is isn’t, and what isn’t ought to be.
4 Is Hamas Looking For a Two-State Solution? Should We Listen? « South Jerusalem: Gershom Gorenberg and Haim Watzman // Apr 10, 2008 at 2:00 pm
[...] Excuse Me, Ariel isn’t in Israel [...]
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