Where Did I Find This?

I just read an article about the settlement situation and Israel itself, with the following statements:

* Whatever anyone thinks of them, nothing gave Israel the right to move into the West Bank and Gaza after the Six-Day War
* Residential settlements cannot be justified as self-defense — they’re an armed land-grab.
* So while Oslo turned out to be a failure, unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon turned out to be a success
* And I’m very sorry — few Jews want to hear about this, but the acts of brutality against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, not to mention settlers, are part of the fabric of the occupation.

Sounds like it's from some anti-Israel Web site? Well, try again. Believe it or not, this article is actually by Larry Derfner, Tel Aviv Correspondent for The Jewish Journal -- a Los Angeles publication for the Jewish community. Who wants to make a bet that it will be picked up by Arab news services to help make their case for the dismantling of Israel? It saddens me when Jews end up being Israel's worst enemy.

"Whatever anyone thinks of them, nothing gave Israel the right to move into the West Bank and Gaza after the Six-Day War when there were 100 percent Palestinians and 0 percent Israelis there, and to do so permanently, which was Israel’s intention when it built the settlements..... Residential settlements cannot be justified as self-defense — they’re an armed land-grab. That’s plain wrong, and no religious text can justify it."

How can you be accused of a land grab when it's land you won after a defensive war (never mind that we know no other country would ever give land back in a similar situation)? Israel wanted that land to bargain with, which is why they didn't annex it in 1967. But Egypt and Jordan didn't want it back. If you recall, Gaza wasn't in play during the talks with Sadat; they didn't want the PLO to have veto power over any part of the process. Also, Israel had settlements in the Sinai and eventually dismantled them so it doesn't mean they never meant to give land back.

"So while Oslo turned out to be a failure, unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon turned out to be a success..."

Really? I'm sure the news of the huge success will surprise Israeli soldiers who quite often find themselves on the receiving end of Hizbollah's mortar attacks.

"And I’m very sorry — few Jews want to hear about this, but the acts of brutality against Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, not to mention settlers, are part of the fabric of the occupation."

Few Jews might want to hear it but I'm betting he enjoyed saying it. He tells the story of a soldier who "fired at the legs of 5-year-old children" -- forced to -- who were throwing stones at the soldiers. Derfner does so much opining elsewhere but here he can't be bothered. He can't imagine that while some kids use stones, others might use grenades? We know full well that terrorists have no problem using children to exact their Jihad on the enemy. It's ugly. It's nasty. It's war. And it's unfortunately a reality that Derfner doesn't want to address. He prefers to believe the worst of Israeli soldiers and settlers. I wonder how many American Jews in the 1930s thought it was those Jews in Germany who were causing all the trouble.