Enough of Juan Williams
He bugs me big time. NPR's Juan Williams on this week's edition of The Beltway Boys on Fox News voiced his left position (Fred Barnes voices the right -- fair and balanced™ of course)... that the ball isn't in the Palestinians court now... because in his words, they don't have a court, or a bat or a ball so he feels they need help. He does feel that help should come from the rich Arab neighboring countries but he'd also like to see it come from Israel and the US.
If he knew anything about the conflict, he'd know that the Arabs have no interest in helping the Palestinians succeed. They like having them as a thorn in Israel's side. He also made it sound like the "settlers" oppressed the Palestinians. What?! I thought Israelis helped to employ them, giving them jobs on their farms. They probably provided more honest work for Palestinians than their own government has done.
Then today on Fox News Sunday, Juan continued his clueless thread of thought by saying that Gaza was never a part of Israel. He seemed to conveniently forget that whether it was part of Israel or not, Jews lived in Gaza and the West Bank. They lived there until they were expelled by the Arabs and the land was made Juderein. And it stayed that way for 19 years -- until the Arabs lost their war of aggression in 1967. Sort of pokes a few holes in Juan's theory.
I wonder if the DNC has ever complained about having Juan as "their voice" on the network because he sure as hell doesn't represent the left's side in a positive light. On the flip side, I was exceedingly proud of Fred Barnes (we only agree on Israel for the most part) and how he responded to Juan on both programs. Way to go, Fred!
posted by Esther @ 9:46 AM
18 comments
18 Comments:
Williams drives me crazy too. I've taken to hitting the mute button when he appears on the screen.
Esther, I couldn't agree more. I damn near had a fit when I heard Juan Williams on The Beltway Boys. He talked about Palestinian poverty without ever mentioning the rampant corruption of Arafat and the P.A. and then I heard him say something about Israel's "brutal occupation" and I nearly yanked the plug out of my TV. Of course, there was never any mention of the brutality of four years of suicide bombings and drive-by shootings of innocent Israelis. I almost got the feeling he couldn't possibly believe some of the things he was saying but that he was there to provide a counterpoint to Barnes. However, his lack of knowledge about Israel and the Palestinians was truly appalling. On the other hand, I was kind of disappointed that Fred Barnes didn't upbraid him on some of his more off-the-wall comments about Israel. It seemed to me he went a bit too easy on him.
I didn't see the other show, but it's obvious from what you said that he doesn't know anything about Gaza or the fact that it came under Israeli control as the result of a war that was waged against Israel. Not only that, but Gaza was captured from the Egyptians and it was such a damned hellhole that the Israelis couldn't pay the Egyptians to take it back. Yet, it was in that miserable no-man's land that the settlers built homes and farms and businesses that provided employment for large numbers of Palestinians and that's when it suddenly become such an object of the Palestinians' affections. Also, Juan Williams, like a lot of people, is obviously unaware of the fact that when the Israelis first got control of Gaza they tried to make improvements by building a roads, providing services and doing the things that would make the area viable. The problem is that any Arab who went along with the proposed improvements was threatened with some rather unpleasant consequences because as we know, it's always been the goal of the Arabs to make the Palestinians as miserable as possible in order to keep that good, old Israel-hatred festering.
This is why I no longer listen to NPR or, as I like to call it, National Palestinian Radio.
Why in the hell should Israel help the "Palestinian" Arabs????
Just happened to be watching the rebroadcast of that exchange just as I was reading this post. Esther, you know where I stand on Gaza, and let me tell you, you are 100% right on this. Juan Williams got it exactly, perfectly wrong. The bat, the ball -- the whole damn court -- rests squarely with the Palestinians. They have the burden of demonstrating that they can be civilized. Period. Israel took a giant, bold, courageous step, this past week. Sharon made a tough call. Now the Palestinians need to pony up by ending the violence and their absurd claim to all of Israel. If they don't, Israel will draw some very tough and very final lines around the West Bank and Jerusalem, and the game will be over.
I have always believed that Israel needed to impose borders on the Palestinians. It has done so in a very honorable, albeit painful way. This is the last chance the Palestinians ever will have. It's theirs to lose.
Jonathan,
With all respect here...
I'm no expert in Israeli matters, but somehow I find it hard to believe your comment "This is the last chance the Palestinians ever will have."
I hope that I am wrong. But from what I've learned about Islamism, it's never over.
AOW is right. They will always get a chance until the UN and Europe (and now apparently the Bush Administration) get through their thick heads that Islam is the problem, not Israel.
Esther, I'm sick at heart at a lot of what is going on and this is just one example. It's the churches, the universities, the politicians....
Is the world nuts, or am I?
I have been reading Hamas as it explains its positions to various audiences, and I am struck by the fact that it is most strident and violent when speaking to the west.
As for Rice - pfui. She just lost my vote if she ever needed it. Israel is the one that wants peace and democracy. Hamas and the other Palestinian groups are the ones addicted to irrational violence.
They didn't have a state before Israel existed. If they had any sense they would form a partner state with Israel and start their own renaissance.
But that, of course, would require accountability to themselves, and that is what they are avoiding.
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There should be a special place in hell reserved for spammers.
OK, I have made a change that will hopefully help get rid of spammers. Fingers crossed.
I like the idea that we have to worry about their poverty. Um, hello, you want to be free of us or not? (answer..free to kill you and steal from you, not free from your money or services.)
People keep saying we need to help the "Palestinians" but I can't find Palestine on a map.
Gindy -- go to your blogger setup where you can access your settings...go to the "comments" section. Blogger has added the option of showing word verification for comments....put yes. We'll see....so far so good
Always on Watch, just to clarify. By the Palestinians' "last chance," I meant last chance at a negotiated settlement with Israel on final status issues, particularly with respect to borders. You are probably right that they will never agree to a two state solution. Thus, the solution will be imposed on them unilaterally by Israel. Perhaps I could have stated my point more clearly.
You keep saying his name wrong. It's "freddy the beetle barnes".
I haven't watch the mclaughlin group in years, and that's all I remember from it.
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