When confronted by CNN with the term “the
occupied West Bank,” Economics Minister Naftali Bennett responded, “You cannot
‘occupy’ your own home.” Although Bennett proved his point by holding up a 2000 year old Jewish coin discovered in the Holy Land, the Jews' claim to Israel is far deeper than an archeological find. The Bible recounts how the patriarch Abraham paid
full price, --and even overpaid, for Hebron, widely acknowledged as the cradle of Jewish
civilization. Ancient maps of Israel show that the West Bank belonged to
the tribes of Yehuda, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Even from the most narrow point of view, --that
of military ethics, the West Bank belongs to Israel which
captured it from the Arabs in a defensive war.
"A nation that attacks another and then retains the
territory it conquers is an occupier. One
that gains territory in the course of defending itself is not in the same
category." - The Jewish Federations of North America
However you look at it, there is one
incontrovertible truth: the destiny of the land of Israel is inextricably bound
with the Jewish people. The more this is clarified, the more the Redemption will be revealed.
Also, Minister Bennett pointed to the
absurdity of creating an Arab state in the heart of Israel.
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| Naftali Bennett, Economy Minister, Israel |
Israel National News
By Elad Benari, 11/19/2013
Bennett: One Cannot Occupy His Own Home
Economy Minister responds to CNN's Christiane Amanpour who asked about Israeli construction in the "occupied West Bank."
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home/Bayit Yehudi) on Monday pointed out in an interview on CNN that there is no such thing as “Israeli occupation” in Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem.
Bennett was asked by Christiane Amanpour to comment on HousingMinister Uri Ariel’s decision last week to issue tenders for 20,000 new homes in Judea and Samaria.
When Amanpour, however, used the term “occupied West Bank” in her question, Bennett held up a coin which, he pointed out, was “used by Jews 2,000 years ago in the state of Israel.”
Amanpour tried to interrupt Bennett by saying that “occupied West Bank” was “an international term” but Bennett continued, “I don’t accept it. This coin, which says in Hebrew ‘freedom of Zion’ was used by Jews 2,000 years ago in the state of Israel, in what you call ‘occupied’”.
“One cannot occupy his own home,” stressed Bennett.
He also reiterated once again that he opposes the so-called “two-state solution”.
“I think trying to enforce [an] artificial state in the heart of Israel, in Jerusalem, is a grave mistake,” Bennett declared.
“If the Palestinians want peace they have to do one simple thing: Recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland. That’s all. But if they don’t do that, if they don’t recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, they can’t expect peace,” he told Amanpour.
In the same interview, Bennett warned that a bad nuclear deal between Iran and world powers “will lead to war.”
“There’s no one who wants a war less than us,” he emphasized. “However, it’s one of those cases where a bad deal will lead to a war, and a good deal with actually prevent war.”
A good deal, Bennett said, would be one that “dismantles the nuclear weapon production machine.”
January 5, 2012,
“One cannot occupy his own home,” stressed Bennett.
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| Map of Ancient Israel |
He also reiterated once again that he opposes the so-called “two-state solution”.
“I think trying to enforce [an] artificial state in the heart of Israel, in Jerusalem, is a grave mistake,” Bennett declared.
“If the Palestinians want peace they have to do one simple thing: Recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland. That’s all. But if they don’t do that, if they don’t recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, they can’t expect peace,” he told Amanpour.
In the same interview, Bennett warned that a bad nuclear deal between Iran and world powers “will lead to war.”
“There’s no one who wants a war less than us,” he emphasized. “However, it’s one of those cases where a bad deal will lead to a war, and a good deal with actually prevent war.”
A good deal, Bennett said, would be one that “dismantles the nuclear weapon production machine.”
January 5, 2012,
The Lede --blog by Robert Mackey, NY Times
Santorum Insists West Bank Is ‘Part of Israel’
By ROBERT MACKEY
Santorum Insists West Bank Is ‘Part of Israel’
Following Rick Santorum’s sudden rise to prominence in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, new attention has been paid to his views on foreign policy issues, which apparently include a firm conviction that the West Bank is “part of Israel.”
Writing in The Jewish Week on Monday, Douglas Bloomfield reminded readers that Mr. Santorum told a man in Iowa six weeks ago that “all the people that live in the West Bank are Israelis. They’re not Palestinians — there is no Palestinian — this is Israeli land.”
A video of the exchange, which was recorded by CNN, shows that Mr. Santorum responded to a question about whether or not Israel “should dismantle its settlements” by suggesting that the West Bank was as much a part of Israel as Texas and New Mexico are part of the United States. The entire territory, Mr. Santorum added, “is legitimately Israeli country,” so Israelis “have a right to build things based upon their ownership of that land.”
The candidate said much the same thing in June, when he attended a Republican Jewish Coalition event in Iowa. Weighing in on the debate over Israel’s 1967 borders, Mr. Santorum said then: “I think this is really important to understand: that Israel’s neighbors attacked Israel. Israel responded to those attacks and in so responding was able to take ground that gave them more of a defensible posture vis-à-vis future attacks — the Golan Heights and the West Bank in particular.”
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