The Democrats are at it again. They’re bragging how their platform committee rejected efforts to insert the words “occupation” and “settlements” in their platform when describing the Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria. While that is a positive step it is the equivalent of a failing student who raises his average to a “D-.” Led by the anti-Israel President Barack Obama, the 2012 Democratic platform removed four basic pro-Israel planks from its platform, during the Democratic party convention one was put back (Jerusalem is Israel’s capital), over the objection of the delegates. The 2016 platform continues the Democratic Party’s giant step backwards regarding Israel, an indication that Hillary Clinton will continue Barack Obama’s anti-Israel policies and weakness on terrorism.
In creating the 2012 platform, the Democrats removed the following paragraph (note pay special attention to the bold added for this post):
The United States and its Quartet partners should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism, recognizes Israel’s right to exist, and abides by past agreements. Sustained American leadership for peace and security will require patient efforts and the personal commitment of the President of the United States. The creation of a Palestinian state through final status negotiations, together with an international compensation mechanism, should resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel. All understand that it is unrealistic to expect the outcome of final status negotiations to be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of Israel.The parties have agreed that Jerusalem is a matter for final status negotiations. It should remain an undivided city accessible to people of all faiths
The Jerusalem line was added back during the convention (over the objections of the delegates), but the remaining planks were never added back, nor do they appear in the 2016 document. Let’s take a deeper look at those missing planks:
- The United States should continue to isolate Hamas until it renounces terrorism. By continuing to omit this sentence, the Democrats and Ms. Clinton are displaying their weakness in objecting to terrorism and possibly indicating they are getting ready to improve relations with this group. As secretary of state Ms. Clinton developed and strengthened relations with Hamas’ parent group, the radical group the Muslim Brotherhood when it took over Egypt. In the U.S. Ms. Clinton has actively supported Muslim Brotherhood-associated groups such as the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). The fact that Ms. Clinton chose to continue the rejection of isolating Hamas, indicates that she will continue appeasing all radical Islamist terrorism, not just the anti-Israel brand.On the GOP side, the 2016 platform is not yet available but in 2012 the platform said, “(…) radical elements like Hamas and Hezbollah must be isolated because they do not meet the standards of peace and diplomacy of the international community.
- ...should resolve the issue of Palestinian refugees by allowing them to settle there, rather than in Israel. While the number of Palestinian refugees in 1949 was somewhere between 800,000-900,000 (there were an equal number of Jewish refugees from Arab lands), today the number is over 4 million. The Palestinian refugee count is the only example in history where the number has grown without a population shift (the UN counts the original refugees, their children, grandchildren, first cousin twice removed on their mother’s side, friends etc as refugees).Since they cannot defeat Israel militarily; one of the Palestinians’ strategies is to flood democratic Israel with “refugees” so it will cease to exist as a Jewish state via election. That is why the 2008 platform included the refugee statement. The fact that the Democrats took it out and continue to omit it this year is an indication that the party and their standard bearer are open to the Palestinian strategy.The 2016 Draft GOP platform is not yet available however earlier platforms never statements that the Palestinian refugees should settle in a Palestinian state– so there was no giant step backwards. However, the previous Republican president, George W. Bush committed his government to settling refugees inside a future Palestinian state. In a public letter to then Israeli premier Sharon, Bush wrote, “It seems clear that an agreed, just, fair, and realistic framework for a solution to the Palestinian refugee issue as part of any final status agreement will need to be found through the establishment of a Palestinian state, and the settling of Palestinian refugees there, rather than in Israel.”
- … All understand that it is unrealistic to expect the outcome of final status negotiations to be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949. Obama walked away from that big time in May when he called for Israel to begin negotiations by agreeing to return to the 1949 lines rather than making it a product of negotiation. He was basically telling Israel to make concessions before any negotiation The original post 6-Day-War resolution by the UN (UN 242) didn’t call for a return to the 1949 lines, the 2008 Democratic Platform said a return to the 1949 lines were unrealistic. But in 2012 and again in 2016 the Democrats pulled out that plank.The 2012 GOP platform said, “We support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state with secure, defensible borders” an indication of their realization there must be adjustments to the 1949 armistice lines
The video below shows the 2012 convention vote to add back Jerusalem to the platform in which was ruled as passing by the chair, ignoring the vote of the delegates.
