Keeping Netanyahu's Government No Easy Trick

 Nadene Goldfoot                                               

Finance Minister Smotrich is promising that his Religious Zionist party would demand control in the next government of the Planning Administration and the Israel Land Authority;   the state bodies that play central roles in planning,  and development and management of most of Israel’s land. They will  then be able to implement a plan to dramatically expand Jewish settlement in the Negev and Galilee.  They planning for the migration  of 1 million people through the establishment of 40 new communities.  Also, that includes dozens of agricultural farms.  The farms will allow major expansions of existing towns and hundreds of thousands of new housing units. 

His last name is derived from the Ukrainian town of Smotrych, where he says his ancestors lived. His grandfather Yaakov immigrated to Mandatory Palestine before World War II, and subsequently lost his parents, who drowned on an Aliyah Bet ship trying to reach Palestine, while his grandmother Bruria survived the Holocaust before immigrating to Israel. So he must be Ashkenaz.  

A major section of Smotrich’s program also focuses on crime, illegal weapons and state authority in Arab communities. 

Bezalel Smotrich's settlement expansion and policy shift program is taking place primarily in Area C of the occupied West Bank, though enforcement actions and broader strategic goals also impact other areas.  Area C is the one set aside for Jewish living.  Area C covers roughly 60% of the West Bank (referred to by Israel as the Judea and Samaria Area) and remains under full Israeli civil and security control 

 It's about time, as they have been holding the land since 1967 The Six-Day War, which took place in 1967 (specifically from June 5 to June 10), which was the turning point when Israel won this war that seemed to be miraculous being all the Arab countries and more attacked teeny Israel and Israel won.  Many Jews did believe that G-d must have had a hand in this.  

 Israeli Arab politicians have condemned the plan. [But what's wrong with strengthening Jewish communities in the Galilee and Negev?

The Galilee contains roughly 45 dedicated Jewish towns and villages, while Area C of the West Bank holds over 140 officially recognized Israeli settlements and nearly 400 outposts.   The Galilee is a fertile, mountainous region in northern Israel. It’s known for the Sea of Galilee, where the Christian's  Jesus is said to have walked on water. Christianity's history takes place mostly in the Galilee.  

The city of Tiberias has the tomb of Jewish sage Maimonides and the Church of St. Peter, with art depicting the 4 Gospels. 

Mount Arbel has ancient cave fortifications. The Mount of Beatitudes is where Jesus allegedly preached the Sermon on the Mount. 

                                                  

Map showing the Lower and Upper Galilee. The narrow "Galilee Panhandle" to the east may be seen geologically and geographically as a separate area (as part of the Jordan Rift Valley), or as part of historical Galilee. The same applies to the western shore of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan Valley down to Beit She'an, as well as the Jezreel Valley in the south and the coastal strip bordering the Galilee to the west.

The Negev is a desert region occupying the southern half of Israel proper (within its internationally recognized pre-1967 borders).

 There are over 100 Jewish localities in the Negev—including major cities like Beersheba and Eilat, development towns, and dozens of agricultural kibtzutzim and moshavim.

 Since they are located inside sovereign Israeli territory, they do not fall under any "Area" designations.  They ARE  ISRAEL.  If Smotrich wants to expand cities, he should be welcome to do it.Remember, it's a desert.  The Negev is a large desert region in southern Israel. Its main city is Be’er Sheva. Here, the Old City is home to the Negev Museum of Art, with contemporary Israeli and international exhibitions. Nearby is Abraham’s Well, a cultural center with interactive exhibits about the story of Abraham. East of the city, Tel Be’er Sheva is a prehistoric settlement mound with ruins, plus a lookout tower with desert views. 

Smotrich puts his money where his mouth is.  He is a settler in Judea/Samaria, what other call the Israeli-occupied West Bank, living in the settlement of Kedumim, which is illegal under international law that ignores Jewish law and Oslo Accords. 

Kedumim (Hebrew: קְדוּמִים, romanized: Kdumim; Arabic: قدوميم) is an Israeli settlement in the northern West Bank, Palestine. Founded on Hanukkah 1975 by members of the Gush Emunim settlement movement, it later became a local council. In 2024 it had a population of 4,564.

The consensus of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the Judea/Samaria (West Bank) illegal under international law. Kedumim is considered illegal under international law because it is an Israeli settlement located in the West Bank, an area Israel captured and occupied during the 1967 war,  

The Israeli government disputes this. Under the 1995 Oslo II Accord, the West Bank was partitioned into Areas A, B, and C, placing Israeli settlements like Kedumim within Area C under complete Israeli military and civil jurisdiction. The agreement categorized these settlements as a final status issue, deferring their permanent future and borders to negotiations that were ultimately unfulfilled.  He had been told he was illegal;  but that was wrong.  

Bezalel Yoel Smotrich (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל יוֹאֵל סְמוֹטְרִיץ׳; born 27 February 1980) is 46, is an Israeli politician and lawyer who has served as the Minister of Finance since 2022. The leader of the Religious Zionist Party, he previously served as a Knesset member for the Jewish Home and Yamina, leaving in 2023 after resigning under the Norwegian Law, allowing him to remain a minister in the government while his seat in the Knesset could be taken by another candidate from his party. 

Ben-Gvir is also a settler in Judea/Samaria  (West Bank); according to the BBC, his "political background lies in Kahanism—a violently racist movement that supports the expulsion of Palestinians from their lands".   His parents were Mizrahi Jews, originally from Iraq. Ben-Gvir claimed to be of Kurdish Jewish descent,  

He has a long history of anti-Arab activism, leading to dozens of indictments and at least eight convictions of crimes including incitement to racism and support for, as well as possession of propaganda of, a terrorist organization (the now-illegal Kach political party).

 As a lawyer, he is known for defending Jews accused of Jewish extremist terrorism in Israeli courts.

Itamar Ben-Gvir (Hebrew: אִיתָמָר בֶּן גְּבִיר [itaˈmaʁ benˈgviʁ]; born 6 May 1976) is age 50, is an Israeli politician and lawyer who has served as the minister of national security since 2022, except for a two-month gap in early 2025. He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit ("Jewish Power"), an Israeli far-right, Kahanist and anti-Arab party which won six seats in the 2022 legislative election and is part of the thirty-seventh government of Israel.

      

Prime Minister Netanyahu would like Smotrich and Ben Gvir to unite their parties in the upcoming election like they did in the last election.                               

                   Netanyahu under American pressure most all the time

That's like mixing oil with vinegar, my friends. Two lawyers, one for the left, one for the right, in American lingo;  one Mizrahi and one Ashkenazi. Whose idea was this?     

 Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party quickly responded to the invitation, stating, "The Otzma Yehudit party and the Religious Zionist Party will not run together in the upcoming Knesset elections. 

This decision is final and absolute and will not change under any circumstances.

There will be no negotiations, meetings, or discussions on the matter, either directly or indirectly."

The UK government under new prime minister Andy Burnham is preparing a comprehensive package of sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria. 

Such measures have already been taken by Spain and the Netherlands, and are being considered by other European countries. 

The Netherlands adopted a particularly strict law not only banning imports of goods from Israeli settlements but also forbidding their sale and purchase, making that an offence that could result in a prison sentence of up to six years. 

The Dutch law will come into effect on September 22. 

Meanwhile, Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, Gideon Sa’ar, has ordered that the expulsion of representatives of the Netherlands from the International Support Center for Gaza in Kiryat Gat.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Tuesday ordered the immediate expulsion of Dutch representatives from the International Support Center for Gaza in Kiryat Gat, following a recommendation by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The move came in response to what Israel described as a series of anti-Israel measures by the Dutch government, the latest being a law banning trade in Israeli products from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights. The law is due to take effect next month.

 

Lebanon: Land Of Three Religions And Failing Government, Why? Today's Position

 Nadene Goldfoot                                     

  Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam's government February 26, 2025                                                 

                                Arafat in 1979


First, it was the PLO.  Let's not forget Arafat and his position in this study., Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) directed armed attacks against Israel primarily from Jordan (1968–1971) and subsequently from Lebanon (1971–1982) before relocating their headquarters to Tunisia.  Jordan (1968–1971): Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Fatah and the PLO used Jordanian territory;  and finally Lebanon (1971–1982): Displaced from Jordan, Arafat established a major operational base and quasi-state structure in southern and western Lebanon. From Lebanese soil, the PLO conducted rocket fire, cross-border infiltrations, and international operations .

 First, Lebanon was an open-minded modern thinking country making room for three religions to cooperate together in their government.

  

Bachir Gemayel was a prominent Lebanese Maronite militia commander, leader of the Lebanese Forces, and President-elect of Lebanon in 1982 who famously developed a  strategic and military alliance with Israel during the Lebanese Civil War and

 Major Saad Haddad, the founder and commander of the South Lebanon Army (though he was Greek-Catholic rather than Maronite.  When he died, Israel took care of his daughter . and eventually graduated with a master's degree in aeronautics from the Technion in Haifa.

Core Power-Sharing Structure

President: Always a Maronite Christian.
Prime Minister: Always a Sunni Muslim.
Speaker of Parliament: Always a Shia Muslim.
Parliament & Cabinet: Seats and ministerial posts are split equally (50-50) between Christians and Muslims, and further subdivided proportionally based on the specific sizes of the recognized sects. 

Legal and Social Organization

18 Recognized Sects: The state legally recognizes 18 distinct Christian, Muslim, and Druze groups.
Personal Status Laws: There is no unified civil family law for marriage, divorce, or inheritance. Instead, these matters are managed independently by religious courts run by each respective sect. 
Patronage and Services: Political parties often align with specific sects, utilizing state resources and religious networks to deliver social services and secure loyalty. 

Strengths and Flaws of the System

Stability vs. Deadlock: While the system guarantees representation for minorities and aims to prevent dominance by any single group, it frequently causes severe political paralysis. 
Demographic Tensions: The power-sharing quotas originally relied on a 1932 census. Over decades, shifting birth rates and migration altered the demographic balance (with Muslims becoming a numerical majority), which has periodically fueled internal friction, political crises, and historical conflict.
• The Lebanese government became exceptionally weak due to a rigid sectarian power-sharing system, entrenched corruption, devastating economic collapse, and the outsized military and political dominance of non-state actors like Hezbollah.  Hezbollah has taken over Lebanon.  Hezbollah did not take over Lebanon through a single military conquest, but rather through a gradual, decades-long process of political integration, military supremacy, and social institutionalization backed heavily by Iran. By exploiting Lebanon's weak, sectarian political structure and embedding itself as a "state within a state," Hezbollah built an apparatus more powerful than the Lebanese government itself.
• Iranian Foundations: Following Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) funded, trained, and organized fractured Shiite militias into a unified force.  Israel invaded Lebanon on June 6, 1982, codenamed Operation Peace for Galilee, primarily to remove the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) military and political presence from southern Lebanon. The immediate trigger was the attempted assassination of Shlomo Argov, Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, by the Abu Nidal Organization, though cross-border rocket fire and tensions had been escalating for years. Israel's goals may have been to :
• Destroy the PLO Infrastructure: Eliminate the organization's base of operations to weaken the broader Palestinian national movement.
Reshape Lebanese Politics: Help install a friendly, Christian-dominated government in Beirut that would sign a peace treaty with Israel.
Reduce Syrian Influence: Counter and diminish Syrian military presence and control within Lebanon.                                   



• After its military defeat by Israel in 1982, Syria under Hafez al-Assad shifted from direct conventional confrontation to proxy warfare and political maneuvering. Syria re-established its dominance in Lebanon by rebuilding its military presence, partnering with Iran to back local militias, and acting as the ultimate political "kingmaker" until international pressure forced a withdrawal in 2005.
•  Israel maintains an indefinite military presence in security zones across southern Lebanon and Syria, defying a fragile U.S.-brokered framework. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz stated that troops will not withdraw, conditioning any future exit on Hezbollah's full disarmament, while Lebanon condemns the ongoing operations and home demolitions as violations of international law,
•  The Lebanese government faces pressure from a U.S.-backed framework to curb Hezbollah, but Hezbollah has rejected discussing its weapons before a complete Israeli withdrawal.                           
  
                                                 
  
  
  
• Hezbollah, meaning "Party of God" in Arabic, is a major Shiite Muslim political party and militant group based in Lebanon. Founded in 1982 during the Lebanese Civil War with support from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, it operates as a powerful "state within a state", possessing a massive military wing alongside extensive social and political networks. They took over the PLO's position in trying to get rid of Israel.   They are terrorists.  Hezbollah has targeted and fought against Israel for approximately 44 years, having first emerged as a militant group in Lebanon in 1982. Its core goal regarding Israel is the complete destruction and elimination of the Israeli state, a foundational objective driven by its anti-Zionist ideology and alliance with Iran,
• Stalled Negotiations: U.S. officials state that a permanent Israeli presence contradicts the original transition terms, though fresh diplomatic talks are expected to continue in Rome to address the stalled pilot zones and security arrangements.                      
  
          Iran has had the world shaking in their boots.....
• Iran ranks 17th in the world for both land area and population, covering roughly 1.65 million square kilometers (636,000 square miles) with an estimated population of over 92 million people. It is nearly the size of Alaska, more than twice the size of Texas, and has a population comparable to Turkey and Germany.                                        
  
  
  
• Since when do countries treat terrorism as another country's right to start attacking another country's people because of philosophy or religion and not in retaliation to attacks on their own people?  That's what Hezbollah has been doing to Israel.  And Lebanon and Syria are afraid of Iran and so comply with them.  
• Iran’s official goal to eliminate the Israeli state is driven by the foundational ideology of its 1979 Islamic Revolution, which views Israel as an illegitimate, western-backed colonial outpost on Muslim land. Tehran uses anti-Zionist rhetoric and support for regional proxy groups to claim leadership in the Muslim world, And I see everyone buckling under to it.  
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• Demographic Tensions: T power-sharing quotas originally relied on a 1932 census. Over decades, shifting birth rates and migration altered the demographic balance (with Muslims becoming a numerical majority), which has periodically fueled internal friction, political crises, and historical conflict