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Opinion: 'If Israel Goes Down, We All Go Down'

(en Francais plus bas)

by José María Aznar
pour ne plus voir cela

The following op-ed, by the former Prime Minister of Spain,  originally appeared in The London Times.

For far too long now it has been unfashionable in Europe to speak up for Israel. In the wake of the recent incident on board a ship full of anti-Israeli activists in the Mediterranean, it is hard to think of a more unpopular cause to champion. In an ideal world, the assault by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara would not have ended up with nine dead and a score wounded. In an ideal world, the soldiers would have been peacefully welcomed on to the ship. In an ideal world, no state, let alone a recent ally of Israel such as Turkey, would have sponsored and organized a flotilla whose sole purpose was to create an impossible situation for Israel: making it choose between giving up its security policy and the naval blockade, or risking the wrath of the world.

In our dealings with Israel, we must blow away the red mists of anger that too often cloud our judgment. A reasonable and balanced approach should encapsulate the following realities: first, the state of Israel was created by a decision of the UN. Its legitimacy, therefore, should not be in question. Israel is a nation with deeply rooted democratic institutions. It is a dynamic and open society that has repeatedly excelled in culture, science and technology.

Second, owing to its roots, history, and values, Israel is a fully fledged Western nation. Indeed, it is a normal Western nation, but one confronted by abnormal circumstances.

Uniquely in the West, it is the only democracy whose very existence has been questioned since its inception. In the first instance, it was attacked by its neighbors using the conventional weapons of war. Then it faced terrorism culminating in wave after wave of suicide attacks. Now, at the behest of radical Islamists and their sympathizers, it faces a campaign of delegitimisation through international law and diplomacy.

Sixty-two years after its creation, Israel is still fighting for its very survival. Punished with missiles raining from north and south, threatened with destruction by an Iran aiming to acquire nuclear weapons and pressed upon by friend and foe, Israel, it seems, is never to have a moment's peace.

For years, the focus of Western attention has understandably been on the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians. But if Israel is in danger today and the whole region is slipping towards a worryingly problematic future, it is not due to the lack of understanding between the parties on how to solve this conflict. The parameters of any prospective peace agreement are clear, however difficult it may seem for the two sides to make the final push for a settlement.

Radical Islamism is the real threat
The real threats to regional stability, however, are to be found in the rise of a radical Islamism which sees Israel's destruction as the fulfillment of its religious destiny and, simultaneously in the case of Iran, as an expression of its ambitions for regional hegemony. Both phenomena are threats that affect not only Israel, but also the wider West and the world at large.

The core of the problem lies in the ambiguous and often erroneous manner in which too many Western countries are now reacting to this situation. It is easy to blame Israel for all the evils in the Middle East. Some even act and talk as if a new understanding with the Muslim world could be achieved if only we were prepared to sacrifice the Jewish state on the altar. This would be folly.

Israel is our first line of defense in a turbulent region that is constantly at risk of descending into chaos; a region vital to our energy security owing to our overdependence on Middle Eastern oil; a region that forms the front line in the fight against extremism. If Israel goes down, we all go down. To defend Israel's right to exist in peace, within secure borders, requires a degree of moral and strategic clarity that too often seems to have disappeared in Europe. The United States shows worrying signs of heading in the same direction.

The West is going through a period of confusion over the shape of the world's future. To a great extent, this confusion is caused by a kind of masochistic self-doubt over our own identity; by the rule of political correctness; by a multiculturalism that forces us to our knees before others; and by a secularism which, irony of ironies, blinds us even when we are confronted by jihadis promoting the most fanatical incarnation of their faith. To abandon Israel to its fate, at this moment of all moments, would merely serve to illustrate how far we have sunk and how inexorable our decline now appears.

This cannot be allowed to happen. Motivated by the need to rebuild our own Western values, expressing deep concern about the wave of aggression against Israel, and mindful that Israel's strength is our strength and Israel's weakness is our weakness, I have decided to promote a new Friends of Israel initiative with the help of some prominent people, including David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (the former President of Peru), Marcello Pera (philosopher and former President of the Italian Senate), Fiamma Nirenstein (the Italian author and politician), the financier Robert Agostinelli and the Catholic intellectual George Weigel.

It is not our intention to defend any specific policy or any particular Israeli government. The sponsors of this initiative are certain to disagree at times with decisions taken by Jerusalem. We are democrats, and we believe in diversity.

What binds us, however, is our unyielding support for Israel's right to exist and to defend itself. For Western countries to side with those who question Israel's legitimacy, for them to play games in international bodies with Israel's vital security issues, for them to appease those who oppose Western values rather than robustly to stand up in defense of those values, is not only a grave moral mistake, but a strategic error of the first magnitude.

Israel is a fundamental part of the West. The West is what it is thanks to its Judeo-Christian roots. If the Jewish element of those roots is upturned and Israel is lost, then we are lost too. Whether we like it or not, our fate is inextricably intertwined.

José María Aznar was prime minister of Spain between 1996 and 2004.


Jose-Maria Aznar : "Si Israel tombe, nous tombons tous!"

Juif.org | 21 Juin 2010

La colère au sujet de Gaza est un leurre. Nous ne pouvons pas oublier qu'Israël est le meilleur allié de l'Occident dans une région agitée.

Pendant trop longtemps en Europe, il n'a pas été à la mode de prendre la parole en faveur d'Israël. Dans la foulée de l'incident survenu récemment à bord d'un bateau rempli de militants anti-israéliens en Méditerranée, il est difficile de penser à une cause plus impopulaire à promouvoir.

Dans un monde idéal, l'assaut par des commandos israéliens sur le Mavi Marmara n'aurait pas fini avec neuf morts et une vingtaine blessés. Dans un monde idéal, les soldats auraient été accueillis avec calme sur le navire. Dans un monde idéal, aucun Etat, encore moins un allié récent d'Israël comme la Turquie, n'aurait parrainé et organisé une flottille dont le seul but était de créer une situation impossible pour Israël: le choix entre renoncer à sa politique de sécurité et le blocus maritime, ou risquer la colère du monde.

Dans nos rapports avec Israël, il faut faire abstraction des bouffées de colère qui trop souvent obscurcissent notre jugement. Une approche raisonnable et équilibrée doit intégrer les réalités suivantes: premièrement, l'Etat d'Israël a été créé par une décision de l'ONU. Sa légitimité, dès lors, ne devrait pas être remise en cause. Israël est une nation où la démocratie est profondément enracinée dans les institutions. Il s'agit d'une société dynamique et ouverte qui, à plusieurs reprises, a excellé dans la culture, la science et la technologie.
Deuxièmement, en raison de ses racines, son histoire et ses valeurs, Israël est une nation occidentale à part entière. En fait, c'est une nation aux normes occidentales, mais confrontée à des circonstances hors normes.

Fait unique en Occident, elle est la seule démocratie dont l'existence a été contestée depuis sa création. Dans un premier temps, elle a été attaquée par des voisins utilisant des armes de guerre conventionnelles. Ensuite, elle a fait face au terrorisme culminant de vague en vague d'attentats suicide. Maintenant, à la demande des islamistes radicaux et leurs sympathisants, elle fait face à une campagne de délégitimation à travers le droit international et la diplomatie.

Soixante-deux ans après sa création, Israël se bat toujours pour sa survie. Punie par une pluie de missiles au nord et au sud, menacée de destruction par un Iran visant à acquérir des armes nucléaires et pressés par ses amis et ses ennemis, Israël, semble bien ne jamais avoir connu un moment de paix.

Pendant des années, l'attention de l'Occident s'est tout naturellement portée sur le processus de paix entre Israéliens et Palestiniens. Mais si Israël est en danger aujourd'hui et que toute la région glisse vers un avenir inquiétant, ce n'est pas en raison de l'absence d'accord entre les parties sur la façon de résoudre ce conflit. Les paramètres d'un éventuel accord de paix sont clairs, malgré la difficulté que les deux parties peuvent ressentir à consentir l'effort final en vue d'un règlement.

Les véritables menaces pour la stabilité régionale se trouvent dans la montée d'un islamisme radical qui voit la destruction d'Israël comme l'accomplissement de son destin religieux et, en même temps dans le cas de l'Iran, comme l'expression de ses ambitions d'hégémonie régionale. Les deux phénomènes sont des menaces qui affectent non seulement Israël, mais aussi l'ensemble de l'Occident et le monde entier.

Le cœur du problème réside dans la manière ambiguë et souvent erronée par laquelle trop de pays occidentaux réagissent à cette situation. Il est facile de blâmer Israël de tous les maux au Moyen-Orient. Certains agissent même et parlent comme si une entente avec le monde musulman pouvait être réalisée si seulement nous étions prêts à sacrifier l'État juif sur un autel. Ce serait de la folie.

Israël est notre première ligne de défense dans une région turbulente qui est risque constamment de sombrer dans le chaos, une région vitale pour notre sécurité énergétique en raison de notre dépendance excessive du pétrole en provenance du Moyen Orient, une région qui forme la ligne de front dans la lutte contre l'extrémisme . Si Israël tombe, nous tombons tous.

La défense du droit d'Israël à exister en paix, dans des frontières sûres, exige un degré de clarté morale et stratégique qui trop souvent semble avoir disparu en Europe. Les États-Unis montrent des signes inquiétants d'une position qui va dans le même sens.

L'Occident traverse une période de confusion sur la forme que prendra notre monde à l'avenir. Dans une grande mesure, cette confusion est provoquée par une sorte de masochisme qui met en doute notre propre identité; par la règle du politiquement correct ; par un multiculturalisme qui nous met à genoux devant d'autres ; et par une laïcité qui, ironie du sort , nous aveugle, même lorsque nous sommes confrontés à des jihadistes qui incarnent la promotion la plus fanatique de leur foi. Abandonner Israël à son sort, en ce moment parmi tous les autres, ne servirait qu'à illustrer jusqu'où nous avons sombré et comme notre déclin apparaît maintenant inexorable.

On ne peut laisser cela se produire. Motivé par le besoin de reconstruire nos propres valeurs occidentales, exprimant ma profonde inquiétude au sujet de la vague d'agression contre Israël, et conscient que la force d'Israël est notre force et la faiblesse d'Israël est notre faiblesse, j'ai décidé de promouvoir une nouvelle initiative des Amis d'Israël avec l'aide de quelques personnalités, dont David Trimble, Andrew Roberts, John Bolton, Alejandro Toledo (ancien président du Pérou), Marcello Pera (philosophe et ancien président du Sénat italien), Fiamma Nirenstein (auteur et personnalité politique italienne), le financier Robert Agostinelli et l'intellectuel catholique George Weigel.

Notre intention n'est pas de défendre une politique spécifique ou un gouvernement israélien en particulier. Il est certain que les auteurs de cette initiative pourront parfois être en désaccord avec des décisions prises par Jérusalem. Nous sommes des démocrates, et nous croyons en la diversité.

Ce qui nous lie, toutefois, est notre soutien indéfectible au droit d'Israël d'exister et de se défendre. Pour les pays occidentaux qui se mettent aux côtés de ceux qui remettent en question la légitimité d'Israël, pour ceux qui se livrent à des jeux dans les instances internationales sur des questions essentielles liées à la sécurité d'Israël, pour ceux qui apaisent ceux qui s'opposent aux valeurs occidentales plutôt que de se dresser avec force pour la défense de ces valeurs, ce n'est pas seulement une grave erreur morale, mais une erreur stratégique de première ordre.

Israël est une partie fondamentale de l'Occident. L'Occident est ce qu'il est grâce à ses racines judéo-chrétiennes. Si la composante juive de ces racines est reniée et Israël est perdu, alors nous sommes perdus aussi. Que cela nous plaise ou non, nos destins sont inextricablement liés.

Jose-Maria Aznar, Premier Ministre d'Espagne de 1996-2004

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humeur

6 min read

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After The Storm Passes by intao:thumb81474796:
:thumb126944407:
Abstract 01 by grozzeille intimate II by julie-rc
Kiss. by Bunnis la barque by julie-rc

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I wanted to focus on this new stupid boycott against a major international invent just because Israeli films are honored and screened.


THE TIFF ANSWER

Cameron Bailey: City to City

August 28, 2009
An Open Letter on City to City: Tel Aviv

On August 27, John Greyson withdrew his film Covered from the Toronto International Film Festival as a protest against our City to City focus on films from Tel Aviv. The next day, he and nine other Torontonians issued a petition inviting the city's cultural communities to "protest TIFF's complicity with the Israeli propaganda machine." We felt it was important to directly respond to these allegations.

Obviously we are disappointed by John's decision to withdraw his film. We are great admirers of his work and have been presenting his films at our Festival for almost 20 years. That said, we were surprised that he took this action given the facts of the situation.

As the programmer of City To City, I was attracted to Tel Aviv as our inaugural city because the films being made there explore and critique the city from many different perspectives. Furthermore, the City to City series was conceived and curated entirely independently. There was no pressure from any outside source. Contrary to rumours or mistaken media reports, this focus is a product only of TIFF's programming decisions. We value that independence and would never compromise it.

The goal of City to City is to take a closer look at global cities through a cinematic lens, especially cities where film contributes to or chronicles social change in compelling ways. We believe that the 10 films in our inaugural programme do just that. We encourage everyone to see the films, engage in debate and draw their own conclusions.

In addition to City to City, our Festival lineup also includes other important films from the region, including two films by Palestinian filmmakers and others from Lebanon and Egypt. As these films address the past history and current realities of the region, we hope they will become part of this year's conversations.

John writes that his protest isn't against the films or filmmakers we have chosen, but against the spotlight itself. By that reasoning, no films programmed within this series would have met his approval, no matter what they contained. For us, the content and form of films does matter. In fact, when I met with a number of the signatories earlier this week, I encouraged them to see the films before passing judgment on the programme. Regrettably, they chose a different route. We know some of them to be veterans of Toronto's battles against censorship -- all the more surprising to watch them denounce a film series without seeing the films in it.

We recognize that Tel Aviv is not a simple choice and that the city remains contested ground. We continue to learn more about the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. As a festival that values debate and the exchange of cultures, we will continue to screen the best films we can find from around the world. This is our contribution to expanding our audiences' experience of this art form and the worlds it represents.

Cameron Bailey
Co-Director, Toronto International Film Festival

IN THE NEWS on internet (I randomly found this article with google)
www.iranian.com/main/news/2009…

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See you all next WE!
I will be here during about a week without my PC :
he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D…
(sorry no English)
-----------------
4 minutes in Jerusalem - video - enjoy!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=R22Gjd…

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Gad Elmaleh

5 min read

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Menacé, Gad Elmaleh renonce à se produire au Liban...
Est-ce qu'il n'y a une différence entre l'Iran et le Liban?É
Je respecte les Libanais mais une fois de plus la preuve est faite que ce pays n'est pas indépendant et qu'une partie de sa population agit contre les interets de ce pays.

www.20minutes.fr/article/33547…

www.guysen.com/articles.php?si…

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