Friday, July 29, 2011

Puttering Alon Pinkas Promotes Controversy

Remember when Alon Pinkas, Israel’s former consul general in New York City, accused Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of violating the unwritten rule prohibiting prime ministers from partisan activities here?

No?

Review this piece of his which includes this:

Critics often, and rightly, accuse Israel and Washington of meddling in each other’s domestic politics. Yet the uniqueness and intimacy of the “special relationship” between the two countries make this meddling almost natural — if blatantly unethical. It is often intrusive and seldom effective. But it is a fact of life.

The history of U.S.-Israeli relations is replete with examples of influence peddling and power games. From Israelis trying to influence U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East by pitting both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue against each another to proxies for U.S. administrations who shamelessly play retail politics in Israel, this is hardly a shocking new phenomenon.

Here is another thought he had in 2009:

Arab recognition of Israel as the state of the Jews will not instantly resolve the conflict, yet their immoral and imprudent rejection of the concept will not affect Israel one way or the other.

Which means that Pinkas knows the Arabs will never make peace with us but he doesn't care.  It's not about them - it is about us.  And that is the classic approach of the League of Trembling Israelites: it's our fault.


So what is Pinkas doing now?

Well, he is meddling, unethical, playing partisan politics with Israel's future, underming the democratically-elected government of Israel and trying to peddle his reputation by pitting American Jews against each other and influence them, shamelessly.

Here's one even initiated by J Street:

Security, Politics, and a Two-State Solution: A View from Israel
with
Shaul Arieli, Colonel (Ret.) and Former Head, Interim Agreement Administration and the Peace Administration; Shlomo Gazit, Major General (Ret.) and Former Head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Office;
Alon Pinkas, Former Israeli Consul General in New York and Foreign Policy Advisor to Ehud Barak;
Gilead Sher, Lawyer and Chief of Staff for former Prime Minister Ehud Barak


moderator: Aaron David Miller, Public Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center


Monday, July 25, 2011
4:00 – 5:30 p.m.
5th Floor Conference Room
Woodrow Wilson Center

Another one was this, organized in cooperation with J Street (!) [see: "The Com­mon Good and J-Street co-host the next install­ment of our sum­mer Mid­dle East Brief­ing Series"):

The American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists (AAJLJ) Presents

Ensuring Israel's Security Through a Two-State Solution
A Conversation with Ambassador Alon Pinkas

With a UN action on Palestinian statehood looming, Israel’s isolation in the international arena growing, and increased tensions in a region undergoing rapid transformation, Ambassador Pinkas, will speak about the urgency of a two-state solution to secure Israel's future as a Jewish, democratic homeland.


Ambassador Pinkas will address:


What should leaders do in advance of a likely September vote at the UN on Palestinian statehood?
How do the dynamics of the Arab Spring affect Israel's prospects for peace and security?
Does the planned reconciliation agreement between Fatah and Hamas make a peace deal with Israel more or less feasible?


Please join us on Thursday July 28th at 12:30 PM at Phillips Nizer LLP (666 Fifth Avenue, 28th Floor, NY)


Kosher Lunch will be served

I received this assessment from a participant:

...found that Pinkas was generally respectful when he was speaking - but not so much when pressed on points with which people disagreed (i.e. he was a bit condescending) - he made this sweeping claim of urgency due to demographics and then refused to acknowledge that reasonable minds could disagree on that issue based on different data (yet barely acknowledged the fact that the '67 lines may not be defensible).  He didn't answer questions b/c he couldn't (people were frustrated that they weren't answered).  I walked away wondering what their agenda is b/c again, they can talk and talk until blue in the face about a 2-state solution being necessary but if they don't have any ideas about how to make that happen (other than keeping fingers crossed that Livni takes over in 2012), what is the point of all of this other than to give J Street legitimacy - and that is what bothers me about the AAJLJ hosting this and then defending J Street as pro-Israel.  And I found it disgusting to watch Pinkas huddling with the J street rep as she sat there with a smug look on her face the whole time. The group was mixed but it was hard to tell what percentage was J Street...BTW - the average age had to be about 60 or older.  So where were all of the young jewish lawyers in the city?!

Another assessment:

... he never ever explained his ideas on how he and his compatriots plan on achieving a two-state solution with defensible borders, recognition of Israel, no right of return, etc...like Obama, he's like a child who just wants it and will bully, lie, and distort his way into getting it (or at least getting a free tour of the US - one person asked why he wasn't giving this discussion to the Arabs in say, Ramallah, instead of to Jewish lawyers on 5th Ave. and he said he'd rather be shopping on 5th Ave.)

So, we can conclude that Pinkas is a fraud, doesn't know his facts, purports to be in possession of other 'facts' and is basically sabotaging Israel's security and diplomatic and political standing in the US and amongst American Jewry.  He is probably peeved that his diplomatic career was interrupted.

He was even in the White House with the rest of his maverick gang:

A group of former Israeli army officials and diplomats visited Washington Monday, claiming that a peace agreement with the Palestinians is urgent in spite of, and because of, regional turmoil, and that contrary to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims, the 1967 borders are, in fact, defensible.


The group visited the White House on Monday and met with the National Security Council Director for Middle East and North Africa Steven Simon, and were to have meetings later in the evening with acting Middle East envoy David Hale and officials at the Pentagon.

Par for the course of a J Street ride.

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