Palestine and Coprolite

When I was a principal, my desk was covered with paperweights.  One of the most unusual was a mass of coprolite.  Coprolite is fossilized dinosaur dung—yup, a rock of crap.  When I had to deal with a particularly obnoxious person, knowing I had to be tactful as well as effective, I would casually pick up the coprolite and pass it from hand to hand as I talked.  I could be smiling, quiet and professional all the time I was thinking about what was in my hand, and what I really thought of the conversation. 

            I am retired now.  While I consider it important to be honest, kind and helpful, I no longer feel the need to be tactful.  My goal here is to be straight forward, not even handed.  I don’t want to show both sides, I want to show the truth. 

The Palestinians have been trying to create themselves since the 1993 Oslo peace accord was signed by the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.  Since they weren’t having any luck recreating the holocaust, they were going to try creating a country to do the job.  In 2007 the PLO lost half its territory.  The Fatah party (Yasser Arafat’s group) lost control to Hamas through a combination of elections and armed conflict—sort of an Occupy Arafat thing.  Years of tentative negotiations between groups saying they represented Palestine (but didn’t) and those representing the state of Israel died on the vine.  And throughout all of this time, Israel has had to face missiles, suicide bombers and armed insurgents.  It is hard to talk peace when the other side keeps trying to kill you. 

            The current Palestinian president is Mahmoud Abbas, though just what and who he is president of is fluid, vague and unruly.  In 2011, feeling that the Israelis were being obstreperous about actually requiring gestures of peace from those wanting peace talks, he decided to try an end run around Israel by going to the United Nations.  While neither deserving nor earning any legitimacy, Abbas went to the only place on this planet where legitimacy doesn’t matter.  The United Nations, created for all of the best reasons in the world, has become a club where rich, politically connected thugs can meet, run their world-wide mafia, and congratulate themselves for finally having found clean sheets and good plumbing on someone else's dime.  The inmates are running this asylum. 

            While the United States, with its permanent place on the Security Council, can (and hopefully would) veto Palestine’s status of statehood, the General Assembly could offer Palestine, “observer” status.  This is the camel’s nose under the tent.  It is a semblance of legitimacy, and it allows access to U.N. institutions, like the World Bank.  That means those mask-wearing, automatic weapon brandishing punks that attack Israel mercilessly would be buying their guns with our money.   UNESCO has already recognized Palestine.  This should tell us a great deal about where the Obama administration really stands on supporting Israel.  A 15-year old piece of legislation requires us to cut off funding to any UN agency that recognizes Palestine.  Since UNESCO gets 22% of it’s funding from U. S. tax payers, they should see a hefty cut in their budget.  I hope so. 

            Lets put down the coprolite and state some facts.  Israel is the only friend the United States in the Mideast.  The Palestinians don’t want a country, they want Israel to disappear and the Jews to die.  Israel is a modern, capitalistic, scientific democracy.  Palestine is made up of a bunch of 19^th Century tribal fools with manhood issues. 

            Support Israel, and keep the faith.