No Backbone; Bibi's Trying To Squeeze Through A Crack

I find no comfort in Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's words about building in Jerusalem:

Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Text: PM Netanyahu to Knesset: No restriction on construction in Jerusalem

"No government of Israel for the last 40 years has agreed to place restrictions on building in Jerusalem - not Levi Eshkol, not Golda Meir, not Menachem Begin, not Shimon Peres, not Yitzhak Shamir, not Yitzhak Rabin, not Ariel Sharon, not Ehud Barak, not Ehud Olmert.


During that time, all these governments have built in the suburbs of Jerusalem - in Gilo, in Ramot, in Neve Yaakov, in Ramat Eshkol, in French Hill, in Pisgat Zeev, in Ramat Shlomo and elsewhere.


The establishment of these Jewish suburbs did not harm the Arabs of East Jerusalem in any shape or form and did not come at their expense.


Today, nearly half of Jerusalem's Jewish population lives in these suburbs.
None of these places are far away, they are all a few minutes travel from here. They are all within six kilometers of the Israeli Knesset.


Regardless of whatever political differences there may be in this house regarding the final-status agreement, the ultimate borders of Israel, everyone agrees that all of these neighborhoods will remain part of Israel in any final peace settlement.


We will continue to keep Jerusalem an open city accessible to all religions.


A city where Jews and Arabs, Christians and Muslims live in together and have freedom of religion and access to religious sites."

They're just historical facts and it's not as simple as he wants us to believe.  If enough homes and apartments and schools had been built in Jerusalem these past (almost) forty-five years, there wouldn't be a housing shortage, and the prices wouldn't be so unaffordably high.


Bibi didn't state the policy of a proud and independent nation.  He didn't say that no other country has the right to dictate to us.  Netanyahu should have said that to prove that we don't take orders from foreign nations, we're speeding up the process for getting building permits, yes, just davka.  The Israeli Prime Minister should have told the Americans to "take a time-out" and leave us in peace to celebrate our Holiday of Freedom of Bondage.

Avodim hayeenu l'Paroh b'Mitzrayim

We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt

The important aspect was that we were once slaves to Pharaoh, to a foreign leader. 

Now we're a free and independent people.  Please, let us all remember that.

Atah bnai chorin, bnai chorin

Now we are free,

yes, free from foreign influence