Between Netanyahu speech at the Congress and Hasrallah speech at Nabi Sheet.
By Youssef Amin
Maronite Centre for Strategic Research – Toronto - Canada

May 28/2011

The world listened this week to Mr. Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel’s speech before the U.S. Congress, both House and Senate, which represents the Legislative Council of the world’s largest Democracy. The warm welcome of Mr. Netanyahu at the Congress indicates the respect of the United States for its youngest ally (Israel) and for a Prime Minister elected by the people and can be removed by the will of the people as is the case of those who greeted him in Washington.

The Democracy that the U.S. is trying to export to the world as the ideal way to manage peoples did not arise out of nowhere and was not an American innovation, it has been practiced in many countries and for centuries with its disadvantages and advantages. The most important thing in this Democracy is that the Executive power be vested in a group or a party elected by the people to run the country according to the will of the people, and falls or be replaced as soon as it disagrees with that will, or when people feel the need to change.

Netanyahu started his speech in reminding the Congress that he is a Prime minister of a Democratic State and understands very well the meaning of the American Democracy. Through this argument he presented his vision for Israel's needs and the interests of the United States in the Middle East and worldwide.

Netanyahu did not present problems only or requested assistance, but he also provided solutions as seen by him and spoke of the Israeli people’s fears and concerns.

Of course, the United States Congress stood up to welcome Netanyahu, as a tribute to the State of Israel, the ally of the United States, but the Senators and Congressmen applauded and stood up several times as a personal tribute to the Prime Minister of this country for his ideas and his vision. He did not attack without reason, he wasn’t stubborn in his views nor did he try to impose them. He exposed the problems from his point of view and offered his proposed solutions, which is conform to the American sense of democracy, freedom of people and their right for self-determination, especially if every thing is subject to negotiations.

Netanyahu said that Israel must be the first nation to recognize the Palestinian State not the last one, but let’s agree on the grounds, first that the Palestinians recognize the state of Israel once and for all the right to live side by side with the State of Palestine where neither of them will constitute a threat to the other.

Netanyahu solved the famous “right to return”. He said as we are giving the right for every Jew in the world (about12 million) to immigrate to the Jewish state in Israel, we should also facilitate for all Palestinians, wherever they live, in refugee camps of the region or in Diaspora, to immigrate to the Palestinian state and get its nationality if they wish to.

Netanyahu, speaking about the borders did not say that it would not be the 67 borders, but he said it might be modified according to his opinion in some areas and through negotiations, and pointed to his willingness for “bitter” compromises. He also spoke of his rejection of Hamas as a partner in the negotiation because it does not recognize Israel's right to exist. When the Palestine Liberation Organization negotiated with Israel in Oslo, it was forced to agree to change its slogans, which, as Hamas’ slogans of today, rejected Israel's existence.

Netanyahu spoke of the peoples of the Arab countries that seek to change; he wished them success in the progress toward democracy. He mentioned Lebanon's Cedar Revolution and the work it did, but warned of the risks surrounding Lebanon because of Hezbollah's continued expansion towards the Southern border despite international resolutions and the presence of UNIFIL forces. He spoke about Iran and its nuclear program that threatens not only Israel but the world. Meanwhile he never talked about Syria, maybe he didn’t want to interfere in the internal Syrian affairs because things are still not clear.

On another side, in what he calls the “day of liberation”, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addressed an audience through the screen as usual. His speech was displayed in the town of Nabi Sheet at the Bekaa Valley (we do not know why changing the location of the show, may be t to be closer to Syria?) He attacked as usual, the United States, President Obama, and the Congress. He did not forget to attack Israel of course.

For the US Congress certainly Sayyed Hassan does not mean much more than a spokesman for a terrorist organization, which makes of Lebanon the center of its activities. It has confiscated the entire Shiite community and gave it up to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to be used for its projects in the region. He is the furthest away from the concept of democracy, revered by Americans. It is therefore natural that the Congress wouldn’t compare him to Mr. Netanyahu. It is inconceivable that it receives him forget about the hospitality that Mr. Netanyahu was greeted with. But the U.S. Congress, which represents more than 300 million people and the largest economic and military power in today's world, is taking into account, without a doubt and seriously, everything Sayyed Hassan and his group say, based on to the free opinion principle. Sayyed Hassan, who knows that, allocates a large part of his speech to the Americans commenting on what is going on and threatening with doom and gloom. But is this in the interest of Lebanon and its people?

Sayyed Hassan, who used to approach matters in his speeches seriously in the past and try to learn from his enemies, did not do so in his recent ones, absolutely not this time. He used a language similar to the Saddam or the "Voice of the Arabs" era, which lack of reflection on what others say and content repeating empty slogans. In commenting on what the president said he only heard that Obama changed his words about the 67 borders. As for what Netanyahu said, he just heard that the Palestinian state will be demilitarized. Now we ask him; why should the Palestinians need weapons if they will have an agreement with their enemies on everything? They will have their own independent state. They will cooperate with all the neighbors. There will be a full Peace in the whole region. Every body will be seeking to heal its wounds and move towards building the future of the generations that dream of a lot of progress and prosperity.

But Sayyed Hassan is not of this world. He is from the world of "Jihad for God's sake," as if God Almighty asked to kill people for his name and continue to murder and hatred unabated and unchecked, and not seek to reconcile.

Sayyed Hassan does not recognize the right of people to live freely. He represents the “Wali al-Faqih” and his State. He does not need to be elected or be accepted by his people. His authority is from the Wali and not from the people. Sayyed Hassan did not batting an eyelid, when he lost more than 2000 Lebanese and the entire infrastructure in the 2006 war, they do not have a value in his calculations, while Netanyahu is certainly afraid about his people. He is worried for the security or life of every Israeli. For Sayyed Hassan Mr. Netanyahu’s fear of his missiles is a point of weakness, for the U.S. Congress it is responsibility and foresight.

Sayyed Hassan is impressed by the new Syrian plan to demonstrate Palestinian refugees at the Israeli borders in the Golan and southern Lebanon. Every one knows that this plan is to ease the focus on what is going on in Syria and mislead the public opinion. At the same time to give a proof on what Mr. Rami Makhlouf said about linking Israel's security and stability with those of the regime in Damascus. The Palestinians remember how many were killed in the camps during the “war” that Sayyed Hassan’s people launched against these camps on President Assad’s father orders when he was committed to control the remains of Arafat in Lebanon. These are not the best of his family who were killed in the war of July and will be nothing more than pawns in the chess game invented by the Persians themselves and continue to carry them out with the blood of Arabs and in the absurdity of wars.

Sayyed Hassan claims he did not see the Syrian people, he wonders where it was and what are its demands. He sees only the Regime allied with his masters in Tehran and stresses the need to preserve it because it was "reluctant regime" and no matter what are his sins they should be forgiven because of this.

Sayyed Hassan tries to repudiate the intervention of Hezbollah in Syria, as in Yemen before or in Iraq, Kazakhstan (also against the demonstrators of the green movement in Tehran) and other "jihadist tasks". He denies it has happened, he also denies that Lebanese were killed in these “missions” and their bodies were buried without announcing the locations for their downfall. He says that nothing is hidden in Lebanon (true), but with so he forgets him self or thinks that the Lebanese have short memory, while the media spoke many times about such burials where pillars of the state were invited to attend the celebrations and articles were written about in the papers. Does he want to open such files?

Sayyed Hassan and his ilk who want to stop the Wheel of Time and return the peoples of the region back to the medieval days are dreaming. They have awakened a giant with their arrogance and continue to believe that they will escape their destiny. Everybody in the region knows the say "who dug a hole for his brother fall in it", they will without a doubt.

Great difference between what Netanyahu said before the U.S. Congress while talking about peace, prosperity and progress for all in the region and trying to understand the problems of others, from his point of view of course (and in spite of the contrast between his position and the Palestinian position at some points), and the gentleman who is committed to the “hole” and still address the people from that “hole” with highness and through the screen giving theories and threatening people as if he was a messenger from God, while he does not know the basic attributes of God that is sang every morning and repeated with every prayer, by Muslims and non-Muslims alike in various parts of the earth, which are; the graceful and the merciful.

We regret that Sayyed Hassan seized the decision from the Lebanese people and throttle their hopes and love for peace with his hatred. He still boasts of the “hole” he hides in and finds some baby souls listening to him. In the mean time the Lebanese government, robbed of all forms of dignity, sleeps on the “glory” of the Israeli “withdrawal”. She calls it “liberation”. She celebrates and rejoices every year but in vain because she just replaced an external occupier, a neighbor, who had entered Lebanon against his will for lack of authority to protect the security of their common border and adjust the elements of subversion. He had begged her for years to come back to take its rightful place and bear responsibility. She replaced this occupier with another one who does not have common border with but who had different plans. He used Lebanese elements to sabotage the security and stability of the country. He succeeded in dividing the Lebanese people into rival communities filled with hatred to each other. The Lebanese people in multiple occasions refused the weapons and funds Hezbollah is getting from this new occupier. They called for international intervention to collect it so the government will have the upper hand and the country will stop being the battlefield for all extremists in the region. President Suleiman had promised to bring back all the Lebanese in Israel claiming that the country is wide enough for all its children but after his third year in office he didn’t fulfill his promise.

Final words to what remains of the Arab countries; do not be fouled with the poisonous ideas of such people. Stick on your plan for Peace. Negotiate with Israel and don’t let the barbaric medieval prevent solutions that will restore dignity to the Palestinian people by giving them a state that should live in peace with all its neighbors, seeks for the best of its people and share the good with everyone. Let the hatred away and work for peace. You can overcome all obstacles. Negotiate details to solve problems. The Taba case is the best example, it was resolved with negotiations. Stop using the Palestinians as source of hatred go with Netanyahu to the end maybe he could fulfill his promise and a Palestinian state can arise to life, in cooperation with its neighbor, Israel, and why not?..