Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech this week achieved a very important purpose. Egypt's reaction to The rhetoric with which Netanyahu opened his speech was music to most Israeli ears. his demand that the "Palestinians" recognize the fact that Israel is a Jewish state made it clear that it, too, does not recognize Israel as such. All the prime ministers who preceded Netanyahu had totally ignored this essential fact. If he would have wanted to, Netanyahu could have ignored it as well. In this respect, Netanyahu has performed a tremendous service for the state of Israel and is deserving of praise. Suddenly, Israelis learned that it is not just the stubborn "Palestinians" who do not recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state in the Land of Israel. It is also the Egyptians - with whom we have "peace." Barack Obama's entire ascent to power and his pressure on Israel, all the hostile speeches and political deterioration are not a price too dear to pay to crack the lie of the "peace process" and its stranglehold on Israeli society. The rhetoric with which Netanyahu opened his speech was music to most Israeli ears. It is also important. It has been a long time since an Israeli leader has talked about our right to the Land of Israel. The problem is, though, that Netanyahu's rhetoric contradicts the political conclusion at the end of his speech. Actually, Netanyahu used the age-old tactic copyrighted by the Biblical spies. They began their speech by extolling the praises of the Land of Israel. But it was just a ploy to cajole the Children of Israel into accepting a conclusion counter to the praise. Journalist Ari Shavit most precisely summed up Netanyahu's speech in his article in Ha'aretz : "The rhetoric of the speech was right of center, but the political conclusion was left of center." On the surface, it seems that Netanyahu has managed to alleviate the pressure on Israel and to duck Obama's arrows. But let us not deceive ourselves. The sighs of relief released by Pinchas Wallerstein and the Judea, Samaria and Gaza Council, and the support of Effie Eitam from within the Likud, stem from - in the best case scenario - deplorable short-sightedness. Nothing will remain of Netanyahu's conditions for a Palestinian state, just like nothing remained of the 14 reservations he attached to his vote in favor of the expulsion from Gush Katif. But the basic principle that Netanyahu outlined in his Bar-Ilan speech - that there is a Palestinian nation and that the State of Israel recognizes the right of that "nation" to sovereignty in the Land of Israel - will cost us dearly. As soon as we accepted the principle of "Palestinian" self-definition, we accepted their basic claim. Netanyahu scurried up the "Palestinian state" tree in order to escape from Obama. Right now, it may seem that we can rest a bit at the top of the tree. The columns of black-uniformed settlement destroyers have returned to their bases for a short break. But Obama and the entire world are waiting at the foot of the tree. We have nowhere left to run and the branches of the tree do not provide much cover against the arrows that they will yet shoot our way. As soon as we accepted the principle of "Palestinian" self-definition, we accepted their basic claim that we are nothing more than foreign conquerors in our own land. True, as Obama and Ahmadinejad mentioned in their speeches, we came here from Europe under tragic circumstances. But our suffering does not give us the right to rob another nation of its land. The world will always stand at the side of the just. As soon as we recognized their right to a state, we lost the justice of our claim to Haifa and Jaffa. Netanyahu's speech will intensify US pressure on Israel. Combined with persistent opposition from Israel's Left, it will likely bring about the end of his government and his political career.
