[Crossposted from JStreetJive.]

Jewish Housing - As Dangerous as Iran's Bomb?

Q: What is J Street's definition of other Jews wanting to start new families and exercise their right to live in peace anywhere they want?

A: "A Slap in the Face", "An Affront", "Provocative", and "Arrogant"

And so, Jeremy Ben Enemy, in typical sing- song imitation of his boss, Obama, is still smarting from the incredible slap in the face.:

Clearly reveling in the moment, Axelrod declared on ABC's This Week, "Well, look, what happened - there was an affront. It was an insult, but that's not the most important thing. What it did was it made more difficult a very difficult process..."

Picking up on Axelrod's cue, ABC's Senior White House Correspondent, Jake Tapper, went even further: "I hate to say this, but yes or no, David, does the intransigence of the Israeli government on the housing issue, yes or no, does it put U.S. I believe that that region and that issue is a flare point throughout the region, and so I'm not going to put it in those terms.troops lives at risk?"

Axelrod: "I believe that that region and that issue is a flare point throughout the region, and so I'm not going to put it in those terms."

Well, I guess that was a "yes" from Axelrod. Now the stage is set. The next time a U.S. soldier is shot by a Sunni fanatic in Kandahar or an Iranian mob calls for "Death to America", we can lay the blame at Israel's door. But why stop there? Obviously, when a Jordanian devotee of Shari'a law kills his sister, it's Israel's fault. When a Jihadi blows up a jetliner over America, it's Israel's fault. If only all those offensive Israeli Jews could learn to be Citizens of the World like Jeremy Ben Ami.

Dalal Mughrabi's Handiwork in 1978, Honored by the "Moderate" Abbas

No one from the Obama administration seemed concerned or "insulted" by the Palestinian action, including the voluble Joe Biden. As usual, when an American administration assumes the role of the "offended" party, there are severe consequences for Israelis. The pattern is all too familiar. Palestinians are gently urged to tamp down the terrorism, with absolutely no material penalties. Israelis (Jews) must show humility and penance with real, physical concessions. And, usually, the Jews comply with bowing and scraping. But this time, Bibi, while apologizing for the timing and context of the announcement, is not backing down in the face of unbelievable pressure.

Keep in mind that in the nearly 17 years of Oslo and its ill-conceived progeny, no instrument was ever signed by Israel agreeing to the curtailment of building or "natural growth", although they have dismantled scores of "illegal" outposts. The Palestinians, on the other hand, were signatories to many agreements that obliged them to confiscate weapons, disband militant groups and to "end incitement" in general, not one of which was ever implemented. In practice, the more the Palestinians violated their signed agreements, the more money and sympathy they garnered from the U.S. and the European Union. The pattern appears unbreakable, especially in light of Obama's Cairo speech considered by many to be an appeasement to the Arab and Muslim world.

Unlike their initial ignoring of Israel Apartheid Week, J Street did issue a strong condemnation of Abbas' action. We thank them for that. It should be noted, however, that the outrageous Palestinian action never rose to the level of condemnation-with-consequences that followed the housing announcement. How would the Obama administration and Ben Ami react were an Israeli government to dedicate a town square to Baruch Goldstein?

Visiting Ramallah and embracing Abbas, Vice President Biden made no statement regarding the terrorist naming ceremony, nor was any statement forthcoming from anyone in the Administration. It was a non-event. The administration was going to take Bibi to the woodshed, and, as Axelrod made clear, Israeli behavior was unacceptable. At a time when Obama may suffer his most significant congressional defeat with a still-born health plan, the administration needs to look strong and resolute. With increasing public impatience with the war in Afghanistan and an impotent sanctions policy towards Iran's nuclear progress, Obama is in need of a big stick. With American Jews reluctant to criticize him, Obama could find no better whipping boy than Bibi. And J Street will hand him the whip. No one's going to accuse them of dual loyalty! So long as Obama believes that the strongest American Jewish lobby is J Street, Israel is in deep trouble. At least the ADL issued an immediate statement on the administration's "overreaction."

In spite of the bad timing of the Israeli housing announcement, once the decision was made, Bibi and his government should have stood behind the decision, asserting the right of Jews to live where they choose, especially if that building affects or displaces no Palestinians. Ramat Shlomo, the community in question, is located a mere two miles from the western wall and will displace no one; moreover, it is in Jerusalem, not East Jerusalem, no matter how repetitively the administration and the media attempt to create a Palestinian sovereign entity where none exists.

Ramat Shlomo

And the piling on was not lost on the Palestinians. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for the Palestinian government, called the new housing announcement "a dangerous decision that will torpedo the negotiations and sentence the American efforts to complete failure." The last thing Obama wants - if the health bill fails - is another complete failure.

Sadly, the pattern of unilateral concessions, begun in the first Clinton administration and its creation of the eternal "Peace Process" has carried over into the Obama administration. The U.S., the EU and Russia have become accustomed to demanding life-threatening concessions from Israel while demanding exactly nothing from the Arabs:

May 4, 1994: The first substantive instrument signed by Israel and Arafat; Israel was to gradually withdraw from Gaza and Jericho; Arafat was to disarm Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel complied - Arafat did not.

Sept. 28, 1995: Oslo II: Further delineated Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and west bank areas, assigning areas A,B and C. Israel further releases hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, many with "blood on their hands" as a goodwill gesture. Palestinians continue to arm and to incite with no international consequences.

Jan. 17, 1997: The Hebron redeployment agreement, whereby Israel agrees to hand over 99% of the city to the PA in area H1. The agreement was signed by Bibi Netanyahu. Palestinians continue to arm and incite.

Oct. 23, 1998: The Wye River Memorandum. Ostensibly, under Clinton, the details of Oslo II are agreed on, requiring the Palestinians to comply with previous weapons confiscations and to combat incitement. No compliance on the Palestinian side; Israel completes its withdrawals shortly thereafter.

Sept. 4, 1999: The Sharm-el-Sheikh Memorandum: Intended to resolve foot-dragging by PA in terms of arms and incitement and likewise by Israel in redeployment. 95% of the area given to the PA.

July 11-25, 2000: The Camp David Summit: Israel agrees to dismantle all settlements in areas taken over by the PA including Palestinian sovereignty over the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state in return for an end to the conflict and incitement. Arafat answers with the "2nd Intifada" which was planned before the summit convened.

Though not a complete timeline, this should suffice to illustrate a consistent pattern of Israel's tangible, material concessions in contrast with Palestinian no-concessions. J Street shows no signs of criticizing this lethal pattern.