• Israel's deputy foreign minister proud to be settler in the west bank
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[QUOTE]JERUSALEM (AP) — Zeev Elkin has faced a wave of criticism since he was made the de facto chief of Israel's Foreign Ministry two months ago: He isn't prepared for compromise with the Palestinians. He doesn't speak English well enough. He is a West Bank settler. But Israel's deputy foreign minister, who is the top official until a new foreign minister is named, makes no apologies for his ideology or background, and in fact thinks they are an advantage. Claiming to reflect the "real positions" of most Israelis, Elkin says the world should get used to dealing with Jewish settlers and right-wing Israeli politicians. "It is a mistake to think the Foreign Ministry needs a person whose views the world would rather hear but do not reflect the government or the majority in Israel," Elkin said in an interview. "You cannot fool the world." Elkin, a rising star in Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, was handed the No. 2 spot at the Foreign Ministry following parliamentary elections early this year. Netanyahu has promised the foreign minister's job to his political partner, Avigdor Lieberman. With Lieberman on trial on fraud and breach of trust charges, he is unable to assume the post. For now, Netanyahu has taken on the foreign minister's job until Lieberman's trial ends, handling many key diplomatic functions while Elkins oversees the ministry's day to day affairs. The job is the latest stop for the fast-rising Elkin, a 42-year-old immigrant from the former Soviet Union who holds degrees in mathematics and history. In the previous government, he was the chairman of Netanyahu's governing coalition, one of the most important and influential positions in parliament. - The Palestinians and the international community reject Jewish settlements as illegal or illegitimate, and continued Israeli construction is at the heart of a nearly 5-year-old deadlock in peace efforts. Speaking slightly accented Hebrew in a soft monotone voice, Elkin said the settlements, home to more than 500,000 Israelis, have become a fact of life that must be recognized. With so many settlers, "naturally they are represented in the hallways of government," he said. "I am not embarrassed of being a settler. I don't think I need to apologize to anyone about it." Danon, the deputy defense minister, said he couldn't agree more, saying that Israel is "proud" of its settlers, and that giving them important jobs would help negative perceptions of them worldwide. "I do not see any difference between a Jew who lives in a Jewish community in Judea and Samaria or elsewhere," he said. "When you meet those people, maybe the image that you have is a different one than the reality." - And while Elkin opposes the Palestinian demand to freeze settlement construction, he said it is "no secret" that the government has greatly limited settlement projects in recent weeks at U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's urging. Elkin heaped the blame for the current impasse in peace efforts on the Palestinians, accusing them of setting unrealistic conditions at the outset of talks, promoting hatred and glorifying violence. Such accusations, denied by the Palestinians, are common among Israel's right wing. [/QUOTE] [url]http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-israel-deputy-fm-proud-settler-151001368.html[/url]
[quote]"It is a mistake to think the Foreign Ministry needs a person whose views the world would rather hear but do not reflect the government or the majority in Israel"[/quote] This makes sense in being with a democracy but still royally blows for the Palestinians.
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;40803296]This makes sense in being with a democracy but still royally blows for the Palestinians.[/QUOTE] At least he's honest about being a terrible person.
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