Tag: Land

Who Has the Most Land in the Middle East?

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President Obama is visiting Israel this week.

As we have been hearing (ad nauseum) for many years, “Israeli Settlements” or suburban housing erected for families is the main obstacle to peace. Put Israel back inside Israel proper, make it conform to borders settled by the United Nations, and peace will follow. Many US Presidents have talked of the “two-state solution”, the idea that a democratic Palestine and a democratic Israel might live side-by-side in peace.

But the truth is that any Israeli state is anathema to the Arabs. They simply do not accept that Israel has a right to exist. Israel in Tel Aviv is wrong. Israel anything must go.

From 9/11 to the 1970s hijacking of planes, to the killing of innocents at the Munich Olympics, the big bloody event has always captivated and controlled the Palestinians and their allies. They have pursued their own cause by sacrificing women, children and non-combatants.

While Israel is now being asked to unsettle its settlers, what guarantee is there that putting Israelis into exile (in their own nation) would buy peace? None at all. After leaving the Gaza Strip, Israel was bombarded by rockets, aimlessly aimed to kill innocents.

Why not ask the Arabs, who allegedly are tearfully and remorsefully concerned with the Palestinian plight, to give over their land to make a new nation? Why not? Land is land. If a people want to make a democratic and prosperous nation, they can do it anywhere on Earth!

Here are the statistics (taken from Google) on land areas in the Middle East:

Israel: 8,019 sq miles (20,770 km²)

Some Arab Nations:

Egypt: 387,000 sq miles (1.002 million km²)
Jordan: 34,495 sq miles (89,342 km²)
Syria: 71,498 sq miles (185,180 km²)
Saudi Arabia: 830,000 sq miles (2.15 million km²)
Libya: 679,400 sq miles (1.76 million km²)
Algeria: 919,600 sq miles (2.382 million km²)

Other Nations:

Iraq: 169,235 sq miles (438,317 km²)
Iran: 636,400 sq miles (1.648 million km²)
Pakistan: 307,374 sq miles (796,095 km²)

A Remnant of Ruralism.

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The Santa Monica Mountains cross the southern part of the Valley. They are often green, hydrated by Pacific mists, and shielded from sunlight along their northern flank.

But up in Chatsworth, one can still occasionally find a brown, rocky, and barren land where horses, ranches, hay bales, and fences predominate. Here, far from the ocean, there is hardly any fog, and the south-facing mountains bake year round in blistering sun.

Near Canoga Avenue and Chatsworth Street, there is a surviving remnant of equine ruralism. I drove here, quite accidentally, on a search for open land beyond the last cul-de-sac in Los Angeles.

In mid-morning heat, pushing 98 degrees, an old man was walking his white dog near a working horse stable. A Metrolink train passed by. In the distance were those dry, mysterious mountains.

Along Canoga, behind a row of olive trees, stood some old, tired wood-frame shacks; weather-beaten, paint-peeling, weed-covered. Only a satellite dish atop a roof gave some clue of present day life.

Plowing Asphalt into Green Spaces.

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click bottom center of photo to STOP.

Two big parcels of land on Van Nuys Blvd., encompassing at least three acres, have come into being now, due to the demolition of the Keyes Mercedes building at Chandler and the emptying of Rydell Chevrolet on the NW corner of Burbank.

To see these lots cleared is to appreciate the enormity of space they once occupied, and offers urban dreamers the chance to imagine how these land areas could be utilized for greener businesses.

According to my friend Dick Carter, a restaurant real estate broker, parking is always a problem. The Keyes and Rydell lots offer possibilities for integrating parking, dining and agriculture.

An organic diner or restaurant could grow herbs, citrus, vegetables, and sustainable plants on these lands, products grown locally and freshly right here in Van Nuys. People would sit outside, in gardens, under trees, and dine on foods grown on Van Nuys Blvd!

Government tax breaks, modifications in zoning, and enlightened planners could transform our environment, our neighborhood and our health.

And Steve Weiss at Capital (818-905-2400) is leasing the Rydell space.