Thoughts On Israel

I know that some readers of this blog will disagree with this.  I await your comments, either on the blog, or directly to riart1@aol.com.  And by the way, I found a very comprehensive web site for those interested in matters of Jewish and Israeli concern.  If you are unaware of Tablet magazine, check out www.tabletmag.com.

Some Thoughts on Israel

One of the topics about which I frequently get into discussions is the problem which the State of Israel faces in dealing with the Palestinians.  Actually, that name is a misnomer. Today’s Palestinians are the descendents of the Arab population of the former Ottoman province and British mandate which was called Palestine and whose residents were called Palestinians, regardless of whether they were Arab, Muslim, Jewish, Druze or Christian.  Did you know that in its pre-Israel days, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra was known as the Palestine Philharmonic, an almost completely Jewish group?  But since the Arab population there today calls itself Palestinian, that is the name I will use in these comments.

The State of Israel’s borders were established by the United Nations in 1948.  Beyond those borders was supposed to be a separate “Palestinian” (i.e. non-Jewish) entity, but this was never established because the existence of Israel was not accepted by the Arab world.  Several unsuccessful wars ensued, all started by Arab states, in efforts to destroy Israel.  As a result, Israel’s pre-1967 borders were expanded to include occupied territories won in those wars by Israel.  Many Israel’s feel that this expanded Israel, which approximates  ancient Israel of the Bible, should become permanent.  Many Israeli settlements, initially for protective purposes, have been established in these areas.  Some areas, like Yamit in the Sinai and the Gaza Strip, have been returned to the Arabs.  Israeli settlements and construction of dwellings, however, have proliferated in the some of the areas outside of Israel’s 1967 borders, known as the West Bank.  Some Jews, particularly the Orthodox, feel that these territories should never be returned since they form part of the original Biblical Israel.  On the other hand, polls show that the majority of Israelis do accept the idea of some sort of Arab, or Palestinian, de-militarized state eventually coming into existence once the Palestinians agree to accept the existence of the State of Israel and cease their efforts to destroy it.

A large body of Jews in the United States, but not necessarily in Israel, believe this will never happen and that no matter what they say and no matter what treaties they sign, Palestinians are not to be trusted.  This is a very understandable point, particularly while those Muslim states supporting the Palestinians, such as Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan and Iran, remain virulently opposed to the existence of Israel. Proponents of this viewpoint feel a “two state solution" is impossible since the new Palestinian state would, despite whatever the provisions of the treaty establishing it might say, eventually seek the destruction of Israel. What happened in Gaza, once it was returned, is cited as evidence of this.

If there is not to be a “two state solution,” this leaves the Palestinians right where they are today, primarily living in territories occupied by Israel, which many Israelis want to make a permanent part of Israel, and with no real rights as Israeli citizens. (Palestinians living within the boundaries of Israel do have such rights.)   Proponents of a “two state solution” feel that the expansion by birthrate alone of the Palestinians within a single “greater” Israel would soon make them into a majority, and use this as an argument for coming to some accommodation with the Palestinians so that this will not happen.  Advocates of a single “greater“ Israel argue that this is not so, and that the Orthodox birthrate and future Aliyah (immigration to Israel) will offset this.  I disagree with this since the studies on which this argument is based are not from academically accepted demographic experts.

The United States, in its efforts to continue to its 63 years of support for the State of Israel and at the same time, remain on good terms with the Arab world, advocates a “two state solution”  one in which there will eventually be a demilitarized Palestinian state. To further this aim, United States policy attempts to discourage further expansion of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, and limiting of construction within existing settlements.  This policy extends to areas of Jerusalem as well as the West Bank, where Jewish and Arab neighborhoods co-exist with frequent Jewish expansion into areas lived in by Palestinians.

While the majority of Israelis probably favor this “two state solution” on the West Bank (but not necessarily for Jerusalem), conservative groups in Israel have sufficient influence in the government to prevent this from happening.  Without them, the government would fall.  Hence, regarding expansion or contraction of settlements on the West Bank, and regarding construction of new housing on the West Bank and in parts of Jerusalem, any Israeli government must walk a tightrope, knowing exactly how far the United States will go in supporting their position.

Add to this the stated mission of Hizbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza to destroy Israel, the potential nuclear threat from Iran, the present nuclear threat from Pakistan and the present state of turmoil in the Muslim world, and you can see why the Israelis, even those who want some sort of accommodation with the Palestinians, are reluctant to work as hard as they can for it at this time.  Most Israelis, regardless of political belief, agree that the Palestinians and their Arab allies all understand the language of brute force better than that of the negotiating table and this realization will delay their sitting down at that table.  Why?  Because for the Israelis, the time is not right at present since they really have no one with whom to negotiate.  

My opinion is that eventually there must be a “two state solution,” or else Israel will remain a garrison state forever.  This cannot be because while Israel has won many wars against its antagonists, and is capable of winning many, many more, it only has to lose one. 

It won’t be easy, and it will require the efforts of a lot of people outside of Israel, particularly in the United States and in the Arab states, to accomplish this.  Perhaps the current turmoil in the Muslim world, taking the Arab mind off of Israel, will enable this to happen.  The cards are being shuffled and reshuffled.  No one knows what kind of hand will be dealt to Egypt and the other Muslim states in turmoil, and more importantly, how they will play that hand.  The Israelis (and Americans whose minds are open) are waiting to see.


JL