Peace will only come through strength
On Thursday, President Obama spoke about his vision for the middle east. Friday, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu came to Washington and gave the President a dose of reality.
A few thoughts on these developments (I am on my way to the AIPAC conference in Washington DC this weekend and will be reporting and writing more from there). Obama spoke of the imperative for Israel to return to the pre-1967 borders (although he used the word ‘lines’ for some reason). Let’s remember: when Israel had those borders, its neighbors attacked it repeatedly in full-scale wars. As Netanyahu pointed out, that border arrangement made Israel ultra-vulnerable and made attacking the tiny country seem more attractive.
Remember: Israel was hated, and repeatedly attacked by its neighbors, from literally the first day of its inception as modern state, BEFORE there were “settlements,” BEFORE there was any “occupation.” I wrote about this in this week’s New Jersey Jewish Standard.
Something good thing can emerge from Obama’s irresponsible statement Friday about the 1967 borders: it provides a natural and timely opportunity to remind the world that the reason for the so-called “occupation” is Jew-hatred on the part of Palestinians and other Arabs, not the other way around. In 1948, and again in 1967, Israel was attacked from all sides. Israel defended itself and in so doing, captured the West Bank territory that has become a bone of contention, along with Gaza. The West Bank remains under Israeli surveillance because it is a hotbed of potential terrorism. One reason Israeli soldiers maintain a presence there is it allows them to gain intelligence about terror cells and the territory serves as a buffer.
One need not speculate about what a precipitous withdrawal from the West Bank would produce. Just look at Gaza.
Like many observers, I am inspired by elements of the Arab spring. I passionately support the dignity and self-determination of genuine Arab Muslim moderates. But I also know that there is an observable difference between the “Facebook Revolution” denizens who led the more or less peaceful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and the Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian demonstrators who charged across Israel’s borders last week. For starters, the previous group were protesting within their own respective nations for redress of grievances. The latter were intentionally breaching another nation’s borders. The former were more or less peaceful, the latter were more or less not. The former appear to be acting mainly to improve their own lives, the latter are acting–at least in many cases–to destroy others’ lives and nation.
Palestinian moderates do exist. I had the privilege of meeting some in person when I went to the West Bank on a reporting assignment for the Jerusalem Post in 2008. But unfortunately, with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to form a unity government with Hamas, I see no reason to believe that all Palestinians who claim the mantle of the moderate truly are. And I see no reason to believe those who are genuinely moderate will show the courage or even if somehow they do, given their numbers, be able to do a damn thing, to prevail. Sadly, the moderates will carry the day no time soon in Palestine.
In one regard, President Obama’s speech on Thursday was not unique, merely a repeat of many an American president’s hubristic quest to try to bring peace in the middle east. The flaw, in the humble opinion of this commentator, is baked in the cake. Because the formulation, fueled by a mix of moral relativism and American can-do optimism (belief that every problem has a solution, if only we work hard enough)–is a built on a dangerously flawed premise. Both of the aforementioned approaches to problem-solving have merit. But in this situation, at this time, they are dangerously misapplied.
In reality, the cause of the middle east conflict is not mutual antagonism. It is Arab hatred of the Jew, and the larger world’s acceptance of and participation in the demonizing of Israelis for the self-defense. Honest observers know: even though every innocent death on either side is tragic and heartbreaking, Israelis never seek to inflict such carnage. The reverse is not true: Palestinian militants target Israeli civilians and even use their own civilians, including children, as cannon fodder. Israelis are forced to fight for survival because the alternative is annihilation.
That Jew-hatred may be stoked by repression and abuse of Arab peoples by their own leaders, true. In recognizing that dynamic, I can glimpse how Obama may believe the time is better than ever to push. But given decades of radicalization of Palestinians in schools, mosques, in their newspapers and on TV, and given the poisonous influence of radical Islam in the mix, the reality is, forcing the creation of a Palestinian state–before the dust has even settled on the momentous changes in the region–is a recipe for creating a terror state.
Here’s a thought: don’t push for “peace,” Mr. Obama. Be the first U.S. president to employ the simple wisdom of the country lawyer: good fences make good neighbors, and sometimes the best “solution” is the status quo, at least for the present. The interference of the U.N., Europe, and U.S. presidents has, on the whole, made things worse for Israel, and has not helped the Palestinians. The valid part of their dream–independence–is still too mixed up with the sick dream of destroying another people to be ready for, or worthy of, realization. That’s the unfortunate truth.
Leave Israel to deal with its own problems, in its own way. Quietly support your friend and allow her to deal with her trials, which are overwhelming. Do not reprimand her for standing up for herself. Israelis have never asked others to fight–or die–for them. All they ask is the respect accorded every other nation in the world; when attacked, they have the right to self-defense. Pretty words about peace–when they amount to disarming and handicapping a decent people under siege from a fanatical set of enemies–will only exacerbate a terrible situation.
This entry was written by Heather Robinson and posted on May 21, 2011 at 2:50 am and filed under Blog. permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Keywords: Israel, Palestinians. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. */?>