INTO THE FRAY: My New Year Appeal to Caroline Glick. Rethink “The Israeli Solution“.
By Martin Sherman, IISS
Glick’s prescription for a “A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East” will jeopardize the Zionist enterprise no less than the two-state paradigm, which she rightly repudiates with great force and eloquence.
As far as we are concerned, Ahmad is a hero and a martyr – Ali Mahameed at the funeral of his relative, Ahmed Muhammad Mahameed, the Israeli-Arab killed in a recent attempted terror attack, Ynetnews, Aug. 21, 2018.
Events of the past weeks have highlighted the incipient disloyalty—or at least the evident passive lack of loyalty—of significant sectors of the Israeli-Arab population to Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and a clear rejection of the fundamental precepts on which the State of Israel was founded.
It also cast grave doubts on the feasibility—and advisability—of most of the currently touted “Right” -wing proposals for the extension of Israeli sovereignty over Judea-Samaria.
A catalog of repudiation of Jewish sovereignty
Following the racist cacophony of the Israeli-Arabs in the wake of the legislation of the Nationality Bill in July, denying the Jewish people the right to a sovereign nation-state (despite the constitutional assurance of civil equality for non-Jewish minorities), a series of several other disturbing events took place.
In the coastal Arab village of Jisr-al-Zarka, about 40 km south of Haifa, two incidents of assault on state symbols by local residents took place. The one involved shots being fired in early August on the police station in the village, recently established as part of a wider initiative to bolster enforcement of law and order in the largely lawless Arab sector. The other entailed an attempt, on August 15, by two other residents to remove the Israeli flag flying over the station.
Two days later, Ahmed Muhammad Mahameed, a resident of another Israeli-Arab town, Umm-al-Fahm, attempted to stab an Israeli policeman in Jerusalem, and was shot dead.
Despite the family’s undertaking to hold a small, unobtrusive burial, the funeral swiftly developed into a mass demonstration, with crowds brandishing Palestinian flags and loudly chanting anti-Israel slogans.
Significantly, this public display of anti-Israeli sentiment was strongly reminiscent of the events that took place in Umm-al Fahm, just over a year ago, at the funerals of three residents of the town who were killed after they gunned down two Israeli police officers on the Temple Mount.
Then, just a few days ago, it was reported that Arab Knesset members of the Joint List were colluding with members of the Palestinian delegation at the UN to initiate measures of censure against Israel.
Sustained support for the enemy
Clearly then, after over seven decades of living under Israeli sovereignty, after benefiting hugely from the civil equality afforded them (despite repeated instances of expressed affiliation with Israel’s most vehement foes), Israeli Arabs still find it difficult to accept—never mind, identify with—foundational fundamentals on which Israel was established—as the nation-state of the Jewish people. Despite having experienced the societal and economic advantages those fundamentals have brought them—particularly compared to the penury and violence in the surrounding states, founded on very different ones—they continue to demonstrate that they cannot abide the notion of Jewish sovereignty over the land.
Thus, in the 2015 elections, well over 80% of the Arab electorate voted for the overtly anti-Zionist Joint List, a motley amalgam of political factions, ranging from radical communists to Muslim fundamentalists, whose only common ideological bond –indeed its very raison d’etre—is the rejection of the Jewish character of Israel.
Indeed, its elected officials, arguably among those who have benefited most from the socio-political order, have been the most vehement in their overt support for Israel’s most virulent enemies.
Thus, Azmi Bishara, founder of the Balad party, currently part of the Joint List, gave a speech in Umm al-Fahm in 2001—as a Knesset member—deploring Israel’s victory in the Six-Day War.
Praising Hezbollah
Later the same year, he visited Syria, giving a speech mourning the death of Syria’s President, Hafez al-Assad, and expressing solidarity with Syria’s and Hezbollah’s fight against Israel. (Significantly in light of the current debate of the role of the judiciary in the political process, the Israeli Supreme Court refused to remove Bishara’s parliamentary immunity to allow his prosecution for aiding an enemy state and terror organization.)
Shortly after the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Bihsara arrived again in Syria and together with other members of his Balad party (including Jamal Zahalka , currently head of Balad) visited Lebanon, where they met the Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora. The Israeli Knesset members expressed their support for Hezbollah, praising the terror organization’s military action against Israel, informing the Lebanese PM that it had “lifted the spirit of the Arab people [sic]”.
It was thus not totally unexpected to hear that in 2007, Bishara had fled the country under suspicion of aiding Hezbollah during the Second Lebanon War, later resigning his seat in the Knesset.
Then, of course, there is Haneen Zoubi, who chose to participate in the infamous flotilla initiated by the terrorist-affiliated jihadist Turkish organization, IHH on the Turkish vessel Mavi Marmara, endeavoring to break the security cordon imposed on Gaza. Indeed, Zouabi, another Balad member, and currently an MK of the Joint List, is on record proclaiming that the very concept of a Jewish state was “inherently racist” and expressing support for Iran’s nuclear program, which she endorsed as necessary to balance Israel’s military power, which she identified as the major regional danger.
Smuggling cellphones to terrorists
Another Joint List MK, Basel Ghattas, was caught, in late 2016, smuggling cell phones and SIM cards to convicted terrorists in an Israeli prison under cover of his parliamentary immunity. Ghattas resigned his Knesset seat and is currently serving a prison sentence for aiding a terrorist organization and a string of other offences.
Just months ago, Jamal Zahalka , who succeed Bishara as head of Balad, (today also a Joint List MK), declared that he “would rather die than sing the Israeli national anthem”—i.e. rather die than sing the anthem of the country in whose parliament he serves. As for the national flag he declared: “It’s a lot worse than a rag”.
Last but not least, there is Ahmad Tibi, who before being elected as an MK, served as a political advisor to the arch-terrorist, Yasser Arafat. Tibi, today also a Joint List MK, is a declared anti-Zionist who opposes Israel’s character as a Jewish state, claiming that its self-definition as Jewish is racist. He rejects, across the board, elements that reflect the Jewish nature of Israel—including the Law of Return, the flag, and the national anthem. Tibi, as an Israeli legislator, opposes the recruitment of Arab citizens of Israel into the IDF while supporting the Palestinian right of return, calling it a prerequisite for reconciliation.
An incandescent “red light”
The reason that I catalogue these instances is to underscore the political sentiments of the Israeli-Arabs as a collective, reflected in the parties and the individuals they vote for. After decades of life as fully enfranchised citizens under Israeli sovereignty, they—and certainly their elected representatives—resist and resent the Jewish nature of the state, in which they live and which has bestowed on them such far-reaching societal benefits—notwithstanding their clear sentiments of affiliation with Israel’s implacable foes.
The fact that incipient enmity exists—indeed, persists–despite the relative social and material advantages the Israeli-Arabs enjoy relative to those of their kinfolk across Israel’s borders, should serve as an incandescent red light to well-meaning proponents of extending Israeli sovereignty over Judea-Samaria together with the Arab population resident there.
One of the best known proposals—arguably, the best known—is that of the prominent columnist, Caroline Glick, which she elaborates on in her 2014 book, The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East.
To briefly summarize the gist of her proposal, in her own words, Glick writes: The mechanics of the policy are fairly straightforward. Israel will apply its laws to Judea and Samaria and govern the areas as normal parts of Israel…Contingent on security concerns…Palestinians will have the right to travel and live anywhere they wish within Israeli territory…Palestinians will have the same legal and civil rights as the rest of the residents and citizens of Israel… Those that receive Israeli citizenship in accordance with Israel’s Citizenship Law will also be allowed to vote in national elections for the Knesset.
Unfounded optimism vs. bitter experience
Glick bases her proposal on “alternative” demographic assessments that the Muslim population in Judea-Samaria is grossly inflated. But even granting that this is correct, her proposal involves doubling the current number of Muslims in Israel’s permanent population. Moreover, as Glick acknowledges herself, this additional population has for generations, been “fed…a steady diet of jihadist and Nazi-style anti-Semitism” by means of the “Palestinian school system and media and appointed imams in mosques”.
Glick appears to be alive to the problematic potential this entails, writing: … suddenly reducing the Jewish majority from 75 percent to 66 percent will undoubtedly have unforeseeable consequences on Israeli politics.” However, I fear that the consequences may well be entirely foreseeable and equally detrimental.
Optimistically, she predicts: “an Israeli assertion of central authority over the areas will likely have a significant moderating impact. Once the population feels there is a central governing authority in place, that sense of order will likely neutralize a significant amount of opposition momentum spurred by anti-Israel animus.”
This of course stands in stark contrast to the evidence of recent weeks among Israeli-Arabs, which offers persuasive proof that despite decades of assertion of central authority” this has done little, if anything, “to neutralize …anti-Israel animus”. Indeed, one can only wonder with grave concern just how such anti-Israel animus might be spurred by doubling the Muslim population, fed for generations with “a steady diet of jihadist and Nazi-style anti-Semitism”.
The irrelevance of initial Jewish majority
After all, even if the optimistic demographic assessments are correct, her prescription will still entail a Muslim minority of 35-40%. This, in itself, will have far reaching implications both for budget allocations and the socio-economic fabric of the country.
Clearly, with a recalcitrant minority of this size, including many of whom (as Glick herself acknowledges) have been taught for decades to hate Jews and who vehemently reject the Jewish character of the state, its symbols, calendar and conduct of public life, it will be impossible to forge a coherent and cohesive society. Rather, the result is likely to be pervasive inter-ethnic strife, even violence, and the Lebanonization of Israeli society.
Moreover, as I have pointed out elsewhere, the addition of the Arab residents of Judea-Samaria to Israel’s permanent population will compel a massive diversion of resources to reduce, in some measure, the yawning gaps in the socio-economic conditions that exist between the Muslim population beyond the pre-1967 lines and the rest of the Israel. This will inevitably siphon off funds currently utilized for enhancing infrastructure, welfare, education and so on, dramatically lowering the standard and quality of life for the existing citizenry.
The combination of deteriorating economic conditions and increasing interethnic friction will give rise to a detrimental demographic dynamic—making Israel an increasingly less attractive destination for Jews abroad and a decreasingly appealing place of residence for the Jewish population in Israel. The almost certain result will be diminished Aliyah (Jewish immigration) and accelerated Yeridah (Jewish emigration), eroding the Jewish numerical majority and imperiling the Zionist electoral majority—especially in the light of the recent behavior of Left wing factions in the wake of the “Nationality Bill”.
Evacuation-Compensation for Arabs as sole Zionist-compliant policy
Accordingly, the prescription advanced by Glick in calling for a “A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East” entailing extension of Israeli sovereignty over Judea-Samaria—including the Arab population—will jeopardize the Zionist enterprise no less—arguably more so—than the two-state paradigm, which she rightly repudiates with great force and eloquence.
As the year draws to a close I would urge her to rethink the positions she has hitherto adopted and consider charting a different course.
So, while I completely concur with her that Israeli sovereignty must be extended from the “River to the Sea,” I call on her to endorse a vigorous program of incentivized emigration (a.k.a. Evacuation – Compensation) for the Arab residents in Judea-Samaria as the only non-“kinetic” policy prescription that can adequately address Israel’s geographic imperative and its demographic one—if it is to endure as the nation state of the Jewish people.
After all, the principle of “Evacuation – Compensation” is often advanced for the removal of Jewish residents in Judea-Samaria—to facilitate the establishment of yet another homophobic, misogynistic Muslim-majority tyranny (a.k.a. a Palestinian state).
So why not rather advance the same principle for the evacuation-compensation of the Arab residents of Judea-Samaria–-to prevent the establishment of such a homophobic, misogynistic tyranny…???
Shana Tova
Martin Sherman is the founder & executive director of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies
@ Bear Klein:
I agree.
@ yamit82:
and you would eat the fish (annihilate the arab population)?
or would you whip the fish (continue a military occupation)?
or pay for the fish (declare Israel sovereignty over the entire Yehuda and shomron)??
please recall that the West Bank arabs (who already live there) will not vote for MK’s until Islam reforms itself and accepts Israel as a Jewish State.
What kind of fish have you been eating? certainly not gefilte fish.
sorry to embarrass you.
have an easy fast.
So if predicatively the PA dissolves when Abbas dies & various Fatah leaders & Hamas start trying to take over by the gun. The IDF will need to control the situation encircling the PA cities and raiding them to take weapons and arrest terror leaders. So choices will be available to Israel if this occurs:
One course of action could be find local leaders to collaborate with to allow local city level autonomy. Vetted workers from peaceful cities would be allowed to work in Israel. (like Emirates Plan of Kedar or 80s Mayors plan which did not work).
Second course would be something similar to Yamit proposed ideas and try to make conditions so that emigration is the choice of many Arabs.
Current leadership probably would choose the first course of action. Will the second course of action result in less or more violence towards Israel if it were enacted?
@ yamit82:
I do agree with you that Israel needs new leadership and needs to be proactive in reducing Arab population.
@ yamit82:
Great comment.
@ yamit82:
There’s not a single thing you’ve written that I could differ with. It’s a whole, complete programme of how to free Israel for the rightful owners. One little thing you omitted and you are forgiven, You didn’t mention the hefty water thefts.
Israel at this time needs behind closed to doors to convince the Trump team, that the Pals are not going to be receptive to their plan ever. So Israel needs to move and start massive building in Judea/ Samaria plus in Jerusalem.
Apply Israeli Civil Law to Area C. Reserve the right publicly to applying Israeli Civil Law to Areas A/B.
Plan for the day after Abbas when the PA dissolves into fighting among the potential war lords to take over take over these areas under martial law. At this point publicly declare Oslo dead and the two state concept dead. Then start on working to reduce the Arab population and increase the Jewish population via aliyah.
@ ms: The following is a corrected, proofread version of my earlier missive. I hope that it is easier to follow than my earlier post.
It is undeniable that exposing how detrimental the policies and agenda of the present ruling class are is essential. And while it may seem logical to offer alternatives, the political realities in Israel, and even in the world, at present, make this a useless task, unless one is able to offer the public a way to put people in power who are willing to seriously consider alternatives to the present appeasement policies. The way the Israeli political system has gradually evolved over the past thirty years or so, for the most part with the Israeli-Jewish public unaware of what is going on, has made it useless as a practical matter to put forward alternatives to the present policy of appeasing Israel’s enemies. Mordecai Kedar has recently published a column describing how the European Union, as well as the privately funded “New Israel Fund,” has been running “workshops” for young Israeli civil servants and prospective candidates for the civil service, in which they are systematically indoctrinated in leftist and pro-Palestinian ideology. As Kedar points out, these EU and NIF “moles,” once having secured influential civil service positions, cannot be fired. A recent column by Yossi Beilin contains startling admissions concerning the Attorney General’s appointment of “gatekeepers,” in the guise of “legal advisors,” to every cabinet minister and deputy minister, with a mandate to thwart any initiatives by Cabinet members that run contrary to the policies of the Supreme Court (which appoints the Attorney General ), and to report any “misconduct” by Cabinet members for investigation and possible prosecution by the AG and the public prosecutor’s office {controlled by the AG). As long as you have this hidden political system in place, in which thoroughly committed and indoctrinated leftists control the government, who are not elected, are not appointed by elected officials or confirmed by the Knesset, and cannot be removed, suggesting “alternative” policies in the press is an exercise in futility, since no one in power will pay any attention. What is needed, to make future changes in policy at least possible, is to mount a major advocacy and political action campaign to first of all inform the public, in detail, about the workings of this semi-secret de facto government, and the methods it uses to thwart the will of the Israeli-Jewish people. I believe that once the public is informed about how power has been taken from them, it will be possible to mobilize hundreds of thousands of them for a political action campaign to force the Knesset to adopt basic laws that will curb the now-absolute power of the “Supremes,” provide for elected politicians to appoint the holders of all policy-making positions in the government after confirmation by the Knesset, enable the dismissal of non-elected officials, including the attorney general and the public prosecutors, by elected cabinet officials, and thereby end politically motivated prosecutions of politicians and their blackmail with threats of prosecution, and put an end to all of the other abuses of the current system of government. Once the consciousness of the Israeli public is raised about how they are being abused and denied a voice in their own government, and once an aroused public has forced the desperately needed changes in both government personnel and the personnel-selection process, then and only then will it be possible for you (and others) to receive a serious hearing from decision makers for alternatives to the currently established, and long pursued, appeasement policies. Proposed changes in policy are useless unless the people with real power are willing to honestly and seriously consider alternative policies. The present ideologically committed, brainwashed or self-brainwashed Israeli ruling class are not such people.
@ adamdalgliesh:
Please I beg. you kindly learn to make paragraph breaks so that your writing is not one long run on sentence and one can read it!
@ ms:It is undeniable that exposing how detrimental the policies and agenda of the present ruling class are is essential. And while it may seem logical to offer alternatives, the political realities in Israel, and even in the world, at present, make this a useless task, unless one is able to offer a the public a way to put people in power who are willing to seriously consider alternatives to their appeasement policies. The way the Israeli political system has gradually evolved over the past thirty years or so, for the most part with the Israeli-Jewish public unaware of what is going on, Mordecai Kedar has published a column recently describing how the European Union, as well as the privately funded “New Israel Fund,” has been running “workshops” for young Israeli civil servants and prospective candidates for the civil service, in which they are systematically indoctrinated in leftist and pro=Palestinian ideology. As Kedar points out, these EU and NIF “moles,” once having secured influential civil service positions, cannot be fired. A recent column by Yossi Beilin contains startlling admisions concerning the Attorney General’s appointment of “gatekeepers,” in the guise of “legal advisors,” to every cabinet minister and deputy minister, with a mandate to thwart any initiatives by Cabinet members that run contrary to the policies of the Supreme Court (which appoints the Attorney General ), and to report any “misconduct” by Cabinet members for investigation and possible prosecution by th AG and the public prosecutor’s office {controlled by the AG). As long as you have this hidden political system in place , in which thoroughly committed and indoctrinated leftists control the government, are not elected, are not appointed by elected officials or confirmed by the Knesset, and cannot be removed, suggesting “alternative” policies in the press is an expercise in futility, since no one in power will pay any attention. What is needed, to make future changes in policy at least possible, is to mount a major advocacy and political action campaign to first of all inform the public, in detail, about the workings of this semi-secret de facto government, and the methods it uses to thwart the will of the Israeli-Jewish people. I believe that once the public is informed about how power has been taken from them, it will be possible to mobilize hundreds of thousands of them for a political action campaign to force the Knesset to adopt basic laws that will curb the now-absolute power of the “Supremes,” provide for elected opiticians to to appoint the holders of all policy-making positions in the government after confirmation by the Knesset, enable the dismissal of non-elected officials, including the attorney general and the public prosectors by the Minister of Justice, and thereby end politically motivated prosecutions of politicians and their blackmail with threats of prosecution, and all of the other abuses of the current system of government. Once the consciousness of the Israeli public is raised about how they are being abused and denied a voice in their own government, and once an aroused public has forced the desperately needed changes in both government personnel and the personnel-selection process, thenand only then will it be possible for you (and others) to receive a serious hearing from decision makers for alternatives to the currently established, and long pursued, appeasment policies. Proposed changes in policy are useless unless their people with real power are willing to honestly and seriously consider alternative policies. Th present ideologically committed, brainwashed or self-brainwashed Israeli ruling class are not such people.
https://apnews.com/22ab439a410042169cf96b0612fb8e5a/Trump-closing-Palestinian-mission-in-pro-Israel-move
___
@ yamit82:
The Palestinians are not just saying no they are verbally acting as Trump’s enemies and insulting him. They did not do this once but are doing it continuously and doing it in public forums.
Trump and his team have said they will come up with a plan for consideration and will not be forcefully forced down either sides throat.
This allows Israel to privately state disagreements to the plan. Trump and company do expect objections. Publicly insulting Trump would be pure stupidity. Publicly praising Trump is an advised course of action.
So Trump will not turn on Israel if Israel acts politely.
I am also NOT sure at all that the King of Jordan who disagrees with Trumps plan is on the outs at this point. He has visited Trump several times and acted very overtly like a friend and made sure to praise Trump publicly. I have seen zero public indications that the King is on Trump’s shit list.
@ Bear Klein:
If Israel rejects Trump’s deal will he do the same to us?
Bear Klein Said:
Since no policy seems possible under the past and current Israeli government, it can reasonably be deduced that any ideas by anyone posting on this and other similar threads are just whistling past graveyards. Israel has always allowed events not under her control to dictate outcomes. We got lucky in our major wars and somehow survived and then thrived but each event could have just as well ended in our disaster….. Only a few short years ago most of our illustrious military geniuses were willing to cede the Golan to Assad including BB and his American backers….. Were would we be today he they had succeeded??? War is best method and if the policy is in place to take advantage, we could accomplish a fait accompli transfer with min. fallout and backlash……Sadly from the current crop of amoebic politicians and senior military and intelligence cadres do not change then we will continue to be reactive and never proactive.
Realistically unless there is a major war between Israel and the Palestinians Israel will not violently expel large numbers of Pal-Arabs and certainly not Israeli Arab Citizens.
So Israel needs real plans that will reduce as much as possible the amount of Arabs living west of the Jordan River whether by buying them out (buying properties) in agreement to emigrate. Other programs of financially induced emigration should also be implemented. Terrorists and active supporters should be eliminated, jailed or deported. Yes it would be best to say kill them all or deport them all but this is not realistic.
Israel needs plans that can be actualized and this includes thinking through what is possible in Israeli society.
@ mikewise:
You have to be one of the most naive Libruls ever to have posted on this site…. Some Jews learn nothing and forget nothing…… “Once there was a king who sent his servant to buy a fish. The servant returned with a fish that stank. In fury the king gave the servant a choice of three punishments: “Eat the fish, get whipped for the fish, or pay for the fish.” In common with most people, the servant chose not to reach into his pocket and he decided to eat the stinking fish but after two bites the stench made him give up and he decided to get whipped for it. The pain of the lashes, however, made him stop that, too, and he cried out, “I will pay for the fish!”
And so the fool ate the fish, got whipped for the fish and, in the end, had to pay for it, anyhow. Stinking fish are not made to be eaten or to get whipped for !!
This Poster says it plainly Pls click to see!!
https://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/2615/7327/original.jpg
https://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-seethe-over-planned-us-closure-of-washington-office/
@ ms:
Anti-Israeli activity metastasized throughout Palestinian society, and currently, the only way to curb that sentiment is killing that society—by expelling all the Palestinians, including most Israeli Arab citizens. This can be done without the need for the massive use of force on the Arab population.
To push the Palestinians to emigrate, Israel needs to do a few commonsensical things: disband the subversive (not necessary militant) groups and expel their leaders; close the semi-government institutions (“ministries”) and centers of incitement such as the universities (Jordan had a good sense to ban them while it ruled the West Bank); ban foreign aid; tightly control the foreign remittances Palestinian workers send from abroad; ban sales of gold, which is the major vehicle of investment for Arabs; close Israel to Palestinian migrant workers; impose punitive customs duties on imports from the West Bank; impose retaliatory curfews to disrupt local businesses; cut Palestinians off from Israeli welfare and infrastructure, including power grid and water pipelines; increase land taxes; keep demolishing illegally built houses and those flying Palestinian flags; and take weapons from Arabs to leave them vulnerable to local gangsters. On top of that, expand Jewish settlements to show the Arabs that there is no hope.
Israeli policy is the exactly the opposite: Jews subsidize the Arabs, inducing them to stay in the West Bank with massive infrastructure projects, some welfare, and most of all, with access to Israel’s labor market. In the absence of economic opportunities, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians emigrated between 1956 and 1967, and similar closure of economic cooperation with Israel would devastate the West Bank demographically in a matter of years. The best aid the US could give to Israel would be to issue American visas to Palestinian professionals, draining the West Bank’s Arab society.
Palestinians revolted even though they enjoyed the highest non-oil income growth rate among Arabs. Like any developed society, Israel shrinks from direct involvement in violence and prefers proxies. Israel tried to foster Palestinian collaborators: police, tax officials, municipalities, and even a political organization—Fatah. Such attempts fail invariably, as radicals easily frighten collaborators: during the Intifada, Palestinians policemen on the Israeli payroll left their well-paying jobs. Nevertheless, Israel aids the Fatah police, expecting them to fight the insurgents. The Israeli-Palestinian killing ratio is insufficiently lopsided: it looks so because commentators tend to count only Jewish casualties as Israeli losses; but they need to add a massive number of Israeli Palestinian collaborators killed by their own. Such calculation makes the Israeli-Palestinian casualty ratio about 1:2 only. Israel ignores state supporters of terrorism: she allowed Kuwait, an American client, to officially fund the Fatah until the 1991 war with Iraq. She didn’t retaliate against Syria for openly supporting Hamas and Hezbollah, and tolerated massive rocket attacks from Gaza. When Mexican robber barons attacked the US, America annexed a third of Mexico in retaliation.
America consistently fans Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Not that Israel acts reasonably.
Palestinians cannot survive on sustenance agriculture and are not suited to any kind of modern economic activity. They are sustained by money from the two sources: Israel (employment, tax transfers) and America and Western Europe (UN refugee payments and direct assistance to the Palestinian government). Had it not been for Israel and America, the Palestinian problem would long have gone, along with the Palestinians. They would die out, breed less, or emigrate. Israel would have to deal with paltry network of Arab villages rather than the bulging state burning with hatred.
Palestinian refugee camps are the unique formations. In no other country are the refugees almost forcibly kept for three generations in the camps, unemployed, on the UN welfare, allowed great leisure to develop hatred and tactical capabilities.
The way to stop the war with Palestinians is simple: stop financing it.
The Allies at the Potsdam Conference explicitly sanctioned “orderly population transfers” of about 12 million ethnic Germans from Poland and Czechoslovakia after WWII. The Treaty of Lausanne allowed Greece and Turkey to expel one another’s minorities a little earlier. The world did not care when the Arab countries pushed out their Jews. The world accepted the Jews running out the Palestinians in 1948, and generally supports the Jews in refusing to allow them back in. The world is sensible, and would tolerate the expulsion of Arabs from Judea and Israel. The one thing the world hates is calls for compassion, especially from TV screens. So whatever Israel does about the Arabs has to be done swiftly and irreversibly; no refugee camps.
The Arab problem is not really so big. The Israeli government prevents the West Bank Arabs from emigrating. Instead, teach them useful employment, and they will move out. Young Palestinians, educated as doctors or engineers, will move to other Arab countries in search of better pay. The simple measure of distributing free condoms would considerably reduce the Arab birth rate. Boycotting Arab labor in Israel would push able males to emigrate, and their families would eventually join them. At the very least, we should crack down on the illegal labor market; forced to pay Israeli taxes, economically inefficient Arabs would emigrate. Reining in the theft-based Palestinian economy would cripple the Arab industries dependent on stealing electrical power, building materials, and other goods from Israel.
The number of Arabs in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza is grossly overstated. Mortality is officially almost non-existent in Palestinian communities: Arabs receive UN and EU subsidies for their long-dead relatives. For the same reason, the reported infant mortality in refugee camps and Palestinian towns is unusually low, much lower than in similar places in the Third World. There are many documented cases of fake births, where Palestinian women borrow babies from each other to register more children and receive more subsidies. Many Arabs are counted twice: as Israeli Arab residents and inhabitants of the West Bank. Sometimes they are counted thrice when a part of their family lives in Gaza. Arabs who have moved from one West Bank town to another are often counted in both places. Illegal emigration from the West Bank and Gaza to Arab countries is not accounted for. Realistic estimates put the Arab population of Judea, Samaria, and Gaza at 1.5 to 2.5 million. Close to 60 percent of Judea and Samaria is virtually empty, settled by a mere 1 percent of the total Arab population. Basic enforcement of Israel’s laws on Arabs, such as making them pay taxes, serve in the army, and razing their massive illegal construction, would make Israel unattractive to Arabs. Property buyouts at fair value would also induce some Arabs to leave Israel for cheaper neighboring countries. After Israel pushes some Palestinians out with economic policies and induces others to emigrate through compensations, the number left to be expelled won’t be huge.
Israel will be in existential danger regardless of the policies concerning her Arabs and the Palestinian state. A Jewish state amid a sea of Muslims can never be safe, especially considering the Islamic prohibition of non-Muslim statehood in the Middle East. In any major conflict, Palestinians will be a fifth column because they are normal people and would like to have back the land they consider theirs. There is no reason for Jews to refrain from expelling the Palestinian Arabs.
@ ms:
Israel must act according to her enemies’ mentality: a strong power dispersing favors and blows. Set the terms for the Palestinians. If they do not comply, bomb them. Protracted negotiations and intermittent ceasefires allow the Palestinians to re-arm and dig in. Arms are trafficked into Palestine? Bomb the security offices. Rockets fired on Sderot? Clear the no-pass zone along the border with Israel and shoot anything that moves. An Israeli soldier is kidnapped? Shell Palestinian towns randomly until he is returned. So long as Israel owns a gun, she does not need to negotiate with a pen.
Nations celebrate victories, not peace deals.
@ adamdalgliesh:
I agree with all you wrote 100%
Questioning the Jewish right to the land ignores the crucial issue: what right do Arabs have to it?
@ adamdalgliesh:
Again you miss the point.
The central plank in “Israel’s Chaimberlinesque rulers” is their approach to the Palestinian issue. Therefore, to confront, curtail and counteract their agenda, it is crucial to have an alternative agenda.
It would, of course, be nice if such an alternative agenda would actually produce a better outcome than that to be expected from theirs–not worse, as Ms. Glick’s prescription is sadly likely to produce
To undermine “Israel’s Chaimberlinesque rulers” two things are required:
1. To show how detrimental their agenda is
2. Offer a superior alternative.
Doing one without the other is like trying to cut with a one-bladed scissors–something you consistently disregard
Dr. Sherman is disputing with Ms. Glick what terms to impose on a defeated enemy when victory is nowhere in sight, the enemy holds all of the long-term strategic cards, and Israel’s military and political leaders are unwilling to mount offensive operations and are contemplating surrender. Instead of confronting (journalistically) Israel’s Chaimberlinesque rulers, including its unelected de facto rulers, such as the Supreme Court, the Attorney general, senior military and intelligence commanders, etc., tasks which are urgent and vitally necessary to avoid an Israeli surrender, Dr. Sherman prefers to argue with Ms. Glick over what to do with the enemy after it surrenders! Characteristic of the Israeli “national camp” as a whole: they prefer spinning fantasies, arguing with each other, and issuing empty declarations of principle to to actively competing with the Left for power. A truly tragic failure of will.
Religious matters are black and white. God either told us to take and keep Jerusalem, or he didn’t. Jews, therefore, must either hold on to Jerusalem no matter what, or give it away; the hilly town is not worth the trouble. Negotiating Jerusalem is exactly like negotiating Jewish religion with Palestinians. The religion is either true or not, and there is no room for discussion.
Sovereignty is a fiction. East Jerusalem is to all practical purposes an Arab territory now. Israel’s sovereignty only gives Jews the honor of subsidizing the Arabs there. Jewish conservative activists make a great fuss about taking another acre for “illegal outposts,” but their efforts are irrelevant: even if the Israeli government annexed all the Jewish-squatted land, Arabs would still control Judea and Samaria demographically. Arabs fully control East Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, Lod, Akko, and most places in Galilee. Jews are increasingly left with the Negev desert (also roamed by Bedouin) and a beach strip. The peace process solves nothing, but only institutionalizes Israeli defeat.
In June US embassy in Jordan reportedly issued a statement telling rebels that it is committed to the de-escalation and will offer air support against the Assad regime….. Well that was an empty promise just like the red line of Obama Trump made commitments he was not prepared to follow thru with and has been outmaneuvered by Russia and Iran not to mention Turkey. Trump has lef t Israel out to dry to deal head on with a threat that never should have materialized but for the refusal of Trump to see the whole picture and it’s near to mid term threats to both Israel and American vital strategic interests in the region and the world….
@ Ted Belman:
Ted, you are extrapolating some partial information and projecting the rest according to your own wished-for results,,,,,,
Has not closed PA Offices IN DC. Funds for UNRWA are being made up by other donors like the EU, Japan, and even CHINA.
Trump seems to be building on the Monarchy in Jordan to take more control over the WEST BANK and they already have a strong presence as custodian of the Temple Mt. as well as some important Palestinian Institutions.
You think Jordanian control of the West Bank and Jerusalem is good for Israel and the Jews???
SHANA TOVA
@ Ted Belman:
The reason I said it is because I’ve seen no overt connection that even mentions Abdullah. And he is the main sticking point in the substitution of Mudar. The changes that Trump is making which should deprive the the 2 million or so in Jordan accumulated descendants of the original refugees, of refugee status, throws them onto the responsibility of the state. This should strain Jordan to breaking point. But I believe that Trump will redirect some of the UNWRA money to Jordan to alleviate the problem.
I’m more than willing to accept that it’s all part of Grand Strategy, but at least some tremors affecting the throne should at least be referred to.
The way it seems to be shaping up is that Trump will suddenly pull Mudar out of a top hat and plonk him down in the regal seat. You know everything that’s going on about it, and I don’t expect you to divulge any of what must be closely kept private, but what I’m suggesting is just normal news items giving a hint or two. And they aren’t there.
Edgar G. Said:
How can you say this? Trump has cut off funds to UNRWA and the PA. He is closing the PA offices in DC. His officials are making it clear that Jordan is part of the solution. Trump is destroying the phoney Palestinian narrative. He has made it clear that he wants to provide a better life to Palestinians thereby bypassing the PA and its narrative. The list goes on and on. Its all part of a grand plan to get rid of both Abbas and King Abdullah and the Palestinian cause.
@ Edgar G.:
Under Canadian law if you have any children born in Canada they do not have automatic right of Canadian citizenship.
This is now being argued in canadas supreme court right now. .
@ ms:
What’s wrong with not having voting rights, when they’re not citizens of the country. They are just immigrants of various designations, (legal, illegal, time-limited visas etc.)
It;s the normal practice in civilised countries. I’ve been living in Canada since 1976 with a 14 year interregnum in Israel, and I’ve NEVER had voting rights at the Federal level. It;s the law, and perfectly normal. I’m not a citizen, but a “landed immigrant”. I have local voting rights but have never bothered.
@ mikewise:
You overlook something. If “the local Arab are just pawns” as you say, and you may be right, they are VERY willing pawns…which may take them out of the “pawn” stage into being active participants.
They mostly act without “headquarters” instruction, having, more or less, “roving commissions to perpetrate atrocities of their choice. Like groups of small individual businessmen setting up on their own, not affiliated other than loosely to a major corporation,
@ greenrobot:
Decent homes in Jordan have already been priced, and you are very much off. Jordan prices would be around $40,000, and Egyptian homes would cost about $22,000. It was debated for a week or more on this site, not exclusively of course, but came into the conversation several times when this financed emigration thing was being examined on every side, even the inside was turned out so no housing costs were omitted.
@ Ted Belman:
None of the post WW1 declarations guaranteed them anything other than religious and civil rights. The franchise is not part of civil rights neccessarily., although I don’t know much about Civil Law. Ted is a lawyer, but even so, 1917 Civil Rights, were nil other than a limited land tenure tradition,under the Ottomans who still ruled then, so all it meant was a non deprivation of whatever they had. And even in 1920 political rights were not mentioned. When ever they were, in other situations, they always were specifically denoted, and often civil rights were mentioned too, showing that they were not one and the same thing.
@ Ted Belman:
I knew there was something about this post that I should question. And it’s one I’ve asked before.. Why is it neccessary to annex; does than not imply that it hadn’t belonged to us before.the annexation. Would not all we need do be to quote the variety of irrevocable enactments, which secured the eternal right of the Jewish People to the Land.
It would be performing a double purpose, by showing these ignorant or knowledgeable Jew Haters that WE know full well that their declarations, and useless condemnations are illegal and against International Law, and bring the matter out into the open. It would destroy the Arab squatters’ “narrative” also..
I see nothing in any news which shows that there is any kind of movement or inclination to depose the kinglet..so far. The turmoils seems to have either died down or become last month’s news. Nothing is attracting world correspondents to anything happening in Jordan.
@ Ted Belman:
Under the autocratic PA: West Bank Arabs of minimal political rights. Last election (won by Hamas) as back in 2006. Local gangsters and militia are in charge. Abu Mazen is severely limited mobility… Not a nice place.
Maybe Trump’s “peace and prosperity” will have some impact. highly doubtful.
If Israel gets to the point where it is able to start enacting financial inducements to assist Arab emigration I believe these that initially they should be concentrated on certain villages or areas to attempt those locations of Arabs. In these locations homes could be sold to Jews ONLY to recycle funding mechanisms to be able to further the financially induced emigration program.
mikewise Said:
What political rights do they have now. After Jordan reaffirms their Jordanian citizenship, what political rights will they have? What is there to strip?
@ Bear Klein:
It would be the bst thing if the US financed a city in Jordan for the 5 million. It would cost about 500 billion. 1 million houses at 100K per house is 100 billion. Money to live on at 80000 a person is 400 billion. Over there that is a good amount of money as the annual income of the average Pal is 8400 a year. So 9.6 years of income and free house would be enough for a good start somewhere else out of Israel. Maybe Turkey for the Gazans?
@ ms:
Are you seriously suggesting stripping Arab residents in Judea-Samaria of political rights because Jihadi elements outside Judea-Samaria over which they have no influence?
Of Course. We must understand that we are not dealing with the Arabs living in Judea-Samaria in a vacuum. They are part of a long term historic effort to undermine the creation and existence of a sovereign Jewish State. When Islam comes to terms with the existence of a Jewish state, both through religious reformation and political transformation, the residents of Judea-Samaria will be able to live in peace with the Jewish State. After 1400 years it is doubtful that such a transformation will take place in the foreseeable future. Thus, the civil rights, which are guaranteed in Israel’s declaration of independence would be available to all peaceful residents, but the right to elect MKs who determine national security and other existential issues cannot be made available to an intrinsically hostile population. Do not confuse this issue and brand it as ethnic or racist.
Every society and government has the responsibility to preserve its existence. Of course, if Martin and others can fund an offer to finance voluntary relocation of Arabs living in Judea-Samaria (or even green-line Israel) no one will object. Similarly, if Jordan becomes Palestine and offers a home to Arabs, it would also be met with great applause. In the interim, Israel can either continue the military rule over Arab populations and earn the opprobrium of people looking to delegitimize the Jewish State, or Israel can begin the process of normalization and civil rule with a great measure of local autonomy but no rights to elect MK’s until there is a global change in Islam’s historical agenda. The local Arabs are simply pawns in that losing game.
The next obvious question is how to deal with the current population of Israel Arab citizens who do have full rights to elect MK’s. Sooner or later, Israel will have to enforce some kind of standard that MK’s must uphold if they wish to participate in security and existential issues affecting the Jewish State. A discussion for another day.
@ ms:ms Said:
You are correct having a large amount of enemy aliens who want to destroy Israel roaming about the country freely as legal residents is a danger to the country.
@ mikewise:
We have discussed this at length in the past
You write:
Are you seriously suggesting stripping Arab residents in Judea-Samaria of political rights because Jihadi elements outside Judea-Samaria over which they have no influence?
What if Arab leaders in Syria or Iraq do not recognize Israel—will you preclude political rights from residents in Nablus or Hebron?
Who is going to decide when “regional peace” has broken out? What if it is violated after it “breaks out”. Will you then strip the Arab citizens of their newly acquired citizenship?
Are you going to hold the Arab resident’s political rights ransom to the actions of others over whom they have no influence and who care nothing for them???
You write:
Basically this means open-ended apartheid until all the Muslims and Jihadis from the Maghreb to the Persian Gulf accept Israel as the Jewish state. What if it takes decades for the Muslim world to accept Israel?
You are suggesting precluding voting rights on the basis of ethnic origins??
You write:
It not a matter of voting rights but physical presence
(a) If the population wants to undermine Israel’s very existence (aka destroy Israel) – why are voting rights the ONLY thing you want to deny them?
(b)If they want to undermine Israel’s existence why permit them unrestricted movement inside Israel, to live wherever they chose, provide the water, electrical power, a range of civil services??
(c) Moreover, according to you, that population’s voting rights are not dependent on that population’s decisions alone but those of other populations across the Middle East
@ Ted Belman:
Stupid question? What does an Jordanian soldier get paid? What benefits? Why will it cross the road to dethrone king grease ball? What incentive is zahran offering? All this seems to be based on the terrorists in J-S getting outta ISRAEL. How will zahran convince the current citizens of a better life? Will he be king? P M? President? When will he hold elections? Whos his cabinet? The ISRAELI member of IDF has his land, history of being there. Whats the arab legion.got other than a backed brit win 1948? I somehow don’t see greaseball running that quick.
In a few days, Mudar Zahran will become the leader of Jordan. One of his first acts will be to declare that all Palestinians in Judea and Samaria are Jordanian citizens. As a result Israel will be able to annex much if not all the land west of the Jordan R. Because all the Arabs living there will be Jordanian citizens, Israel will have no obligation to give them a path to citizenship. But still, their mere residency there will present a danger to Israel.
Martin Sherman is right to advocate that we should pay them to leave. That’s the only permanent solution. We should focus on the young because the old will die out in 20 or 30 years.
We could build a new University and tecnical schools in Jordan and and invite all Palestinians to attend free of charge providing they emigrate from Israel.
Secondly we could start buiding manufacturing plants in Jordan and other business start ups in order create jobs. Mudar will encourage us to do so. This will incentivize more Arabs to emigrate to Jordan.
We could give new homes in Jordan to any young Arab household willing to emmigrate there.
@ Bear Klein:
All this nonsense about “Pledging allegiance to the Jewish State”…. Since when has any Arab in either living or historical memory kept his pledge except his pledge to the Koran to murder Jews. People who think otherwise have suddenly become soft-headed at such lovely phrases. They (the mamzerim) and we, do not think alike on this matter. The Arab understanding is completely alien to that of our Europeanised, Torah based, and Western culture. They are completely tribal and incorrigible, impossible without generations of western education for them to be otherwise.
So stop going off on these psychedelic trips of fantasy. The facts are daily under our noses and woe to us if we fail to see and recognise them for what they are.
THis constantly comes up ALL the BLOODY time like an old gramophone record. At one time in history, they could have enjoyed full civil and religious rights for ever, but that time has LONG passed amid the unceasing blood and slaughter of our innocents.
They don’t even deserve to live. And the Israeli Arabs, as we have just had succinctly pointed out to us, are terrorist supporters and at best, fifth columnists, and a dagger already aimed at our backs. If, after 70 years of enjoying the best prosperity and smooth life of Israel, they are still utterly disloyal, then they should be lumped in with the rest. Their MKs should all be in Jail for life for treason. Why should enemies have MKs anyway…?? Getting fat salaries for conspiring against the State.
The typical Yiddishe negligence and indolence, like the glazed eyes not seeing the destruction doing on at the temple Mount , for just one of hundreds of examples.
@ mikewise:
Democracy is NOT a suicide pact! So I say Israel should go step by step in applying Israeli Civil Law. First just to Area C and the Jewish Residents.
Israel will declare its right to apply its civil law to Areas A&B but in the interim if the PA has ceased working Israel will apply martial law in these locations. Only Arabs with Israeli citizenship or residency or work permits will be allowed in Areas that have received the application of Israeli Civil Law.
Only when enough Arabs move out of a specific area will Israeli law be applied to that area.
The above is necessary because a terrorist or terrorist supporter with a residency card allowed to move all over Israel is DANGEROUS and is a DISASTER waiting to happen.
When circumstances change (i.e. enough Arabs emigrate, terrorists are rounded up, or the culture of the local Arabs change to become peace loving and accepting of Jewish Israel) Israeli civil law can be applied and residency provided to those who pass security checks and pledge allegiance to the State of Israel.
“Compensated Emigration” perhaps a better term.
Get Trump Administration to use UNRWA monies plus PA monies for better lives for “Palestinians” elsewhere.
Build them a city or two in Jordan and/or the Sinai to improve the economy of those places. Since there are many building workers among the Palestinians they could even help build the cities.
Israel could help by buying legitimately owned properties from the Arabs and selling them to Jews.
Martin should first read,
https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/01/24/one-jewish-democratic-state/
It clearly states that,
“If Israel declares sovereignty over all of Judea and Samaria, it should grant immediate universal citizenship to the Arab residents of the West Bank — but only
when regional peace breaks out. Jihad and suicide bombings must end, and Muslim leaders and groups must stop lauding violence. And Arab leaders, in both Israel and the region, must recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
In the interim, Arab residents of the West Bank will have full civil and religious rights. They will autonomously manage their municipal affairs, and democratically elect their local leadership — but should not participate in national elections.
Clearly, as long as Hamas and Fatah seek Israel’s destruction — and as long as global Islamic violence continues — one cannot expect that Israel would be suicidal and risk giving national voting rights to a population that wants to undermine its very existence.