No to a nuclear Iran, No to the Two State Solution, No to a bi-national state.
By Ted Belman
In June 1967, Israel defeated five Arab armies in what became known as the Six Day War. That war actually began when the Arabs invaded Israel immediately after her Declaration of Independence in 1948. The Arabs had hoped to destroy Israel and “drive the Jews into the sea”.
Three months later, the Arab League met in Khartoum and declared their 3 no’s; no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel, Also included was their insistence on the rights of the Palestinian people in their own country.
Thereafter they resorted to a different battlefield. They began a diplomatic war against Israel in which they used propaganda, extortion and terror to achieve their desired goal. Eventually, they managed to get most of the world to back their false narrative and to support their cause. In particular, the world now believes that the land in question is Occupied Palestinian Land and that international law supports them and holds that the settlements are illegal. These beliefs are supported by the US, the EU and the UN among others.
Nothing could be farther from the truth.
For the truth, read International Law and the State of Israel and The Legality of Israel Sovereignty over Judea and Samaria According to International law.
It is long past time for Israel to declare its own three Nos; no to a nuclear Iran, no to the two-state solution, no to a bi-national state.
Why so? Because nothing is to be gained by negotiating.
Iran will not forgo its objective of acquiring nuclear weapons which it needs to secure its existence and to destroy Israel, its stated objective.
The Palestinian Authority (PA ) and Hamas are committed to destroying Israel, the Zionist project. To that end, they promote a narrative that denies the Balfour Declaration, the San Remo Resolution and the rights of Jews to a homeland and close settlement as set out in the Palestine Mandate.
From their perspective, they claim that all the land west of the Jordan River is Palestinian Land, that Jews have no historical claim to the land and that Jerusalem belongs to them. Just last month, “The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution 129-11 on Wednesday that disavowed Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and called it solely by its Muslim name of al-Haram al-Sharif.
In 2018, Dr Jacques Gauthier LLD said ‘International consensus’ on Jerusalem is baseless.
Gauthier devoted his doctoral thesis which he finished in 2007, to the issue of ownership and legal rights over Jerusalem. He published it under the title, “Sovereignty over the old city of Jerusalem: a study of the historical, religious, political and legal aspects of the question of the old city”
The Abstract reads:
At the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, the Zionist Organization presented its claim for recognition of the historical and national rights of the Jewish people to Palestine including Jerusalem and its Old City. In San Remo, in 1920, the Allied Powers, holding the power of disposition over Palestine, decided to recognize the Jewish historical claim converting it into a binding international law claim. It was incorporated into the Mandate for Palestine approved by the League of Nations in 1922. This “Sacred Trust of Civilization” provided for the establishment of the Jewish National Home in Palestine based on historical connections and recognition of the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country, subject to safeguarding the civil and religious rights of its inhabitants.
Plain and simple, the San Remo Resolution of 1920 gave legal title to the Jews and the Mandate for Palestine (1922) enshrined it. Finally the Charter of the United Nations upholds it. Sec 8o, provides;
“…nothing in this Chapter shall be construed in or of itself to alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples or the terms of existing international instruments to which Members of the United Nations may respectively be parties.”
The PA and Hamas will not accept a permanent Two-State Solution or even a Bi-national state, other than as a means to ultimately destroy Israel. And no third party will prevent it from happening. In fact, the opposite is true.
Ze’ev Jabotinsky understood this well. In Nov 1923, just after the Palestine Mandate was signed, almost 100 years ago, he called for an Iron Wall. He recognized that the differences between Jews and Arabs were irreconcilable.
“There can be no voluntary agreement between ourselves and the Palestine Arabs. Not now, nor in the prospective future. I say this with such conviction, not because I want to hurt the moderate Zionists. I do not believe that they will be hurt. Except for those who were born blind, they realised long ago that it is utterly impossible to obtain the voluntary consent of the Palestine Arabs for converting “Palestine” from an Arab country into a country with a Jewish majority.
“To imagine, as our Arabophiles do, that they will voluntarily consent to the realisation of Zionism, in return for the moral and material conveniences which the Jewish colonist brings with him, is a childish notion, which has at bottom a kind of contempt for the Arab people; it means that they despise the Arab race, which they regard as a corrupt mob that can be bought and sold, and are willing to give up their fatherland for a good railway system.“
In demanding an Iron Wall, he was calling for the Mandate to be enforced by force of arms rather than to be amended by negotiations.
Yet we keep spoiling our own case, by talking about “agreement” which means telling the Mandatory Government that the important thing is not the iron wall, but discussions. Empty rhetoric of this kind is dangerous. And that is why it is not only a pleasure but a duty to discredit it and to demonstrate that it is both fantastic and dishonest.
The same applies today. Israel is in possession of all the land west of the Jordan, save Gaza, and must keep it by force of arms and not by negotiations which will secure her nothing and serve only to diminish her rights..
Israpundit’s slogan “There Is No Diplomatic Solution” echoes Jabotinsky’s belief.
In this regard, Israel must steel its resolve. It must be emphatic. It must be assertive. To do otherwise permits the camel’s nose under the tent. According to an alleged Arab proverb, if a camel is allowed to get its nose inside of a tent, it will be impossible to prevent the rest of it from entering. Similarly, the US and the EU must be prevented from getting their proverbial foot in the door.
Thus, the need for Israel to declare its 3 no’s to be enforced by an Iron Wall.
During Yom Kippur services in Ashkenazi congregations, the Cantor sings a haunting prayer called Unetane Tokef and the Mahzor (Prayer Book) includes this footnote:
“Rabbi Amnon of Mayence, a great scholar, a person of wealth, a handsome man of noble ancestry was under great pressure from the lords and Archbishop of the city to change his faith and adopt their religion. He repeatedly ignored them but on one occasion, in order to put them off, he asked for three days to consider their request. Afterwards he was heartbroken because he had given the impression that he might actually consider renouncing his belief in the One Living God. He refused food or drink; weeping bitterly over his lapse, he refused to accept the sympathy and consolation of friends and relatives.
“At the end of the three days he was summoned by the Archbishop, but he ignored the summons. A distinguished delegation was sent to ask him to appear at the court but he refused them. Finally, he was brought before the court by force, and the Archbishop demanded, “Why did you not come and answer me as you promised?” Rabbi Amnon answered, “As a punishment, you should have my tongue cut out, because my tongue deceived you.” Rabbi Amnon thought to sanctify God’s Name in this manner, since his tongue had uttered such a promise. The Archbishop replied, “No, I will not cut out your tongue for it spoke well, instead, I will cut off your feet for they did not bring you to me.” The tyrant ordered that his hands and feet be cut off in piecemeal fashion; asking him at each interval if he was willing to renounce his faith.”
The point is, Israel shouldn’t waver. It must be strong in its resolve. It shouldn’t give mixed messages. It shouldn’t allow either the nose under the tent or the foot in the door.
Unfortunately that is not what Israel is doing, especially the current government.
It gave mixed messages regarding Iran by suggesting it was open to a “good deal” with Iran and regarding the PA which it fights and supports at the same time.
Israel, for whatever reason, keeps the door open to the two-state solution by not rejecting it out of hand. Instead, Israel should slam the door shut and refuse to negotiate..
And now we learn just how committed the EU was and is to the two-state solution. In June 2020, the UK threatened to recognize Palestine if Netanyahu extended Israeli sovereignty to 30% of Area C as set out in the Oslo Accords Netanyahu chose discretion over valor.
This is all the more reason that Israel should eradicate all EU funded, illegal Arab construction in Area C. The EU means business and so should Israel.
Biden just gave $99 million to UNRWA to help finance their demonization of Israel and their encouragement of terrorism. This was in addition to the $314 million already given last year..
Then, Ganz, Israel’s Minister of Defense, offers the PA “confidence building measures” including a “loan” of $150 million” which is, in reality, the same as the hated “gestures” which in the past were forced upon Israel.
The PA provides salaries to terrorists, convicted or otherwise, which Israel and the US condemn. What else is there to discuss? Game over. But Israel totally undermines this by getting in bed with the PA to fight Hamas.
No matter how many rockets Hamas fires at Israel, Israel’s policy remains “calm for calm” of “tit for tat”. How about a policy of zero tolerance?
Since the US has made it clear that there is “daylight between us,” Israel should do likewise rather than to be open to removing the daylight by acquiescing to US demands.
With all the pressure Israel is under, it has no choice but to declare its own three nos; no to a nuclear Iran, no to the two-state solution, no to a bi-national state.
Ted Belman is the editor of Israpundit and has been for 20 years. He made Aliyah from Canada in 2009 and now lives in Jerusalem
Jordan IS the 2nd State.
FWIW……
This progressive Rabbi called Israel an Apartheid State and forbid his members to come to services armed. I of course wish him no harm, but he definitely is a symptom of a disease.
They are now reporting that the terrorist in TX was killed in a shootout. Nice outcome.
@Adam
Such terrorist actions as occurred in TX have but one solution. Rewarding such malignant activities can have but one outcome, and that would be the recurrence of further such malignant actions. I am very glad that the hostages have been freed without harm, but trading for the safe return of hostages should never be earnestly contemplated.
Also, regarding Bibi, I really did not believe the reports were truthful, but it seems his associates are not denying the reports which is atypical from similar reports in the past. I hope that he does not take the deal. Aside from the facts directly related to Bibi, personally, I believe rewarding the corrupt actors and personal persecution of the PM that has brought us to this point would provide for a very unfortunate precedent. This constant state of siege placed upon the PM and his family has created a manufactured basis for manipulating and controlling the PM by unelected officials, such as was likely the result of the investigations surrounding Sharon. Many will see this as a final victory over Bibi, when in fact it is a final defeat over the public’s choice by autocratic forces within the bureaucratic establishment of the govt. Bibi is simply the current champion carrying the favor of the public. Beyond this more general objection, the use of such lawfare tactics waged against a man who has served the state for as long as he has and with such successes as he has brought makes for a very distasteful reward, perhaps a mark to his successors should they choose a road as similar to Bibi. Either way, it violates the law by creating specific laws to selectively prosecute a single official, using coerced testimonies. Such actions should be held as intolerable.
I assume that everyone reading this knows that Jewish hostages, including a Reform Rabbi, are being held hostage by a self-proclaimed Muslim in a Texas suburb of allis-fort Worth. Also, that the hostage-taker is demanding the release of a notorious female jihadist-terrorist. I would really appreciate it if some of my fellow readers would share their take on this situation with me.
I assume that you all have also heard that Netanyahu and Attorney General Mandelblit are conducting negotiations for a plea bargain to resolve the three criminal cases against him. Here two, I would like your opinions about how likely such a plea agreement is, and if it is, what will be the political fallout.
Thanks. I hope some of you respond. Also,it would be nice if Ted could publish some commentaries on both of these “hot topics.”
If Israel really needed the French Olim , then it would from the start :
– Recognize the french university diplomas for MD – Dentist – Pharmacists – Physiotherapists – Accountant – etc..without harassing these specialists and experimented professionals with validation exams .
– Remove import tax on any household items including cars .
– Create French olim clusters of residence with bilingual schools : Since Israel is an english speaking country french olim are at disadvantage when it comes to education . To ask them to master Hebrew is necessary but not also to master english .
To imitate the 3 No stated by the Arab League in Khartoum in 1970 is very stupid . We do not need to say NO .
Who really needs to say No to the deaf and defiant ennemies ?
Not us .
We only need to Act to say YES to ourselves :
– Yes to a peaceful Iran so let’s erase quickly and deftly is nuclear capacity
– Yes to a peaceful Lebanon so let’s cripple its Hizbollah gang
– Yes to a sovereign Eretz Israel so let’s conquer , administer and annex most of former Jordan State Lands .
How did the last “3 No’s”work out.Not very optimistic about the new ones especially the Iran “No”
Michael Oren wrote an article which is very critical of the way Israel handles aliyah and of the attitudes the Israeli public has regarding aliyah.
Therefore, he must be a bitter loser because according to some people only bitter losers think that bringing a couple of thousands of the American olim a year is not a roaring success.
60,000 + olim by NBN in the last 20 years.
Like, WOW!
Michael Oren is an aliyah success story from the USA
60,000 + Olim (immigrants from North America to Israel via Nefesh).
Listen to Oren talk about Nfesh bNfesh and how happy and satisfied that he made aliyah over 40 + years ago.
https://www.jnf.org/blog/education/ambassador-oren-on-the-history-of-aliyah
Well, then tell Michael Oren the link to whose article about aliyah I posted that he is a bitter loser.
Nefesh B’Nefesh is here for you every step of the way, from pre-Aliyah planning to well after your arrival in Israel.
It helps with the bureaucracy, housing, jobs, and setting your HMO medical services.
It does not make Israel perfect, it does not make you rich if you are poor, it does not make you young if you are old. It let’s those who have the will and determination who want to make aliyah do it.
Full story: https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-secret-to-successful-aliyah-a-true-story/
Nfesh helps also when someone arrives and lives in Israel. It is does not make Israel perfect but it does help one navigate the bureaucracy, find jobs, housing, set up you medical insurance via an HMO.
It is always obvious when bitter losers or failures comment. They can not stand the success of others because it reflects poorly on them.
All BS.
The statistics shown are this way because of the very strict selection by NBN and the Jewish Agency and not because of any “aliyah successes”.
In the meanwhile, the PA claims Judea and Samaria and the Bedouin clam the Negev.
Aliyah recovers from COVID-19 slump in 2021, new record of US olim
A total of 27,057 Jewish immigrants became Israeli citizens in 2021, compared to 21,120 in 2020 and 35,651 in 2019
Nfesh Nfesh helped the North American Immigrants through the Israeli bureaucratic maze. Moving across oceans to a different country is difficult. Israel is open to Jews who want to come but certainly could improve how it does it. It is harder for French Jews because of the language and all their credentials are not as easily accepted as those from the USA or Canada.
https://www.jpost.com/aliyah/article-689471
@ READER-
Believe it or not, the year I made Aliyah there were less than 400, mainly from the US, with a small scattering from Britain., I think I was the only one from Ireland, and because of the criminal negligence of my shaliach, which I’ve briefly detailed on this site a week or more ago, I had to almost grab him by the neck and force him to make the neccessary arrangements.
He was both completely incompetent and completely crooked. In those days becoming a shaliach was a kind of plum reward for being a good “party” bocher. And you needed lots of “Vitamin “P”, if you know what that means. That’s what they called it in Israel…….”Protexia”… Like from a gang Boss. Israeli Socialism in full swing.. (like US democrats today)
.”Jobs for the Boys” on steroids… !!!!
@Ted Belman
I am very happy that you value the book.
Thanks for publishing your article on Arutz7.
Also published by American Thinker.
The Lone Wolf is a must read for any Zionist. Particularly the first volume.
Proof that Israel doesn’t want aliyah:
They don’t understand that this attitude is suicidal (and genocidal – to Jews).
Glad to see this important article in today’s Arutz Sheva. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/320171
Sovereignty means populating your territory (“facts on the ground”).
This means ALIYAH.
25,000/yr is PATHETIC!!!
The Arabs didn’t realize that the territory that formerly belonged to the Ottoman Empire is now all theirs until someone explained it to them more than 100 years ago (guess, who it was and what was his solution to Arab violence) [notes and emphasis mine]:
Shmuel Katz Lone Wolf Vol. 1 p. 712
Compare this with the recent events in Homesh where the Jewish buildings were destroyed by Israel after a Homesh yeshiva student was killed in a terrorist attack.
However, unlike these days:
Shmuel Katz Lone Wolf Vol. 1 p. 712
Shmuel Katz Lone Wolf Vol. 1 p. 720
While the Colonial Office had to restrain Samuel from even more radical pronouncements,
Shmuel Katz Lone Wolf Vol. 1 p. 722
So, this phenomenon is at least 100 years old and it has nothing to do with left, right, or center.
I HIGHLY recommend the book by Shmuel Katz Lone Wolf: A Biography of Vladimir (Ze’ev) Jabotinsky.
It is full of quotations from the original documents and it is not merely about Jabotinsky’s life but also about the history of the Zionist movement and what went on in those days.
It must be required reading for every Jew and in all the Jewish schools.
You are correct sovereignty requires independence. It would be very helpful if a friendly regime cooperating completely with Israel were installed in Jordan. However, Israel should irregardless of that and not depend on that.
Israel has enough Gas resources to be energy independent.
@MarkG
What is the difference between
and the 2-state solution?
Very nice blueprint, quite amenable towards enacting the Jordan Option once the Hashemite Kingdom is ultimately supplanted with a much more enviable leader, hopefully in the form of Mudar himself, or at minimum someone capable of enacting Mudar’s plans.
I would add to these important details mentioned, the very important element of Israel maintaining a state of energy independence. Sovereignty requires true independence, and such independence lifts the need of energy independence to the level of a national security requirement.
Beautifully expressed. Thank you.
Excellent analysis of why we seem to ever be plagued with the dubious efforts of fifth columnists to raise this attempt at self-ruin masquerading as the righteous path to peace. Self-immolation is a great sin and one that seems to be built into these attempts to provide a mythical right upon these people claiming rights to Jewish lands. These Arabs and their great allies have no right to demand these lands and the Jewish people have no right to further subdivide their heritage.
There is a problem within the Right in that they marginalize their own standards with a hope to find the right time, the right context to actually stand up for what they know to be correct and certain. Their timidity of spirit provides them the ability to focus upon clear and present problems, existing fires that require a significant effort. By doing this they sacrifice the clarity of their position that Ted describes here that they will not part with these lands, period. Doing so provides the Left with their relentless windows of opportunity to dial the clock back as if they have the right and authority to do so. They do not, and no one should provide them with this false security that their efforts will ever be tolerated, much less implemented. This is how you win, and this is why victory on this topic seems ever to be an evasive mistress. Clear distinguishable borders make good defenses possible. This is what is missing in this policy of wait ‘for a better day’ in order to clarify the reality that these intolerable acts of violence against Israel should ever be tolerated.
Someone needs to send copies of Ted’s analysis by special courier to Bennet, Lapid, Bibi and the other leaders of Israel. This is how you win.
People have been manipulated for too long by demagogues to believe there are no options between the two extremes of 2-state and 1-state models.
Here are the realities:
(1) For starters, any territory in Judea-Samaria vacated by the Israel military would inevitably sooner or later be taken over by Hamas, rendering life into a bloody inferno for Jews and Arabs alike and making the Gaza conflagration look like a picnic;
(2) Inflow of millions of “returning refugees”, in addition to hordes of Jihadist combatants and piles of lethal weapons from across the evacuated Jordan Valley border, would mean untold warfare, terror, bloodshed and suffering, thus largely sealing Israel’s fate;
(3) Instead, the only co-existential and sustainable path remains a 3-STATE SOLUTION made up of (a) Israel; (b) Egypt (with link to Gaza turned into Dubai-on-the-Med with Saudi/Gulf funds and Israeli tech); and (c) A Pal-Jordan Federation on most Arab-inhabited segments of Judea-Samaria, with Israeli sovereignty over the rest of Area C including the Jordan Valley.
Any Jewish person still advocating for the pro-enemy 2-state agenda is either a delusional idiot that doesn’t get the nature of the conflict, or a suicidal moron intent on digging his/her own grave!
Agree. Israel must set clear boundaries and adhere to them with an Iron Wall.
Great article and great idea! At least the right should take this position and stick to it. I was recently very disappointed to learn that even Begin caved when he acquiesced to Arab autonomy in the territories which along with his retreat from Sinai in exchange from a cold peace from a defeated enemy marked the beginning of many retreats, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
While it could be argued in opposition, that taking a clear position might endanger the Abraham Accords with nations that agreed only to table the TSS while still supporting it, even if they are serious, I think reclaiming the land, even in principle, is more in Israel’s long-term interest than allowing this long slide into disaster. Israel must contend with a growing internal threat along with Iran and they are all threatened by Iran and the growing obsolescence of oil shutting down their monocrop economies – much like the US confederacy, another slaveocracy so I wonder if they would carry through or respect Israel’s decision.
Yes to the Jordan Option.