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| Maale Adumim (JTA) |
How hefty? I supported the peace agreement almost reached between then Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Yassir Arafat that took place at the end of the Clinton administration. An agreement that would have meant dividing Jerusalem but with a guarantee that there would be free access to each side by both Palestinians and Israelis.
And that would certainly have meant giving up most
of Judea and Samaria (otherwise known as the West Bank). However, the agreement to which I refer would
have allowed Israel to keep the large ‘settlement’ blocks (eg. Maale Adumim) that
border pre 67 Israel – in exchange for ‘land swaps’ to compensate for them.
This might sound like heresy to many of my coreligionists.
But I don’t care. I stand by my belief that a lasting peace where there would
be no more attacks by Palestinians against the Jewish people would save many
lives. And that a two state solution that ended up having the kind of friendly relations
that the US and Canada enjoy is worth the price.
That being said, I am also a realist. I do not consider it
possible to have any kind of 2 state solution at this point in time. Or in the foreseeable
future. The idea of giving up even one inch of territory under Israeli control
would mean Israel would be one inch closer to annihilation. If a significant portion
of the West Bank were to be given to the Palestinians it could easily result in
the deaths of many Jewish lives at the hands of Palestinians that are
currently calling the shots.
For an example of what a Palestinian
State on the West Bank might look like - we need not look very far. It would probably look something like Gaza on steroids. If that
God forbid happened the West Bank would make Gaza’s attacks against the Jewish
state look like child’s play! Protestations to the contrary by ‘moderate’
Palestinians notwithstanding. The so called moderates of the Palestinian Authority would be just as unable to control them there as they are unable to control them in Gaza now.
So just as I would support
a radical peace plan if it were viable, I am even more opposed to giving up any
West Bank land now.
None of this is new. I’ve said it all before. I just wanted
to say that my views on this subject have not changed. I am neither a
messianic religious Zionist (never have been) nor am I naïve enough to believe
we can make peace under current conditions. I am in fact a pragmatic realist.
I mention all of this now in light of a recent announcement by
secretary of State Mike Pompeo:
The United States will no longer consider Israeli Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal.
The Trump administration has reversed decades of US policy on the subject. Unlike the UN and the rest (of the antisemitic world) of
Europe, the US now recognizes these ‘settlements’ as legitimate. They no longer
consider them illegal.
Even though I have in the past considered the outlying ‘messianic’
trailer trash settlements to be an outrage (and still do), I do not feel that
way about the more established settlements. It is one thing to support long
standing ‘settlements’ like Maale Adumim – which Israel considers legal and
treats them the way they do any other city in Israel.
But the ‘messianic’ trailer
trash settlers are an entirely different matter. I am fiercely opposed them and
their settlements. They could not care
less about their Palestinian neighbors.
These are the people from which Jewish terrorists come. It is not beneath them to - for example - torch
the home of an innocent family in a neighboring Palestinian
village in some sort of misguided reprisal. As I have said many times, I believe these people are
Rodfim! And belong in jail!
But this does not take away from what the US just did. It
has in effect recognized the right of every Jew to live anywhere they choose in
biblical Israel. But at the same time it only recognizes the legality of those
settlements that the Israeli government considers legal. Not those outlying ‘messianic’
trailer trash settlements Israel itself considers illegal.
Recognizing a long standing reality is the right thing to
do. Hundreds of thousands of peaceful Jews have made their homes and raised families
in those areas for many years. But it is also the right thing to do to reject
what those extremist messianic Jews do.
That being said, I can understand why Palestinian Authority ‘moderates’
object to this. They see it as a step away from the 2 state solution they seek.
But if they were too be honest they would realize that what the US now recognizes
has (as noted above) already been agreed to by their patron saint Yasser Arafat.
And that these settlements have been a reality for decades. And that this
recognition does not prevent the possibility of a 2 state solution (Although the
current reality on the ground does prevent it.)
I could not be more pleased with this turn of events.
Whatever one might think about the President or the possibility that he is guilty
of an impeachable offense (which is far from certain) – one thing is clear. He is
by far the most pro Israel President in US history.
Those who might argue that none of the President’s pro Israel policies have any practical benefit - or worse - causing more harm than good are not in concert with the majority of Israeli people. Including both Prime Minister Netanyahu and his opponent in the last election, Benny Gantz. They are in a far better position to judge than we are. I’m pretty sure they see the Presidents pro Israel policies the way I do. Thank you Mr. President!
Those who might argue that none of the President’s pro Israel policies have any practical benefit - or worse - causing more harm than good are not in concert with the majority of Israeli people. Including both Prime Minister Netanyahu and his opponent in the last election, Benny Gantz. They are in a far better position to judge than we are. I’m pretty sure they see the Presidents pro Israel policies the way I do. Thank you Mr. President!
