Israeli peace compromises are sign of strength, not defeat
Anyone interested in contributing to peace had better not invite the Israelis to ponder scenarios of defeat.
By Alexander Yakobson Tags: Israeli Arab Zionism Israel news PalestiniansSome questions are better not asked out loud, but once they are, they should not be evaded. Dmitry Shumsky asks in a February 21 article in Haaretz what would happen to the Jewish population in the country if Israel were to be defeated and conquered by an Arab-Iranian coalition. He describes a fate similar to the Israeli occupation in the territories - military administration, roadblocks, emergency regulations, harsh oppression of the occupied people's resistance. The writer thus invites Israelis to identify with the suffering of the Palestinians under occupation and understand why they view the divestment of their national independence so grimly.
To understand the Palestinians' natural desire for independence and their anger at the occupation, one hardly needs daring intellectual exercises. All the surveys show that a large majority of the Jewish public in Israel agrees a Palestinian state should be established as part of a peace arrangement. In one survey, more than 60 percent of the respondents said they consider the Palestinian demand for independence to be justified. But a similar majority did not believe the Palestinians would allow Israel to live in peace after they receive a state.
People preaching to the Israeli public at large (as opposed to the ideological right) usually insist on trying to convince people of something they agreed on long ago - that the Palestinians are entitled to a state. However, they totally ignore the issue people are really concerned about - whether having withdrawn from the territories, Israelis will receive a reasonable measure of peace. It is doubtful whether such "persuasion" contributes anything to the chances of reaching an arrangement and ending the occupation.
As for the question of what awaits us in case of defeat - if there is a safe way of making sure the Israeli public will not identify with the Palestinian suffering, it is by making them concentrate on this question. Everyone living here knows what Israelis expect - not occupation, roadblocks, emergency regulations or settlements, but an out-and-out slaughter.
There is no way of knowing whether this prediction is right - let's hope we never find out. However, Jewish Israelis - or any other people in such a situation - cannot be expected to think anything else. It is a fact that the numerous internal wars in the Arab world over recent decades were accompanied by the widespread murder of civilians. And if this is the fate of Arabs and Muslims, the average Israeli inevitably asks himself, what would befall the Zionist "alien body"? For the Jewish Israelis know well that their neighbors do not see them as a legitimate element in the area, but as colonialist invaders. Even Saddam Hussein didn't see the Kurds in Iraq that way, while he treated them as if he did. In these circumstances, the Jews in Israel simply cannot presume defeat would bring anything else.
So anyone interested in contributing to peace had better not invite the Israelis to ponder scenarios of defeat, but explain that these scenarios are unrealistic due to Israel's power - a power enabling it, among other things, to take chances for a peace arrangement. As long as this power is maintained, there is no need to elaborate on what may befall us in case of defeat. It's enough just to think about it from time to time.
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Israel needs to view the Palestinians as potential partners and assist them financially in developing a successful nation and economy. People that have economic and social security are much less inclined to view their neighbors as enemies. Anything less than that results in people harboring ancient grievances. In the case of the Palestinians, they have sixty years of grievances over lost land, demolished homes, restricted human rights and more. That is all the more reason to help their economy develop so that they and their children can have a vision for the future. When Netanyahu and Lieberman speak in terms of retaining a permanent IDF presence in the West Bank and retaining settlements with settlers that prompt violence, their focus appears to continue to be the suppression of Palestinians. Peace requires a vision that can be shared and developed with one's enemies. It requires sacrifice and courage. It requires a recommitment to Jewish values.
Israel is the leading military power in the region, with military strength that dwarfs that of Hamas, Fatah, Hezballah, the Syrians, etc. While Israelis cannot reasonably be faulted for wondering whether they would be subject to terrorist rocket attacks and suicide bombings if an independent Palestinian state is established, the image of military defeat and wholesale civilian slaughter is not reality based.
knowing that, why do Palestinians always make sure to give Israel an excuse? You would think a country that just wanted to be left in peace would make sure not to allow rockets to be shot from its territory, but they always do, don't they? E.g. Gaza, Lebanon. Death wish? Inability to live in peace?
Mind you, like most cultivated mushrooms they were kept in the dark and fed on bullshit. Y: "We Israelis could not help but think that our goose was cooked," The IDF was in no doubt that if they attacked first then they'd wipe out the opposition in one week, and if they waited to BE attacked it would take them two weeks. Y: "we would be defeated," US military intelligence concurred with the one week minimum / two weeks maximum estimate. Y: "there would be a terrible massacre." The British military estimate thought that the 1 week / 2 week estimate was overly generous to the Arab armies. Y: "The word "Auschwitz" was often heard." Yeah, and some things never change: Bibi uses the word almost weekly. But that's because he is itching to start a war. After all, Israel hasn't started a war for MONTHS now, so it's well past due to start another one....
Can you imagine an Arab newspaper on the left preaching that Israel be entitled to one inch of the Golan Heights as compromise? Neither can anyone else except sasha and levy and the emir a
Funny, I read the first paragraph and was all ready to argue that the assumption that an Israeli defeat would result in us being treated like the Palestinians is incorrect. And then you went on to make the same point. The Palestinians are of course treated infinitely better by the Israelis than the Jews have been and would be by victorious Arab Muslims. An Israeli defeat wouldn't mean a reversal of fortunes, it would mean total genocide.
Egyptian President Nasser had marched his troops into Sinai, expelled the UN peacekeeping force from the Gaza Strip, closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping (thus blockading Israel's southern port of Eilat) and made a war pact with Jordan. We Israelis could not help but think that our goose was cooked, we would be defeated, there would be a terrible massacre. The word "Auschwitz" was often heard. Things have not changed in this respect since then. Any Israeli defeat is understood by the Israeli public (as pointed out by Alexander Yakobson) as a prelude to genocide. Yakobson does not believe that such a defeat is possible because of Israeli strength. However, unlike Yakobson, I do believe that scenarios of defeat are realistic. One can never know for certain the outcomes of war, and to me, the word "Auschwitz" and its implications for us Israeli Jews is still all too horrifying.
- How long before the US is unable and/or unwilling to protect Israel? Hint: probably less than 15 years. - How many other friends with power does Israel have? Hint: Russia and China are NOT friends. - How will most of the world view the Arabs taking back their land? Hint: 99% will NOT care. - When the Arabs attack, how long can Israel last before it is defeated? Hint: the world is awash in weapons equal to or better than Israel has. Hint: wars cost resources and Israel does not have as many resources as the rest of the world. When will Israelis ask themselves exactly how long will they survive when the Arabs attack? When will Israelis ask themselves what they have to do to survive? When will Israelis tell the settlers NO? The reality is Israel has probably gone past the point where they can change the future because there is NO ONE in Israel that has the power to undo the mistakes of the last 40+ years. There is no one that is willing to tell the settlers to pack and leave.
Alexander Yakobson asks in his article, ?What will happen if we are defeated?. The Jewish Old Testament Scriptures clearly tell what will happen. Zechariah 14:1-2 14:1 A day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided among you. 2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. The full story can be read in the free book, ?The Second Coming in slow Motion? found on SCRIBD at http://www.scribd.com/doc/14971456/The-Second-Coming-in-Slow-Motion
Think of the longest occupation you can.....Roman, Soviet or British Empires....What was the end result?
"It is an open war until the elimination of Israel and until the death of the last Jew on Earth",said Nasrallah in 1992 and the world heard the same from Peace Nobel Price winner Yasser Arafat in 1996. "....You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian State....I have no use for Jews; they are and remain Jews." For them,killing 6 million Jews in Israel is a matter of few months.While the world would be in "shock and horrified",our lefty mercenaries would be convincing the world that the genocide was necessary to save peace in the world,no worries.
"But a similar majority did not believe the Palestinians would allow Israel to live in peace after they receive a state." Then put THAT shoe on the other foot, and ask yourself if the Pals believe that they will be allowed to live in peace after their receive their state. The answer will be this: they will fully expect that the IDF will use any excuses to beat the snot out of them. After all, Israeli "security" is based upon the idea of "deterrence", and that REQUIRES that the IDF regularly beat the snot out of somebody. It's still gonna be the Palestinians, and that will be true even after they gain their independent state. You guys should stop lying to yourself about what your own policies demand, and actually accept them for what they are i.e. Israeli "deterrence" will require that the state of Palestine be regularly thumped. Not the other way around; that will be just your rationalization - not the REASON - for why you continue to thump them.
Michael Oren was correct. The Israelis should declare the border, retreat to it, and leave the Palestinians to their own devices. As for the rockets, that will doubtless come, Cast Iron offered a fine solution.
It's pretty much a given that Israel's defeat would be accompanied, at best, by the expulsion of remaining Jews after a massive slaughter. More than 60 years of Arab rhetoric and examples in their own countries confirm that. We have taken chanced and acted with restraint for 17 years since Olso was signed and have nothing to show for it. How about the Palestinians and Arabs showing some concessions now? They could start by fulfilling the commitments they made in the Oslo Accord.
If it was purely Israel's decision, the yes - it is better to have the status quo rather than a slaughter. But politics does not wait for anyone. The ME is fast changing and the status quo will not hold, inspite of Israels best attempts. So Israel has to decide what to do between now and the fall of the status quo. Building more settlements and humiliating more Palestinians will not cut it (in fact, that will guarantee a slaughter when the status quo falls)