Today's borders are the 'indefensible' ones
Netanyahu's decision to have Israel clash with Obama is not only a dead end, it could remove the only protective wall Israel has left and sacrifice the country's future on the altar of hollow ideology and unbridled nationalism.
Haaretz EditorialLots of high-sounding words were uttered over the weekend. There was U.S. President Barack Obama's speech, in which he welcomed the civil revolutions in the Middle East and sketched the outlines of the best diplomatic plan to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Then came the unabashed longing of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for peace on his terms. But the cascades of verbiage did not produce concord between Israel and the United States - to the point where it's hard to decide which disagreement is greater, between Israel and the Palestinians or between Israel and the United States.
There is no doubt which is more dangerous for Israel. Netanyahu's decision to have Israel clash with Obama is not only a dead end, it could remove the only protective wall Israel has left and sacrifice the country's future on the altar of hollow ideology and unbridled nationalism.
Netanyahu is lying to the Israeli public and leading the U.S. administration astray when he portrays Israel's current borders as defensible. The occupation of the West Bank, the planting of more settlements on the rocky hilltops, control of the Jordan Valley or the construction of thousands of homes in East Jerusalem do not remove the Iranian threat, prevent the firing of Qassam rockets or end Hezbollah's willingness to fire missiles at Israel.
Borders themselves do not guarantee security. But borders that are recognized by the international community give a country the legitimacy to defend its sovereignty. Israel has no such borders, and more and more countries are finding it difficult to defend Israel's position, which seeks to persuade others that occupation is a means of defense.
The real danger for Israel is not only the crisis in relations with the United States and most of Europe, it's the deception Israel is trying to market to the Israeli public. According to that deception, a strong stand based only on nationalist slogans can replace a diplomatic solution; all that's needed to survive Obama's term with the current borders are well-crafted speeches and the right amount of manipulation. This strategy turns Netanyahu into a real threat to Israel's security and future.
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...that too many palestinians are stuck in the dream about liberating all of Palestine. This illusion/obsession enables him to procrastinate. And his procrastinations makes it possible for the PA leaders to badmouth Israel. This is the game. And they might hate us, as long they fear us. But a palestinian revolution, that ends the terror of Hamas and offers real moderation and peace - well that will send Bibi home and force all of us to accept a new reality.
The problem is that J-Street, Peace Now are whatever political colour you try to portray them as are spot on. And they do speak for the great majority of American Jews. Sure not the ultra-orthodox extreme nationalist right that AIPAC and Likud represent, they are now but a tiny rump in the states. And rightly so.
A one-state solution is the most realistic human and ecological solution to this impasse. If we could just see 50 years ahead of now ...
You are right Mr. Scheller. The separation-walls of hatred and discrimination will surely disappear during the first ten years of a united palestinian/jewish state.
You are still unable to see the facts and are completely blinded by your hate of the Prime Minister. Avi Shavit in today's paper manged to show courage in his article today. Perhaps you could learn from him.
and to the point.
"But borders that are recognized by the international community give a country the legitimacy to defend its sovereignty. Israel has no such borders, and more and more countries are finding it difficult to defend Israel's position, which seeks to persuade others that occupation is a means of defense."
It's time to overthrow the government and find a leader with wisdom and vision for the future of the country, as soon as possible!
Haaretz seems to have some sort of totally insane official newspaper policy of only blaming Israel, and literally not even mentioning Hamas at all
The biggest danger to Israel is not Obama or the Palestinians, it' Netanyahu. It is hard to see how a demilitarized Palestinian state presents a security threat to Israel that is more severe than Hezbollah with its 40,000 rockets or Iran. It is hard to see why is it worth to pick up a fight with the American President when two Israeli Prime Ministers - Barak and Olmert - held negotiations with the Palestinians that were based on the 1967 borders with territory swaps. Since Netanyahu is basically a weak person we just have to lean back and wait to watch how he will sweat and twist and try to appease Mr. Obama. He could have done better thanking Mr. Obama and applauding his effort, while explaining that in order to achieve an agreement the two sides cannot just agree on borders and security, but must also resolve the issues of Jerusalem and the 'right of return'.
Israelis have sown the wind of occupation and repression and will now reap the whirlwind
We know better and making Israel even less defensible is not a convincing argument to say the least.
And what's going to happen when Obama is re-elected for another four years that will be free of AIPAC's political coersion? Where will Israel be then?
The grand indefensible idea is contained in the pleasing-sounding words "maintaining a Jewish demography" -------words which pass by without a comment; a given. However much we like a jewish state, * policies* of *maintining *a *Jewish * majority * must rely on means which are either morally illegitimate or specifically illegal. And just as maintaining a jewish demography by force is illegitimate, so too no one,, whether Palestinian or israeli, may be cudgelled or threatened into swearing on oath that israel is a "Jewish state." Israel's indefensible border is the one around its jewish hegemony--- a border built with the bricks of from unsustainable and illicit policies.
Obama speaks from a weak and failing position while Netanyahu speaks from strength and victory. It is sad to see the US departing from truth in favor of a lie, but this is where we are today.
This editorial is factually incorrect. Israeli presence in the west bank is the only thing preventing Hamas from acquiring and firing rockets at Ben Gurion airport. Moreover, the withdrawal from Lebanon and Gaza did NOT grant Israel any legitimacy in the eyes of Europe or the rest of the world. Recall the furious international condemnation heaped upon Israel ruing the Lebanon and Gaza war. Have people already forgotten the Goldstone report?! The fantasy that "bold" and "daring" withdrawals will make the world fall in love with Israel is an old chestnut, totally refuted by the events of the last 5 years. The path to peace lies through a security and deterrent power. The fairy tales espoused by Haaretz will only lead to bloodshed and endless war.