We shall be as dreamers
The Palestinians' starting position is better than ours: They have fulfilled most of their obligations under the road map peace plan, while we have not removed even one of the illegal outposts we were supposed to dismantle.
By Yossi SaridThis column joins in the call: Let's have proximity talks. For the talks are close, but the proximity is far off.
It is not by chance that Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refrained from responding to the questions of the mediator who, had he not identified himself as the representative of a great power, would be suspected of loitering. Why reply, as long as it is possible to put him off with empty verbiage, and every delay is for the best?
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday July 4, 2010. |
| Photo by: Flash90 |
In order to live for the moment and forfeit eternity, Netanyahu will never tire of searching for a new pretext for treading water. He will search every dark corner with candles, which are soon liable to turn into memorial candles.
First he made progress conditional on the Palestinians agreeing to recognize the Jewish state - as if Israel's existence depended on what they say, as if anyone but the person concerned can define his right to exist and his identity. Then he made it conditional on an end to violence: Let the terror stop, and then we'll talk. Now, we have his demand for direct negotiations.
Grant Netanyahu his wish, since he has promised to surprise everyone and sign an agreement within a year. Let the miracle happen, and we shall be as dreamers.
And indeed, a miracle is called for. The talks this time will be more complex than ever before, since everything has turned upside down.
This time, the Palestinians are the ones who will demand that Israel stop the terror, perpetrated by the cursed inhabitants of the Har Bracha settlement. Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad have succeeded where Netanyahu and Ehud Barak have failed.
The Palestinian Authority dealt with the terrorists in their territory and overcame them; it imposed law and order in the West Bank. The government of Israel, in contrast, has been defeated by the abominable hilltop youths of Yitzhar, who this week once again crawled out of their caves to set a "price tag," burning field after field.
And if the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet security service insist on their own contribution to the current quiet, the Palestinian security services are hereby invited to offer their help. Perhaps they, with their proven experience, can manage to catch the torchers of mosques who still walk free and the rabbis who incite to murder by basing themselves on Jewish religious law. A revolving door is better than a door that never closes on these Israeli pogromists.
The Palestinians' starting position is better than ours: They have fulfilled most of their obligations under the road map peace plan, while we have not removed even one of the illegal outposts we were supposed to dismantle. Moreover, they may demand at the outset that we put an end to the incitement against Israeli Arabs and their elected representatives and annul the racist laws the Knesset has recently been approving so lavishly.
Netanyahu is incarcerated in the jail of his coalition and fettered with the chains of his parental home. The cards he is holding close to his chest are bits of paper on which he has written the main points of speeches like the one he gave at Bar-Ilan University.
In two months' time, the momentum of construction in the settlements will be resumed - and this, too, is a kind of violence. And the roar of the bulldozers will shake the negotiating table.
At that point, the international community will have to figure out how to digest the goose it cooked for itself. America will have to decide how to handle Netanyahu: with the stick of Election Day or the stick of D-Day. The Palestinians will have to decide whether to switch to unilateral moves or continue moaning about their bad luck.
And we, the citizens of Israel, will have to consider the new proposal by the priests of the right - establishing a binational state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Perhaps that is the way - the last road of the Zionist enterprise. Perhaps the time has come to begin saying the "Hear O Israel" prayer that one recites before dying.
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Yossi Sarid
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Sooner or later , the bi- or tri- national state between Jordan river and Medit.sea will be the end solution.
Seeds thrown today take root tomorrow, and we know how this haphazard metaphor ends.
Perhpas the solutuon is to give the Palsmore time to create infrastructure and all else will flow from that. Pushing them into a marriage neither wants at this time is fruiless and sets expectations too high, let it simmer and it will turn out well....he mor ethay have invested in state building the less they will want to risk those gains and all wins. Keep Gaza and WB as separate entities, they wre never truly one people but two enclaves cobbled together. The shoes don't match.
The censor does not allow opinions against Sarid's? This is Haaretz freedom of speech? Sarid was a minister with Shas at the infamous Barak government that together with Arafat started the bloody 'Intifada' al-Aqsa. Sarid should retire and make votes of silence if he has minimal decency.
"The Palestinians have fulfilled most of their obligations under the roadmap." I think you're seriously mistaken Yossi. the entire world, inlcuding the PA insists that Gaza is part of the negotiations, subsequently with Hamas in power the Palestnians have actually fulfilled NONE of their obgliations. That is, unless we're only going to make peace with the West Bank, and Gaza will be officially taken out of the negotiations.
This writer and this article is wacky, unrealistic, far-left nonsense that far-left extremists in Europe will agree with, but no one else.
Did you ever hear an arab or muslim describe the fairness of anything Israel has done in the last 60+ years. Why are the highly intellectual self haters always agreeing with arab or muslim intersets and questioning Israel. Dumb selfhating idiots.
what beautiful writing..
they do not have to depend on half a brain.D
"This time" you say the Pals are right TO REFUSE TO NEGOTIATE. How come it is NOT RIGHT when Israel refuses to negotiate, but it is RIGHT when the Pals do the same thing. It is because of Israelis like you, that the Pals refuse to compromise on anything. You are encoraging them to think that they will get EVERYTHING, so how can Abbas justify making any concessions.
Right foot? I say they haven't a leg to stand on !
Netaniahu, a descendant oF AN ETZEL militant ,educated in this ideology of semi facist movement and under the influence of his father who is one, is under the deepest impossibility to give up anything at all to our palestinians counterpart. And this no matter what he sais. we saw it in his previous premiership and we see it today. So let not have any illusion, nothing will be done while he is on top. The question is ARE WE DOOMED? Let every one of us give the answer he finds the best and react accordingly.
Sarid and Shas were members of the coalition with Barak when the worst 'Intifada' al-Aqsa started. Why he is so wise regarding the policies of others and such idiot for his own? The hypocricy of Sarid is only comparable to that of the Scottish parlament releasing the Lybian murderer on 'humanitarian' grounds. Don't make us laugh anymore Mr. Sarid.
What about the entire Jewish population of Gaza?
Throughout the world and Jewish History, there always existed anomalous intellectual types who were active for the “Rights” of enemies against their state and homeland. The majority of those people possess negative and abnormal notions in regards to national issues, substantially different from the norm acceptable by each citizen and patriot of a nation subject to existential threats such as Israel. They mock patriotism (they call it the villains’ refuge); they’re contemptuous of national consensus (they name it pretentious). They object nationalism (they call it fascism). They hate Generals (named by them -militants). They attack the IDF (called by them the occupation army). They object the Jewish State (which they consider as Racism). They belittle the ones who warn against Islamic and Iranian threat (and name them panic creators). They reject every person or opinion they categorize as right wing, and ordain themselves as final authority on what is security and what constitutes disaster. They’re out of touch of life’s reality. They recite ancient ideological formulas which state, according to them, that right wing is always a disaster and left wing is always the vision. They feel superior to others and are never capable of admitting failure. We, the plain civilians have the right of freedom to express criticism And not lousy ex- failure politicians like yourself
about the historic duty of the State Of Israel in fulfilling its obligation towards reuniting the Land that God gave them. Does this sound ridiculous in the Modern Age? Not at all. Read the Torah. It is possible that PM N'yahu is not doing enough. Like Sriel Sharon before him he may yet surrender Jewish Land. If he does, he will suffer at the polls. But, what exactly does Mr Sarid want? ThatIsrael become just another EU member like Rumania, Bulgaria and the rest? Is this the fate reserved for Israel by the Left?
where do I find the list of obligations palestinians agreed to fulfill and the lest of ones they did?
Enough of the left. They´re not dreamers. They fail to take account that most Palestiniands voted for Hamas, an organization bent on the destruction of Israel.
Yossi claiming the Palestinians have delivered on most of the demands is a half truth as Hamas in Gaza did nothing to promote peace. To say we incite against Israeli Arabs as you call them. Most Israeli Arab MKs correctly state they are Palestinians loyal to their people which overrules the need to be loyal to the State of Israel!! If they do not choose between being a loyal Israeli citizen and accepting the will of the majority as is normal in a democracy then they will be prosecuted according to the law of the State of Israel as they violate that law!!
If you noticed, Yossi Sarid was talking about the West Bank, not Gaza. As for being a "loyal Israeli citizen" and "accepting the will of the majority".... then there is alot of rightwing settlers that need to be prosecuted first.
the pals have not full filled thier end of the bargin. gaza is still a terrorist center, there still incitement there are still terrorist attacks from the west bank. what planet does this guy live on ?
Gaza is not under PA rule. The PA has fulfilled its commitments. Israel has not.
Face facts, pull yourself together.
Can't you see ? They are all naked ! Abu Masan can never make peace w/Israel even if the chief clown Yossi has the whip in his left hand .......... If one were to talk about peace w/the Palis,say in another 150 years.I'd say he's an optimist.
Obama created the problem initially by telling Abbas your wish is my command you say what you want I will get it and his obsession with reaching out to the muslim world which of course has to come at Israels expense only encouraged Abbas to play hard to get. Bibi has called for talks before now and Abbas said no these are a list of my conditions for me even agreeing to sit in the same room as you. Bibi risked destroying his coalition by offering a 10 month freeze in construction in Judea & Samaria Obama didn't say to Abbas Bibi has made a gesture you recipricate. Abbas just told Obama not enough so he came back to Bibi said its not enough give more. Obama has acted like a puppet to the muslim world. Bibi has been caling for direct talks for weeks now and Abbas has been saying no no no until you meet these demands of mine and the only reason he even started telling Abbas he must talk is because Bibi had outsmarted him in Washington and there are midterms on the way. Abbas has agreed to start talking in September and chances of him doing any deals if he is expected to go into these talks without pre conditions that he expects to be met first. Its also going to put Obama in a tricky situation with midterms end of November its to close to start getting tough on Israel and letting Abbas have it all his own way if he wants to keep Democrat losses to a minimum... They are already a good chance they might lose control of Congress which will drastically weaken Obama. Bibi is the only one who will be going into any talks from a position of strengh Abbas is weak and Obama is getting weaker by the day at least for the next 4 months. Abbas is a nobody and may not even stand at the next presidential election and has no real power anymore .. he is not a strongman like Arafat.
What I don't get is why the only voices for peace we are hearing are in the media and not from the vast left in Israel? Have things changed so drastically that only the far right has a voice? Where is everybody? Back in the day the kibbutznikim and many others were for peace and voiced it now all we hear is those crazy settlers and their supporters. What's up with that?
Oslo, the Gaza withdrawl, and the Lebanon withdrawl have proven that your opinions are totally detached from reality. Only if you live far from the ME, can a sane person hold your views.
Maybe the settlers aren't so crazy after all. And, Jane, where are those Arab and Palestinian voices from the Left?? Wanna know where, they were executed as collaborators. Where's the VAST Arab Left, Janie?
after yours of failure, of seeing his leftist dreams dashed on the rocks by the arabs, sarid has nowhere to turn but to abbas and co. who lie through their teeth and fools like sarid soak it all in if nothing else other than just to irk bibi and play politics. Sarid offers only a one state solution, which as everyone knows, is a pipe dream and also playing at politics. And they think they can run the country? ha! typical left...all slings and arrows, always missing the target.
"he Palestinian Authority dealt with the terrorists in their territory and overcame them; it imposed law and order in the West Bank. " But rockets are hitting Ashkelon from Gaza, right Yossileh? I guess that's OK, because the PA doesn't control Gaza, so let's just close our eyes and pretend this problem doesn't exist.
Get real. The Palestinians deserve better than all this pretentiousness.
I want to know which alternate universe Yossi Sarid lives in so I can finally join in his fantasy world.
Yossi writes: "The Palestinian Authority dealt with the terrorists in their territory and overcame them" Last I recalled it was Israeli Apaches that overcame terrorist in their territory (who happened to PA police and PLO) and not the PA/PLO. The Tanzim/Fatah/ Al aska Brigade terrorist saw all their friends, brother, boss terrorist get killed and decided it was a dead end career choice for them. Instead the PLO collects money while Israeli security protect them from Hamas. Israel handles the security for Abbas, so how does PA fight terrorism if they cannot even protect themselves?
Anyone who has lived and worked in Israel knows how it can bring out the weakness, the worm in those otherwise seemingly normal humans. Yossi, if you had only just settled in New York, you'd be rich.
Most civilized people want an end to Hamas never ending war on Israel. All monies being sent to Gaza should be stopped until Shalit is returned and the rockets end. This writer needs his head examined.
Of course not!
Sarid has been deluded for years. During the years of hourly suicide bombing, costing thousands of Jewish lives, this guy always gave right to the aggressor, never the victims. He acts as an abused wife, never being the thuggish husband's fault for beating her senseless. It is the abused wife who deserved it, somehow she had it coming to her. This is the disease of Sarid and his liberal cronies. Thankfully, the Israeli electorate has repudiated his illogical views and thrown him to the curb, like his buddies Burg, Pines-Paz, etc... Sarid has always been a loser. why he is still given a platform is a mystery. Sick.
Why don't you make a full list of what the arabs must do, not only Shalit and rockets? Maybe they must work for nothing building new Israelis settlements on their land, maybe they must work on kibbutz. Anyway we have destroyed their olive trees, their cattles, they don' have to worry much about it.
I agree that the writer of this comment should get his head examined.
a; Who is "WE" (We have destroyed)??? you certainly don't sound like part of the "WE". b: By the way, they don't work for nothing, as you claim. They are well compensated, actually begging to work in Israel. That horse has left the barn. Israel now employs foreign labor as a safer alternative. Guess what, the foreigners appreciate it much more, and Israeli employers don't have a worry about their employees biting the hands that feed them. Let the angels of Hamas feed and employ the people. Israel's face has been slapped enough.
Sarid's ideas lack credibility. His party has been almost completely wiped out because their ideas brought nothing to destruction to the country. But he keep trying to sell his wares. The problem is that no one is interested anymore.
Meretz is dissapearing because what it ued to say is now said by Kadima and the labor party. If you look at the Clinton parameters, the Geneva accord , the Annapolis summit and Olmert's offer, it's a a carbon copy of what Meretz (and it's ancestor Mapam) has been saying since the 1980's. Since mainstream political parties have adopted the Meretz program, it's becoming meaningless to vote for them. Nonetheless, 20 years ago, they were ahead of their time.
Who are you to say whether or not people are interested in what he says?! I certainly am, and think it's a great article
....and as a consequence, Israel marches blindly towards the ONE STATE SOLUTION.
...a Palestinian who wanders into Har Bracha, or a Jew or wanders into Ramallah? Terrorists, Mr. Sarid? You obviously don't know the meaning of the word.
... would barely make it past the perimiter before being shot, the Jew would be accompanied by a troop of IDF soldiers and Ramallah would be under cerfew. I'd wouldn't put my money on the Palestinian.
He is pointing out that Jewish terrorism is bsck in vogue. As in the illegal settler thugs. It is you who is clueless.
Fairly typical recent news stories: (1) Israeli wanders into Nablus, Jericho, etc. PA police escort person out safely. (2) Unarmed Palestinians try to enter settlement, get shot. I guess you spend so much time "commentatoring" you never read the news or absorb any facts.
The Settlers are only illegal in your mind. In the mind of many others, they're heroes, standing up hourly to arab terror and intransigence. You delude yourself, as always, thinking the Palestinians want a State, when all they want is OUR state, Israel. Many of their children are taught from books where Israel doesn't exist, and the State is ALL, ONE BIG, Palestine. Get a clue, the thugs are the Arab murderers of innocent Jews. Clueless.
so of course without a doubt the Israeli Jews survive the arabs move to their new state if they ever achieve that doesnt seem they wan tto
I spent a lot of time in Israel, Palestine, and Lebanon as a neutral. The Israeli nation has shamed the Jewish people with it's thuggery and inhumanity. Both my grandfathers represented New Zealand on the battlefield defending liberty and humanity against a regime intent on racial purity and other misguided ideals. Israel spits on their memory. You do not live in a democracy and one can conceivably imagine in years to come, the great nations of the world again confronting the enemies of humanity. In my time in Israel, I was sickened by the inhumanity shown to your own countrymen. How could we ever expect Israel to ever show respect to others??
I'd rather say that those fanatical hooligans are only heroes in your mind. For most of the world they are just a bunch of wackos used by the Israeli government to keep on the illegal occupation of Palestine.
It is Israel that has never---does not --and never will make a just peace.It would get in the way of the illegal expansion as in the Greater Israel. Read what Israeli leaders have been saying since the late 1930,s and then go read the likud Charter. Come back to me and show who it is that has peace intentions. In 1938, Ben-Gurion made it clear of his support for the "Jewish state" on part of Palestine was only as a stepping ground for a complete conquest. He wrote: "[I am] satisfied with part of the country, but on the basis of the assumption that after we build up a strong force following the establishment of the state--we will abolish the partition of the country and we will expand to the whole Land of Israel." (Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p. 107 & One Palestine Complete, p. 403) * One day after the UN vote to partition Palestine, Menachem Begin, the commander of the Irgun gang and Israel's future Prime Minister between 1977-1983, proclaimed: "The Partition of Palestine is illegal. It will never be recognized .... Jerusalem was and will for ever be our capital. Eretz Israel will be restored to the people of Israel. All of it. And for Ever." (Iron Wall p. 25) * ""Shamir has said Israel must keep the territories in order to accommodate the immigrants. "A great aliyah [immigration]," he said, "requires a Greater Israel."(5) He has insisted that, although Soviet Jews are not being directed to the territories, any Jew has the right to live anywhere in the land of Israel, which for most Israelis includes the territories. You were saying something about clueless. Oh the name is Labhras. Geeeany.
Sorry, Gianni, also in international law. And many of them even in the law of Israel. I suppose you're one who claims Palestine doesn't exist, and it's all ONE BIG Israel? And what about the thugs who are the Israeli murderers of innocent Arabs?