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Chasing Chimeras
ast week, U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.,
suggested that physical separation of
Palestinians from Israelis may be the only
route toward a permanent peace in the
Mideast. It was a surprisingly naive thought
from a political leader whose presidential
campaign last year was marked by so much
common sense on so many issues.
It also is dangerous talk because it could encour-
age an American policy founded on the belief that
separation is an ultimate answer. It is not clear that
the Bush administration does have an underlying
philosophy about what an eventually peaceful rela-
tionship between the Israelis and the Palestinians
might look like, so McCain's comments could push
the White House and State. Department down the
wrong road.
It isn't that others haven't thought greater physical
separation was desirable. Toward the end of his brief
tenure as prime minister, Ehud Barak spoke of
building a physical wall along some lines that, pre-
sumably, Israel would have to determine because the
Palestinians were so busy rejecting the exceptionally
generous offer he had made to Yasser Arafat at
Camp David. The current prime minister, Ariel
Sharon, has spoken not about a wall so much as new
"security zones" within the West Bank and Gaza, a
tactic tried with no success in southern Lebanon.
Both approaches rest on an Israeli presumption
that separation would make security easier to
enforce.
was partitioned more than 50 years ago.
And Israel has its share of expansionist
nationalists as well as the deeply religious
who believe that they must work to fulfill
God's promise that the Jews
would get all of the land between
the Mediterranean and the
Jordan River.
Never mind, of course, that
Arab and Israeli holdings in the most
important location of all, Jerusalem, are
hopelessly intertwined. Faced with the
impossibility of building a wall between
the Kotel (Western Wall) and the Temple
Mount, for example, and remembering the
destruction under Jordanian rule, Israel
simply intends to hold on to all of the
city.
It is possible that a strong Israeli govern-
ment could contain further expansion of
West Bank settlements, though the track
record on that score is not promising. But
it is impossible to believe that the current
generation of Palestinian leadership, filled
as it is with the rhetoric of unending
hatred, would respect boundaries however
they are drawn.
When Palestinians tire of the current
intifada, they may be able to reflect on its
futility, and may come to realize that they
need a different leadership, one that
secures a nation built on the premise of
advancement through cooperation with its
neighbors. That sort of nation does not need to be
walled in or walled out, any more than Arizona
needs to be fenced off from New Mexico. And
Israelis may realize that individual settlers who
choose to live in the territories will have to do so
under Palestinian governance and not behind an
Dry Bones
EDFTO RIAL
A New Vision
The Palestinians, naturally, reject the idea of a line
or zone drawn by Israel. They say that the Jewish
nation should be removed, replaced by a greater
Palestine lArith returning Arab families making up
the majority population as they did before the land
IDF shield.
If America is to play a useful role in reducing the
tensions of the Mideast, it must have a vision for the
future of Israel and of the Palestinians. It will be a
failed vision if it relies on physical barricades to
assure a lasting peace. ❑
The Gift Of Being In Israel
Jerusalem .
oyful, uplifting dance and song filled the
auditorium of Binyanei Ha'oomah in
Jerusalem on June 12. More than 2,100
young adults ages 18-26 visiting Israel under
the auspices and sponsorship of Birthright Israel
danced and sang, filling the aisles, embracing new
friends and the Jewish leaders who made this experi-
ence possible.
j
Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman is executive vice presi-
dent of the New York City-based Birthright Israel
North America. He was formerly the head of the
Cincinnati-based Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion.
RABBI
SHELDON
ZIMMERMAN
Special
Commentary
Hundreds of Israelis joined
them -- soldiers, members of
the Knesset, representatives of
the Jewish Agency for Israel and
other Jewish institutions and
invited guests. Together, they
expressed their solidarity with
the people of Israel and cele-
brated their deepened sense of
Jewish peoplehood.
These 2,100 young adults
came to Israel amidst all the
anxiety and fear of these trou-
bled days. In the face of crisis
and violence, in the winter and
spring of 2001 nearly 12,000
young men and women have come to Israel with
Birthright Israel. What an extraordinary expression
of solidarity, care, friendship and at oneness with the
people and State of Israel.
In the past 18 months of Birthright Israel's exis-
tence, more than 20,000 young adults have been
enabled to come to Israel. We are witnesses to the
transformative power of being in Israel and to the
impact of such visits on our Jewish destiny and
future.
Reasons For Being Here
In the face of the issues of safety and security, when
GIFT on page 33
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2001
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