Editor's Letter

WOMEN'S

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN

Bibi's Strategy

I

Tellingly, the RA., the more "moderate" of the Palestinian
n response to the Israeli prime minister's conditional
regimes, called on Arab governments to suspend pursuit of
support for a Palestinian state, a key Palestinian leader
the so-called Arab Peace Initiative in protest of Netanyahu's
anticipated the restrictions spurring yet another round
comments. Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, not surpris-
of terrorist attacks on Israel. Palestinian Authority (P.A.)
ingly branded them "a racist and extremist ideology."
President Mahmoud Abbas, who governs the West Bank, used
the euphemism intifida, or "uprising': for what Israel and the
West would call terror.
isiraell Endorsement
Even Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni said at a Kadima
So much for Palestinian diplomacy.
Party meeting the next day that Netanyahu "took a step in
The search for stability in the
the right direction!' Israeli President Shimon Peres, politically
Middle East remains ever-elusive.
opposite of Netanyahu in many ways, proclaimed the speech
In a major foreign-policy address
to be "true and courageous!'
on June 14 from Bar-Ilan University
If the Palestinians agreed to a demilitarized state that rec-
in Ramat Gan, Israeli Prime Minister
ognized the Jewish state, Israel would not create new West
Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu said
Bank settlements or expand existing towns, Netanyahu said.
Israel would agree to a demilitarized
But he seemed to say that West Bank Jewish communities
Palestinian state. He defined such a
Robert Sklar
must enjoy normal life — namely, growth and development.
state as one that could not import
Editor
The settlement question is white hot. Obama had demand-
weapons, make deals with Israeli
ed
the end of all settlement activity, natural or otherwise.
enemies or close its airspace to Israel. I
Netanyahu
declared that settlers are not "enemies of peace"
wonder how enforceable these conditions are; Israel would be
but
"are
our
brothers!' In fact, they are Jews living in Eretz
in a constant state of war, fear or unrest.
the
Land
of Israel, the biblical land of our forbears
Yisrael,
Were it possible, a demilitarized state would hardly be the
promised
by
God
to the Jewish people.
ghetto that Palestinians imagine; real democracy and its
Speaking
on
June
15 from Jerusalem on NBC's Today show,
bounty might actually take root. But without military controls,
Netanyahu
elaborated on the settlement issue:
Israel could expect a continued rocket barrage;
"I
think
that
I made it also clear that I would
since leaving the Gaza Strip in 2005, Hamas has
not
build
new
settlements and that I would
rained 7,000 rockets on Israel. The record of
not
expropriate
land for additional building in
foreign peacekeeping monitors reining in Arab
existing
settlements!"
terrorist activity is dismal, at best. Beyond that,
He added, `:And I think President Obama
the U.S. government and European Union have
and
I are trying to reach a common under-
documented repeated examples of foreign
standing
of this. And I hope, with good will
funding being misused by the P.A. and Hamas
—
and
certainly
we have good will, and I'm
for terror and the glorification of terror.
sure
the
president
has that, too — I think we'll
I applaud Netanyahu for sternly asserting that
find
such
common
ground."
the Palestinians must stop the terrorism and
Netanyahu
is
trying
to placate Obama on
must recognize Israel as a sovereign Jewish state.
the
matter
of
settlements.
But rhetoric aside,
The Likud Party leader further cracked open
settlements
remain
strictly
a highlighted item
the bargaining-room door by urging resumption
for
negotiation
...
period.
That
a group of right-
of peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian
Prime Minist er Netanyahu
wing
Israelis
has
vowed
to
erect
dozens of new
negotiators with no preconditions, placing the
outposts
in
the
wake
of
the
Netanyahu
speech
serves
only to ignite
ball squarely in the other side's court.
internal strife within Israel — which the Palestinians welcome.
Notably, Netanyahu announced a willingness to meet
with leaders of neighboring Arab lands at any time to foster
Load ra zithisad
regional peace beyond a bilateral calm between Israel and
Netanyahu stood tall on Jerusalem as the united, eternal capi-
the Palestinians. "We want peace in Damascus, in Riyadh, in
tal of the Jewish homeland. He also made it crystal clear that
Beirut and also in Jerusalem': he said.
Palestinian refugees and their descendants must settle outside
Israel, perhaps in a demilitarized Palestine or other Arab lands.
Abbas Exposed
I'm skeptical that his Bar-Ilan speech will have any affect
In deference to President Obama's June 4 commitment in
on the crisis state of Israeli-Palestinian relations. But his con-
Cairo to a secure Jewish State of Israel and an independent
ditional vision of a Palestinian state — as far-fetched as that
Palestine fulfilling the Palestinians' "legitimate aspirations for
idea currently seems — poses a real test.
a viable state," Netanyahu extended an olive branch to renew-
I would join the cause of the Jewish peace movement if the
ing peace talks; he wasn't expressing a final offer.
Palestinians and their leadership somehow could bring them-
It was revealing when Abbas responded in a statement
selves to undergoing a personality change and truly accept
reported by the New York-based Jewish Telegraphic Agency:
Zionism and the Jews as a partner in peace. Sadly, there's no
"The speech has destroyed all initiatives and expectations!"
evidence of that happening any time soon.
My sense is Abbas wasn't prepared for an Israeli hard-liner
like Netanyahu to endorse statehood in any fashion. So when
Bibi showed support. limited as it was, Abbas gave a knee-jerk
0
Can you imagine the Palestinians ever
I-- •
response. Abbas clearly wasn't prepared to go back to the nego-
recognizing Zionism?
w
tiating table, so he reinitiated a standoff. Is that so hard to see?
1— p
Z z Who would enforce a demilitarized inde-
P.A. negotiator Saeb Erekat told the Jerusalem Post,"It's
00 pendent state of Palestine?
obvious, in the aftermath of this speech, that we are headed
a_0-
toward another round of violence and bloodshed!'

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june 25.2009

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