views essay Back In Bounds? Dusty Arab peace plan just might get Palestinians and Israel talking. T he way back toward solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might lie in both sides accepting the con- tours of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, once thought relegated to the diplomatic scrap heap. The initiative, brokered by the Arab League, would have to be viewed as a starting point for moving for- ward and be subject to vigorous discussion and debate. Only selected planks of the initiative would have a legitimate shot at reviving peace Robert Sklar talks from seemingly Contributing Editor intractable political moorings. Perhaps as outreach to detractors of his hard right-leaning Likud government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has embraced elements of the Saudi- advanced initiative. He’s seeking a new path toward resolving a conflict for the ages. Intransigence between Israel and the Palestinians, largely Sunni Arabs, dates to before Israeli statehood in 1948. The conflict is one of cultures, teach- ings and politics colliding. for regional accord because President Donald Trump dared recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and dared challenge the United Nations definition of a “Palestinian refugee.” In truth, all final-status negotiating issues remain: Jerusalem, refugees, bor- ders, settlements, mutual recognition, water rights, holy rights. Israel acknowledges that the Palestinian Authority, of which Abbas is president, represents the Fatah government in Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank. The P.A. calls Israel an “occupier” of Palestinian land, not the sovereign state of the Jewish people — hardly a welcome mat to negotiating. Israel and much of the West, including the U.S. and the European Union, consider Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, a terrorist organization. Israel’s military presence in the West Bank protects against Palestinian terror arising from a Palestinian-encouraged culture of hate toward anyone or anything Zionist. Such a presence would be open to negotiations, but it no doubt wouldn’t disappear entirely. Just last week, an Israeli Arab stabbed to death an Israeli Jewish father of four at a bus stop near the West Bank settlement of Ariel, a reminder of a violent nature within Palestinian society. A BASELINE AN OPPORTUNITY Rants by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas about Israel’s Jewish roots are the latest setback to lasting peace. Such rants shouldn’t diminish the prospect for direct, bilateral negotiations in pursuit of a Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state, coexisting in peace with clear, safe, secure borders. At 82 and unhinged, Abbas no longer is the guy to help foster peace. But seeking a process for peace cannot end. Abbas went off half-cocked in brand- ing the U.S. a biased player in the chase The Arab world is eyeing the Arab Peace Initiative once more. The plan calls for Israel’s withdrawal from land won in the 1967 Six-Day War, including the West Bank, the Golan Heights, east Jerusalem and Gaza. Israel foresees a sovereign Palestinian state in much of the West Bank outside larger Jewish settlement blocs. Mutually agreed-to land swaps would help, but full return to pre-1967 borders would leave Israel incalculably vulnerable to terrorist and military attacks. Contributing Writers: Ruthan Brodsky, Rochel Burstyn, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. Cohen, Shelli Liebman Dorfman, Adam Finkel, Stacy Gittleman, Stacy Goldberg, Judy Greenwald, Ronelle Grier, Esther Allweiss Ingber, Allison Jacobs, Barbara Lewis, Jennifer Lovy, Rabbi Jason Miller, Alan Muskovitz, David Sachs, Karen Schwartz, Robin Schwartz, Steve Stein, Joyce Wiswell Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us | Editorial Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@renmedia.us Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen kcohen@renmedia.us Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin lkonstantin@renmedia.us Digital/Social Media Editor: Hannah Levine hlevine@renmedia.us Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin2132@gmail.com Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us | Advertising Sales Sales Director: Keith Farber kfarber@renmedia.us Account Executives : Wendy Flusty, Annette Kizy Giving up the Golan plateau would be imprudent. It would give the Lebanon- based Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah, an ally of Syria’s murderous dictator Bashar Assad and Iran, a militar- ily strategic descent into northern Israel. The Heights provide protection against invasion from the north. As for Jerusalem, there must be a way to grant Arabs in Arab-dominated neigh- borhoods of the eastern sector a degree of everyday and governmental autonomy within strictures of a unified city under Israeli oversight. But the long-dormant plan could be a touchstone to something more and better. Nothing else has worked. Regarding Palestinian “refugees,” Israel and the U.S. have broached adopting the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees definition of “refugee” — a sensible tact. The definition would make only the 20,000 Palestinians who left Israel between 1947 and 1949 “eligible to return,” according to Jerusalem Post political columnist Caroline Glick. That definition would defy the Palestinian demand for a mass immi- gration of refugees and descendants; the upwards of 5 million foreign-born Arabs would doom Israel’s Jewish majority. THINKING BIG A negotiated version of the Arab Peace Initiative could normalize relations between the Arab League and Israel. Given Israeli wariness toward Arab sincer- ity and chunks of the plan, Israel remains non-committal toward the offer. But Netanyahu hasn’t rejected engaging it. Netanyahu pitched the plan in 2016, when the international community was further marginalizing Israel; nothing | Production By FARAGO & ASSOCIATES Manager: Scott Drzewiecki Designers: Kelly Kosek, Amy Pollard, Michelle Sheridan, Susan Walker | Detroit Jewish News Chairman: Michael H. Steinhardt President/Publisher: Arthur M. Horwitz ahorwitz@renmedia.us Chief Operating Officer: F. Kevin Browett kbrowett@renmedia.us Controller: Craig R. Phipps | Social Media Producer Andrea Gusho socialmedia@thejewishnews.com Sales Manager Assistants : Karen Marzolf | Business Offices Billing Coordinator: Pamela Turner became of that diplomatic olive branch. Was the prime minister serious that Israel was “willing to negotiate with the Arab states’ revisions to that initiative” — revisions reflective of “dramatic changes in the region since 2002” and aligned with the “agreed goal of two states for two peoples”? Spotlight the revised plan on an international stage and we’ll see. The Palestinians certainly would feel Arab League pressure to sit and talk. Over the years, various state players besides the U.S. have tried to coax Israel and the P.A. into revisiting differences, notably Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, the European Union, Egypt, Jordan, Russia, France and China. Ultimately, broker motives aren’t as important as kick starting dialogue. | Fulfillment Joelle Harder jharder@renmedia.us A BEGINNING The Arab Peace Initiative wouldn’t heal the cultural fissure exemplified by Israel’s (rightful) historical claims to Jews settling in the West Bank and the Palestinians’ (dreadful) educational climate teaching youth to die as “mar- tyrs for Allah” by murdering Jews on “Zionist-occupied Palestinian land.” But the long-dormant plan could be a touchstone to something more and better. Nothing else has worked. On Feb. 5, Abbas said he’d enter new, multilateral peace talks under parameters of international scrutiny and the Arab Peace Initiative. His approach would be unwieldy and inef- fective amid a cascade of clashing interests. Still, Abbas’ mention of the plan coupled with Netanyahu’s optimism for elements of it give pause to imag- ining the Arab Peace Initiative as a potential way back toward tackling a time-ravaged conflict. • | Departments General Offi ces: 248-354-6060 Advertising: 248-351-5107 Advertising Fax: 248-304-0049 Circulation: 248-351-5120 Classifi ed Ads: 248-351-5116 Advertising Deadline: Monday, 2 p.m. Editorial Fax: 248-304-8885 Deadline: All public and social announcements must be typewritten and received by noon Tuesday, nine days prior to desired date of publication. 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