As I review some of the comments on this article, I despair. Not at the simple logic of the author who simply wishes that his country could live in peace with its neighbours, but at the at the vile bile of ignorant statements such as "the use of superior firepower resulting in the killing of an outrageous number of Palestinians". One can only surmise that the author is unaware that Israel withdrew from Gaza to its internationally recognized border a decade or so ago. Should the border remain undefended and allow thousands to cross into another sovereign country, bent on killing and maiming? Many Palestinians do indeed suffer - but at the hands of their corrupt and self-serving leaders.
60
All these escuses for the use of superior firepower resulting in the kiling of an outragous number of Palestinians. The Jews arrived in the late forties, some of the most damaged people who survived the Nazi terror. But unfortunately the damaged, become the damagers. The attitudes of the Israelis towards the Palestinians is criminal at the least. And the unbrideled support of American Jews is embarrasment to the United States. Shame on both groups.
40
Where the Israeli Jews live, enemies on all sides would gladly visit the most vile atrocities on its citizens. Israel also knows that most the citizens of the developed world would cheer them on. If the Jews appear to act desperately perhaps it is because they know they are truly alone.
36
Damned if you do and damned if you don't.
A single infiltrator with a knife can destroy a family. That is the lesson learned from the murder of Dafna Meir. Even children are not spared. That is the lesson learned from the murder of Hallel Yaffa Ariel.
Faced with the potential of hundreds if not thousands of people rushing the fence at once, and knowing what a single person with a knife can do, is there any question as to why Israel is defending its border?
Not to me.
41
Why do they have to be a "jewish" state? Why can't they just be a state like every other liberal democracy? Most people in the modern world don't agree with exclusivity based on religion.
19
William -
Israel has to be a Jewish majority state because its whole raison d'etre is to provide a safe haven for Jews where they can defend themselves by the force of their own arms from people who would harm them. The exclusivity derives from the exclusivity of hate aimed specifically at Jews. And history has provided an abundance of examples. Why are you not complaining about Muslim states like Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc?
59
Halevi's language gives the game away, he uses the phrase "Islamist activists" instead of "Islamic activist" or simply "activist." He is writing for one audience, the US, he would never get away with his potted misreading of history in the pages of Haaretz, yet,for the US paper of the record this kind of claptrap is typical. The Palestinians are a wholly incarcerated people at the mercy of a US supported settler colonial project. Everyone can see what is happening in Gaza, it's called cold blooded murder against unarmed protesters. It's really that simple as is the tactic of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS).
28
What do we tell a Palestinian born in Haifa in 1943, who was five years old in 1948 when we unilaterally declared Israel out of half of Palestine.
His family fled across the border to Lebanon to keep safe when the 1948 war broke out.
He is not allowed to return to the city he was born, where his family had a home, where his ancestors go back hundreds of years.
He is not allowed to be a citizen of Haifa.
But a Jew born anywhere in the world can be a citizen of Haifa.
25
Tell him to get over it like the Jews who were kicked out of the Arab countries and had all their property confiscated got over it. Tell him to stop believing all the lies the world is telling him.
50
Klein writes at the end of his letter: " The promise of the State of Israel to the Jewish people was to end its seemingly eternal otherness and restore it to the community of nations." I will comment, leaning lightly on my own Ashkenazi bearings.
Israel does NOT seek any real exit from its otherness. What characterizes national 'Jewishness' is separation. While that character is so thoroughly responsible for Jewish existence it is simultaneously responsible for the opposition -- never to be taken lightly -- Jews have experienced, always.
So. We walk into the territory of another people claiming there are no people, and then drive those people out with pure terrorism, and establish a state which is 100% Zionist, with full Zionist intentions including the divine right to 'all land from the Nile to the Tigris rivers'. Meanwhile we find reason to enlarge our absconded territory of 'no people', and occupy what's left of the lands those 'no people' have been herded into. We exercise extreme brutality to those who resist, and simultaneously nibble away their land (which we claim is not theirs).
There is more to say, but it is too depressing. How does any of this history support the claim that the Jewish State has any real interest in an exit from otherness?
29
I dont really get the outrage. The obvious goal of those sending burning tires, trying to take down the fence and cause mayhem and worse is about as far from legitimate civilian democratically ensured protest as can be. Send 10,000 protesters with molotov cocktails and burning tires with murderous intent against the Israels detractors such as Erdogans Ankara or Ali Khamenei's Tehran and see what happens.
31
This is the Israel that Benjamin Natanyahu and the right wing have created in Israel. Trump and has ambassador embrace it. Shooting at unarmed protesters and stating a war with Iran will help Natanyahu stay in power. Israelis forget that Jews were less than 20% of the population of Palestine before World War I.
17
Isn't there already a Palestinian state on much of Biblical Israel? It's called Jordan. Why don't the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza live there? Because back in the 1960s their leaders destabilized Jordan and worked to assasinate its leaders. They were forced to leave. Hearing Europeans condemn Israel is laughable since it isn't that long ago that Europeans condemned Jewish men, women and children to death. No one will be satisfied with Israel no matter what they do. The many anti-Semitic critics, especially on the American left, won't be happy until the Jews are once again expelled from their own nation and scattered...if not exterminated. It's not going to happen.
30
Israel is shooting itself into the foot by shooting kids in the back. Every other argument, historical, political, ethical, fail when a child is shot in the back and dies, shot by soldiers behind dirt berms with a 0 percent casualty rate. The fact that israel does not realize this will severly harm its standing in the world community is not the greatest tragedy. The death of every innocent child is the greatest tragedy. Wake up!
21
Freedom of speech allows people to condemn Israel for its creation and taking of land. Meanwhile, Europeans landed in America, killed its inhabitants, took their land, and still allow Reservations for its Indian tribes. Is America right and the rest of the world wrong? And has racial justice in America prevailed yet? How easy it is to condemn others.
22
In 1948 the United Nations voted to establish 2 nations on land of the British Mandate of Palestine (as part of the breakup of the Ottoman Empire in 1918), Israel & Palestine.
There were two competing national aspirations for the same piece of land. The UN divided the land in an attempt to satisfy both. Israel, accepted UN resolution 181 while Palestinians & the Arab nations rejected this compromise.
When Israel proclaimed itself an independent nation with international recognition, Palestinians & surrounding nations attacked Israel. An Armistice line became the internationally recognized boarder of Israel.
The creation of Israel is the culmination of the desire of the Jewish People ever since the Roman genocide, expulsion & enslavement 2000 years ago.
Part of the establishment of Israel was an attempt by the world to right a wrong that has abused, harassed & murdered Jews throughout that time.
Today Israel is faced with that troubling history & the troubling present of surpressing Palestinian national desires.
The Palestinian leadership represented by the Palestinian Authority & Hamas still today reject the presence of the Jewish entity as an independent nation. Israel too has taken a hard line towards the creation of Palestine.
Until Israel abandons claims to the West Bank & both sides negotiate in good faith & accept each others national rights, I'm afraid there will be no peace. At the same time achieving peace will be no easy task.
7
The day the Palestinians genuinely have a change of heart and agree to make their peace with a Jewish state is the day there will be peace. Until that happens there will never peace ever.
24
When Israel declared its nationhood in 1948, only 14% of the territory was occupied by Jews. Subsequently, Israel expanded by a) Jews purchasing land from Palestinian or Arab owners, and b) the new State of Israel declaing such-and-such property necessary for national defense. If military units didn't occupy the "necessary" land, guess who did: Jewish settlers.
Israel's expansion is not unlike the territorial expansion of its major ally, the US. The US pushed native Americans (Indians) off their land and into "reservations", then sponsored white settlers to occupy the "new" land.
If Israel expects respect in the international scene, I think it has some way to go before it gets it.
9
I tried to explain the feeling of being constantly bombarded from Gaza to a liberal friend recently. My comments fell on deaf ears. An intelligent woman could not fathom the depths to which so-called Palestinians go to avoid a peaceful resolution to their issues.
I will be sharing this op-ed on FB in hopes that she will hear you before than she heard me.
19
It seems Israelis like to claim they have some sort of exclusive rights to the Levant based on a Bronze Age kingdom that ended in 70 CE as it began -- in conquest. Or they claim god-given rights based on religious tracts written by their group for their group. In this ancient human crossroads, that's picking a moment in time and claiming all the rest of history is irrelevant.
A timeline:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/822bb183d14b4214ef5dcb...
15
Israel not only sees enemies on every side, it makes sure that any country who's not an enemy becomes one. Its latest target is Iran.
Any day now, Israel will decide that Iran has penetrated too deeply into Syria, and it will attack (or goad the US into attacking). Unhappily for Israel, it only wins wars because of superior air power--even in Gaza it had to bomb the territory into rubble before it dared send in ground troops.
Which means that Israel, to defeat Iran--which has an army of half-a-million--will have to continuously bomb a nation of nearly 80 million people (Gaza has a population of under 2 million, Lebanon under 6 million) and is three times the size of France. That means, eventually, Israel will need to use nuclear weapons. Undoubtedly, it will. The People of the Book. And the Bomb.
9
Israel’s problem is Netanyahu and the craziness of those supporting him. Israel is made to appear irrational, prejudiced and warlike. That is not the image of an ally anyone wants.
9
Is this Israels idea of justice?https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/opinion/israel-columbia-katherine-fra...
3
I have one simple question: If Israelis have the "right of return" why not Palestinians who were driven from their ancestral homelands at the creation of Israel?
24
The Palestinians lost their land in a war they started to prevent Israel's creation. Common sense dictates that the right to return is contingent on a willingness to live in peace with one's neighbors (UN Resolution 194 states this very explicitly). The Palestinians made it very clear that they weren't, and thereby chose to forfeit the right to return in favor of the right to compensation for their lost property (again, see UN Res 194).
As a sovereign state, Israel has extended a right of return specifically to Jews, in furtherance of Israel's raison d'etre: to provide a safe haven for Jews to defend themselves by force of their own arms from those who would harm them. It is racism - the racism of people who hate Jews - that makes this necessary and justified.
33
The answer to Mr. Marcley' question is:
.
Palestinians are descended from a people who lived in a region that consists of present day Israel, West Bank, Gaza, Kingdom of Jordan --- and Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. Throughout the 19th and early 20th century these peoples moved across the the region under the the rule of the Ottoman soverignty until the British took control. The Arab people who mostly left Israel, moved to lands that were eithr part of the Palestine Mandate or were previously under Ottoman control or were very friendly.
.
The Jews who came frp, Europe and the Arab countries after centuries of exile had only their historic homeland to "return" to. The Palestinians are for the most part living among friends. It is up to the people in the neighboring countries to decide how to divide up the lands they live in. The people of Jordan are ethnically and historically part of the same demographic as the people today who call themselves Palestinians. There is no need to "return." They never left.
5
Excellent point sir.
5
Great article - and of course the usual chorus of apologists for the Palestinians is quite loud and very squeaky. So much talk of Swiss cheese, it brings to mind a starving homeless man invited in to a buffet and, well, you know "Where's the caviar, dude?" All the Palestinians and their supporters have is victimhood, it is childish and maddening. With their vastly superior numbers and armchair supporters from across the west, if they put an ounce of their complaining to positive use, Gaza would be a fully functional state by now - instead all blame to Israel for trying to do the best they can and being the adult in the in the room. Being the child, the victim can only go on for so long before a weary world will just not care anymore. Oh and if things go really wrong and Iran comes out on top, let's just see what the Mullahs will do with all those adorable Sunni Palestinians they inherit . . . they will be crying for the Israelis to take them back.
36
If the Israelis were in the same position as the Palestinians today, they would be enjoying more moral support than the Palestinians.
4
There is no doubt that Yasser Arafat made a big mistake in rejecting the Israeli offer of 1999/2000 which subsequently triggered an intifada. Had he accepted, the Palestinians would today be celebrating their 16th or 17th anniversary of their state.
There is also no doubt that the Palestinians have not always been an honest negotiating partner and Israel has the right to protect its sovereignty.
However, the big Israeli sin is the establishment of settlements on the West Bank. There is simply no justification for this. Israel is establishing facts on the ground that will be a significant barrier to arriving at a peace agreement with the Palestinians.
At some point, Palestinians will abandon a two-state solution and will demand to be given the rights of citizens of Israel. What will Israel do then? Can it justify ruling over millions of Palestinians in perpetuity?
Jews have been persecuted for centuries and one can understand their determination to maintain and protect their Jewish state. But over the years, have the oppressed become the oppressors? That would be truly a sad state of affairs.
17
The first settlement on the West Bank after the Six Day War was Kfar Etzion. The land was bought by Jews in 1927. In 1929, Palestinians destroyed the settlement. In the 1930, Jews rebuilt the settlement, but again it was destroyed by Palestinians. It was rebuilt in 1943, but destroyed again in 1948. 157 Jews were murdered. 4 Jews survived. It was rebuilt by the survivors in 1967. Why was rebuilding Kfar Etzion a sin?
27
My understanding is that Israel was founded for two reasons: to provide, finally, a safe place to be Jewish, and to recover its territory lost nearly two thousand years ago and re-create a theocratic regime there.
In the real world, however, these two aims are so opposed to one another as to be incompatible. All the yelling and screaming, from whatever side, can't change this.
Planet Earth is a big place, and we're talking about a country the size of New Jersey. Is there nowhere else in the world that Jews could set up their theocratic state safely and live in peace with their neighbors?
If one were provided, would they go?
7
Israel is not a theocracy.
A theocracy is ruled by clergy.
Netanyahu is not a rabbi.
Israel is a democracy.
17
Most pre-state Zionists were avowedly secular and most were socialist, so the State of Israel was assuredly not intended as a theocratic regime. Judaism is the religion of the Jews but Israel was created for Jews, not Judaism. There are some very good histories of Israel and Zionism. I recommend Anita Shapiro's Israel: a History, 2012.
15
I believe that Israel has the right to exist as a sovereign nation and to defend itself has such. I also believe that the United States should assist Israel as necessary in its defense and act as an intermediary as necessary in any peace negotiations in the area to that end.
I also believe without equivocation that Bibi Netanyahu and the right wing political parties/groups in Israel should stay completely out of American politics, without exception.
This ally spy's on us continuously, lobby's continuously and managed to sink one of our Navy ships "mistakenly" at the beginning of the '67 Six Day War killing 34 American sailors. That's 30 more Americans then the mercenary contractors who were killed at Benghazi.
10
You confirmed the point in the article about disproportionate criticism of Israel. Bill T doesn't believe that Israel's sinking of an American ship half a century ago was a mistake. Where does this certainty come from?
7
The U.S. told Israel that there were no American ships within a hundred miles so Israel thought that it must be an Arab ship engaged in a false flag operation.
10
Bill Tritt -
Repeated US investigations of the Israeli attack on (not sinking of) the USS Liberty during the 67 Six Day War concluded repeatedly and unequivocally that it was an accident. Save your sarcasm and conspiracy theories for people who are unfamiliar with history.
10
Palestinians lost the war they started in 1948; they should get over it and give up ambitions of their own country (I want my own country; no one cares). Palestinians didn't have their own country under the British Mandate, nor under the Ottoman empire before that, and they lost any chance in their war against Israel.
22
And what do you suggest the Palestinians do? You can't simply wish away over 3 million people. Are they to be ruled by the Israeli military in perpetuity? How does that align with Western values?
Nor can you continuously deny them rights of citizenship on a territory in which they live and continue to promote your country (Israel) as a democracy.
Democracies don't govern overt he lives of people and deny them the rights of citizenship.
Either you have a Jewish and a Palestinian state or you have a single state that is either dominated by a Palestinian majority or ceases to be a democracy.
Perhaps the Palestinians aren't ready to be an earnest negotiating partner but continuing to establish Jewish settlements on the West Bank is simply creating a time bomb that will ultimately blow up in Israel's face.
5
Israel was founded by the barrel of a gun - initially against the British and Palestinians- and a little latter against neighbouring Arab States. It is maintained by the barrel of a gun - by it’s army against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza,as well as periodical incursions into surrounding Arab States.
The justification of a land without people for a people without a people was rubbish - unless of course you never really considered Palestinians to be human beings.
12
The United States was founded by the barrel of a gun - first against the Native Americans who lived here, then against the British in the War of Independence. It was maintained by the barrel of a gun against the British in the War of 1812, with occasional incursions into Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, Iraq and a few other places around the world.
9
"There is not a solitary village throughout its whole extent – not for thirty miles in either direction. ...One may ride ten miles (16 km) hereabouts and not see ten human beings." ...these unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness.." -Mark Twain
There was certainly room for both peoples.
8
Israel was founded by gun because it was attacked in 1948 by three armies dedicated to its destruction. Tolerance for minorities isn't practiced in the Arab world. Large percentages of Palestinians view Jews as subhuman and view terrorists who've killed Jewish civilians as heroes. In contrast, 20% of Israelis are of Palestinian heritage and enjoy freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to vote, and freedom to condemn the government. The Israelis do in fact view Palestinians as humans.
14
Gaza's beef is with the UN. The UN should declare Gaza to be an independent state, whether Gaza asks for it or not. Israel left Gaza a decade ago. Egypt, a former occupier, has no claim on Gaza. Right now Gaza is a big nothing. It should be given statehood. Gaza, that's your Palestinian state.
As far as a Palestinian state on the West Bank is concerned, forget it. There are too many Jews in Israel now to make that realistic and their population is growing. That ship has sailed. Israel needs to consist of the entire area to be a viable state for Jews, the original state as declared by the UN in 1948 plus the entire West Bank. The best that West Bank Arabs can hope for is full Israeli citizenship with a measure of autonomy similar to what French Canadians have in Quebec. Those who don't like it can leave.
13
I don’t think Israel is ever going to win a world popularity process, within or without the 1967 borders.
17
Well-put and well-argued.
5
With Israeli relatives, including cousins in the South who took a missile through their living room roof, I understand the fears of Israelis.
But I have also lived for several years in Jerusalem and traveled regularly on public transportation to Ramallah. What I witnessed with my own eyes each time I crossed the checkpoints gave me a perspective you will not hear in the smooth talk of people like Mr. Halevi.
Day in and day out, 18 year old Israelis with machine guns routinely treat Palestinians with great disrepect, elderly men and women and mothers with children included.
Israel has created a state in which Palestinians who must interact with Israelis, and there are many, live with a constant sense of jackboots on their neck.
There is no people anywhere on earth who would quietly accept the straitjacket put on Palestinians. I recall the anxiety of a Palestinian friend, father of a 15 year old, who said, "How can I raise my son to be nonviolent when he sees this stuff day after day?"
There's plenty to criticize on the Palestinian side too, but Palestinians have been beaten down so low they have nothing left to give or compromise. Israel has to make the first serious moves, and a good place to start would be to stop the illegal stealing of Palestinian land which goes on decade after decade.
Mr. Halevi makes some good points. Unfortunately he ignores the things Israel continues to do, year after year, that stoke hatred.
23
Bill Clinton: “I Killed Myself to Give the Palestinians a State,” but They Rejected It
13
The Israelis-Arab-Muslims Conflicts are complex issues extremely difficult to resolve. What is foremost in my mind for my county is that the United States strive to help what we could to transform the Greater Middle East from a region of destructive conflicts to a region of constructive developments. Arab-Muslims, Israelis, and other peoples interested in the Arabian Peninsula should seriously confront the complex issues and arrive at a"live and let live" modus vivendi. Scientists warn that we are facing serious threats of human extinctions -- two of the threats are nuclear arms proliferations and nuclear arms conflicts, and climate changes. If Israelis-Arab Muslims conflicts should continue or worsen, the region might be devastated by nuclear wars leaving much of it in "unholy smokes." Don't waste too much time blaming, explaining, making defenses, and work on finding ways out of the geopolitical quagmires.
2
Israel must exist as a secure, defensible Jewish state. That is its role in this world.
To those who seek a single non-Jewish state of Israel I suppose I'd say there are many Arab nation states so I personally don't see the reason why each sub-group of Arabs has a claim on its own independent state, while the Jews can have no such claim.
As for claims that the Palestinians were pushed off "their" land, I suppose I'd say they don't own the land of Israel because of their forebearers any more than the Jews do because of theirs. There is no endpoint in trying to work out who was there first in determining how the modern state of Israel should be divided up. That isn't to say might makes right, but we can't continuously re-litigate the past. Do the Greeks get back Turkey? Do the Native Americans take Manhattan? What about Crimea, Northern Ireland, Kashmir, Sprately Islands, Australia, Singapore, Cyprus, Falkland Islands, Tibet, Taiwan, Sudan, etc. etc. We can't necessarily re-wind history and put descendants of people back to where some of them (arguably, theoretically) would have been born if history didn't happen the way it did.
Israel exists because it was created through sweat and toil, not because of claim of right.
14
What would you do about the Palestinian citizens of Israel? Is Israel a democracy or a Jewish state? It can't be both. If it's a Jewish state, then a significant portion of its citizens are second class with limited rights. That's one of the many complex problems in this very tribal region.
6
The Arab citizens of Israel are Israeli Arabs. They are not known as Palestinians. The fact is that Israel alone in the middle east has succesfully integrated and protects its minority populations. We all know that not a single Jew will be able to live in any so-called Palestinian state that arises.
3
When I think of the continued Israeli/Palestinian conflict I think of this:
-Palestinians don't have an economy. Any and all trade outside their territory is controlled by Israel and largely disallowed.
-Palestinians can't leave. Israel controls all lawful means of exodus and the surrounding Arab nations won't take them in.
-A population rife with poverty and unable to get out of their situation becomes a powder keg ready to erupt.
-Whenever the Palestinians engage in violence Israel reacts with overwhelming and deadly force. The mortality rates are ridiculously one sided.
Should fault be laid on the Palestinians for embracing violence and extreme ideologies? Yes. They own their own choices.
Is Israel blameless for the continuing cycle of violence? No. Israel is the warden of the jail that is Palestine and wardens are responsible for the conditions of their prisons.
19
The response by The Palestinians and especially Hamas to the transfer Gaza from Israeli control tells the whole story. What else needs to be said? The Palestinians continue to be their own worst enemy. Even some of their Arab neighbors are beginning to recognize this indisputable fact.
6
Sorry, but the old adage still rings true: When the Arabs put down their arms, there will be peace. When Israel puts down its arms there will be no more Israel.
History, not cheap humanitarian posturing, has borne that out.
20
Where does Egypt fit into your analysis? The Palestinian Authority, which controls and limits things to Gaza like water, electricity and government salaries? How about Jordan? Lebanon? How about Palestinians offered to emigrate to other countries, who declined? How about Palestinians who could become Israeli citizens if they accepted it, but don't want Israel to exist? How about Hamas, which engages in activity that causes Israel to tighten its borders and further limit the flow of people and goods? Nothing, huh? Funny you focus only on the one faction of the many involved which is Jewish. Well, not really funny......
7
Regarding boarding the ship in 2010. Would it be possible for a system of monitoring to exist, that would allow the Israelis to feel safe and the Gazans to freely trade flowers, fruit, etc. with Europe, to establish a viable economy and issue passports for travel? Neither of the alternatives: a permanent prison for Gazans nor a permanent threat to Israelis is viable, and either is going to lead to inevitable friction and violence.
2
Israel allows goods into Gaza. It simply inspects the ships for weaponry as any nation would. In fact probably no nation under the circumstances would supply power and other necessities to a blood enemy on its border.
10
The hostile tone of many commenters is hardly surprising, but deeply disturbing. It appears that the same American "liberals" who are appalled by their president are still able to love their country and speak out, despite their disagreement with its leader. That is the essence of democracy.
For whatever their reasons are, and anti-Semitism is clearly an aspect, they are unable to differentiate between a country and its government.
The United States is a country based on the fundamental crime of racism that persists to this day and yet so many Americans are willing to overlook the systemic injustice that affects Native American and African American communities and condemn a country they have never lived in or even visited. That is the essence of hypocrisy.
It is very easy to condemn what one does not know and the average American's ignorance of geography and history creates opinions that have little basis in fact.
32
We can be very, very aware of the history and meaning of American injustice, brutality, and hypocrisy -- historical and ongoing -- and still disapprove of the same associated with Israel.
It has zero to do with anti-Semitism, esp. since Palestinians are far more Semitic than are the Ashkenazim. It has zero to do with anti-Jewishness also; rather it is setting a much higher bar for that ethnicity.
7
"Can Israel be right and the rest of the world be wrong?"
Well, no, actually. Not when more and more Jews around the world and other longtime Zionists call out Bibi and his ruling coalition for the many ills that this piece conveniently ignores.
The author of this piece should reread Israel's Declaration of Independence and focus on the section describing the rights that it will grant to all of its citizens.
17
Jon, those rights have been guaranteed to its citizens, including Israeli Palestinians, who enjoy freedoms in Israel that are unimaginable in the rest of the Arab world.
8
Khaled Abu Toameh, the journalist who reports for the Jerusalem Post, U.S. News & World Report and NBC News, put it: "Israel is a wonderful place to live ... a free and open country.
Arab women in Israel live longer than Arab women in any Arab country.
Arab babies in Israel have lower infant mortality than Arab babies in any Arab country.
Hadassah University Medical Center in Israel established a registry for Arab donors of bone marrow and stem cells to facilitate life-saving transplants. The registry at Hadassah Hospital is the only one in the world for Arabs and will no doubt save the lives not only of Arab Israelis but also of some citizens of Arab countries, not a single one of which has a registry of its own.
10
I have little problem with Israel defending itself. But I find it difficult to forgive its constant unlawful expansion of settlements into land to which it has no right.
44
I am not Jewish and am stunned by the magnitude of criticism and hate directed at Israel by the hypocrites on the Left from whom we hear nothing regarding the barbarity, dysfunction and hate coming from the Arab/Muslim world towards the rest of humanity. Otherwise rational people become rabid when the topic of Israel comes up. Israel is a modern, thoughtful and open society, with more reporters and journalists per square inch than any other nation on earth. The Arab/Muslim world allows no reporting at all in or from their lands. Where are you Liberals....let us hear your voices condemning Muslims who oppress and kill their own people? Your hypocrisy is stunning and disgusting.
118
A thoughtful essay, but it went up the mountain and back down the mountain without reaching a destination. But the bottom line is the survival of Israel and the Israelis themselves must take whatever steps they deem necessary -- including using deadly force to prevent an invasion from Gaza. When Jews have relied on world opinion in the past, things haven't turn out well for them.
39
This was well said. Israel did not ask to be invaded in 1948, did not ask to have its Arab neighbors join the Nazis in the 30s and 40s (the grand mufti of Jerusalem was an SS General), did not want the British to inflame Arabs and lead their armies, but all this and more happened. Each time they are pushed, Israel's pushing back changes the equation in their favor. When the Palestinian leadership looks to live in peace with their Jewish neighbors in a 2 state solution, then all this will be a bad dream for everyone. Until then, the nightmare continues.
45
The past is irrelevant at this point. Israel was attacked, fought, and won several times. Precisely why should they concede anything? And the Arab world has long ago abandoned helping the Palestinians, so why should Israel have any obligation. To the contrary, the Palestinian leadership (see Abbas' recent speech ) publicly declare they are for the destruction of Israel and the Jews. What facts in this scenario create an obligation for Israel beyond defending itself?
60
Let's put it this way:
If a man lived in your house but was prevented by you from leaving and was dependent on you for nearly all that he had to stay alive, would you say you had any obligation to him for preventing him from leaving?
3
How far back is the past irrelevant?
4
Cantard - Let's put it this way. You offered that man in your house 95% of what he wanted and he turned it down a number of times. Then he complains about not having independence.
3
More ludicrous justification for Israeli oppression and crimes against Humanity as it seeks to prop up its Apartheid system.
M
21
Benjamin Pogrund
“…during 26 years as a journalist in South Africa I investigated and reported the evil that was apartheid. I saw Nelson Mandela secretly when he was underground, then popularly known as the Black Pimpernel, and I was the first non-family member to visit him in prison.
I have now lived in Israel for 17 years, doing what I can to promote dialogue across lines of division. To an extent that I believe is rare, I straddle both societies. I know Israel today – and I knew apartheid up close. And put simply, there is no comparison between Israel and apartheid…”
12
So sorry, Michael. Please read the article. The Palestinians had many opportunities -- still do. To call Israel an apartheid state is unfair. Or maybe that doesn't matter to you -- the fact that it's a Jewish state is what's bothering you.
8
The claim by a fake state (Israel) on the lands of another people is more ridiculous than the claim Russia has on Crimea.
9
You could pretty much stop reading this post after its absurdly one sided account of what happened in 2000. And that is always the case when one reads defenses of Israel’s behavior— there is a fairy tale quality to the genre, in which Israel is always the innocent victim seeking peace and the bad old Palestinians ruin everything. It is also absurd to imagine that we don’t hear the Israeli side in the US. You have to seek out the Palestinian side of the issue. You are not going to hear it except sporadically in the mainstream press and virtually never from politicians.
21
You've had me at "Israel had offered to withdraw from virtually the entire West Bank and Gaza." I seriously don't know what that means when put totally out of context of what was being negotiated and what was happening on the ground.
It's always amazing to me how someone can cherry pick their line of reasoning and not expect it to undermine their objectivity.
25
Every time Israel offers to end the occupation, the Palestinians say “No!”
Even Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia (certainly not a Zionist) said that Arafat’s refusal to accept the January 2001 offer was a crime. Thousands of people would die because of Arafat’s decision & not one of those deaths could be justified.
As Clinton later wrote in his memoir:
It was historic: an Israeli government had said that to get peace, there would be a Palestinian state in roughly 97 percent of the West Bank, counting the [land] swap, and all of Gaza, where Israel also had settlements. The ball was in Arafat’s court.
But Arafat would not, or could not, bring an end to the conflict. “I still didn’t believe Arafat would make such a colossal mistake,” Clinton wrote. “The deal was so good I couldn’t believe anyone would be foolish enough to let it go.” But the moment slipped away. “Arafat never said no; he just couldn’t bring himself to say yes.”
8
Easy enough to look up, Rilke. Ehud Barak was PM at the time. Meeting was at Camp David with Yassir Arafat and Bill Clinton. Israel offered 97% of the West Bank, which included East Jerusalem. Nothing nebulous. Arafat walked away from the deal.
9
I am not Jewish. I am very tired of the criticism of Israel whenever it is required to defend itself. In the current situation the Gaza protestors are NOT peaceful. If given the opportunity they would seek to hurt Israelis.
Israel continues to demonstrate it's willingness to support peace and peaceful solutions.
75
The writer has to realize that Palestine was a fine, decent place for its Palestinian Arabs and Palestinian Jews until early in the 20th century when the East Europeans came and took over via terrorism and machination. And then made it into a growing enterprise with full assistance of its Mother Ship, the USA.
4
Well balanced column, which is exactly why it will be condemned by the usual suspects. As an additional point, we are talking here about a nation formed from the sweat of a people who had seen their families brutalized and massacred by the millions within living memory for having, in part, committed the sin of caring about how the rest of the world saw them. Getting along in Europe and pretending to be European didn't work out. There is no alternative to independence, separate identity and "otherness" for Israel.
32
Ever consider there is no solution between Israel and their middle east neighbors. Most except the likes of Jordan and Egypt who are well paid to avoid conflict want to kill all the Jews. No changes are in store.
11
Egypt and Israel reached a cooperative existence on their own. Egypt was not paid to do so.
2
This piece is another justification of the anachronistic force of Zionism to steal and kill for the sake of a rancid and backward ideology. It will create the opposite of which it strives for. The thirst for security will lead to a never-ending insecurity.
16
Israel is not killing for any ideology.
It's killing in self-defense.
4
I’m not Jewish, but fiercely support the right of Israel to exist and defend itself. The Muslim world and its enablers and apologists, no less than Hotler and the Nazis, will not be satisfied until Israel, Judaism and, frankly, every other non-believer in Islam is gone. For me, Israel is one of our canaries in that coal mine. The difference between it and the other ones, mostly in Europe, is that it is a canary with teeth. In any conflict that may erupt between a Israel and Uran and any Muslim group or nation, I know where I will stand. I will stand wit Israel.
As to Gaza, how conveniently the world continually ignores that the refugees are there because, after Partition, the other Arab and Muslim countries refused to take them in.
They wanted to keep an angry, poor, desperate populace next to Israel as a constant, ever more frustrated threat. I feel for the refugees, but they should be attacking the Arab countries that refused them, not Israel. But they were displaced from Israel, you say? Check your history. More Jews were expelled or displaced from a Muslim countries after Partition than Muslims from what became Israel.
Israel is our only real friend in that part of the world, the only place with very similar values. If we ever abandon Israel, radical Islam, Hitler and the Nazis will have won. And those who have helped make that happen will be no better than that group, indeed will be part of it. Never again. Never submit.
92
I believe that, having helped establish Israel in the awkward situation in which it now exists, we have a responsibility not to abandon it.
I also think the idea that Israel is some sort of indispensable strategic bulwark between us and the Arabs is just a line the Israelis like us to swallow. Throw it in the nonsense bin.
Strategically, Israel is a millstone around our neck. America was widely admired and respected in the Arab world in the first half of the 20th century, before Israel. Israel isn't the only source of bad blood since then (our Cold War habit of trading short-term realpolitik against long-term goodwill, the reputational catastrophe of Iraq, our tangled interests in the region making us somehow caught up in every feud...) but it's been a big engine of anti-Westernism, creating enemies for us where once we had few.
Canary in the coal mine, yeah right. Tying ourselves to enforcing an ethnic/religious partition in the Holy Land was more like reaching into the region and grabbing a sleeping wolf by the ears.
(and when have British partitions ever gone well? India? Northern Ireland? I'm pretty sure partition per se is a commoner thread in global sores than any particular religion is, despite the Brits' mania for them)
If we cast strategic concerns aside and remember our morality, though, we helped establish the state and we owe a moral responsibility not to wash our hands of its people. That's the beginning and end of it, strategy be hanged.
1
Yossi Halevi says: "After all, only two years earlier, Israel had offered to withdraw from virtually the entire West Bank and Gaza."
... the "97%" withdrawal?
This excluded land already under settler control. So 97 was really 86. And here's how that 14% and some of the 86% was to work:
The proposal would split the West Bank into three parts, marked by Israeli land, roads, and border crossings.
Crossing from one to another would mean going through Israeli checkpoints. Meanwhile, Israeli roads (i.e., with Israeli sovereignty) would cut through such Palestine.
Also, per the 'land swap' Israel was to control the most fertile land while offering, among other things, a toxic waste dump.
And, Israel would retain “security control” for an indefinite period of time over the border between the West Bank and Jordan. So Palestine would not have free access to its own international borders with Jordan and Egypt–putting its trade, and therefore its economy, at the mercy of Israel.
24
What was the Palestinian response to this proposal? Oh, tht's right. They didn't offer a counter-proposal at all and just walked away, making it clear they were not interested in any kind of compromise. Just like when a much more favorable partition was proposed in 1947.
18
I've seen the Israeli proposal likened to having home invaders agree to give you back almost all of your house, excepting the hallways and doorways. Is that still a home, or is it really a prison?
3
Because Germany & Japan were aggressors, people weren't sure that they could be trusted to live in peace so they were not given complete freedom even after the end of occupation.
Similarly, because Palestinians were aggressors, they should not be given total freedom until they show that they are really willing to live in peace.
14
Israel has the right to exist and to conduct it's internal affairs however it wishes. It does not however have the right to expect the United States or its citizens to continue to subsidize or support it's genocidal actions. It is far past time for a complete divestment of U.S. assets and subsidies from the sovereign state of Israel, with minor diplomatic and military interactions to resume only when deemed appropriate. We've been involved in too many of our own diplomatic and military blunders in that neighborhood lately to allow ourselves to get drawn into another one at the arrogant insistence of an erstwhile and obstreperous "ally". I don't want to see another of my brothers and sisters die in combat in the Middle East because Israeli conservatives can't compromise.
13
Israel has always fought its own battles.
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1948 war? ZERO!
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1956 war? ZERO!
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1967 war? ZERO!
How many American soldiers did we send to help Israel in the 1973 war? ZERO!
13
Perhaps you should worry more about the half billion dollars a year that we pay Palestinians —which goes directly into funding terrorists — rather than our funding to Israel, which is exclusively for security and has a return of thousands of jobs for Americans and billions of dollars saved in joint intelligence operations.
7
Agreed and furthermore they did not aid Israel in 1967. We have sent TRILLIONS to Arab countries for oil
3
Violence begets violence. Hamas' power is a direct result of Israel using military power to occupy Palestinians and their would-be state. For years Israel has told the world that there were offers made and rejected when in fact, the offers were take it or leave it or not a beginning, or negotiating table was taken away by successive right wing leaders promising Eretz Yisroel from the Jordan to the Sea and no division of Jerusalem, no sharing. The failures of various peace talks have rested on issues that were proven solvable at the time. In 2000 Barak was reluctant as Arafat. But it was a beginning.
The threat to Israel is now multi-fold. What are Israeli right wingers in power going to do with all the Palestinians in this land that will not leave ever as the world sees the entire land is claimed and settled? How does this preserve a Jewish state that holds respect in the rest of the world? How does this help Israel make peace with it's neighbors?
I am afraid that how Israelis see this is that they can have their cake and eat it somehow. The ostrich approach.
To restore Israel to a respected position in the community of nations start by offering a peace plan that is just that makes a viable state for Palestinians with a Jerusalem that is shared by all religions. Instead what we have seen is the disproportionate use of force in the name of security cynically called "mowing the lawn" as though this can just go on. Violence begets Violence.
18
Does the author mention the word, "peace?"
9
One thing that worries me a lot is the co-opting of the appellation "Palestinian" by the non-Jewish population of the region. In so doing, they have taken for themselves all legitimacy to their claims to the whole of British Mandatory Palestine, ignoring the millennium-long habitation of Jews in Palestine as well. Judaism is older than Islam and Jews never entirely left, despite orders of expulsion, whether it was independent Judea/Israel, Persian, Greek, Roman Judea and then Palestine, the Ottoman Empire or whatever. But by denying Jews our right to the label "Palestinian," the non-Jewish Palestinians have denies us our legitimate rights to the land. I wish the Times and everyone else would refer to them as Palestinian Arabs or non-Jewish Palestinians.
14
"non-Jewish Palestinians have denies us our legitimate rights to the land."
A theocratic jewish ran state hadn't existed for nearly two millennia. Sorry, land rights are owed to the native demographics, which include the Palestinians as well as the non-muslim Palestinians.
5
In 1878, before European immigration began, Jews were less than 4% of the population of Palestine and 2% of that was foreign born. The other 96% was Arab, Muslims and Christians, who had been in place for centuries.
The Levant was a crossroads of ancient civilizations and Hebrews/Israelites/Jews were NEVER the only tribe in the region. Their ancient kingdoms were on top for about 520 intermiitant years (between 11 conquests by others). So how can claims of "exclusive" possession really be supported, especially without mentioning the Canaanites had a 2,000 year civilization there and Muslims a continuous dominance for 1,500 years? Residence does not convey sovereignty or the Roma would have a country in Europe.
Jews originally were from Mesopotamia and launched their conquest of the Levant from Egypt, where they had spent 400 years. Modern Israelis claim land by right of conquest but somehow decline to acknowledge that they lost their lands in the Bronze Age exactly the same way - by the sword. And more than 500 years BEFORE the Arabs arrived.
As Churchill made plain in his 1922 white paper, ALL residents of historic Palestine, resident Arabs and newly arrived Jews, were to be seen "in the eyes of the law" as Palestinians. It is the Jewish interests who rejected that and who claim, quixotically, that "Palestinians don't exist."
4
During the Roman occupation, the land & nation was known as Judea (Judea & Samaria) which also included Galilee & other surrounding lands.
The People were known as Judeans (Jews).
The name Palestine was the designation Rome gave the land after the Diaspora (which forced many, but not all Jews out of Judea).
Ancient Palestinians include Muslims, Christians & Jews who lived on the land.
Even during the Crusades, there were indigenous Jews who defended Jerusalem side by side with their Muslim & Christian Arab neighbors.
1
While I wish live ammunition could be replaced with less lethal force, I completely believe Israel has some of the worst neighbors anyone could have. Again and again I ask Americans to visualize being surrounded by those who wish it annihilation [for whatever reason] and then think about how they would want to protect themselves and their country. It is so easy to talk about what others should or should not do. It is immeasurably difficult to live the talk and do the walk.
26
If David Ben Gurion didnt want to have the "woprst neighbors anyone could have" he shouldnt have left Poland and moved to Palestine. Dont move to the middle east and then complain about the reception you get.
3
Jews were being murdered in Poland.
At least, in Palestine, the Jews would have the home field advantage because that's where they came from.
As bad as the Palestinians and Arabs are toward Israel, they don't compare to the centuries of hostility of the Germans and anti-Semitic Poles.
Yes, Israel will be considered a pariah no matter what it does or does not do. The reason should be obvious to the intelligent readers of this publication. The world hates Jews.
This was true in the past and is true today. Therefore Israel will always be under attack and has to protect itself by any means necessary. Legalistic and philosophical arguments will not change this. Never again.
30
I am sympathetic to Israel's dilemma---and would be more prone to support Israel's aggressive stance if I did not believe that the Prime Minister and his conservative supporters deeply believe, for religious reasons, that all of the lands in the area, including Palestinian homelands belong to the Jewish people. With that belief system in place I see no dilemma, I see only apartheid.
16
Israel signed peace treaties with Jordan & Egypt even though it meant giving up large areas of Biblical Israel. This shows that Israel values peace more than land. It's the Palestinians who shout "From the River to the Sea!" which means Palestinians demand all the land & will not compromise.
8
What Israel has done to Gaza is a moral outrage, but more than that, it doesn't make any sense as policy. Israel claims it's fighting terrorism, but killing Gazan fisherman, bombing schools and hospitals, flattening apartment buildings, destroying the livelihood of Gazan farmers by restricting exports, and now shooting unarmed demonstrators only creates the sort of anger and despair that fuels terrorism.
21
Exactly right. How stupid can you be to believe that killing people who throw rocks at you will solve any problems. That building walls will create security. That building higher walls will create more security. For me, the Israeli case is lost when I see Israeli bulldozers ripping up old olive groves. In those arid lands, how can you be so cruel? And don't you think the Palestinian sewage and garbage, a result of the bantustan chaotic state you have created, will pollute Haifa as well? there is only one earth, there is only one good, and tolerance, kindness, and peace are the only way!!! And Netanyahu and his transparent lies about Iran are just as evil. So shocking that a culture that suffered SO much evil did not learn to recognize evil in themselves..
6
Yeah, Owen, and if you think about it, you've read that in the papers only once, three years ago, when Israel invaded Gaza because they were being threatened by dozens of tunnels that the Palestinians had dug -- using materials that were intended for building construction. By the way, any particular reason why you blame only Israel? The Palestinians are hemmed in by Egypt who blockades them as well. You also forget history: in 2004, Israel unilaterally vacated Gaza and left it to the Palestinians. And their reward for this magnanimous gesture? Tens of thousands of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Where's your moral outrage for that?
6
The first wrong step: Israelis went in where others were living, not seeking to share the place but saying, "Get out. It's ours," and they took it.
Those they took it from hate them. And they do want to destroy them. That's wrong, too.
The rest of the world enabled what has led to this unsolvable situation.
It wasn't the Palestinians who committed the Holocaust, but they are the ones who have been made to make reparations.
19
Please, geebee. Nothing you've said is accurate. If you're going to make historical claims, please check the actual history. Wikipedia will do. "Get out, It's ours" is not exactly what happened. Please. Just google it.
4
Of course, Israel has the right to defend itself against legitimate threats. And, to be honest, a breach in the Gaza fence leading to masses of people flowing through could force Israel to possibly kill an unconscionable number of them, even if warranted on security grounds
But a little perspective please. Now we're being told that some stupid kites set on fire and landing in nearby farm fields are "terror kites." I mean . . . "terror" kites? Who will think of the poor barley and wheat?
https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Farmland-in-flames-as-Gaza-protests-gi...
7
The protest organizers have stated intentions of tens of thousands streaming across the border - should they wait til that happens? Do you think they'll be bearing gifts?
5
Marc: Check out the climatology and current conditions in that area. If one sent fire kites across Oklahoma in the middle of a drought such as is present now in Israel, one would be tried, convicted, and imprison for years. With the prevailing winds, those little "terror" kites could result in the destruction of tens of thousands of hectares and entire kibutzim and villages.
5
42 people died in the California forest fire.
Arson kills people, not just trees.
5
It's a shame so many Israelis believe their own propaganda, starting with The Myth of The Generous Offer. This story has been debunked so many times, it's incredible to see anyone still takes it seriously. See, for example, https://electronicintifada.net/content/misrepresentation-baraks-offer-ca...
Concerning Gaza: Israel prohibits entry and exit of all persons and goods, with exceptions only as Israel deems necessary; has ended, by bombings, Palestinian attempts to build both an airport and a seaport; fires on any vessel that attempts to go beyond a short, Israeli-determined distance from shore; regularly violates Gaza's airspace; periodically bombs densely populated residential areas; enforces a "buffer zone" that happens to be entirely in Gaza; and has even prohibited students offered Fulbright fellowships from leaving to study in the U.S. Israel cannot do these things AND be surprised when the prisoners revolt.
BTW, I'm wondering which UN report you refer to. Is it this report from the Human Rights Council (https://israeli-occupation.org/docs/un_a.hrc.15.21_en.pdf):
"…it is clear that there was no reasonable suspicion that the Flotilla posed any military risk of itself. As a result, no case could be made to intercept the vessels in the exercise of belligerent rights or Article 51 self-defence. Thus, no case can be made for the legality of the interception and the Mission therefore finds that the interception was illegal."
21
Eh, your sources seem a little less than objective, Steve. Electronicintifada? israeli-occupation? C'mon.
5
Israel was formed by outside invaders supported by external powers. It is a settler state (like the US, Argentina, or Australia) created by force. Today it continues that status. The US, Argentina, and Australia emerged from wellsprings of imperialism and racism, reflecting the notion that the superiority of the founders justified their triumph over lesser peoples. Today overt expressions of racism and imperialism are morally repugnant, hence rejection by much of the world of Israeli claims of self-defense. You can not invade others, then when they resist turn to the argument of self-defense. Certainly we understand the urge to avoid a repetition of the Holocaust; the idea that it is possible to do so by imposing yourself by force on others seems a strange way of assuring security. And in part it explains why there was no forcible expropriation of a portion of postwar Germany or the state of Delaware to create a state of Israel. Instead invaders took advantage of a Palestinian population weakened and fragmented by generations of outside occupation, dressing the invasion as a morally-acceptable move (which conveniently absolved the US and its European allies of awkward decisions) instead of modern-day Crusaderism. In the US the prevailing narrative has been plucky Israel, carving out a modern state in the face of hostility by lesser peoples. The US rejects unarmed Mexican immigrants searching for opportunity but arms Israeli invaders to to displace Palestinian residents.
39
In the sixth century Israel was invaded by Muslim forces that wanted convert anybody they conquered. That country was invaded by major powers and others. I did not see any mention that of an independent country called Palestine.
19
Nonsense!
The colonists are Arabs. The Jews have been there for 3500 years. Arabs began pouring in after 1920. Arabs are not indigenous. The only claim they have is a shared religion with the Ottomans who ruled until 1918. Jews removed Israel from the Muslim Umma and that is the whole source of the controversy.
19
Your analogy is backwards. In this case it's the Arabs with 300 million people and 7 million square miles. The Israelis (8 million people/13,000 sq miles) are the ones trying to survive on the tiny reservation.
As for "expressions of overt racism", perhaps you caught wind of the Palestinian leader just the other day clearly stating his hatred of Jews.
And let's not forget Iran, 1000 miles from the "invaded" territory and yet obsessed with destroying the Jewish state.
In any case, when the displaced American Indians come to take your home in Portland, please let us know how you handled the situation.
23
"Israel had offered to withdraw from virtually the entire West Bank and Gaza."
"Virtually" means here that it offered a Swiss Cheese non-state, bantustans, in a form even the US negotiators said could not possibly be accepted, and then hid the map used to avoid showing what it had really offered.
Now Israelis have convinced themselves that their offer was entirely different from its reality, and that Palestinians were to blame rather than the terms of the offer itself. Virtually?
81
Your facts are unresearched and entirely incorrect. Please. Let's not add to false news.
11
This piece is not only a very reasonable defense of Israel, it brings to light facts I did not know or forgot, such that the naval blockade of Gaza, routinely condemned by much of the world, was found by the UN to be consistent with international law given Hamas’ many attempts to smuggle in arms to attack Israel.
It true that many only find reasons to criticize Israel forgetting justifying facts.
How many remember that Israel agreed to a Palestinian State in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1948, 2001 and 2008?
How many remember that Israel vacated Gaza in 2005 only to be bombarded by thousands of missiles from Hamas?
How many remember the suicide bombings on buses and restaurants in 2001-2004? The Palestinian airplane hijackings in the 1970s and 1980s? The Munich olympics? The Achille Lauro hijacking?
How many remember the attempts to destroy Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973 by Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan (two of which Israel now has a peace treaty with).
It’s ironic how the international community has condemned Abbas for his recent anti-Semitic speech,
but it’s not surprising that they forgot that Abbas has made such speeches before.
122
A naval blockade was found reasonable, not this one done this way. Shooting up the fishing boats so randomly is not reasonable.
19
Yes all the points made in this comment are correct. They are worth reading again and again. Let's also remember the summer of 2014 when Hamas initiated an Intifada against Israel and unleashed rockets from Gaza into Israel as far as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Hamas spent the millions of dollars earmarked for humanitarian aid to Gazans on building tunnels as guerrilla warfare into Israel. Hamas stored its caches of arms and rockets under Gazan schools and churches, using civilian population as hostages. In a humanitarian gesture, before destroying any of these caches Israel dropped leaflets urging civilians to vacate the premises. Why don't people remember this?
21
You are aware that recently an Islamic Jihad ship was stopped by Israel while trying to slip out with the Gaza fishing fleet? The purpose of their trip was to fire missiles at Israeli ships.
Yes, the blockade is necessary and legal.
Yossi, the fence isn't an internationally recognized border; it's the armistice line. However, since Israel withdrew and gave over sovereignty to the Palestinians, Gaza IS Palestine. A Palestine that requires an air and sea blockade because it's run as a terrorist entity. Israel isn't returning.
More to come.
11
That is sovereignty? How about if Israel were allowed that version of sovereignty?
14
Mark - Gaza has their own elected government. Any limits on their sovereignty are based upon their determination to remain a hostile and active enemy of Israel.
1
This is the most thoughtful piece on the issue I have read in years.
44
The Shalom Hartman Institute does a lot of good work.
3
I wonder whether Jews and Arabs would peacefully coexist, if Judaism and Islam did not exist?
8
I think if all the people living in that space between Jordan and the Mediterranean got together productively, they'd be the driving economy of the entire region.
3
You cannot make a country out of a piece of Swiss cheese. "After all, only two years earlier, Israel had offered to withdraw from virtually the entire West Bank and Gaza." "Virtually entire" is not the same as "entire". Unless Palestine is a contiguous piece of land, it cannot become a country. Any offer to withdraw but keep the settlements is disingenuous. Look to South East Asia. When British left and created East and West Pakistan in 1947, the country could not be governed properly as one country due to physical separation [among other reasons]. If Israel wants to co-exist in peace with Palestine, it should start with offering real solutions not pretend solutions.
27
Um, do you have the maps? Because the Palestine on offer was contiguous.....you're projecting your ignorance into an area where there are real facts.
Perhaps you should consider that then, as today, the bottom line is that the Palestinians are unwilling to countenance any end to the dispute which allows Israel to exist.
10
Sorry, Swiss cheese is the only thing on the menu when Israel can't trust its negotiating partner (or its prominent factions and allies) to actually acknowledge its right to exist and renounce violence.
15
"Um, do you have the maps? Because the Palestine on offer was contiguous."
Nobody has the maps. They're secret, and the Palestinians were never allowed copies, only shown them.
The description by the American negotiators was clear, that it was not contiguous.
The issue to me (and I think most concerned Americans) is not the demonstrations around Gaza. About the Gaza protests, I do believe that Israel is being put in difficult situation and they are probably are doing their best to avoid non-combatant (loosely defined) casualties. However the rest of the governmental actions with the approval of settlements and expropriating land from Arab regions affects my perception of the overall fairness and legitimacy of the Israeli government. The situation on the West Bank taints the administration and perceptions of the goodwill and honesty of Israel.
16
All happened before any settlements . Perhaps the settlements make a peace accord more difficult but not much more. There was never any desire to grant Jews a place in "Palestine" even when Muslim/Arabs where offered 95% of what they wanted. Sad.
9
This is a problem without solution in sight.
Everything has been unsuccessfully tried .
Let’s hope the children of the two ethnic religious entities will be allowed to grow together , go to school together, play together .
The two societies must find some common grounds and ,since adults have been unable to live in peace , it would be desirable if people of good will in both groups could come up with something new , some thinking out of the box , revolutionary.
New mind boggling ideas that would start from infancy to create a society finally for peace and progress for everyone.
It will be an humongous task , but philanthropists could get involved and get started .
This is utopia perhaps, but nothing else has so far given tangible results.
3
A good start would be to have common public education in Israel. Now, it's a pastiche of Arab schools, haredi schools, secular schools, none of them teaching a common history or common civic purpose.
Another would be to grant land and permits for the natural growth of Arab Israeli communities. 96% of the land within Israel proper is held by the state and administered by agencies pledged to Jewish-only use through leases. Sales of homes for a new community were halted recently when Arabs won approvals to buy.
From the foundation of the state until today, the population of Arabs and Jews - has grown at similar rates (eight to tenfold). The state has established 700 new communities for Jews (including new cities) and not a single one for Arabs, with the exception of permanent towns for Bedouin citizens who were removed from their homes.
I quote from the Israeli declaration of independence: The country shall be developed "for the benefit of all inhabitants."
1
Cogent analysis of Israel's dilemma. It should be required reading for the Inquired editorial board.
16
The Oslo peace process had shown the int community the real committment to peace on the part of Israel, thus positive reactions. Today it is nonexistent. Which democratic country shoots at protesters with live ammunition?
29
If German soldiers tried to cross the border with Austria forcibly, would it be wrong if Austrian forces attacked them with live fire?
13
The ones who are outnumbered 500 to 1, and know that if they let their guard down for a moment, they'll be destroyed.
16
What a funny comment on the fourth of May. Look up Kent State, May 4, 1970.
Imagine thousands of people south of the Rio Grande amassed at the border. Hundreds flinging Molotov cocktails, wielding slingshots, throwing rocks. Hundreds of tires burning to provide a smokescreen while they try to illegally cross the border.
Are you that naïve to think that our border patrol, military, and other armed security personnel like the National Guard and local police forces would just wait for them to enter the country en masse and then figure out afterwards how to round them up? Distinguish which ones pose a threat to create mayhem and which ones are merely delusional about what non-violence really means?
9
One thing is obvious, Israel sees the world differently than the rest of the world does. Believe it or not, the rest of the world owes you nothing.
26
I doubt if Israel feels the "rest of the world" owes it anything except to be left alone.
12
Right back at you. Israel should continue to defend itself as it sees fit, with no apology.
12
Great! Then the US needn't underwrite 20% of Israel's military budget.
1
The world is so focused on the Palestinian struggle that it does not at all perceive that it's actually about fourth down on the list of concerns for the Israeli public. Worries #1,2,and 3 are very real and scary.....and all Involve someone backed by Iran (border breaches by Hezbollah, Hamas) or Iran itself (establishing Syrian forward attack bases). But these issues don't sell ads. Watching seemingly average men, women and children pulling down a security fence does. So the world keeps focusing on the Palestinians, and the Israeli's keep their eye on what's really scary to them.
13
Hamas shoots rockets at Israeli schools from Gaza school yards confident that the world will condemn only Israel. Now they are hiding violent terrorists behind civilians as they attack the Israeli border. The Hamas terrorists do this knowing that the world, led by the reflexively anti-Israel NYTimes, will condemn Israel for defending its border. Can you tell me any other country which would be condemned for defending its border? You can't continue to tell Israel to relinquish land to Palestinians but then tell Israel it isn't allowed to defend its borders.
46
It’s a shame that this generation of Israelis can’t seem to mobilize to fight against its governments racist policies. When Bibi deported thousands of Eritreans for the crime of being black, where were you? When a toddler Palestinian was shot point-blank in the face in an IDF raid on Gaza, where were you? The future will not be kind to Israel. It is going the way of South Africa in its Apartheid era.
41
Um, when did thousands of Eritreans get deported? And who said their crime was "being black"--as opposed to paying no attention to borders and visa requirements? Perhaps you could provide evidence of your strongly asserted fictions....or stick to facts?
12
Let us remember the Jewish people were the victims of the Roman genocide and expulsion from their historic lands.
The Christians then persecuted the Jewish people starting with Constantine and Christianized Antisemitism culminating with Hitler and the death factories of Dachau et al. The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was in Nazi Germany during WW2 preaching genocide.
After the war, the UN created two states, one for Palestine and one for Israel. The Palestinians went to war and lost.
Let us remember the hatred between the French and Germans resulting in two world wars and tens of millions dead.
Only when Germany became a functioning democracy did Europe become a zone of Peace per Kant.
Palestinian people have miserable leaders who foster their dementia. They could be creating the Singapore and Malta of the Mediterranean. Instead those leaders create tunnels and rocket factories. Palestinians die for tyrants. They don't have to. Their leaders demand the destruction of Israel.
The borders between Germany and France are now just lines on a map.
Israel has a right to existence and self defense. Europe killed the Jewish people and stood by as the death factories were built.
The Palestinians have an alternative and it isn't the destruction of Israel.
75
Can you suggest some practical steps that can be carried out to create "the Singapore and Malta of the Mediterranean" when Israel blocks the Palestinian citizens from moving about practically preventing them from earning a living and demolishing their homes?
22
Sure....instead of building rocket factories and tunnels, spend the 3 Billion that Arafat had in Swiss Bank Accounts on infrastructure and education.
Get rid of the tyrants who promise to destroy Israel.
Don't turn Gaza into a freeport for terrorists and rockets.
The Israelis and Palestinians could not have hated each other more than the French and Germans. And both were allegedly "christian" nations.
It was only when Germany became a functioning democracy and renounced fascism did Germany prosper.
Why doesn't the mid east become an EU and NATO type area committed to democratic institutions?
Yes I am familiar with what the Ottomans did during their rule and the impact of Sykes Picot on creating kingdoms and areas of colonial dominance for cheap oil.
Israel isn't going away. Remember it was attacked by the Palestinians and Arabs three times who used the conflict shamelessly for their own purposes.
The immediate challenge is for a democratic Palestinian state that renounces the destruction of Israel.
Then the Singapore and Malta of the east Med is possible.
2
Yes. Have all the Arab and other Muslim countries establish trade and embassies with Israel recognizing their right to exist and Palestinians favoring their own state as a primary goal and not the destruction of Israel and see what happens. Israel created a thriving state among enemies. Where are the Palestinians friends? They are used more by their Arab neighbors than by Israel.
Another one sided piece that neglects any mention of illegal settlements and their continued development, segregation in Israeli society and the brute force used against innocent children. Palestinians = bad. Israelis = good. Got it.
48
very interesting comment
Mr. Klein Halevi is correct.
The Israelis tend to see the whole picture; the world tends to make demands based on picking and choosing issues.
Gaza and or the West Bank today are connected to the Iranian desire to place in Syria rockets that can reach anyplace in Israel and as well as anti-aircraft systems that from Syria can take down Israeli fighter jets.
For those who can read Hebrew, this is all clearly described by Nahum Barnea, no friend of Mr. Netanyahu, in today's Yediot Ahronot. It is also pointed out that the world does not really care; the Iranians will not attack Europe, they will attack Israel. And when the Iranians do get nuclear weapons, which they will, they do not threaten Europe, but Israel.
As for Gaza, for most here it seems inconceivable that anybody would describe what goes on on Fridays in Gaza as non-violent. Israeli kibbutzim and moshavim are as close as 700 meters to that fence. What would a thousand or so Gazans breaking through do? Have tea in Nahal Oz.
Israel is accused of stalling by claiming that it needs to secure its general and complete defense within the parameters of a deal. Here we wonder what things would be like if the Iranians were already in the Golan Heights which Israel almost gave back when Ehud Barak was Prime Minister. Hafaz al-Assad nixed the deal over 100 meters along the Sea of Galilee.
We see the world around us differently. Our necks. You will not save us when things get tough.
95
how does the author approve of the use of butterfly bullets by the IDF against protesters ? Ammunition that results in the amputation of limbs...David and Goliath!!
13
The supposed 'butterfly bullets' are not different from the regular ammunition used in assault weapons such as the AR-15. Go read the Times articles on the reaction of Emergency Room physicians trying to treat the victims of terrorist shootings in the US.
1
It is a delicate balance. Israeli has a right to defend itself but also not stoop to the level of the people trying to destroy it.
Here is an issue you will never see brought up here or any place.
Palestinians and Israelis are both semitic people. Only religion truly divides them. How about both of them separating religion from state like the USA did and call the region the land of the semites.
Nay, it makes too much sense and would solve the horror story there in a nano second.
They will never do it.
4
No, I see no willingness to do this. The Palestinians hate the Israelis for what has been done to them -- occupation, displacement, bombings, control over every aspect of their lives. The Israelis hate the Arabs in equal measure, partly because of violence perpetrated by the few (a tiny percentage among millions) but mostly because they are there and in the way.
4
sharp shin, thank you for your reply. Ah yes, therein lies the rub. Unfortunately everything you say is true.
History has taught us that in the end, either short or long the issue will be resolved, as Lincoln taught us either thru the better angels of our nature or if God sees fit, the carnage will continue until we pay for every mistake we made.
Only time will tell.
Yesterday, the liberal and fashionable "cause" of the moment was kale. Today, it's despising Israel. Tomorrow, it may be skirts on women yet again not short ENOUGH.
Israel needs to sort out where it is going and what its highest priority interests truly are. Stick to that introspective requirement and be less affected by what the world thinks today.
8
I applaud this piece for beginning to come to grips with Israel’s dilemma arising from the tension between security and morality. Under Netanyahu the emphasis on security at the expense of morality brings to mind a paraphrase of Ben Franklin: those who would forgo liberty for the sake of security will get neither
26
Here is the ugly truth; Hamas and a majority of Israelis see the world in the same way. Both believe it's fair and right for civil and political rights to be dependent on religion or ethnicity. Both believe that it's natural for people of different ethnicity to live separate and apart. Both believe that it's fair and right that the basis of nationhood should be religion or ethnicity. Both are on the wrong side of history.
83
While there is plenty to criticize about Israel, politically and otherwise (especially the Netanyahu government), your first two points are not true. Arab Israeli citizens make up over 20% of the population, 70% of whom are Muslim, 10% of whom are Christian. In addition, ethnically, the Jewish population of Israel includes Eastern and Western Europeans, North Africans (Ethiopia, Yemen, etc), and others. Your last point--"that Israel believes it's fair and right that the basis of nationhood should be religion or ethnicity"--seems to be true, with the emphasis on "basis", not doctrined exclusivity.
14
Very poor understanding of any majority Israeli view and of Zionism.
Israelis do NOT believe “its natural for people of different ethnicities to live apart” etc.
Instead - the recognition is of the necessity for the Jewish community to have an Army that will provide a refuge for Jews of any race or ethnicity.
Not because it is “natural” but because history has proven that the Jewish community living as a teeny minority among Gentile nations will at various times be scapegoated, oppressed and even murdered.
Zionism is neither Left nor Right - it is simply the Liberation Movement of the Jewish community.
It has zero resemblance to the ideology of Hamas. Indeed, the majority in Israel has sought peace with all of its Arab neighbors including Palestinians.
77
Obviously you do not understand the continuum of jews, judaism and history. If you need to focus on religion focus on where religious minorities rights are respected.
17
Excellent piece. Thank you.
36
"The initial goal is to destroy the fence and cross Israel’s internationally recognized border."
Israel doesn't have any "internationally recognized borders"
31
I wonder why. But it has a surplus of internationally recognized critics. Maybe we can line them all up to guard the fence; let's start with 12 hour shifts. No absentees, no excuses.
4
Wrong. Israel's borders with Egypt. Lebanon and Jordan are internationally recognized. Gaza is recognized as not part of Israel. The only area where borders are not recognized is the West Bank.
24
Wrong. On announcing independence, Israel HAD TO define where it exercised jurisdiction -- and it did, citing the extremely specific boundaries described in UN 181, adopted Nov. 29, 1947. These did not include Jerusalem, Gaza, the West Bank or Golan Heights and remain as Israel's "internationally recognized borders."
Letter From the Agent of the Provisional Government of Israel to the President of the United States:
“MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: I have the honor to notify you that the state of Israel has been proclaimed as an independent republic within frontiers approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in its Resolution of November 29, 1947, and that a provisional government has been charged to assume the rights and duties of government for preserving law and order within the boundaries of Israel, for defending the state against external aggression, and for discharging the obligations of Israel to the other nations of the world in accordance with international law. The Act of Independence will become effective at one minute after six o’clock on the evening of 14 May 1948, Washington time.”
2