FROM "STAND FOR ISRAEL

What are the ingredients for peace?


0Share3August 12, 2010

Last week Israel was on the receiving end of rocket attacks from Hamas as well as a sniper attack by the Lebanese army that left one Israeli soldier dead. Meanwhile, we are hearing reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to enter direct talks with the Palestinian Authority (P.A.).

Most of us here in Israel would like nothing more than to see an end to the constant violence launched against us. The majority of Israelis are tired of fighting and would agree to a two-state solution in return for sustainable peace. However, after many years of fruitless talks and the disastrous turnout of unilateral withdrawals from South Lebanon and Gaza, we will choose security over peace every time.

What are the ingredients for peace? The first step would be an end to incitement. This means that the P.A. would need to begin educating the Palestinian population to accept the fact that Israel is and will always be a Jewish State. Although there are many Palestinians who already accept this, too many people in the “moderate” Palestinian leadership, the Palestinian media (which is run by the P.A.), the Palestinian education system, and of course terrorist groups like Islamic Jihad and Hamas, still envision the end of Israel. This incitement means that the chance for real peace and coexistence are very slim.

The truth is that, at this point, peace in the Middle East seems impossible. Yet it is important to note that the history of the Jewish people includes many stories of succeeding against impossible odds. In biblical times, we were redeemed from slavery and brought to Israel after wandering the desert for forty years. On two occasions we conquered the land and established a Temple in Jerusalem. We were then forced out of the land twice and both Temples were destroyed.

Then, after two thousand years of exile and out of the ashes of the Holocaust, the Jewish people came back to their homeland and created a vibrant democracy in the most conflict-ridden region in the world. This is nothing short of a miracle – the “impossible” made possible through God’s grace and the blood, sweat, and toil of countless people dedicated to the Zionist dream.

With Obama pressing for negotiations, Netanyahu knows he cannot dodge talks. Netanyahu would want nothing more than to be in power when peace is achieved. However, he also knows that what the Palestinians demand in return for peace – the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees, a divided Jerusalem, a return to Israel’s 1967 borders – would fatally compromise Israel’s security. What he can offer the Palestinians falls short of what any Palestinian government would be willing to accept. Therefore, I ask myself: What can Benjamin Netanyahu really hope to achieve with direct talks?

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Posted in: "Peace process", Netanyahu, Obama, Palestinian Authority