Time Does Not Favor the Jewish State
While most “organized” Jews are downplaying the importance of Annapolis, Leonard Fein thinks the future of Zionism is at stake.
Time does not favor the concept of a Jewish state. Not the concept, not the reality.
Is a two state scenario even possible, or is it to late for that, given that the matrix of control is entrenched deeper and deeper everyday?
Sigh…. just like the “future of Zionism was at stake” in 2006, and 2005, and 2004, and 2003, and 2002…and at Taba, and Aqaba, and Sharm al Sheikh, and Camp David….etc. These desperate “The-Israeli-Sky-is-Falling!” warnings are so frequent that they’ve become platitudes.
There are few commodities in such oversupply as dire predictions that “Israel will die unless [insert name] negotiation leads to a Palestinian state by [insert date]! (And this time I mean it!)”
Fein’s warning that “A non-success at Annapolis would mean…a lethal defeat of Zionism itself” is part of the standard chorus of hysterics that are proclaimed before every Israeli-Arab meeting. It speaks well for the proclaimers’ messianic impulses, but not well for their geopolitical astuteness.
“Time” has never favored the Jews or the Jewish state and neither has virtually any other standard metric. Yet Israel has survived against the odds for 60 years. The Jewish people for over 2,000. There are much larger issues afoot than such arbitrary photo ops as that called by Sec. Rice. Annapolis will likely soon become a grain of sand lost on the historical seashore.
Wow. This sort of negates the making up for being sort of anti zionist from the last post about the giant flag.
It makes me happy that Israel has survived “against the odds” of armies coming to kill us. But must we strive to survive “against the odds” that not trying our hardest for peace means we are constantly risking our existence? What I’m reading in the above comments is that Israel should not look for a way out of the occupation, and anyone who suggests that Israel should a find a way to maintain its survival is suddenly an anti-Zionist. What kind of logic is that? I want Israel to survive as a Jewish state, therefore I’m against the existence of Israel as a Jewish state? Something seems terribly wrong there.
I live in Israel, and I want to continue living in Israel. I severely doubt that the failure of Annapolis will automatically preclude any future agreement, but it does seem pretty clear that with every peace talk that fails, the next peace talk becomes even more difficult (just look at the number of Israelis and people on this very site who do not want the talks to succeed!).
I totally agree with Arie — too many people are missing the point. To press the issue, somebody answer the question implied at the end of Leibel’s article:
The right-wing position is nothing less than a form of suicidal insanity. It would require either inducing or forcing the Palestinians — whose population today (if Gaza is included) is just above 5 million, roughly the same as the number of Jews in Israel — either to leave for destinations unknown (ethnic cleansing) or to stay put, albeit without the right of citizenship (apartheid). Either way, the resulting situation would be intolerable, could not last, would induce endless violence and Israel’s utter isolation in the family of nations.
What should Israel do other than negotiations? No talks looks pretty untenable to me.
Israel’s de facto position since 1967, possibly since 1947, is “we will happily give the Palestinians a state once it is clear that they don’t intend to attack us from it. Until then, we’ll do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves.” That approach has worked for decades, what makes it all of sudden untenable now?