The 'settlement issue' is bogus
Here's an interview with David Hazony (which was supposed to discuss his new book on the Ten Commandments) in which Hazony suddenly finds himself in a discussion about Israeli 'settlements.' David does quite well. Even the Muslim representative agrees.Let's go to the videotape. The fun starts around the 5:50 mark.
Michael Weiss agrees that 'settlements' aren't the issue, but for a different reason. He argues that the revenants are 'marginalized' and that most Israelis will give up the 'settlements' under the proper circumstances. I don't believe we'll ever confront that issue because the proper circumstances will never be reached. But I don't believe the revenants are anywhere near as marginalized as Weiss thinks they are. Many Israelis have become much more wary of conceding territory in light of the Gaza experience. But Weiss' last two paragraphs explain why none of this should make 'settlements' the key issue:
That is not to say that the existing West Bank settlements are destined to fall from Israeli control. Land swaps have long been part of the tool kit of final-status negotiations; in late 2008, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas undertook a hypothetical map-drawing exercise that delineated the border between the two states. The end result allowed for large settlement blocs to be incorporated into the Jewish state, while according land currently inside Israel to the new Palestinian state. Ma'ale Adumim, for instance, which was a sticking point in the international debate preceding the construction moratorium, is home to some 36,500 Israelis who aren't likely to go anywhere, as most Palestinians acknowledge. Building new bathrooms or balconies there is hardly the fatal blow to peace that it has been made to appear.That hasn't alleviated the Obama administration's obsession with settlements - which I will discuss later today - an obsession which is looking more and more absurd as time goes on.
Settlements should not be the top Mideast priority for the Obama administration. More critical issues will have to be resolved first, such as reconciling feuding Palestinian political factions, guaranteeing that security can be maintained in the West Bank without an IDF presence, and ensuring that Palestinian institutions now being built are stable enough to sustain a functioning democratic government, regardless of which party is elected. The settlement fixation is a convenient distraction from these obstacles, which have no easy remedy and continue to block the way to a two-state solution.
Labels: Barack Obama, David Hazony, Michael Weiss, settlement freeze
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:20 PM
2 Comments:
Yup.
If Israel did agree to another freeze, the Palestinians will never lack an excuse not to stall for time.
Let's say its extended three more months. During that time the Palestinians stay away and at the last moment they say will agree to talks only if Israel agrees to another extension.
We've seen this script before and its really old. Its not Israel that is holding up talks and that's why the issue is bogus, indeed
We are dealing with purposely ignorant elites. I just met a retired professor who was chairman of an English lit department at a division 1 university. He is quite opinionated about Middle Eastern affairs. I asked him what he thought the Middle East would be like if Israel hadn't been formed. He described nirvana (all problems, poof!, disappeared). Then I asked him whether he had ever read Winston Churchill's book about Sudan written in about 1898, when there was no Israeli state. And, it shocked even me, who can usually say these type of people's words before they come out of their mouths, he said NO, that he had never heard of it. This is a former dept chair. To his credit, he has now ordered it and is going to read it. Hopefully, I can talk to him again after he finishes it. This book needs to go viral, as it shows that what Israel is bringing to the region is an UPGRADE to how things were before (and how the non-Israeli people in the region regularly treat each other even now). Here's a "sticker" for copying and pasting to everyone you know (and read it yourself if you haven't, because it will bring amazing confidence to your arguments with the lefties):
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River War: Sudan 1898
by Winston Churchill
Read it! Or download a FREE audio version here:
http://www.archive.org/details/riverwar_1003_librivox
And put it onto your iPod. Listen to all of the chapters 1 - 22!
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