Mr. Dayan goes to Washington
Barak Ravid reports with some consternation that former Yesha Council head Danny Dayan is giving the revenants something they never had before: A diplomatic alternative.
Dayan is heading to Washington this week, and he is the first 'settler leader' ever officially to do so.
Dayan feels that there has been a change in the attitude of the
international community towards the settlers in the past year. The
United States and the European Community countries believe that the
settlements are in contradiction of international law, that they are an
obstacle to peace and must be removed. But they understand that the
settlers are a significant political player that cannot be ignored.
“From total indifference and treating us like lepers with whom one
doesn’t speak, the situation has changed − now there’s curiosity and an
eagerness to hear what we have to say,” notes Dayan.
For
example, one day last October Dayan’s cell phone rang. It was former
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, who is currently the vice
president and director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in
Washington. The two, each of whom was at different meetings in the
Knesset, arranged to meet in the Knesset cafeteria.
While
talking to Indyk about “the situation” Dayan realized that he was
actually in the midst of an “audition.” At the end of the meeting Indyk
invited him to participate in the Saban Forum − one of the most
prestigious events in Washington dealing with Israel-U.S. relations. The
Israeli participants − politicians, academics, diplomats and
journalists − are traditionally identified with the left. Dayan was the
first representative of the settlers.
George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East envoy during the first term of U.S. President Barack Obama,
has never agreed to meet with Dayan or any representative of the Yesha
Council. All requests were turned down at best, or ignored at worst. The
only liaison for Dayan and the settlers was the U.S. consul general in
Jerusalem, who is actually credentialed to the Palestinian Authority.
Nowadays Dayan is invited to dinners in the home of U.S. Ambassador to
Israel Dan Shapiro. When one of the most senior advisors to President
Obama visited Israel a few weeks ago he sat with Dayan for two hours.
There
has also been a change in the attitude of the international media. Last
August The New York Times, which is known for an editorial policy
critical of the settlements, wrote a flattering portrait of him entitled
“A Settler Leader, Worldly and Pragmatic.” A month earlier Dayan
published an article in the Times entitled “The Settlers are Here to
Stay.” In March he published another article in which he declared that
“The Two-State Formula is Impossible.”
But
the most interesting example is the British newspaper The Guardian,
compared to which the New York Times looks like the mouthpiece of the
Yesha Council. Many European leaders read the op-ed page of The Guardian
with their morning coffee. Two weeks ago Dayan published an article in
the paper entitled “What You Call ‘Settlements’ are on Solid Moral
Ground.” Dayan claimed that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace
and that the world must recognize the fact that the settlers are not
the problem but part of the future solution.
The
article received 565 responses. Some were erased by the editors,
apparently because they contained various types of curses and invective.
The rest consisted mainly of harsh criticism of Dayan and of The
Guardian itself for publishing the article. “The Al Qaida manifesto
demands the return of Al Andalus in Spain where I live. Perhaps we
should have an article by one of them explaining how the land is theirs.
I am appalled that such a propaganda article has appeared in The
Guardian,” wrote one respondent. Many bloggers also published posts
attacking The Guardian.
One
can think of many reasons for the change in the attitude of the
international community towards the settlers. The stagnation of the
peace process, the lack of hope for the two-state solution and the
outcome of the recent election in Israel are some of them. “My
explanation is that for the first time in 20 years the world is
beginning to internalize that we don’t necessarily have to travel on the
two-state highway,” says Dayan. “We’ve reached a crossroads and
everyone is asking themselves where do we go now. People have understood
that ignoring the settlers was a mistake and only undermined the
attempts to find solutions.”
After
many years of opposing the idea, Dayan now believes that the settlers
have to present a genuine and serious diplomatic plan as an alternative
to the two-state solution. He has no consolidated plan as yet, but his
basic assumption is that there will be permanent Israeli control in
Judea and Samaria and no foreign sovereignty west of the Jordan River.
Read the whole thing.
Labels: Danny Dayan, Judea and Samaria, one-state solution, revenants, two-state solution, Yesha Council
For the right price?
Our Leftist news media is having a field day with a cable released by Wikileaks in which Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan tells American officials that some Jews would be willing to evacuate Judea and Samaria '
for the right price.' The media is totally ignoring the fact that Dayan also told them that the 'two-state solution' will never be implemented (you have to read to the bottom to find that out).
His statements, which were made in closed-door meetings with U.S. diplomats in Israel in recent years, came in response to questions about a potential evacuation-compensation bill in the Knesset. When asked about the issue, Dayan replied: "I'm an economist, and I know that some people will take it if the price is right."
Dayan also told U.S. Embassy officials that he was aware of the Palestinians' attachment to the West Bank. He acknowledged that he was "shamed and embarrassed" by the desecration of Palestinian mosques and the vandalism of Muslim gravestones. Dayan added that settlers were guilty of "morally horrific" things, including attacks on Palestinian property as retribution for Israeli government efforts to rein in settlement construction, also known as the "price tag" policy.
The WikiLeaks cables report that Dayan told the U.S. officials that this policy was "a mistake that will not serve the interests of the settlement movement."
According to the documents, Dayan's sentiments were echoed by Elyakim Haetzni, a founder of the Yesha Council. Haetzni expressed concern that settler rabbis were not doing enough to dissuade the so-called hilltop youth in the West Bank from harming Palestinians.
Dayan also supported the removal of checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank so Palestinians could enjoy greater economic prosperity and human rights. During one meeting with U.S. diplomats, Dayan said he was "deeply attached" to the West Bank, adding that the settlers had a "moral right" to settle there. Dayan said he understood why the Palestinians felt a similar tie to the land.
...
In December 2008, Dayan and other settler leaders took part in a meeting with the U.S. consul general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles. The meeting was attended by Haetzni and Shaul Goldstein, the chairman of the Gush Etzion regional council. The leaders discussed the growing settler violence against Palestinians.
At the start of the meeting, Dayan said the violence was the direct result of Israel's unilateral disengagement from the Gaza Strip as well as "outrageous" rulings by the Supreme Court.
The Israeli government's decision to remove residents from their homes in the Gaza Strip taught young settlers that "you can't play by the rules because the opponent will change them at the last minute," Dayan is quoted as saying.
The Yesha chief added that the disengagement was a "disaster" for Israel. During another conversation with diplomats, the contents of which will be revealed in tomorrow's edition of Haaretz Week's End, Dayan criticized his fellow Yesha leaders.
And way down toward the bottom, we see:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a "situation without a solution," Dayan said in a meeting with U.S. diplomats on December 11, 2008. The settler leader rejected out of hand any possibility that a two-state solution would be implemented.
Dayan said that "the Gaza experience killed the two-state solution ... It's a shame they've taken the land and used it as a launching pad against Israel rather than building a state."
"The creation of a Palestinian state now will mean the end of Israel," he later added.
I don't think most of this is a big deal. I'm a bit bothered that he's so ready to open roadblocks, especially considering the results.
I'm less bothered by his remarks about the 'price tag' strikes. Taking revenge against the specific person who perpetrated a terror attack or those who shielded him is one thing. Taking revenge against random 'Palestinians' is stooping to their level.
And he's dead-on that the 'two-state solution' will never happen. Too many Israelis actually believed that the 'Palestinians' would set up a mini-state and stop attacking us if we withdrew from Gaza (not this Israeli - I wrote extensively against the Gaza expulsion in many forums). But today, Israelis know the truth. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Israelis are really good at avoiding shame - except for the ones who read Haaretz.
Labels: Danny Dayan, Gaza expulsion, two-state solution, Wikileaks
Freeze extension would be ignored?
Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan brushes off the idea of a 'settlement freeze' extension by saying that the revenants will
ignore it.
Dayan is doing some wishful thinking. There is no reason to believe that Defense Minister Ehud Barak will not order the security forces to enforce any extension with any less zeal than they enforced the original 'settlement freeze.' And while the inspectors may be willing to ignore construction that took place between September 26 and whenever the freeze takes effect (if it takes effect) if that construction is not continued, I can envision a situation where the security forces would destroy everything if construction is continued.
Please don't just brush off the 'settlement freeze' extension. It's a real threat.
Labels: Danny Dayan, Ehud Barak, settlement freeze extension, Yesha Council
