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June 6, 2003
Author's ideas are unrealistic
Naomi Ragen's road map to peace is worse than that of the United
States.
Barry Leff SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Naomi Ragen is a great author. I recommend her book Sotah to my
conversion students because it provides a balanced picture of both
traditionally observant Jews and secular Jews.
I am less impressed with Ms. Ragen as a political analyst. The problem
is not any lack of congeniality – she comes across as a caring
person. Rather, the problem is that if there is any proposal less
likely to be successful than the road map, it is the one she put
forward in her speech at Schara Tzedek on May 20.
As outlined in the Jewish Western Bulletin article of last
week, her plan calls for "an immediate roundup of all weapons,
and trials and deportation for those Palestinians still holding
arms past a certain date. She also calls for an education system
that would instil 'love of freedom, life and justice' to offset
all the years of organized incitement to hate."
She was not explicit, but it would appear that she is calling for
a continuation of the status quo – Israeli occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza, no Palestinian state – except we should
also take over the Palestinian education system and teach Palestinian
kids to have a "love of freedom, life and justice." Then,
someday, in the distant future, when a new generation has grown
up in an idealized education system, we will have someone we can
make peace with.
You've got to be kidding. Maintaining the peace in Israel through
a continued heavy military presence in the West Bank and Gaza is
going to lead to Palestinians learning to love freedom and justice?
The education system we put in place won't be more than counteracted
by the education that terrorists will give the kids in how to blow
themselves up?
As a rabbi, I generally shy away from taking sides politically.
My expertise is Torah, not global politics. However, I lived in
Israel for a year at the start of the current intifada and believe
there are a few facts that Israelis need to accept and a few facts
that Palestinians need to accept. Ultimately, any settlement will
have these elements taken into account:
Israel needs to accept:
1) It is in Israel's best interests for there to be a Palestinian
state. The status quo, which amounts to an apartheid type of situation
with Palestinians under Israeli control, but not granted Israeli
citizenship, is not an acceptable long-term solution to either the
Palestinians or world opinion. We do not want to truly annex the
West Bank and Gaza because we certainly don't want another two million
Arabs voting in Israel. We can't give the territory back to Jordan
and Egypt – they don't want the Palestinians either. If ethics
don't stop us, world opinion will prevent us from forcibly removing
the Palestinians from the territories. The best solution is a Palestinian
state.
2) Jerusalem is already a divided city. Not many Jews today feel
comfortable enough to go for a jog on the Mount of Olives. It's
almost considered daring to go to the American Colony Hotel on the
border with the eastern sector of Jerusalem.
3) Isolated settlements are not militarily defensible and will have
to go. Exactly which settlements will go and which will stay will
be the subject of intense negotiations, but a lot of them will have
to go.
Palestinians need to accept:
1) The right of return is not going to happen in any form except
tokenism. No one in Israel, not even the far left, supports giving
the Palestinians the right of return. It would be the end of the
Jewish state and it's not going to happen.
2) Lands on the "other side" of the Green Line that have
been substantially developed by the Jews, like Gilo, Maale Adumim
and Alfei Menashe, are going to be part of Israel.
3) They are not going to be given exclusive unlimited control over
the Temple Mount.
Bill Clinton and Ehud Barak were not far off in the plan they proposed.
There were problems in the details and problems in the Palestinian
leadership reining in the radicals. Ariel Sharon's "surprising"
turnaround and acceptance of the road map is an indication that
he is coming to realize these facts – or, more likely, he knew
them a long time ago and just felt it was appropriate to acknowledge
them at this point in time.
I believe the vast majority of both Jews and Palestinians would
agree with the principles outlined above. Not everyone likes it,
but these are the bottom lines on both sides. These above statements
were true almost three years ago when this round of violence all
started and they are still true today. The loss of more than 2,000
lives has not changed a thing.
Instead of each side trying to convince the other, the Israeli leadership
should work to build consensus in Israel surrounding the things
Israel needs to accept, and the Palestinian leadership should work
to build consensus among their polity on the things they need to
accept. As soon as that happens, the real work of hammering out
the details can begin in earnest.
Pray for peace.
Rabbi Barry Leff is the spiritual leader of Beth Tikvah
Congregation in Richmond.
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