Please allow me to regress from my usual police related blogs. Having arrived in the United States in 1936 as a refugee from Nazi Germany, I have always been a history buff, having minored in that subject during my undergraduate degree studies. Because I am jewish, I have a special interest in the State of Israel, the place of refuge for most of the holocaust survivors. And now, whether or not Ariel Sharon survives his massive stroke, it is quite obvious that his political career has come to an end. What happens now? The following background information concerns the future survival of Israel.
ISLAMISTS AND ISRAEL. Islamic true believers throughout the Middle East, in Pakistan, in Indonisia, in Malaysia, and in North Africa are firmly committed to the destruction of Israel and they do not, under any circumstances, accept the coexistence of two states - Israel and Palestine - side by side. The president of Iran has, during several recent public pronouncements, called for the desstruction of Israel. Textbooks used in Islamic schools are full of hatred for jews and for Israel. Newspapers throughout the Islamic world, including those of Egypt, are full of jew-hating cartoons. Hamas, Hezbolla, Islamic Jihad, and other Palestinian grooups proclaim that their objective is the destruction of Israel. I suspect that even those Palestinians who are seeking peace with Israel now, are doing so in the belief that they will be able to destroy Israel in the foreseeable future. At many mosques, including some in the western w orld, Islamic clergy preach hatred for jews and for Israel, calling for its destruction. Tlhese "men of God" glorify suicide bombings and advocate and applaud terrorist attacks against Israel and against "the great satan", which is their term for the United States.
THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE UNITED NATIONS. Ever since its inception, the EU has sided with the Palestinians against Israel. The EU wants to curry favor with the oil producing Arab states. They considered Arafat a hero and welcomed him like royalty. They condemned each and every Israeli settlement and insist that Israel give up all of the west bank and return to its pre-1948 boundaries. While they praised Sharon's withdrawal from Gaza and condemned the Iranian president's call for the destruction of Israel, their pronouncements leave no doubt that they are on the side of the Palestinians. The UN has always sided with the Palestinians. On many occasions in the Security Council, the United States had to come to Israel's aid by using its veto power. The UN General Assembly has always been overwhelmingly anti-Israel because most third-world countries have joined the Arab states in numerous condemnations of Israel. Both the EU and the UN keep calliing on Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians without calling for any concessions on the part of the Palestinians. Add Russia, China and India as major players on the world stage that have consistently sided with the Palestinians.
THE UNITED STATES. The United States has been Israel's chief supporter. It has given Israel billions of dollars in economic and military aid. The degree of support has varied during different administrations, but the United States has always been a friend of Israel. The first President Bush was considered one of the least friendly presidents. The current president has been the most friendly of all, but that may be due to Preesident Bush's pre-occupation with other matters, such as "9-11" and the war in Iraq. However, the United States has always pressured Israel to grant the Palestinians concessions, some of which could compromise Israel's security. It does this in order to curry favor with Saudi Arabia and other oil producing Arab countries. The United States has always maintained that it would come to the aid of Israel should it face extinction by its enemies, but it is highly doubtful that the American public would support the shedding of American blood in the defense of Israel. Christian conservatives have been Israel's stongest supporters. The radical left in the United States, which includes many jews, has consistently championed the cause of the Palestinans.
A DIVIDED ISRAEL. Religious jews believe that God created biblical Israel, which includes all of the west bank, as the homeland of the jews and they are unwilling to give up any of this land to the Palestinians. The settlements are made up largely of religious jews. Secular jews are willing to trade land for peace, as long as Israel's security is not compromised. The Peace Now movement consists of the radical left and youths of military age. It wants to dismantle all settlements and return to Israel's pre-1948 borders in return for peace with the Palestinians. The Peace Now movement is very simmilar to that of the anti-war movement in lthe United States during the Vietnam war conflict. It is conceivable that a civil war could break out in Israel over the "peace process" between the religious and secular jews.
ANTI-TERRORIST SECURITY BARRIER. Israeli civilians have been victimized by numerous terrorist bombings. To combat these attacks, Israel is building a high wall and fence to separate jews from Palestinian terrorists. The Palestinians fear that the wall will become the new border of the State of Israel and together with the rest of the world, including the United States, have condemned the construction of this barrier. However, there can be no quesstion that the wall has stopped almost all terrorist attacks against the Israeli civilian population. (The United States is considering constructing a similar barrier along its border with Mexico.)
DEFENSIBLE AND SECURE BORDERS. To a large extent, security for the State of Israel depends on defensible borders. At its narrowest, it is less than nine miles from the west bank to the Mediterranean Sea. There is absolutely no way that Israel can be secure were it to return all of the west bank as demanded by the Palestinians. While it can dismantle its outpost settlements, the new borders of Israel must include all of the established settlements, as well as access to the headwaters of the Jordan River.
EAST JERUSALEM. The Palestinians insist on a state with Jerusalem (not East Jerusalem) as its capitol. A Palestinian capitol in East Jerusalem would be a dagger pointed at the heart of Israel. All of Jerusalem must remain an indivisible part of the State of Israel. The 200,000 Palestinians living there should be offered Israeli citizenship. Those who refuse to become Israeli citizens should be expelled, but the government must compensate them for the loss of their property.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS. Israel is surrounded by millions of sworn ememies. Iran will probably develop nuclear weapons in the near future. It already has missles capable of striking Israel. America's nuclear weapons served as a deterrant to further expansion of the Soviet Union and deterred any nuclear attacks by the Soviets. Israel's nuclear arms have deterred Arab attacks and will continue to play a major role in that tiny nation's security.
PALESTINIAN SUFFERING. Do the Palesinians have some legitimate grievances? Of course they do. Is Israel blameless? Certainly not. The Palestinians have suffered the loss of land and lives in their conflict with Israel, but they have brought most of this suffering upon themselves. It is true that in 1948, when the Arabs attacked the newly formed State of Israel, its army drove out some of the Psalestinians living within its borders. However, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians fled at the urging of the Arabs who wanted to annihilate the jews without inflicting collateral casualties on the Palestinian population. When the Araqbs lost, the Palestinians were left to languish in refugee camps. The Arabs did not offer any assistance and refused to assimilate the refugees, which they easily could have done, preferring to use their suffering as a political pawn against Israel. In recent years, Arafat's intransigence and the intifada has brought on Israeli reprisals, thus furthering the suffering of the Palestinians. Thus, their grievances should be directed at the Arabs who kept them in refugee camps and at their own leaders and the militants who are responsible for much of their suffering.
ROADMAP TO PEACE OR ROADMAP TO DISASTER? The roadmap to peace, which is being pushed by President Bush, was plotted by the United States together with the UN, the EU and Russia, the latter three having a long history of siding with the Palestinians against Israel. If the roadmap requires the dismantlement of established settlements and a Palestinian capitol in East Jerusalem, it will be a roadmap to disaster for the State of Israel by compromising its security.
AFTER SHARON? ISRAEL NEEDS BENJAMIN NETANYAHU! Israel needs a strong leader who will remain resolute against pressure to make disasterous concessions to the Palestinians. The dovish Shimon Peres is not that man. Neither is Amir Peretz, the new leader of the dovish left-wing Labor Party. Ehud Olmert, the former mayor of Jerusalem who, together with Sharon and Peres formed the new Kadima party, is not that man either. It was Olmert who urged Sharon to abandon Gaza. Before Sharon suffered his latest stroke, Kadima was expected to win the March 28 election, but with Sharon unable to lead the new party, that outcome is now in doubt. Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party is the best man for the job. He is a strong leader who will not allow Israel's security to be compromised. Although it is said that he is against peace, he will make peace with the Palestinians, but it will be on terms that will ensure the security and survival of the State of Israel.
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