In 2003 I had some input in a One State Plan being prepared by Mike Wise and others. Here is the part dealing with annexation and citizenship. Much has happenned since that time all of which argues strongly in favour of such a plan.
1) Our demographics keeps improving,
2) The deligitimation and delegitimation keeps getting worse and
3) the neighborhood is getting more dangerous.Caroline Glick, Yoram Ettinger, Naftali Bennett, Arieh Eldad, Nadia Matar and many others are backing it.
Ted Belman
ANNEXATION
Annexation will provide a clear and well-defined status for West Bank Arabs. At the time of Annexation, the PA will no longer have a reason to exist and it and all terrorist infrastructures will be outlawed and dismantled. The PA and other terrorist organizations will be subject to Israel law and be dealt with in the same manner that all countries deal with internal subversive, treasonous and criminal organizations. Israel would no longer police the West Bank as an “occupation force”. It is important to understand that after Annexation, Israel will have significantly greater flexibility in dealing with issues and problems on the West Bank. Those problems will all be viewed as internal problems of the State of Israel and not problems subject to constant international scrutiny by those who view the West Bank as “occupied” territory.
For many historical and other reasons, Gaza is explicitly excluded from Annexation and Israel should immediately withdraw from Gaza in an orderly manner. The Gaza border would continue to be well defined and well protected. Possible alternatives for Gaza include a status as an international free-trade zone and/or, annexation by Egypt, creation of an independent and expanded entity with the cooperation of Egypt and the addition of part of the Sinai, or ultimately becoming an added region of Israel.
A group of experts will analyze issues relating to Gaza separately.
ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP
It is essential that the process and strategy of offering Israeli citizenship to West Bank Arabs must be very carefully planned, including its timing, demographic, geographic, historical and social factors. Citizenship will include all the benefits currently available to the citizens of Israel including: health care, education, welfare, economic incentives, employment, social safety nets, voting rights and others. The responsibilities of citizenship will include a public oath of loyalty to the State of Israel. The procedures and the details of the citizenship offer will be determined as an internal matter by the State of Israel. Each country determines its own citizenship rules and there are many models ranging from extremes like Switzerland where citizenship is often not granted for several generations, and the extremely restrictive standards set by Islamic States to the more liberal standards applied by other countries. Since the process will be phased in over time, the possibility to adjust the procedures appropriately will be available as circumstances require.
The key element is clear. The question of how to deal with the West Bank population will be converted to an internal Israeli matter and not the subject of global concern of “do-gooders” protecting an “occupied” population. From a humanitarian perspective, social services available to the West Bank population will meet the highest global standards.
West Bank Arabs who do not wish to accept Israeli citizenship will have the following choices:
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1. Swear a public oath of loyalty to the State of Israel and remain as non-citizen residents with limited rights.
2. Those who do not commit to abide by the laws of Israel, must leave for Gaza, Jordan or to other Arab countries.
900,000 Jews left those countries since 1948[1] (often with only the shirts on their backs). Israel cannot and should not tolerate persons who will not commit to abide by its laws.
As the irreversible nature of Annexation is made clear to West Bank residents, persons with vested interests in land, businesses, homes and families will probably seek Israeli citizenship instead of facing the consequences of lesser rights or expulsion. Those with little or no vested interest will have to make a decision to accept the above choices or the following option. The active participation of Israel and other countries to provide a one-time subsidy of $5,000 per person who decides to live elsewhere will be made available. This sum is well within the budgets currently available for short term solutions or “fixes” currently being pursued. For example, the anti-terrorist barrier at a estimated cost of $1.5 billion equals the cost of payments to 300,000 men, women and children. A “refugee” family of ten would receive $50,000. A possibly irresistable offer! This offer is only sensible as part of the broader framework proposed herin.
It is reasonable to presume that given the choice of Israeli citizenship, many West Bank Arabs will choose life, peace and the pursuit of happiness that citizenship provides. In the current environment, with no alternatives other than those offered by brutal and violent organizations including the PA, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, Tanzim etc., it is not surprising that West Bank Arabs appear to support violence and terror.
THE BENEFITS of ANNEXATION
An important collateral benefit to Annexation will be a reversal of the trend of many Israeli Arabs who are beginning to display serious signs of disloyalty. It is not surprising that Israeli Arabs faced with the apparent inevitability of a terrorist Palestinian state have severe concerns that they will ultimately be branded as traitors or collaborators with the hated Zionist enemy. Those concerns weigh heavily on them and strongly influence how they conduct themselves as Israeli citizens. Similarly, after it became clear that there was a probability that the status of Jerusalem was subject to negotiation, the attitude and conduct of its Arab population underwent a dramatic change. That change was created by the serious concern about the ultimate status of Jerusalem?s Arab population and how a future terrorist state would reward their cooperation with the Zionists.
If properly planned, a consequence of Annexation, similar to the consequences of every aliyah in Israeli history, is that an expanded Israeli population will spur economic growth. In addition to the historical expansion factors associated with immigration, it is reasonable that partnerships with Arab citizens will eventually help Israel become a major economic and political player in the Middle East. Every wave of immigration to Israel caused internal concern. However, eventually, all immigrant groups contributed in various ways to Israel?s strength and success.
OBJECTIONS & CONCERNS
1. Demographic: Arab fertility rates are high and some predict that in the near future there will a Jewish minority west of the Jordan River.
2. Political: Israel?s political parties are concerned that they each will lose its power base.
3. Global reaction: The world will object to Israel solving its problems unilaterally. The idea of a Palestinian state, envisioned by the authors of the Road Map, implacable foes as well as friends of Israel, and those who have not given up on the Oslo Accords, has not been abandoned.
4. Jewish State: How can Israel preserve itself as a Jewish State? (slight variant of objection 1)
The details of Annexation and implementation of the citizenship plan must be carefully designed to assuage these and other concerns. Issues to consider include:
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i. The rights to Israeli citizenship, including voting, would be phased-in up to a period of 15 to 20 years.
ii. Citizenship rights would be phased-in with appropriate guidelines and qualifications including age, place of birth, place of birth of parents or grandparents, education, employment, criminal record, health record, village or city of residency and other metrics or standards.
iii. Citizenship and its attendant rights and privileges must be implemented with financial and operational cooperation of international organizations.
DEMOGRAPHICS
There are currently about 5.5 million non-Arabs in Israel, 1.1 million Israeli Arabs, and a maximum of 2.1 million Arabs on the West Bank. If two-thirds (2/3) of the West Bank Arabs become eligible for the new citizenship status and one-third (1/3) opt for residency status, there would initially be a maximum of 2.5 million Arab citizens out of a total population of 8.7 million. (Note that the citizenship will not be granted overnight and will be closely monitored over time). Jews have prospered over the centuries under much more difficult numerical relationships in environments that they did NOT control. These numbers are based on the best current estimates and do not include future fertility, morbidity or emigration/immigration factors.
Historically, fertility has been almost impossible to predict, especially in the current volatile local and global environment. Indeed, in the last 5 years, two of the most startling declines in fertility have occurred in Egypt and Iran. As modernization and westernization is introduced into the West Bank, fertility will plummet. Other significant factors and unanticipated events will inevitably impact the relative growth of populations in a rapidly changing world.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel 1948 and before, all demographic calculations and forecasts of the disappearance of Israel or of the impossibility of a Jewish majority in a Jewish homeland have been mistaken. Immigration of Jews from Arab lands and Russia, and other unexpected demographic factors were not foreseen. There is no reason to rely on unreliable fertility forecasts as the prime factor to reject a sane solution to the current intolerable situation. If Annexation is not pursued, the combination of an external and internal enemy population reproducing for the sole purpose of destroying the State of Israel is not difficult to foresee. After Annexation, as an internal matter, government policies and incentives can be employed to encourage normal fertility.
In October 2003, Mahathir Mohamad, the Prime Minister of Malaysia demonstrated a very profound understanding of demographics. He claimed that “Jews rule the world by proxy” and “get others to fight and die for them.” He also said that Jews “invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy” to avoid persecution and gain control of the most powerful countries. Mahathir said, “1.3 billion Muslims cannot be defeated by a few million Jews…because we are discouraged from learning of science and mathematics as giving us no merit for the afterlife, today we have no capacity to produce our own weapons for our defense. We have to buy our weapons from our detractors and enemies.” The Prime Minister understands that raw numbers of people is only one element in analyzing populations and societal trends.
Demographics is a very complex issue and its meaningful study does not lie solely in counting people. One of the more unbalanced demographic situations in the Middle East exists in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. More that 75% of its population claims to be “Palestinian”. No one knows if or when the ruling minority will be overthrown and when Jordan will be established as a Palestinian State occupying the East Bank of the Jordan River. However, it is not unreasonable to presume that after Annexation, Palestinians will understand that if there is to be a Palestinian State it will be on the East Bank and not the West Bank of the Jordan River. The impact of a Jordan/Palestinian State on the entire question of citizenship and demographics will be very significant. It would be irresponsible for Israel to make any agreements in today’s environment that would impact the possibility of a genuine two-state solution: a Jewish State on the West Bank and a Moslem State on the East Bank.
Nonetheless, the question of one man one vote must be addressed. After all, Israel is and will remain a bonafide member of the world’s representative democratic states, irrespective of the ultimate composition of Israel’s citizenship population. The following discussion addresses an answer to the question: How can Israel remain both a democracy and a Jewish State?
ONE or TWO CHAMBER KNESSET?
The United States has the world’s longest lasting and vibrant representative democratic forms of government that protects the inalienable rights of individuals and minorities. The approval of both houses of Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate is required for all legislation and expenditures. Each of the 50 states elects two members to the Senate and a number of House Representatives based of its population. For example, the states of Rhode Island with one sixtieth the population of the state of California and the state of California, both send two Senators to Washington. Additionally, the President of the US is elected by the electoral college. As we all remember, Gore received almost a million more votes than President Bush, but was finally defeated.
Most functions of government are the responsibility of local and state governments. Broader responsibilities including defense, international dealings etc. are handled by the central government in Washington. Disputes between states are resolved by the Supreme Court. Each city, county and state has a lightly armed police force to preserve law and order.
Israel should create a similar governing structure. An upper and lower House of the Knesset, each consisting of 60 members, should be created. Israel should be divided into 15 districts, three of which should contain predominately Moslem populations. Each district would send 4 MKs to the upper house of the Knesset and based on population considerations an appropriate number of MKs to the lower house of Knesset. The Prime Minister should be elected by the majority of the MKs.
Another option is that the Knesset remain with one House but that its MKs be elected as described above. For example, let us consider a situation where Israel?s voter population becomes 60% Moslem and 40% Jews and all voters vote strictly based on the religion of the candidates. The regions would elect 48 Jewish and 12 Moslem MKs. The proportional elections would elect 36 Moslem and 24 Jewish MKs. Net results: 72 Jewish and 48 Moslem MKs. it is far from clear that all issues before the Knesset would be decided on purely Jew vs. Moslem grounds. Other ideological aspects would often be asserted.
With respect to day-to-day matters, the local councils or boards would have full responsibility, all within the national framework. For example, educational standards would be centrally legislated but would be locally administered.
The above structure, for the very long term will preserve the Jewish nature of Israel, provide full rights and local governance for non-Jewish populations and allow everyone to become a productive member of society.
THE JEWISH STATE
The Law of Return to the Jewish State will remain unchanged and available only to Jews. Arabs are or should be welcome and free to live in any of 22 Arab countries, just as Jews are welcome and free to live in one small Jewish country. As determined by an appropriate panel, other defining characteristics of a Jewish State would be made the subject of irrevocable structural laws of the State of Israel prior to Annexation.
FINANCIAL
Israel should be spending resources on developing and rebuilding the West Bank social infrastructure, instead of building fences and amassing weapons. Nations with a vested interest in a peaceful resolution to the current conflict will be invited to participate in the development of a prosperous and advanced West Bank society that will engage in science, trade, and commerce and become a source and spur to regional prosperity.
The opportunity to remove the terrorist leadership and to simultaneously offer a normalized environment for West Bank Arabs is available. If Israel does not act now and proceeds to facilitate an interim two-state solution, there is little doubt that it will have to fight a major war with the new terrorist state and its treaty partners. After the next war, Annexation will appear even more attractive, but why not act now and avoid the suffering and the tragedies of another war? Israel must move forward now with Annexation, a fair and just solution, before it loses another opportunity.
Agree with you absolutely there.
So far as I’m concerned, the UN has no real legitimacy at all. They are a corrupt petrodollar brothel, a farce.
That’s why I supported Santorum in the primaries; if he were to have got in, I believe he’d call the UN on their b.s. with respect to Israel.
I don’t know if Romney has the knowledge or the guts to do so. Obama is part and parcel of their whole sick charade.
You and I knowing that doesn’t change what will be done in the near term if Israel annexes J&S, and that is my original point. We can scream and shout all we want, but they will do what they will do.
Longer term, for sure, we need to work towards either radical reform of, or failing that, simply dismantlement of, the UN.
@ Vinnie:
Force need not be of the overtly violent sort.
Sanctions are an implicit use of force.
What makes the issuace of them part of Chapter Seven is the mandatory element in the invocation.
In any event, I still contend that the invocation of Ch 7 by the Security Council — whether by the application of sanctions, OR by the direct recourse to blood & fire — would invite the observation that
altho Israel has been a UN member for 63 years, she’s never been permitted a seat at the UNSC table that now presumes to make threateningly insistent demands on the Jewish state;
that while other countries that weren’t even members of the UN when Israel joined have taken a turn since then (some twice or more) on the Council, Israel hasn’t been permitted one;
that while some other countries that weren’t even STATES when Israel joined the UN have sat on the Council, Israel hasn’t.
The question of the United Nations’ OWN legitimacy will be ripe for discussion
— especially if we prepare the ground for such a discussion.
Chapter 7 doesn’t necessarily mean force. And as I indicated above, I wouldn’t expect it to mean force in Israel’s case. A UN that won’t do anything about Syria, surely won’t deploy force against Israel, particularly a nuclear-armed Israel.
But as I said, this would mean sanctions.
Remember, no outside power used force on Rhodesia in the 70s, and no outside power used force against apartheid S. Africa in the 90s. Without a shot being fired, international political/economic pressure led to the dismantlement of those regimes. Largely, this was accomplished with economic sanctions.
I contend that after the 1982 Lebanon war, Saudia – the main Sunni Moslem banker of opposition to Israel – decided that Israel would not be defeated militarily. Since that time, they’ve focused exclusively on the delegitimization “apartheid” tack.
Annexation right now would play right into their scheme, particularly with Obama as POTUS, who is their stooge in any event.
@ Vinnie:
Any attempt to invoke Chapter Seven on Israel will prompt a very loud discussion of the fact that while theoretically every UN member is entitled to sit at the UNSC — which now (then) would presume to threaten force against Israel — at no time in her entire sovereign existence Israel has ever been permitted a seat there.
Hard to square that
— and I suspect that the UNO would be most reluctant to let the subject arise . . . .
Has the PA’s “Dayton’s Army” demobilized recently?
I see no mention of this anywhere here. Maybe I missed it somewhere.
Do all of you think that if Israel decides to annex J&S the PA will simply throw up their hands and say, ‘Oh, drat! They’ve annexed! We might as well fold our tents and move to Amman, or London…”.
No, there will be a huge, nasty firefight. The IDF will win the shootout, of course…but not before CNN, etc., have bludgeoned Israel in the court of world opinion, making international reaction to the Gaza flotilla incident in 2010 look like a Bar Mitzvah party by comparison.
If Obama is in office, you can then expect the UNSC to recognize the PA’s application for statehood. Has anyone here noticed that this has also not gone away? It is still pending. It has not been brought up to a vote…yet. Hmmmm. What are they waiting for..? Anybody here consider that?
From there, you can expect EU sanctions – Remember the EU? Where 20% of Israel’s exports go? – and quite possibly a Chapter 7 – as in the legally enforceable kind – UNSCR that put sanctions on a broader scale.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not disputing for a moment Israel’s legal or historical rights to J&S. I’m just illuminating the terrain over which we are operating here, in real-world, immediate political pr/media war terms, and likely consequences that flow from the same.
You’d be facing the “Rhodesia treatment” big time. That is exactly the end-game that that Saudis and their various friends and stooges (e.g., Obama) have in mind.
My point being: You’d be nuts to try this now. At some point in the future, when the political correlation of forces is more in your favor than at present, this could work.
The key is to stall and build until that day comes. And that is what I see happening right now. Which is all to the good.
I suppose it is a reasonable idea to talk about such things…they won’t happen if we don’t talk about them, if we don’t plan. But we have to take EVERYTHING into account. The PA security forces have not vanished as of yet.
Timing is everything.
@ Rose Landowne:
Up or down, the barrier is a problem, granted.
But it won’t do to characterize its presence as conducive to ‘apartheid’
Apartheid is about legal separation based on race.
Don’t fall into the trap of letting the opposition choose your language for you, Rose.
Whoever controls the terminology of discourse
— controls its direction as well.
@ the phoenix:
C-A wasn’t wrong, phoenix; language IS the instrument of assimilation (or, AN instrument of it anyway, among others)
— and countering the remark with anomalous anecdotes won’t address his point — which was clearly intended in the aggregate, not as a blanket panacea for each-&-every contingency.
Not helpful, phoenix.
Once, maybe twice, would’ve sufficed.
Now you’ve worn it out.
Give it a rest.
Yidvocate Said:
Agree, and temporary at that. They do not have citizenship in the arab countries. also, what about relatives of the new citizens, will they be allowed to immigrate. Further,what happens to citizens of other nations whose citizenship is unilaterally withdrawn, why should Israel solve that problem?. I see no reason for jordan to exist except as the SOLE home of the muslim inhabitants of the former palestine mandate territory.
@ CuriousAmerican:
Ivrit, English and Arabic are official languages in Israel. Fluency in any one should be sufficient for the purposes of citizenships. It is in Israel’s interests, if annexation and a one-state solution is adopted, to minimise the hoops that Arab residents have to jump through. Otherwise, people will argue that they are second-class citizens and it will not go down well.
I can see arguments both for and against a one-state solution, but paramount (and anathema for Zionists) is the fact that a one-state solution runs the risk of an eventual Arab majority holding executive political power.
the authors calculation of elected officials only stands if everyone continues to live where they are. If Israel was one state and the Arabs are made citizens they might move and spread out throughout Israel and change the demographics that way. Jewish flight would cause once Jewish neighborhoods to become Arab.
There are positive aspects to the one state solution, but there are still many risks. One risk is, it is irreversable. If it goes bad there is no solution. At least the current status has somewhat worked (with plenty of problems) for over 40 years.
What about the security barrier? Leaving it up would make Israel into an apartheid state, but taking it down would leave the Jewish population open to Arab violence.
@ the phoenix:
My point is that everything is relative. Nothing should be blown out of proportion.
@ dweller:
dweller, I know that, a sovereign Jewish Nation at that.
I believe sometimes the Israeli leaders don’t understand it.
They keep looking for approval from the rest of the world.
When they start acting like a sovereign nation the world will keep its trap shut.
Was major nidaL hassan of fort hood notoriety able to speak English?
Was smirking Faisal shahzad of time square notoriety able to speak English?
Was Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan, the ‘moderate musloid who decapitated his wife in n.y., able to speak English?
Should I go on? American?
Or do you understand by now what aahma’ sayin’?
Ted Belman Said:
dear ted,
unfortunately your highlited comment is true. what i said, is strue as well…
this is not a contest of who is right/wrong/scores the most points in a debate…
it is ONE thing for members of the tribe to quarrel and disagree with each other (and god almighty, do we, collectively, ever!)and it is something else TOTALLY, for the very same point, to be brought by a non tribe member…. as the sensitivity of the ‘tolerance-meter’ shoots to the stratosphere…
@ CuriousAmerican:
True, but Israel is explicitly constituted a Jewish state.
At the beginning to this post I inadvertently got the date wrong. Its now been corrected.
There are pros and cons to every course of action. Its not good enough to take a pot shot at it for one thing, albeit a big one, than to make a judgement, all things considered.
As for Jewish girls being ensnared and thus lost, look at who many Jews are being lost in the western world due to assimilation.
As for reducing the number of Arabs in Israel, this plan doesn’t preclude the plan to offer them financial inducements to emigrate. The money need only be offered to women under the age of thirty and their families.
andrew morris Said:
Who are they. They may have their own version of same but don’t speak for this Plan. I’d like to contact them.
CuriousAmerican Said:
american!
is your middle name sisyphus?
i am NOT offended AT ALL were you to call me racist, bigot islamophobe whatever!
i would rather prevail together with my loved ones and my people, and be called names by the likes of you, than be blown to pieces or have my throat slit by a musloid, and have you and the likes of you hold a hypocritical phony eulogy…
no american!
you are talking to one jew that does not give a damn how i may sound.
there is no misundrstanding about kkkoran 9-5….
being a jew, and thus targeted by these bastards in their teachings (“The Hour will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. The Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will say: ‘O Muslim, O slave of Allah! There is a Jews behind me, come and kill him!’ ), how i may sound to an american is the LEAST of my concerns.
if you are not aware of what i have said above about islam and muslims…you can still educate yourself and come to realize that unfortunately i have spoken the truth.
i suspect though that you would rather see dead jews…
Adolf Hitler would have said it this way:
I am aware that Hitler based his ideas on race, NOT religion; but I have seen racist insults come out of Israelis, too.
I am aware of the problems of Islam. But educating them in Hebew will open them up to Western ideas.
CuriousAmerican Said:
ehm, american?
MANY of these musloids living in yehuda and shomron, DO speak hebrew. and speak it very well too!
unfortunately, many jewish young girls, get ensnared and end up in some ‘tiz el nabi’ village where they are dully converted to this criminal cult, get pregnant and…for all intents and purposes are GONE!
in fact, some of the suicide bombers DO pass themselves as jews of middle eastern origin..
the problem with you, american, is that back in the states, the majority of americans, speak only english… and the concept of being fluent in a few languages is very foreign to you guys….
there is definitely no need whatsoever to gain hearts and minds of ANY garden variety…and MOST DEFINITELY not the musloid one.
for infact this is unattainable and any person with more than two functioning neurons would quickly realize that there is no hope for these people and the best we could do is to ensure that they are not in our midst.
if you want to educate, then educate the educable. the kkkoran and the had deaths should be a mandatory course for ALL levels of education, so that this abomination, should be exposed for all to see: a criminal political totalitarian cult masquerading as a religion.
not only israel must NOT offer citizenship to ANY muslim, but it must also REVOKE it from the ones that got it. this would be a ticking time bomb waiting to detonate.
you see american, this might apply to the states and the mexicans but is not valid for israel.
YES there should be one state, and as far as the muslims that are still here,they must go!
Why do you offer this silliness when you know the Arabs will NOT take in the Judean and Samarian Arabs?!
This is not an answer, but just arrogance.
Israel should offer them citizenship; but require fluency in Hebrew. Language is the instrument of assimilation.
I am for annexation but oppose making the Arabs citizens or even residents. They should resettle in other arab countries.
It can be accomplished very easily.
Offer Israeli citizenship, but require literacy in Hebrew before they can vote. Up until the 1950s, before you could vote in New York City, you had to take a literacy test. My mother was a blue-eyed white, had to take a literacy test.
France requires literacy in French.
Only the USA allows multilingualism.
Literacy in Hebrew should be the test.
A oath should not be required since Jews are not required to take it.
But literacy in Hebrew would force Arabs to encounter a Jewish world view.
Literacy tests are historically valid requirements and NOT undemocratic.
Sound advice in 2003. Even sounder advice today! Tomorrow may be too late. Not sure why the West Bank Arabs need to be offered Israeli citizenship. The Falsetinian state already exists in Jordan and in fact these Arabs had citizenship of that country and were illegally striped of it. Alien resident status is all that should be offered.