Removing 33 ‘isolated’ settlements wouldn’t allow for a viable two-state solution, despite what a Haaretz colleague of mine argues
Ori Mark, the new editor of Haaretz’s Hebrew-language weekend magazine, is sure that the land can still be divided. In fact, it’s easy: Remove 9,800 families and the land is divided. Only 33 “isolated” settlements stand between the apartheid state or the binational democracy of the prophets of falsehood and destruction, A.B. Yehoshua and this writer, and the just solution of two states for two peoples, the vision of so many good people.
To read Mark’s article, which appeared in English as well over the weekend, it seems as if peace and justice are still right around the corner. Here comes the Palestinian state, reach out and touch it, just one small evacuation and we’re there. And we haven’t yet mentioned its tiny area, restricted rights, demilitarization and lack of sustainability.
Mark’s optimism is enviable. Only the despondent and the grumpy wouldn’t get caught up in it. In his favor it should be said that he’s taking small steps. His mini-evacuation promises only a mini-agreement. The drawing of a border for a limited period. And what about afterward? Only God knows. Even if he tarries, the Messiah will yet come.
Many in Israel and the rest of the world are still spreading this sweet illusion of dividing the land, an illusion that’s the most dangerous of all. Thanks to this fantasy, the occupation can be perpetuated. As long as a division of the land awaits, the occupation can continue.
Under this thinking, even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s years in office haven’t locked the door on a solution. The Zionist left and the European Union are selling this illusion, and the Palestinian Authority continues to hold fast to it – without it, it has no hope. Even Donald Trump mumbled something about two states. It’s convenient for everyone. Fifty years of occupation thanks to 50 years of illusion. We can go for another 50.
The map doesn’t lie. Removing 33 disruptive settlements would indeed allow for Palestinian territorial contiguity. There’s a state. True, a Palestinian who travels to Bethlehem and Ramallah would have to go through the Dead Sea, but who’s counting. There’s contiguity.
Maybe one day the Israeli statesman will be found who can evacuate 46,000 settlers, but it’s doubtful. And maybe a Palestinian leader will be found to sign an agreement in exchange. That would be Oslo II or III, Illusion II or III; justice would not be done. Not even a little. And so the end of Illusion III will be the same as that of Oslo I.
No map can overcome historical truth: Most of the Palestinian people’s land was taken from them in 1948. In 1967, the 22 percent that remained was robbed. And now they must compromise over that too, for the benefit of those who expelled them. Since 1948 the Palestinian people have been living under Israeli occupation or as refugees and in exile.
Until Israel takes responsibility for this and changes its attitude to the Palestinians and their rights, which hasn’t changed since 1948, no agreement will hold water. The removal of a few settlements will allow for a few more years of denial of reality, but the reality won’t let go and Israel will not be absolved.
Mark’s map obscures the truth. Netanyahu’s old refrigerator might freeze almost everything and make a lot of noise, as Mark puts it, but his years in power have distanced Israel even from the map of illusion.
The map doesn’t show the flood of nationalist legislation intended to legitimize annexation without granting citizenship, the apartheid state on the way. The map doesn’t show the spirit of the times, which has declined to the extremes of racism, a thirst for blood and a loss of recognition of the Palestinians as human beings. The map shows 33 settlements and hides Israel.
As luck would have it, reality peaks through in the pages that follow the hope offered by Mark. “What do they mean by sovereignty?” Carolina Landsmann asked in her piece on the issue, and presented the true spirit of the times. The education minister promises that the Palestinians will be able to travel by car, the Jerusalem affairs minister says the occupied territories belong to the Jewish people, the founder of the Israel Institute for Strategic Studies sends them to Indonesia and the Middle East affairs expert suggests they establish seven emirates for themselves.
That’s where we’re going, step by giant step. The settlers have won, we’ve lost. Let’s at least admit it, Ori, and not illusion ourselves to death.
@ adamdalgliesh:
Nah not one Adam…..welll…..maybe one…. at most ..two… (like the Brave Brave Mouse) I’m sure you couldn’t even name one, in your mind of course not posted. The posters here are predominantly nationalistic and Right Wing and Israel Firsters., at least such is my belief.
@ Max Hessenthal:
The remark that we must know our enemy automatically postulates a remedy, which would of course mean counter action. Without meaning to denigrate your additions in anyway, believe me, but in this case Ted covered it exactly-as far as I can see.
You might think that I am not seeing “far enough” and of course that could be, but I think of not only the possible, or likely, but even the impossible….so…..
“To err is human” etc.erc…, but to err is also divine, at least in one instance, like Our Creator producing such barbaric creatures for the 21st century and far beyond, like the Arabs.
You’re quite correct I could not name the top ten globalist families, but like you, I could look it up on the internet… I confess, that I don’t know a single soul who ever listens to anything on MSN….but are YOU telling ME that I have delusions etc…? I beg to differ. I lived in Israel for nearly 14 years, got married and had 4 children there so THAT experience cleansed me of all past, present and possible future delusions…
TED is providing a very neccessary function in printing the garbage the left espouses and spouts. We need to know what they are saying for the aforementioned reasons, and that should be obvious even to a blind man. The comment to “know your enemy” is, I believe, an old Chinese proverb.
An interesting thing about that word you used…. “sheeple”..I first heard it in the 1950s spoken by a 2nd rate (maybe 3rd rate) Jewish Comedian on the Ed Sullivan Show, can’t recall his name, was chubby and carried a battered cornet or trumpet on which he very rarely tried to blow a note. There were many far better like Myron Cohen or Jackie Mason, whom I regard as the top 2. I later found that it has been first used by some writer or reporter in the mid 1940s. But it describes the average group –certainly.
I don’t think ignoring it is the answer, There is a battle going on for the hearts and minds of the electorate and therefore we muct put the lie to what the left says.
Trump is fighting this battle every day and we must also.
Martin Sherman keeps reminding us that Israel has done a poor job of destroying the Palestinian narrative. He argues that we absolutely must destroy this narrative. I agree.
Ted Belman Said:
There is no evidence that anyone here knows the enemy. If so name the Globalists that own the MSM in the various globalist empires. Name the top ten families of the Globalist power elite – in Canada , in Europe, in Israel, in USA – none of you have a clue.
Name what businesses they own and control.
Every time you read or listen to a word from the MSN you are making yourself extinct.
They are garbage and skkkum simply because they exist – treat them like the garbage and the totalitarian monsters they are. Did they argue with Adolph in the last big one? No they dropped bombs on the Schnitzel Snackers. When they are dead no one cares what they think.
…
You are not answering any lies or distortions because the braindead sheeple can’t hear you, you are not in their earshot that is the meaning of media OWNERSHIP.
You have the same delusion that the so called “leftists” have in believing that the MSN is the voice of news only merely slanted.
It is the voice of maybe 10 people leaders of the power elite it is OWNED. If it comes from the MSN it is garbage , it doesn’t matter. Every voice you hear is a puppet. The only message to get to the sheeple is to show them the lie of ownership and get them to the voices of the free non globalist owned media.
You are not doing anything except repeating offensive toxic swill. It’s irrelevant if you rebut it, for every piece you do they have 10,000 more because they have the wealth to hire propagandist goons to do so.
There is no leftist ideology, you are fighting a chimera, there is only the propaganda of the power elite who wil tell nay lie to gain power, and it works and will only work so long as the sheeple listen to the MSN and the MSN only – you are feeding the trolls and making them fat.
If it comes from the MSN, it is already a LIE. The source is poison. There is no need to expose anyone to it.
I do not listen to TV, radio or read MSN print media. 99 percent of it is total garbage, if anything is true, it’s meant to support lies, it’s all garbage. Listen only to the alternative media. They will report on what is real and also will report on the as hysteria and irrationality generated by the Globalists.
But debating it, don’t bother , That’s lunacy and a conversation with lunatics., Just laugh at it but stop empowering it and stop repeating it here, Get real.
@ greenrobot:
That’s the Jordan Option which I am promoting.
Jordan is Arab Palestine, Israel is Jewish Palestine. The 2 state solution.
@ adamdalgliesh:
Know thine enemy. Know thine enemy’s propaganda.
Often I insert correcting comments throughout the article. Perhaps I should do more of that. You might say why post it at all. My reply would be not only must we know what they are saying about us but how to answer their lies.
Unless of course, you think we should ignore their lies and distortions.
@ Ted Belman:
That last line, pithy and accurate.
Thank you, Ted, for re-posting the HaAretz article. Gideon Levy is so Anti-Israel, I had to double check his name; I thought this couldn’t have been written by anyone but an Arab. Right now, in fact, I’ll check to see whether or not he’s Israili…
“Gideon Levy is an Israeli journalist and author. Levy writes opinion pieces and a weekly column for the newspaper Haaretz that often focus on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Wikipedia
Born: June 2, 1953 (age 65 years), Tel Aviv, Israel”
— Wikipedia
He seems pretty Jewish. I wish I could post his picture, so that when readers see it, they can pray for him. He certainly needs some spiritual help; and I suspect that there are quite a few other Israelis like him — who also need our prayers.
I think Dalgliesh is wrong, to get all worked up about this fellow. I live in a blue state in the US, and am surrounded by people who are delusional to about the same degree as Mr. Levy. They need prayer, all of them. Israel is going to be just fine; because it is protected, as a personal fief, by the Sustainer of the Universe. People like Gideon Levy, however, have made themselves vulnerable to every crazy whim of our Enemy. They are in great danger from themselves, and from others like them.
Am Israel chai, l’olam vaed
@ Ted Belman: I complain because there is a real chance that some readers of Israpundit may believe at least some of the lies that ______s like Gideon Levy dish out. (Israel stole the Arab’s land, expelled them, etc.) We Jews have a long history of internalizing our enemies lies. It is time to fight this Jewish tradition of self-destructive “self criticism,” rather than promoting it.
Ted I agree with you. We appreciate this.
@ adamdalgliesh:
I like to know what the left is saying. They represent a lot of folks in Israel and the US. It is important to know what these people embrace. For instance Hannity is forever pointing out what the MSM is saying before using that information as fodder.
Except for my preface, I leave it to my astute readers to attack the leftist articles. I do this because most readers value it. Sites like WSJ, NYT and Haaretz have paywalls so I am doing a service to my readers to print the odd article.
In this particular case, I thought that readers would like to read an article where Gideon Levy urges his readers to give up their illusions.
So the question is not so much why I publish it but moreso, why you complain.
Ted, you have yet to give a satisfactory explanation for why you insist on reproducing this type of antisemitic, and-Israel garbage in Israpundit. If your goal is only to inform Israpundit’s readers of what our enemies are saying, all you have to do is publish articles from MEMRI, Honestreporting, CAMERA, Israel Media Watch, Israel Academia Watch and NGO Monitor, BBCWatch, to name only some of the monitoring sites, which summarize the latest antisemitic garbage in the media while replying to it and exposing their lies. If you want to provide evidence that the settlers are “winning,” all you have to do is reproduce some of the reports of new settlement construction in settler publications or Arutz Sheva. It is madness for a pro-Israel publication to circulate this ____. What’s next? Republishing articles from Storm Front or the Vanguard?
Glad to hear that the settlers have won and the Left has lost.