Where Is Israel Going?

These are terrible days for those of us who long to see Israel finally accepted by its neighbors. At a time when all 22 Arab states have offered Israel peace and normalization in exchange for the '67 territories, this war could destroy that possibility once and for all.

No, that does not mean that I question Israel's right to respond to the rocket onslaught from Gaza. Of course, it has that right. Any country has the right, even the obligation, to respond militarily to thugs who rain down thousands of rockets on its people, leaving its children quaking in terror. The question is not whether Israel has the right, but whether exercising it this way is right.

For Israel, the only right response is the one that will bring it closer to the security it will only have when it is accepted by its neighbors. Some argue that this attack on Hamas will indeed accomplish that. Eliminate the fanatics, they say, and Israel can make peace with the moderates.

But, Israel is incapable of even dealing with its own crazies. Under conditions infinitely more comfortable than those of Gaza, Israeli lunatics--settlers who attack children and burn down olive groves--have become significant political players. In Israel, it is impossible to form a government without the crazies. How can anyone imagine it possible to bomb Hamas into moderation?

Of course, it would be sufficient if this war could eliminate Hamas' ability to attack Israel. Even that is a long shot with few Israelis predicting this assault will accomplish that for long.

But one thing is certain--this war is unlikely to bring peace any closer. In fact, I believe that the pictures Arabs and Muslims worldwide are seeing of the attacks on Gaza may push that day so far into the future that none of us will see it.

The other day the Washington Post put a photo of the family of five young sisters killed in a single attack on its front page. Imagine how that played in the Arab world or in the world at large. Imagine how long it will take for the memory, the stain, of those five little girls to fade.

And, no, it's not relevant that Hamas kills children too or that it does it intentionally and Israel does it by accident. Hamas is a terror organization. The standard that applies to Hamas is not the one to apply to a civilized state, a member of the United Nations, and an ally of the United States and the West. Israel is not Libya, but the state created by Jewish idealists and humanists seeking not regional domination but a Jewish refuge. It is that refuge that is now compromised.

In the New York Times the other day, the conservative Israeli historian, Benny Morris, wrote that Israelis feel that "the walls--and history--are closing in on their 60-year-old state."

He specifically refers to Iran's nuclear program, the growing power of Hezbollah and Hamas, and the disaffection of Israeli Arabs.

"Public opinion in the West (and in democracies, governments can't be far behind) is gradually reducing its support for Israel as the West looks askance at the Jewish state's treatment of its Palestinian neighbors and wards. The Holocaust is increasingly becoming a faint and ineffectual memory and the Arab states are increasingly powerful and assertive," he writes.

Just a few years ago, Israel's situation was entirely different. It was close to achieving virtually universal acceptance.

Some of Israel's most vocal supporters want us to forget that. They cling to the idea that "the world has always hated Israel" (and the Jews), rejecting as irrelevant the idea that Palestinian statelessness is at the root of the problem.

They reject that fact because it suggests that Israel is in charge of its own destiny. It can determine where it stands in the eyes of the world, and especially the Arab world, by changing its relationship with the Palestinians.

How do I know that? Because it happened once before.

Following Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's decision to recognize both the PLO and the Palestinians' right to a state in the West Bank and Gaza, nine non-Arab Muslim states and 32 of the 43 Sub-Saharan African states established relations with Israel. India and China, the two largest markets in the world, opened trade relations. Jordan signed a peace treaty and several of the emirates began quiet dealings with Israel.

The Arab boycott ended. Foreign investment soared. Israel's isolation appeared to be over.

The most graphic demonstration of Israel's changed international standing occurred at Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's funeral in 1995, which rivaled President Kennedy's in terms of international representation.

Leaders from virtually every nation on earth came to pay homage to Rabin. From President Clinton and Prince Charles to President Hosni Mubarak, King Hussein, and the leaders of every country in Europe, most of Africa and Asia (including India and China), Latin America, Turkey, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, and Tunisia. Yasir Arafat wept at Leah Rabin's apartment in Tel Aviv.

The world mourned Rabin because under him, Israel had embraced the cause of peace with the Palestinians. The homage to Rabin was a clear demonstration--as was the opening of trade and diplomatic relations with formerly hostile states--that Israel was not being isolated because it is a Jewish state, but because of its conflict with the Palestinians.

Once Rabin moved to end the conflict, he ended Israel's isolation as well. (If the problem was undying Jew-hatred, Rabin's opening to the Palestinians would not have affected Israel's standing).

We need to remember this as the hard-liners insist that anti-Israel sentiment is unconnected with anything Israel does. That is simply not true. Even Ariel Sharon, hated more than any Israeli by most Arabs and Muslims, saw his image transformed overnight when he moved to relinquish Gaza. He actually received an ovation at the United Nations, leaving the old man in shock.

But that was then, this is now. I agree with Morris who seems to believe that, at this rate, Israel's days may be numbered.

So the questions have to be asked. Does the Gaza war improve Israel's long-term (or even short-term) situation? Might it not have been better to induce Hamas to stop the shelling by ending the blockade Israel imposed back when Hamas won the Palestinian election?

Was it right to insist that Hamas accept Israel in advance of negotiations rather than simply push for a total and absolute cessation of violence and blockade, followed by negotiations? Could Israel realistically expect the cease-fire to hold while Gaza remained under siege, rife with hunger, illness, and joblessness? And freezing cold. (Even during the cease-fire, Israel was turning on Gaza's heat and electricity only a few hours a day).

Again, I am not questioning Israel's right to respond. But that is the wrong question. The right question to ask is why it came to this. And to ask ourselves if supporting the continuation of this war--rather than an immediate cease-fire--will do Israel more harm than good.

MJ Rosenberg is the Director of Israel Policy Forum's Washington Policy Center

Comments

[sassion]

yes they have the right to defend themselves, and yes they could do a MUCH better job of creating Palestinian statehood.

What worries me is Hamas has as one of their main and founding Charters that calls the destruction of the State of Israel.

What can you do against a group that shoots out of elementary school windows hoping to have child casualties? ( to show the media & inflame other Islamic states)...­.....dishe­artening.

[Akin]

And so sad.

[arvay]

"Israel is not Libya, but the state created by Jewish idealists and humanists seeking not regional domination but a Jewish refuge."

Anyone who wants to check the truth of this should Google Irgun and Starn gang.

[arvay]

That's "Stern" gang.

[BigPictures]

Many world's problem requires a more effective world government, the United Nations. According to the UN resolution, if the Arabs renouce violence, Israel is obligated to return the Arabs land. Hamas should voice their complaints about Israel peacefully. For a weaker power, the path to its people's dignity is through non-violence principle of Ghandi and Martin Luther King. Israel should consult the UN regardiing how to deal with the Hamas' rocket attacks. The Abrabs Peace Initiative based on the UN resolution is a good principle for permanent Middle East peace. If Obama really wants to break away from Bush's policy and become a true leader of the world, he should find ways to strengthen the UN. One problem with the UN is it is not democratic, so a better UN would be more democratic. Many work needs to be done in international law. Until powerful nations decide to adhere internation laws, there will be no peace on earth. For example, the veto power of the UN security councile present a conflict of interests, which should be abondonded in order to be more democratic.

[arvay]

Anything Obama does to strengthen the UN will be a plus.

But Israel regards itself as above the law, including international law, and it and its proponents frequently express their contempt for the UN. Israel is a state founded by terrorists, as anyone can learn by Googling the word Irgun, and is steeped in lawlessness. So that makes all Palestinian terrorism defensive in nature.

So don't hold your breath on the UN making a difference.

And I doubt that the nations that form the Security Council, China and the others, not just the US, will ever surrender their veto power.

[arvay]

Here's your answer, a much clearer signal from Israel than I could ever deliver.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/06/israeli-bombs-hit-un-scho_n_155497.html

[LillianB]

Thank you for a balanced post. Though it has its flaws. I don't accept your argument that "Hamas kills children intentionally and Israel does it by accident". I accept it as correct that Hamas does it on purpose. That Israel does it by accident, I don't. Way to many civilians have been killed over the last days, and over the years, for that to be accepted as a truth. I think it will be way more correct to say that Israel accepts civilian deaths, as long as they're Palestinian.

If you compare the numbers of Israeli civilians killed over the years with the number of Palestinian civilians killed over the years you'd see the same. (I don't have the exact numbers, which varies according to the time limit, but I know the Palestinian losses are way higher than Israelian).

The Gaza Strip is among the most densely populated areas in the world (actually on par with Gibraltar, the world's fifth most densely populated country). It's hard to hit any target within Gaza without hitting civilians. But that doesn't change the fact that a large percentage of those killed during the bombings are innocent women, men and children. Just how many is impossible to know, as international obervators are denied access by Israel. Doctors from Doctors Without Borders and Norwac just confirmed that some 90 civilians were killed or severely harmed during today's attack on the grocery market. No one can claim the grocery market to be a legitimate military target.

[arvay]

What Hamas needs are much more accurate rockets, so that they can target legitimate military and industrial targets in Israel.

Bombing Israeli civilians is just as useless and counterproductive as Israeli bombardment of Arab and Lebanese civilians.

There are thousands of legitimate targets in Israel, including the country's nuclear complex at Dimona. It's advanced technology businesses are very vulnerable and hitting some of them would discourage foreign investment.

Iran, your help is needed here, and a safe passage via Egypt needs to be established and successfully defended.

[Postroad]

I don't want to get involved in this pro and anti Israel arugement but would point out that the author refers
to Israeli historian Benny Morris as "conservat­ive." Not very long ago, Morris was a "revisionist" who deconstructed the Israel war qwith the Arabs, and not in much a a favorable light toward Israel. Since then, noting the insistence of palestinians to eliminate Israel, he has moved to a more rightist (that is, hawkish) position.

[Magenta]

Kirby, keep posting your views and the facts. People are reading them. Voices of reason will always stand out : >

[Magenta]

The writer is correct in his assessment. Read what an Israeli reporter has to say about Israel's atrocities against the Arabs in the Gaza Strip before and after the invasion.

Famed Isareli Journalist Decries Civilian Casualties in Gaza -- But Who is Amira Hass?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/greg-mitchell/isareli-journalist-decrie_b_154219.html

A powerful column appears today in the Jerusalem daily Haaretz, written by one of its top correspondents, Amira Hass, reporting on Gaza, which opens: "This isn't the time to speak of ethics, but of precise intelligence. Whoever gave the instructions to send 100 of our planes, piloted by the best of our boys, to bomb and strafe enemy targets in Gaza is familiar with the many schools adjacent to those targets -- especially police stations. He also knew that at exactly 11:30 A.M. on Saturday, during the surprise assault on the enemy, all the children of the Strip would be in the streets - half just having finished the morning shift at school, the others en route to the afternoon shift."...
...Hass is not only an Israeli but both of her parents are Holocaust camp survivors.­..
In a radio interview she described life in Gaza: "It is complete isolation, I feel it's like a black hole. Everybody, this isolation, this blockade reduces people's lives in to basic concern. Will there be electricity? Will there be water? Will we find candles in the shop? Is there gas for cooking?"

[druidlady42]

Thank you for this post.

[oldmanof63]

The war of words just goes back and forth. Let's face reality. In this sophisticated world there will come a time when a far superior rocket with precise coordinates will land anywhere in Israel. Attack helicopters will be shot out of the sky using weapons bought on the open market. Before that day arrives, and it may just be around the corner, Israel needs to understand that it must bring something very powerful to the table - a willingness to give the Palestinians a physically connected land and to join the world in helping that new country to build schools, businesses, infrastructure, etc. When it begins to act on that promise the Palestinians will take care of their own terrorists. If Israel cannot envision that and thinks that in another 60 years all non-Jews will be out of "Greater Israel" and the Palestinian problem will be over, then they will go the way of all oppressive regimes.

[rnelsonbrown]

Skuuuuze me, but i am under the impression (from visiting in the middle east and talking to people there) that Hamas was and is a duly elected government by a sizable majority of the Palestinian population, and is still a main contender and voice for it's people. This has to count for something!
While i appreciate the tenor of your argument, i think it irresponsible to participate in and continue the worn out propaganda being perpetrated upon the west by the parties concerned of Hamas being a terrorist organization. Palestine is fighting for its life with a much bigger dog at its throat, while the big dog yelps out pitiful cries of innocence and specious rational.
Let us also remember that Israel is a state created by Jewish idealists and humanists seeking not regional domination but a Jewish refuge... at the expense of, and on the land of, peoples extant to that territory.
Yes, i have to agree with you, Israel is not opening the path to a peace between two neighbors, but maintaining a path it has been on for a long time: extermination of those who are in their way on their way to a unified territory of Israel.

[The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker]

Hear hear. Simple fact: Hamas was ELECTED. The US and Israel don't have to like it. It's time to negotiate WITH RESPECT. The Israeli squatters whine whine whine about the (tiny and mostly harmless) qassam rockets but have no one to blame but THEMSELVES because they are squatting on land that does not belong to them.

Bottom line:

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/mapstellstory.html?q=mapstellstory.html

[Akin]

Not every government is careless about the security of its citizens.

I lived in such a country once, and it felt terrible for citizen's lives to be taken by enemies of a state whose military was incapable of a defensive response. Qassam rockets launched at cities do real harm, and it is only because Israel, valuing its citizens' lives, installs warning systems & builds shelters, that the casualty count is relatively low. You cannot blame a state under attack for being reasonably well prepared. That can never mitigate the murderous intent of a terrorist group.

Hamas, by fighting only amongst its electorate, shows a disregard for both Israeli & Palestinian life that is consistent with their hateful utterances.

[tophat123]

The UN also offered a state to the Palestinians, but they rejected it -- and the Arab nations immediately launched a war (the first of many) to wipe out Israel. That decision is a tragedy for the Palestinians -- a tragedy of their own making. Today they could be celebrating their country's 60th anniversary as Israel did. Instead they chose the path of violence and conflict -- and allowed themselves to be ruled continually by despotic leaders.

[ProbStat]

If we consider that the world community offered the Jewish People a state over the period 1917-48, on the condition that state would have to make peace with its neighbors and reconcile with those harmed in its creation, Israel is an epic, colossal failure. Either 60 or 90 years on, depending on how you reckon it, Israel is probably more hated than it ever has been before, and it still relies heavily on outside support.

The early Zionists said they wanted Jews to have a normal state, like other nations. They still don't have it, and they seem to lack the mindset more than the means to achieve it.

[DrumMajorforJustice]

Israel's military actions in Gaza are historically, militarially and morally justified.

[pfc1369]

Because you say so?

[ProbStat]

Nonsense.

Since when has history, military concerns, or morality condoned blockading an area because you didn't like the results of its democratic election?

The Southern American states had far more historical, military, and moral justification to secede after Lincoln's election than Israel did to drive 40% of Gazas children into malnutrition.

If you choose to write in a Charles Krauthammer-ish, "I'm just here to impart the truth onto you confused masses, lo even as Moses unto the Israelites," you ought to have at least a moderate understanding of your topic. You have emulated Krauthammer in failing at that as well.

[pfc1369]

General Moshe Dyan inadvertently spoke the truth years ago when asked about the Palestinians. I do not have the verbatim quote, but this is very close:

"We will tell them we cannot help you. If you remain here you will live like dogs.
You are always free to go."

That was decades ago. Nothing has changed one iota.

[DrumMajorforJustice]

I agree. The strategic objectives of the government of Israel have not changed in the sixty years since the partition of Palestine. To Wit: The State of Israel will take any action that is necessary to, in the words of Theodore Hegel, “drive the penniless Arabs from the land”; Create conditions on the ground that engender “transfer” (forced immigration of indigenous Palestinian Arabs to other states such as Jordan) and the creation of a greater (eretz) Israel that includes ALL of Palestine. We must stop ignoring this fundamental reality. My only confusion is why the USA continues to finance, in large measure, Israel’s ability to carry out this immoral strategy.

[prfctlyclm]

Who is Theodore Hegel? I believe the founder of the Zionist movement was named Theodore Hertzl, a minor point perhaps, but why should I believe the validity of any of your other points if you can miss such a major one as this? This is a complex issue, and the very complex history on both sides needs to be fully taken into account when considering the history of the region. Part of the reason Israel feels justified in defending itself are the many quotes by many, many Arab leaders about "driving Israel into the sea."

[fumes]

''...why the USA continues to finance, in large measure, Israel"s ability to carry out this immoral strategy?'' because the usa drove out people in their way too... the native indians?

[The Hedonistic Pleasureseeker]

"It must be clear that there is no room for both peoples in this country...­The Zionist enterprise so far...has been fine and good in its own time, and could do with 'land buying' - but this will not bring about the State of Israel; that must come all at once, in the manner of a Salvation (this is the secret of the Messianic idea); and there is no way besides transferring the Arabs from here to the neighboring countries, to transfer them all; except maybe for Bethlehem, Nazareth and Old Jerusalem, we must not leave a single village, not a single tribe."
(Joseph Weitz, 19 December 1940)

[mattheweste]

Yes its funny to read the Zionists comments before they discovered PR and decided -- yeah --- better not say what we think out loud any more. I like the one by Ben Gurion saying something like, "Well duh - I'd fight too if someone was murdering my people and taking my land"

[realist333]

I very much sympathize with the sentiments that inspire this post, but with reference to Gaza it seems misdirected.

Hamas, like Lebanon's Hezbollah, is an organization armed and funded by Iran. Common to all three is the ridiculous "destroy Israel" rhetoric.

An appropriate counter-strategy for both the US and Israel would be the creation of a "Popular Front for the Liberation of Iran," with its own secure enclave (probably in Kurdistan), conducting asymetrical guerrilla operations against the Revolutionary Guard et al.

That would keep the ayatollahs too busy to continue making trouble in distant lands.

[eremite]

There is nothing very "realistic" in your suggestion. You write as if there were a consensus on how to deal with terrorists or even if there are terrorists. If the Iraqi war teaches us anything it should be don't commit troops without securing your own country first. President Bush learned the hard way that the back stabbers are just ewaiting for an opportunity to undercut you.

[moflard]

So your solution to one war is to start another one? Tell me, are you named George W Bush by any chance?

[Prattvictory2]

The current crisis in Gaza is like Custer charging a native American village. When the native Americans seeing their impending massacre they shoot at the charging cavalry. Custer of course uses the shots as the excuse for the massacre.

[PhilipTaylor]

Well said! I remember that old movie!

It was painful even though I was a kid.

Now I realize the H00R0R of it all! But Custer got his!

[americansheep]

If you ask the average Native American I doubt that he celebrates Custer's masscara. It didn't turn out so good in the end.

[tophat123]

There is no equivalency. Hamas has been firing thousands of rockets at Israel. Israel has every right to defend itself. If Hamas fired no rockets, there would be no conflict right now. You will not find any Israeli who wants to fight.

[Prattvictory2]

If Zionism isn't like Manifest Destiny I don't know what is. It was born in the same era. Eretz Israel includes the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza. The Palestinians, like the American Indian are in the way. There will be no two state solution.

[pfc1369]

E-q-u-i-v-­a-l-e-n-c-­y....

How those who consider themselves to be morally superior love that word!

If no Israeli wants to fight, they would not be fighting now, would they?

Oh? You say they "have to"?

That means they want to, pilgrim.

[mattheweste]

Did Serbia have a right to defend against the Kosovo Liberation Army?

[pfc1369]

I seem to recall it was Custer and his 200 men who were massacered.

[PhilipTaylor]

This is a critical moment for IS for two parallel reasons:

1. The perception of Madoff and Wall Street combined with
2. The offensive into a very poor neighbor with minimal resources

This double edged problem is changing American and possibly World opinion in the wrong direction for IS.

[Gaya]

what's madoff got to do with it? does enron represent a failure of all christians? of course not. just because one jew did something awful, doesn't mean all jews are to blame. also, many of his clients were also jews.

[PhilipTaylor]

I said "perception" and it does not stop at Madoff!

[TAIsabel]

This is not a military nor a diplomatic matter, it is a moral one. As long as Israel continues to crowd the Palestinians (in their own land!) into Gaza and the West Bank and treat them like inferior beings, there will be no peace.

No amount of dialogue, preassure, diplomacy or bombs will settle this issue. It is my belief that, as long as these conditions exist and Palestinians are alive, there will be no peace. It is an artificial state based on artificial principles. The Palestinians should not have to pay for the Holocaust, they wre not the perpetrators.

[tophat123]

So you're saying the Jewish People have no right to live in their own land...the land of the Bible...th­e land to which they were connected long before the Christians or Muslims existed?

[moflard]

And you're saying the Palestinians have no right to their homes?

As for the Jews being connected to it, how are they anymore connected to it than the Palestinians, who've also been there for about 7000 years? I can understand local Arab Jews, but Sephardim and Ashkenazim are descendants of populations that, almost completely, left voluntarily millennia ago. Added to which Sephardim at least had a relatively high incidence of conversion from outside faiths until the 11th century - so how are descendants of Celt-Iberians, Romans, Greeks and Visigoths connected to that area?

[Prattvictory2]

What justice gives the "Jewish People" right to the land? The Torah? The "Jewish People" took the land from someone else. Abraham handed the Canaanites a note from God saying he hates them and is giving them an eviction notice to give the land to Abraham. The word of God? Sounds like a fraudulent land deal.