In your piece The Palestinians are at fault, but so what?, you ask a friend of yours "what now," after stating that plainly the Palestinians have repeatedly rejected any agreement or compromise with Israel.
You seem to be at a loss as to how your friend Shmuel, as you call him, rants and raves about how it's unfair how the world treats Israel. And you express your genuine concern for Israel as its international standing deteriorates, concerned about economic sanctions, and even the possibility that the world may in the end demand a one state solution if no real progress towards an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians is made.
You seem incredulous that your friend Shmuel feels that the "current situation can go on indefinitely," as you state, and admirably you wring your hands in frustration of the coming tsunami of political, economic, and military pressure that is bound to be applied to Israel with the coming unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state.
What frustrates you most is that with all of his bemoaning of the current situation, Shmuel has no suggestion, no plan of action, no proposal of what to do. Finally, you end by stating that Israel "needs a plan." Yet you yourself decline to propose one. However, we all know that the only "plan" out there that anybody bothers to suggest is further one-sided Israeli concessions to an already dead horse of a peace process.
We both know that the Palestinians have refused to even negotiate over the past two and half years, as President Obama as slowly attempted to take the situation into his own hands and for all practical purposes negotiate for the Palestinians, all the while making concessions in the name of Israel, which resulted in a culmination of speeches we saw last week, with Prime Minister Netanyahu reclaiming what President Obama attempted to give away in Israel's name.
And sadly, many liberal Jews who feel a tremendous guilt about the occupation, sympathize with President Obama's steps, if not fully support them. Because to them, cause doesn't matter, and justice for Israel doesn't matter, what matters is their sympathy towards a people that have lived under occupation, of one form or another, since before the British. And many of these people believe there needs to be peace, at any price. That the Palestinians need to be liberated from the yolk of occupation, at any price. But most Israelis aren't willing to pay any price, for what we perceive as just another Southern Lebanon, another Gaza, just waiting to happen. And this is our land, our country, where we work, raise our children, and live our lives. And it is us and our politicians that will decide whether we've offered enough, not those that don't live in this land, and in all due respect, not the President of the United States.
Unfortunately Rabbi Yoffie, there are no easy answers, and to the great disappointment of the Israeli left, at this time, there is also no new proposal that the Israelis can make to draw the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. For as Mr. Netanyahu noted in his speech to AIPAC, and to the US congress, the Palestinians have yet to accept a Jewish state. And with President Obama's guarantee of a Palestinian state, and with support from around the world, Mr. Abbas also has no need to sign any agreement or make any concessions.
The plan you are so desperate to find? That wonderful, creativity and ingenuity that the whole world attributes to the Jewish state? Israel has no more to offer in a conflict in which those that we need to make peace with refuse to accept us. And it's not a matter of how much we're willing to give. Everybody has known exactly how much Israel has been willing to give, since Camp David 2 in which Yasser Arafat walked away from Ehud Barak's offer and started the second Intifada.
Though you are indeed correct that we are at a critical time Rabbi Yoffie. One in which the world is looking ominous, even without the problems of Israel and the Middle East conflict. And as you so deftly noted, Israel is going to face many challenges in the coming months. Facebook organized protests with tens of thousands of Arabs trying to infiltrate Israel from all its borders. Hamas getting stronger with Egypt now having opened the Rafiah crossing, the next flotilla scheduled to leave Turkey shortly with more than a dozen boats including the Mavi Marmara, and of course, the coming Palestinian declaration of a state, and subsequent vote in the UN.
Israel, through Prime Minister Netanyahu has told the world what needs to happen for honest, sincere negotiations to take place. First and foremost, we want to know we have a genuine partner for peace. A man like Anwar Sadat, who made it a point to convince the Israeli people that he was looking for a genuine peace. For as Prime Minister Netanyahu so eloquently noted, Israel only gets one chance for real peace.
The time has come Rabbi Yoffie for you and the American Jewish community to decide just where you stand, and if it is on Israel's side, to take a stand. Israel, now more than ever needs the support of the international Jewish community, and particularly that of the American community, to stand up in the face of ongoing delegitimization, and the attempts to force Israel to make non-reciprocated concessions. The plan Rabbi Yoffie, is to take a stand, and demand from the world justice, not just for the Palestinians, who are but a symptom of the greater Arab Israeli conflict, but justice for Israel. It is not to keep throwing Israeli bargaining chips into the bottomless pit of failed negotiations. That is not a plan, that is a desperate act of those that have no plan.
We need your support. We need your Rabbis and your Educators to speak to their congregants. We need organized canvassing to make the Jewish voice heard. For it's been quiet for so long. American Jews want to keep a low profile, and raise their children, and live their lives in peace, just like Israel's Jews want. Only America's Jews have an advantage, they don't have to fight for that right. The American Jewish community was never afraid to make their voice heard. We stood up for the rights of the African Americans in the 60s. So its difficult to understand why they don't stand up now.
If you really believe in the facts as you set them down in your article, then you know that you must stand up for Israel, for you know that for all its flaws and mistakes, Israel's attempts at peace have indeed been genuine, and what has been dishonest are the attacks on Israel's efforts, integrity and intentions.
There is no other time, now is the time to organize, to take a stand, and to tell the world that you support Israel. With a genuine partner Israel will be willing to make compromises. But without one we shall stand against the world, come what may. And if you and your communities remain silent and unsure in this critical time, the world, and Israel's future will be very dark.
Now is the time to speak truth to power, to disprove the propaganda, to take back the debate, to stand up and make your voice heard. Now is the time to make a difference. For you never know when you may get another chance.
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