Happy Thanksgiving--the view from Israel!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! For the second time in three years I will be out of the country on Turkey Day. Two years ago I was in Ireland, sharing a very pleasant home-cooked meal courtesy of a friend’s friend’s aunt’s friend, complete with a few slices of turkey and the occasional anti-Semitic comment from our elderly Irish host.

Today, I will again have pre-packaged turkey slices, albeit with perhaps the exact opposite of anti-Jewish talk at the dinner table! Instead, dinner discussions don’t question the Jews’ right to exist or have their own state, but instead center on peace prospects, American interests, etc. I terribly hope this post does not seem like a rant. I will try to be as level-headed as possible. At the end, however, I hope you will gain a greater appreciation and deeper understanding of why I am here. Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, questions, disagreements, etc. at the bottom! Please read and (try to) enjoy!

Where to begin…how about with the current talk of another settlement freeze? Basically, the thinking of each side goes like this: Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) were unable to reach an agreement/peace after the previous freeze ended in September; now that construction in East Jerusalem/West Bank has continued, the PA points to it as the primary obstacle to peace; Israel disagrees, contending it honored the previous freeze, and Netanyahu is trying to hold a very shaky and volatile coalition together while toeing the line on whether or not to seek another 90 day freeze; the US has a headache, wants peace, and is willing to provide incentives, namely providing Israel with 20 F-35 fighter planes. There are a lot more specifics and political hurdles (especially in the Knesset, for example, Netanyahu is in such a political bind that he won’t consider accepting until he has written confirmation from Obama about the planes), but for the purpose of this post, the information provided will suffice.

So, now what? Should Bibi (Netanyahu) accept the US offer? Should Israel continue building settlements? If there is another freeze, will there finally, truly be peace?!

My answer: ABSOLUTELY NOT. Why? To borrow a phrase from George Lakoff, “Don’t Think of Settlements!” Israeli construction in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is NOT what is preventing peace. In fact, there is something far more sinister preventing Israelis and Palestinians from signing accords. Unfortunately, what I am about to suggest is virtually taboo in the politically-correct, overly-apologetic, afraid-to-offend Western political culture. The main impediment to peace, the reason there will be no peace, is because the Arabs and Palestinians refuse to accept the right of Jews to live in Israel and would rather die than recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

Sounds extreme, no? But, I assure you, history and the facts add up to this horrific conclusion. In response to Mahmoud Abbas’ call for a new freeze, Bibi, in a politically savvy and promising move, said that he would support a freeze in the Knesset and agree to talks without preconditions if the PA would only recognize the State of Israel; Abbas would get what he wants and Israel would be seen as a legitimate state, nothing more nothing less. Apparently, since making such a claim is anathema to everything that is the Palestinian identity (or at least the PA), Abbas outright rejected the overture. This really made me wonder: if all the core issues ( settlements, Jerusalem, security, refugees) were hammered out, would the Palestinians still refuse to recognize Israel? What the hell does it take for peace?

What peace needs are open-minded people living in a liberal society. Unfortunately, the Palestinian people, courtesy of their leadership, are robbed of both. Take, for example, the case of Walid Husayin, a Palestinian living in the West Bank. His story is currently attracting a lot of attention on Facebook. Why? Because he is suspected of posting an essay called “Why I Left Islam” on an atheist website. The PA has him detained, without seeing visitors of lawyers, since late October (“Free Palestine!” Bret Stephens, Wall Street Journal, November 23, 2010; Stephens also talks more generally about illiberalism in the PA). If the lack of free expression didn’t make you question the Fatah leadership, if the detaining without outside visitors didn’t make you questions the Fatah leadership, consider this: on June 25, 2006, Hamas captured an Israeli soldier named Gilad Shalit. In the 1600 days since, NOT ONE person has been allowed to visit him. I don’t mean family or friends; I mean the Red Cross, UN, Doctors Without Borders…no one! And Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization.

(In fact, one interesting contrast is how Hamas and Israel view their civilians. One scenario, two different solutions: bombs and rockets are raining down on your city. In Sderot, Israel, children, with less than a minute of warning, are sent to the nearest bomb shelter for protection from Hamas’ rockets. In Gaza, after the Israeli Air Force drops leaflets warning civilians of the buildings that will be attacked, Hamas orders these innocent individuals up to the roofs to become martyrs. One side tries to save lives, the other tries to gain international public relations points. What country has ever done that? What its enemy’s civilian population ahead of time? Israel is indeed a rogue state! Please read: “When Gabriel Latner turned tables on the Israel-bashers,” Jonny Paul, The Jerusalem Post, November 17, 2010)

But, there are plenty of countries that don’t have liberal and law-abiding societies (Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Burma…clearly your class acts!). Understand that the Palestinian people live in a world where they are fed information and are led to believe realities that are—to be blunt—lies. Take, for example, when the chief Islamic judge of the Palestinian Authority made perhaps the most outrageous and incorrect statements ever uttered: the Jews have no connection to Jerusalem (“Palestinian Leaders Deny Jerusalem’s Past,” Bari Weiss, Wall Street Journal, September 25, 2009). With statements like these coming from the leadership, no wonder no one is jumping to recognize Israel. Please look at Palestinian Media Watch’s (PMW) website and see how young children are led to believe that Jews do not belong in Israel, that martyrdom is the desired path for any Muslim, and a host of other things that, if taught in America’s schools and broadcast on children’s television programs, would receive the biggest outcry. Suddenly, the anger and hostility that culminated in the two intifadahs begin to make sense.

“Hold on a second. I know Palestinians who are good people!” And I do too. I know plenty of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims who do not wish ill towards anyone, even Jews and Israelis. I honestly believe that most people in the world just want to make a living, keep a roof over their head, bread on the table, and provide for their family. For most of the world, politics is an impediment, not an expedient. But most of the world is not like the free societies of America, Israel and the West. Instead, most people still live under the rule of a regime that is not beholden to its subjects (note I did not say ‘citizens’).

(For a great, albeit brief, analysis of this, please see Lawrence Wright’s My Trip to Al-Qaeda. It is his incredible story getting to know al-Qaeda. I’d like to share one small part here: he likens Saudi Arabia to a hypnotized chicken, a reference to his experience as child when he swung chickens in a circle and they stayed frozen for a few minutes. In Saudi Arabia, you feel like a “guest, not a citizen.” There is no nightlife, no free press, no movies, nothing outside of Islam and the ruling family. By any social scientists standard, Saudi Arabian society is ripe for revolution. But, incredibly enough, the people continue to live their lives…frozen. Why? They stay obedient subjects, not out of love of their dictatorial regime, but rather they look around the region and are afraid of the consequence of rebellion, namely Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon.)

But returning to the issue at hand…the man who gave me a tour through East Jerusalem this past weekend commented that settlements account for a quarter of the jobs in the Palestinian territories. True? I haven’t looked into it yet. However, what’s more, in the spring of 2010, PMW’s director Itamar Marcus came to my campus and showed us a few slides about Palestinians’ views of Israeli human rights treatment pre- and post-Oslo. Although I cannot relocate the exact numbers, I recall that upwards of 95% viewed Israeli treatment positively, compared to low 90s or high 80s of the US and France. That number dropped significantly following the Oslo Accords, when the PA began to govern itself. Conclusion? The decreased interaction with Israel/Israelis led to a decreased favorable opinion. Meaning? The PA leadership, especially if its current actions are any indication, likely began disseminating false information about Israel and Jews.

So…to wrap this up…THE SETTLEMENTS CONTROVERSY WILL NOT RESOLVE ANYTHING. What’s at stake here is a fundamental, deep-seated inability and hatred for the Palestinian leadership to live with the reality and existence of a Jewish state. So, what does that mean for me?

It’s like one of the t-shirts here that tourists often buy. It’s black with white writing on the front that lists civilizations with their “status.” It lists Ancient Egypt, Philistines, Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Persian Empire, Greek Empire, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Crusaders, Spanish Empire, Nazi Germany and Soviet Union…all with “Status: X-Gone.” The only question mark is Iran. Where are the great empires and civilizations of history? They are just that: history. The Jewish civilization remains and thrives!

This new understanding, combined with the incredible Shabbat I had in Jerusalem, simply re-emphasized for me the fact that I am here as a Jew, not an Israeli. I am here because there are people in this world who say I should not be here. I am here to fight against those who say because my mother was Jewish, I am the cause of the world’s evils. I am here to fight, right or wrong, to stay in this land. I am here to fight to exist as a human being—which is never wrong. I am a Jew—and proud of it!