Wake Up, Israel
Alon Ben-MeirSenior,
Fellow at NYU's Center for Global Affairs
Posted: May 28, 2009 04:23 PM
I am departing from my usual analysis of the Arab-Israeli
conflict as I profoundly feel that these are neither ordinary times, nor
ordinary circumstances. The challenges and opportunities that Israel faces today will undoubtedly lay the
ground for its future coexistence both in the Middle East
and as an ally to the West. With new US and Israeli leadership in office comes
a renewed prospect to solve the old struggles, and to address once and for all
the Palestinian question of statehood. Israel must wake up and heed the
call of the international community, rise to the occasion and use the support
it has now and its overwhelming power to make the necessary sacrifices for
peace. Above all though, Israelis must look introspectively and ask themselves
where they want to be in 10, 15 or 20 years from now. Do they want to live in
peace with security and prosperity or do they wish to continue the struggle, which
is becoming increasingly more threatening if not existential? I believe that Israel is
approaching that fateful hour.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's visit to Washington raised many hopes-but then
quelled just as many expectations. It appears he was neither ready to deal with
the hard choices presented to him by President Obama, nor was he prepared to
offer credible alternatives to deal with the simmering Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. At this point in the process, coming to Washington to discuss Arab-Israeli
peace without acknowledging the two-state solution only hurt Netanyahu's
standing with the new American administration. President Obama and Secretary
Clinton have made it clear that there will be no peace without a Palestinian
state, and there will be no Palestinian state with the continued expansion of
the settlements. President Obama's demand that there will be a moratorium on
settlement building and expansion is rooted in the simple logic that the
settlements not only impede the viability of a Palestinian state, but they rob
the Palestinians of any hope that they have a partner in peace who respects
their claims to the land. The settlements, furthermore, tell twenty-two Arab
states that Israel
is not interested in their peace initiative. Continued expansion signals to the
United States that Israel does not
take seriously American strategic interest and friendship, and it tells the
European Union to mind their own affairs. Most importantly, Israel's
inability to control its settlers conveys to the majority of Israelis who are
yearning for peace that they should expect nothing but more violence and
bloodshed for decades to come.
The Obama administration has stressed that a resolution to
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is at the top of American national strategic
interests, and that the US
will provide the utmost security for Israel. Successive American
administrations have committed themselves to Israel's national security and
President Obama's commitment is as unshakable as any of his predecessors'. The
difference today is that the President has inherited a region in turmoil with
an alarming rise in Islamic extremism, terrorism and sectarian strife as well
as a daunting Iranian nuclear threat capable of destabilizing the region in a
fundamental way. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict only feeds into this frenzy,
edging ever closer to the precipice. Caring about Israel's
national security requires more than supporting Israel's policies and providing it
with the military means to defend itself. Support for Israel will not
come with a blank check and a blind eye. President Bush offered unmatched
cooperation, but he failed miserably to deal effectively with Iran as it threatened Israel existentially time and
again. Bush also neglected to pursue a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict for the majority of his two terms, and thereby undermined Israel's only
prospect for peace and real security.
Israel
has every right to thwart any potential Iranian nuclear threat, but it must
first exhaust every peaceful option with its closest and most trusted ally the United States.
President Obama has come to the conclusion that isolating Iran is not making Israel
or the US
any better off. He offered a direct dialogue with Tehran
and established the end of 2009 as the time to determine whether or not Iran is willing
to commit to negotiations on its nuclear program, leaving all military options
on the table. But he has also committed to finding a solution to the
Palestinian problem that has eluded all of his predecessors. The President
knows as well as any one that there is no issue that has helped Iran undermines Israel's national security concerns
more than the Palestinian conflict. He appreciates Netanyahu's legitimate
concerns about Iran, and
thus reasons that dealing more effectively with Iran
and weakening its resolve in the Mediterranean would in effect distance Iran's mischief
from the Palestinian interests. Netanyahu must do better than dismantling a few
illegal outposts, offering a lip service to a President who believes in
Israel's destiny and is ready to commit time and treasure to insure it as a
safe and thriving state.
Netanyahu is correct when he suggests that Israel and the Arab states share a common
Iranian nuclear threat, and it would seem logical to invite the Arab states to
join hands in dealing with Tehran's
bellicose policies. What Netanyahu fails to understand is that while the Arab
states-led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt-are gravely concerned about the Iranian
nuclear program, they will not cooperate with Israel as long as the occupation
persists and Palestinian plight continues to haunt them. Leaving the
Palestinians at this stage to their own devices after sixty-two years of
debilitating struggle would challenge the legitimacy of the Arab states' government.
The Arab countries do not wish to see Iran in possession of nuclear
weapons, but the prospect of provoking en-masse anti-government sentiments
throughout the Arab world is deemed considerably worse. From their perspective,
continued Israeli occupation has not only displaced the Palestinians but
provides a constant reminder of Arab humiliation, and nothing reinforces that
more than the building and the expansion of settlements. More so, if they were
to see a moratorium on settlements while negotiations began, they are very
likely to offer major concessions, such as state visits to Israel or the
opening of economic trade talks.
The Arab states came full circle when their League passed
the Arab Peace Initiative (first in March 2002 and again in March 2007) that
offered Israel
a comprehensive peace with all twenty two Arab countries in return for
territories captured in 1967 and a fair settlement of the Palestinian problem.
Regardless of the imperfections of this resolution (such how to deal with the
refugees, which both sides know cannot be solved in their right to return to
Israel proper) it represents nothing less than a historical transformation,
especially when compared to the 1967 Arab League resolution which proclaimed no
peace, no recognition and no negotiations. The Arab Peace Initiative should be
a major triumph for Israel;
after more than six decades of violent rejection the Arab nations are ready to
embrace Israel
as a member Middle Eastern state to live with its neighbors in peace and
security. Israel
must know by now the implication of making real peace with each and every Arab
state, something that has eluded it for over sixty years. True, the Israelis
have many reasons to be skeptical; decades of enmity and bloodshed have left an
indelible mark etched in the memory of countless Israelis who suffered tragic
losses. But now the Arab states, perhaps out of the desire for
self-preservation, have come to accept the inevitable: Israel is here
to stay and they must live with it in peace or continue a fruitless struggle
that will only endanger the security of their own regimes.
In one form or another Israel must face the reality of the
Palestinian people and commit to finding an equitable solution that can endure
long-term. Like several of his predecessors came to understand, Netanyahu must
realize that this is not a matter of blame or right versus wrong. No solution
will be based on such a judgment. The Palestinians have been dispossessed, just
as the Israelis have been denied the right to exist and had to assert their
right. No party involved in the Palestinian plight is blameless: the Arab
states, Israel
and the Palestinians have all contributed to the tragic unfolding of events.
Now it is time to put an end to this saga that has dehumanized both the occupied
and the occupier. Each Palestinian has an inherent right to his homeland, and
no one can understand this better that the Israelis who equally feel that deep
attachment to the land of their forefathers. Now that the parameters of
two-states have been repeatedly established and accepted by a majority of
Israelis and Palestinians--as well as endorsed by the International community
and the Arab states--the Israeli government is duty bound to move expeditiously
to implement a negotiated agreement. And if Netanyahu's current right-wing
coalition is not fit for the task at hand, he still has the option of forming a
government with Tzipi Livni's Kadima party on the premise of a two-state
solution.
Netanyahu can no longer use the Palestinian disunity or Hamas
as an excuse for not negotiating a final status agreement. The Arab states
through their Peace Initiative are committed to providing Israel with the
security it seeks and can tame Hamas once the territories are evacuated.
However legitimate Israel's
national security concerns may be, the Israelis cannot live in fear with
paralyzed leadership unable to act in the best interest of the country. The
process of developing adequate security and confidence building measures will
take few years to develop, and Israel
will not be required to withdraw its forces from the West
Bank before such measures are in place. But then again, Israel under no
circumstance will relinquish its national security to any other agent and will
remain militarily vigilant to deter any future enemy. That being said, the
Israelis must face the inevitable and begin to build trust with their
neighbors. But how they can engender trust by building more and more
settlements, by impeding Palestinian movements with hundreds of road blocks, by
incarcerating thousands of Palestinians, demolishing homes and above all by
denying psychologically any future prospect of letting the Palestinians live as
they see fit?
Every day, every month or year that passes will only add to
the alienation and disdain toward Israel which has become ingrained
in the Palestinian psyche. The zealot settlers have wrested the political
agenda, and now Israel's
leadership has allowed itself to become woefully misguided by a group
endangering the very premise of why Israel was created in the first
place. Israel
was meant to provide a home, a refuge for the Jewish people, not to rule other
people against their will. Why have there been no demonstrations in the street
by Israelis demanding an end to the occupation? How can Israelis revel in the
plenty of today and forget the scarcity endured by multitude of Palestinians?
Imagine peace with fifty seven Arab and Muslim states and the renaissance that
could usher into the region. Imagine Israel and its neighbors engaged in
business, cultural and academic exchanges, imagine the power of Israeli and
Arab resources put together and the incredible prospect of reaching a new high
never known before between both peoples.
It is time for Israel to wake up; do not allow
this historic chance for peace to slip away because of complacency or lack of
courage. The US and international communities are offering an unprecedented
opportunity that cannot afford to be squandered this time around. America has
offered its utmost support and the Arab states are ready to assume their
responsibility. If Israel
is destined to bring light onto other nations, this is the moment.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alon-benmeir/wake-up-israel_b_208795.html
