Alan Solow is a member of the Executive Committee of Israel Policy Forum and former Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. He recently penned a blog post entitled “A unilateral West Bank land grab would imperil Israel” with which I must take issue.
Here are the main points where we differ:
Solow called applying sovereignty as promoted by the Trump Pan a “unilateral land grab.” However, he is mistaken. The land belongs to Israel because the Jews are the indigenous people and because San Remo Resolution awarded it to us as did the League of Nations in the Palestine Mandate and the United Nations in its Charter. The land was supposed to be part of Israel, but was occupied by Jordan and then lost to Israel in a defensive war. Israel is simply starting to apply its law to land which it has every right to claim.
The article started by saying “No solution should be imposed on anyone or by anyone in the Israeli-Palestinian arena.” And supported this by saying that for decades, the American Jewish consensus was that “it must be reached through bilateral negotiations between the parties”. Yes, this was the prevailing wisdom but where did it get us? It may have afforded Israel some protection from the machinations of American leaders who wanted to impose a solution on Israel, but at the same time it gave the PA a veto on everything Israel offered.
Albert Einstein is credited with saying that insanity is continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different result. Solow doesn't see it that way and justifies this approach as “one universally accepted principle undergirding the quest for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”. He doesn’t question why.
But that policy has stood for decades, because for decades, the Saudis were calling the shots. And Europe and America were quite willing to appease them. That doesn’t make it right. Accordingly, they put a lot of pressure on Israel to give up land and even endanger the lives of citizens.
While previous Israeli governments have allowed that the lands were disputed, as he states, this has many interpretations. Israel has the only right to the land and the Palestinian Arabs dispute such rights and assert false claims. That is the real reason the lands are “disputed”.
He argues that “standing by while Israel uses its military and political power to declare ownership over whatever it wants is a dangerous precedent."
The only precedent it would set is “It’s our land, always was and always will be.”
The Palestinian Arabs have no right to the land or to a state other than Jordan
The Palestinian Arabs have no right to the land or to a state other than Jordan
As I have underscored for 15 years, “There is no diplomatic solution.” The only solution is a solution that gets imposed by Israel. For those of us who want a different result, it’s time for a different approach.
He claims ” American Jews have an obligation to speak out against imposing a solution on the Palestinians … because to do so protects Israel’s long-term interests as well as the critical US-Israel relationship.
No. Only imposing a solution would secure our long term interests. The PA refuses to negotiate time after time.
It is for Israel to decide what is in its long term interests, not American Jews, although they are welcome to express their opinons. However, American Jews failed European Jews during the Holocaust and in the ’67 War, both before and after. (For a complete list of American failures to help Israel, read. The 100 year betrayal of Israel by the West)
That’s what Carter, Bush Sr and Jr, and Obama tried to do. All the more reason that we should secure our rights now in order to defend ourselves.
The Democratic Party which is supported by American Jews despite its anti-Israel behavior, is the defender of the Palestinian Arabs, not so much the Jews. It supports the false narrative of the Palestinian Arabs at the expense of Jewish rights.
The lives of Israeli Jews are on the line. American Jews will, of course, support whatever they decide, but I hope the facts in this article will give them reason to ponder..
Carpe diem.
Ted Belman is a retired attorney and the editor of Israpundit. In 2009 he made aliya and is
now living in Jerusalem.