Ariel Sharon is unquestionably a central figure in Israeli history, an uncompromising warrior who has come to symbolize unapologetic Jewish strength. Little wonder he has become the bane of the court Jew and the Jewish ?cringer?. For that very reason, he seemed to shock, anger and disappoint a lot of patriots when, out of the blue and in the midst of a war, he began talking about "the inevitability of a Palestinian state." We can only speculate how Mr. Sharon came around to this position ? tactical insincerity, venality, stupidity or senility ? but when the very embodiment of the Israeli "hawk" suddenly morphs into a "dove," it can be very worrying.
Well, today I will put my colleagues? fears to rest. Ariel Sharon, and anyone else who embraces the idea of a "Palestinian state," is plain wrong. They don?t get it. They?re pushing on a string. It can never happen. And not for any of the usual reasons advanced by opponents ? security, geography, theology. No, the very concept itself contains within it the seeds of its own self-destruction. I can prove it, too. Or to be more precise, the Arabs have already proven it for me.
In the first place, everyone knows that they have already rejected the best offer they will ever get from Israel. Some called this a miracle, some called this another missed opportunity and some called it an historic blunder. Actuality, it was all of these - and none of these, too. It was simply that the Arabs had no other choice.
That?s not a conceit or as confusing as it sounds. It?s really quite elementary and indisputable. Nobody on the left or right debates the objective of the "peace process": create a new Arab country at Israel?s expense; Israel gives up "land for peace." In short, Israel must become a smaller country than it is today. You may think that?s right or wrong, good or bad, but no one, Jew or Arab, questions that it will be the end result if a "two-state" settlement is ever reached.
There?s just one small problem. The exact opposite occurs when the theory is applied. Even if Sharon, or anyone who follows, does the impossible, agrees to give more than former prime minister Ehud Barak and raises his offer to, let?s say, 90% of the land the Jews now control on the West Bank, what happens then? Israel doesn?t get smaller, Israel gets bigger! When the borders of the two states are fixed, and internationally recognized, Israel?s land area increases by the 10% of the territory it does not relinquish. This is precisely what the Arabs do not want and it is exactly what the Arabs will never ever accept. So when Arafat walked away from Camp David II, leaving the whole world shaking its head in disbelief, he was acting with pristine, primordial logic.
This is an internal contradiction that is impossible to reconcile. As someone once said, "land, they?re just not making it any more." It?s where the rubber meets the road. No diplomat, no president or potentate, no editorial, no Peace Now pamphlet, no CNN report, no conference, or UN resolution can make it go away or get around it. It is not only the nature of the conflict, it gives the word ?conflict? its meaning. Creating a "Palestinian state" is not an effort to resolve a dispute, it?s an effort to do the impossible - defy a physical law.
G-d is great, isn?t He? And He always gets the last laugh. No matter how hard Ariel Sharon, or any Jew, waves his arms, he is never going to get off the ground.
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Dovid Ben Chaim is a writer living in New York. He can be reached at dbc@myway.com.
Well, today I will put my colleagues? fears to rest. Ariel Sharon, and anyone else who embraces the idea of a "Palestinian state," is plain wrong. They don?t get it. They?re pushing on a string. It can never happen. And not for any of the usual reasons advanced by opponents ? security, geography, theology. No, the very concept itself contains within it the seeds of its own self-destruction. I can prove it, too. Or to be more precise, the Arabs have already proven it for me.
In the first place, everyone knows that they have already rejected the best offer they will ever get from Israel. Some called this a miracle, some called this another missed opportunity and some called it an historic blunder. Actuality, it was all of these - and none of these, too. It was simply that the Arabs had no other choice.
That?s not a conceit or as confusing as it sounds. It?s really quite elementary and indisputable. Nobody on the left or right debates the objective of the "peace process": create a new Arab country at Israel?s expense; Israel gives up "land for peace." In short, Israel must become a smaller country than it is today. You may think that?s right or wrong, good or bad, but no one, Jew or Arab, questions that it will be the end result if a "two-state" settlement is ever reached.
There?s just one small problem. The exact opposite occurs when the theory is applied. Even if Sharon, or anyone who follows, does the impossible, agrees to give more than former prime minister Ehud Barak and raises his offer to, let?s say, 90% of the land the Jews now control on the West Bank, what happens then? Israel doesn?t get smaller, Israel gets bigger! When the borders of the two states are fixed, and internationally recognized, Israel?s land area increases by the 10% of the territory it does not relinquish. This is precisely what the Arabs do not want and it is exactly what the Arabs will never ever accept. So when Arafat walked away from Camp David II, leaving the whole world shaking its head in disbelief, he was acting with pristine, primordial logic.
This is an internal contradiction that is impossible to reconcile. As someone once said, "land, they?re just not making it any more." It?s where the rubber meets the road. No diplomat, no president or potentate, no editorial, no Peace Now pamphlet, no CNN report, no conference, or UN resolution can make it go away or get around it. It is not only the nature of the conflict, it gives the word ?conflict? its meaning. Creating a "Palestinian state" is not an effort to resolve a dispute, it?s an effort to do the impossible - defy a physical law.
G-d is great, isn?t He? And He always gets the last laugh. No matter how hard Ariel Sharon, or any Jew, waves his arms, he is never going to get off the ground.
--------------------------------------------------------
Dovid Ben Chaim is a writer living in New York. He can be reached at dbc@myway.com.