There is a great deal of disinformation floating around the United States and Europe concerning the people of Israel. I refer to the mischievous report that a majority of the Jews in this country support a Palestinian state.
This falsehood has been propagated by various Israeli politicians, above all Shimon Peres. Peres had the audacity to proclaim this lie before the United Nations and in various European forums.
And yet, nothing has so much reinforced this lie than Prime Minister Ariel Sharon?s emphatic support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Indeed, it is precisely because he supports such a state that he has pursued the policy of self-restraint against the terrorist gangs of the Palestinian Authority (PA). That immoral policy has resulted in the murder of more than 800 Jews and the release of hundreds of Arab Jew-killers.
Sharon has refrained from putting an end to the PA (hence to Jew-killing) because he needs a ?negotiating partner? to establish a Palestinian state. That?s why he negotiated with former Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen and is now panting to negotiate with Abu Mazen?s successor, Abu Ala ? another proxy of the ?irrelevant? Yasser Arafat.
Mr. Sharon has not only adopted the anti-Zionist ? I dare say anti-Jewish ? position of Arafat?s apologist, Shimon Peres, but in so doing, he stands squarely opposed to the abiding convictions of a large majority of his Jewish countrymen, as I shall now demonstrate.
The most objective and revealing survey of the attitudes of Israel?s Jewish population regarding a Palestinian state was conducted by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and the Independent Media Review & Analysis (IMRA) organization in June 2002. Here are its key questions and answers:
1) ?Do you support the proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-Six Day War lines and agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arab states??
For: 40%; Against: 56%; No response: 4%
2) ?Do you support the proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-Six Day War lines ? including from all of the Golan, Jordan Rift Valley, and the Old City of Jerusalem ? and agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arabs states??
For: 16%; Against: 80%; No response: 4%
3) ?Do you support the proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-Six Day War lines ? including from all of the Golan, Jordan Rift Valley, and the Old City of Jerusalem ? agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and allow Palestinian refugees the right of return to Israel instead of receiving monetary compensation, in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arabs states??
For: 4%; Against: 93%; No response: 3%
If a more recent poll indicates that a majority of the Jews in Israel would accept a Palestinian state for ?peace,? rest assured the poll does not contain the qualifications of the ZOA-IMRA poll.
Do not be misled by polls reporting that a majority of the Jews support a Palestinian state. Most of these Jews do not positively support such a state; they have simply been driven to the point of being resigned to such a state because of the defeatist attitude of Prime Minister Sharon ? by his saying that a Palestinian state is ?inevitable.?
If Mr. Sharon were to oppose a Palestinian state, you can be certain that a very large majority of Jews would rally behind him; more so, if the prime minister had the wisdom and courage to spell out to the public that an Arab state on Jewish soil would constitute an existential threat to Israel and even undermine the Jewish claim to any part of Eretz Israel.
Instead, Mr. Sharon, like no other prime minister, has infected the country with his defeatism. He therefore constitutes Israel?s greatest danger.
This falsehood has been propagated by various Israeli politicians, above all Shimon Peres. Peres had the audacity to proclaim this lie before the United Nations and in various European forums.
And yet, nothing has so much reinforced this lie than Prime Minister Ariel Sharon?s emphatic support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Indeed, it is precisely because he supports such a state that he has pursued the policy of self-restraint against the terrorist gangs of the Palestinian Authority (PA). That immoral policy has resulted in the murder of more than 800 Jews and the release of hundreds of Arab Jew-killers.
Sharon has refrained from putting an end to the PA (hence to Jew-killing) because he needs a ?negotiating partner? to establish a Palestinian state. That?s why he negotiated with former Palestinian Prime Minister Abu Mazen and is now panting to negotiate with Abu Mazen?s successor, Abu Ala ? another proxy of the ?irrelevant? Yasser Arafat.
Mr. Sharon has not only adopted the anti-Zionist ? I dare say anti-Jewish ? position of Arafat?s apologist, Shimon Peres, but in so doing, he stands squarely opposed to the abiding convictions of a large majority of his Jewish countrymen, as I shall now demonstrate.
The most objective and revealing survey of the attitudes of Israel?s Jewish population regarding a Palestinian state was conducted by the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) and the Independent Media Review & Analysis (IMRA) organization in June 2002. Here are its key questions and answers:
1) ?Do you support the proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-Six Day War lines and agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arab states??
For: 40%; Against: 56%; No response: 4%
2) ?Do you support the proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-Six Day War lines ? including from all of the Golan, Jordan Rift Valley, and the Old City of Jerusalem ? and agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arabs states??
For: 16%; Against: 80%; No response: 4%
3) ?Do you support the proposal that Israel withdraw to the pre-Six Day War lines ? including from all of the Golan, Jordan Rift Valley, and the Old City of Jerusalem ? agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and allow Palestinian refugees the right of return to Israel instead of receiving monetary compensation, in return for peace with the Palestinians and the Arabs states??
For: 4%; Against: 93%; No response: 3%
If a more recent poll indicates that a majority of the Jews in Israel would accept a Palestinian state for ?peace,? rest assured the poll does not contain the qualifications of the ZOA-IMRA poll.
Do not be misled by polls reporting that a majority of the Jews support a Palestinian state. Most of these Jews do not positively support such a state; they have simply been driven to the point of being resigned to such a state because of the defeatist attitude of Prime Minister Sharon ? by his saying that a Palestinian state is ?inevitable.?
If Mr. Sharon were to oppose a Palestinian state, you can be certain that a very large majority of Jews would rally behind him; more so, if the prime minister had the wisdom and courage to spell out to the public that an Arab state on Jewish soil would constitute an existential threat to Israel and even undermine the Jewish claim to any part of Eretz Israel.
Instead, Mr. Sharon, like no other prime minister, has infected the country with his defeatism. He therefore constitutes Israel?s greatest danger.