The Israeli Foreign Ministry puts out instructions to its representatives all over the world for explaining our position. This position, at best, regards the West Bank and Gaza Strip as territory over which there are competing claims which should be solved in peace negotiations; Israel has valid claims but, at the same time, Israel recognizes that the Palestinians also entertain legitimate claims to the area. That is the official position of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and that is why we are losing the Public Relations battle. We are essentially saying, “Yes, we stole your land but we have security problems.” So the world, even decent foreign observers, says, “Okay, first return the stolen land, and we will look for ways to guarantee your security. Until then we must sympathize with the underdog whose property you stole. He is desperate, so he uses desperate means.” The one thing we don\'t seem to have the nerve to say - or perhaps the people who set policy in Israel don\'t believe - is, “This is our land and it belongs to no one else.” No government in Israel has ever enunciated this position. No government has ever stated a policy that this land is holy, and it is our land. This position is apparently considered too primitive and not intellectually sound. It is still not too late. What we have to say is, \"This is our homeland. This land is holy to us. We have longed for it and prayed for it for 2,000 years. We are not here to be another group of occupiers, who build shopping malls, imitate western society, and who need safe borders. We are here because the Land is ours.\" That is a legal and moral argument, and I think that decent people everywhere will respect it. Too bad is has not yet been tried.

From The Jay Shapiro Hour . Hear the Program: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/metafiles/asx/shows/shapiro.asx



Judy Lash Balint describes her holiday of Shavuot in Jerusalem: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/metafiles/asx/engnews/features/shavuot-in-jerusalem.asx