During the course of his address at the Jerusalem Conference on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that the difference between the right and left wings in Israel is that the left wants to make maximal territorial concessions, while the right would like to minimize withdrawals. “I am not talking about retaining every centimeter,” the Finance Minister said, “but it would be desirable to maintain large settlement blocs and a strip of land in the Jordan Valley as well.”
Following Netanyahu’s address, Eli Stutz, co-host of Israel National Radio’s Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher show interviewed the former Prime Minister, asking his opinion about the Jewish people’s right to the Land of Israel.
Stutz: Mr. Netanyahu, do you believe that G-d gave Israel the Land of Israel?
Netanyahu: "Well, I don’t put it in theocratic terms even though I have a very healthy respect for our traditions. But I think the fact that we have been here for thousands of years gives us sufficient rights without the religious aspect.
"Suppose you are a secular Jew, does that mean that you don’t believe that we have rights? Suppose you are a secular Frenchman - do the French have a right to France? Do the Spanish have a right to Spain? After all, they were invaded by the Arabs for about 800 years... Certainly around the world there has been an understanding that national rights devolve to those people in a particular land that have settled it and lived there for a very, very long time and had not forsaken it even when they were thrown out of it. Almost like a tenant who was thrown out of his house and nobody takes over, or even if someone takes over, those rights still remain for that tenant. It’s the same thing with peoples.
"The fact that the religious camp believes that there are other rights, other reasons, religious reasons that endow it – should not preclude it from studying the enormous literature that developed in the 19th and 20th century to decide which people deserve what land after the two great wars – 1917 and 1945. They had to decide with collapsing empires who got what and on what basis. There is enormous literature on that which makes sense to the secular world. It’s what Herzl based his Zionist premises on. Herzl persuaded the Jews with that. He did not convince the religious Jews, because they came also armed with a divine conception."
Eli Stutz: "Is that enough, though, to keep the younger generation of Israel, who are not connected with their roots, in Israel for generations to come?"
FM Netanyahu: "I would say that without it, there is no chance. Without it there is no chance.
"The great, great mistake in Israel has been that the secular camp forgot it – forgot this whole line of Zionist reasoning which is ingrained in the minds of nations and can be used to dispel all the vilifications and distortions of modern history. And the religious sector did not study it and did not promote it. This is what will persuade the rest. The religious do not need persuasion; it’s the secular that need persuasion. You are not going to persuade them with religious arguments because they are not susceptible to that.
"Yet, it is true that the Arabs, who are working to undermine our hold on this country – they appeal to the vast majority of Israelis by saying, ‘No, it’s our land – we’ve been here for ages. We have been the ancient settlers here and you have usurped our land.’ They are in fact using a distortion of the argument I am proposing. We don’t have to distort; we just have to report the truth. So it is very, very important; on the contrary – it is the only thing that will keep us here."
Following Netanyahu’s address, Eli Stutz, co-host of Israel National Radio’s Eli Stutz and Yishai Fleisher show interviewed the former Prime Minister, asking his opinion about the Jewish people’s right to the Land of Israel.
Stutz: Mr. Netanyahu, do you believe that G-d gave Israel the Land of Israel?
Netanyahu: "Well, I don’t put it in theocratic terms even though I have a very healthy respect for our traditions. But I think the fact that we have been here for thousands of years gives us sufficient rights without the religious aspect.
"Suppose you are a secular Jew, does that mean that you don’t believe that we have rights? Suppose you are a secular Frenchman - do the French have a right to France? Do the Spanish have a right to Spain? After all, they were invaded by the Arabs for about 800 years... Certainly around the world there has been an understanding that national rights devolve to those people in a particular land that have settled it and lived there for a very, very long time and had not forsaken it even when they were thrown out of it. Almost like a tenant who was thrown out of his house and nobody takes over, or even if someone takes over, those rights still remain for that tenant. It’s the same thing with peoples.
"The fact that the religious camp believes that there are other rights, other reasons, religious reasons that endow it – should not preclude it from studying the enormous literature that developed in the 19th and 20th century to decide which people deserve what land after the two great wars – 1917 and 1945. They had to decide with collapsing empires who got what and on what basis. There is enormous literature on that which makes sense to the secular world. It’s what Herzl based his Zionist premises on. Herzl persuaded the Jews with that. He did not convince the religious Jews, because they came also armed with a divine conception."
Eli Stutz: "Is that enough, though, to keep the younger generation of Israel, who are not connected with their roots, in Israel for generations to come?"
FM Netanyahu: "I would say that without it, there is no chance. Without it there is no chance.
"The great, great mistake in Israel has been that the secular camp forgot it – forgot this whole line of Zionist reasoning which is ingrained in the minds of nations and can be used to dispel all the vilifications and distortions of modern history. And the religious sector did not study it and did not promote it. This is what will persuade the rest. The religious do not need persuasion; it’s the secular that need persuasion. You are not going to persuade them with religious arguments because they are not susceptible to that.
"Yet, it is true that the Arabs, who are working to undermine our hold on this country – they appeal to the vast majority of Israelis by saying, ‘No, it’s our land – we’ve been here for ages. We have been the ancient settlers here and you have usurped our land.’ They are in fact using a distortion of the argument I am proposing. We don’t have to distort; we just have to report the truth. So it is very, very important; on the contrary – it is the only thing that will keep us here."