by Arieh Stav Comments by Bernard J. Shapiro 10 July 2008 / 7 Tammuz 5768
To: Bernard Shapiro
Via: bernards@sbcglobal.net
Via: bernards@sbcglobal.net
Dear Bernard:
Framework Proposal for a National Strategy Regarding Judea and Samaria and the Issue of Eretz Israel Arabs
by Arieh Stav
The program will be consolidated by the Ariel Center for Policy Research, will be submitted to Members of Knesset Arie Eldad and Binyamin Elon, who will get signatures from as many Knesset members as possible. The fundamentals of the proposal were formulated in discussions with the two members of Knesset and received their approval and their support.
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Consolidating a political proposal with the intention of halting Israel’s defeatist campaign that is manifest in its most extreme form in the conduct of the Olmert Government.
• The Israeli public, the overwhelming majority of which (the silent majority) considers Israel defeatism an existential threat; however it lacks a clear, reasonable alternative supported by the political echelon.
• Many organizations, both within the Jewish world and beyond, primarily in the United States, which identify with the national camp but lack a determined, unequivocal message coming from Israel.
• Many Senators and Congressmen in Washington are perplexed in light of Israel’s defeatism and suddenly find themselves in a position of being "holier than the Pope".
A political program that opposes the government policy requires a synthesis of two components:
1. A detailed political proposal, based on the work of a reliable, independent think tank.
2. Parliamentary support for the proposal.
After 21 years of publishing Nativ and 11 years since the founding of the Ariel Center for Policy Research (ACPR), the time has come to issue a national program and no longer suffice with criticism – justified and reasoned though it may be. Over the course of two decades, more than 1,000 erudite articles from a long line of first-rate scholars have been published in Nativ. The ACPR has, as of today, published 175 studies and a series of books covering most of the aspects relating to the existential rationale of the State of Israel. However, as mentioned above, all of the copious material dealt predominantly with criticism and not with a political proposal that comes to offer a solution to the tangled web of existential problems facing the Jewish state.
The proposal in question includes a framework program for national strategy in the issue that is the crux of the problem: The areas of Judea and Samaria and the Arabs living there (referred to euphemistically as "Palestinians"). The complications that surround all of the problems facing the State of Israel – from the Iranian nuclear threat via the conduct of the political echelon, through the relations with the United States – all primarily stem from the lack of a resolution to this problem.
A perusal of the defeatist campaign of Israeli governments since the transfer of Sinai and the destruction of the settlements in the Camp David Accords through the systems-collapse in the Olmert Government, raises very difficult question marks regarding the ability of the State of Israel to survive if and when this government or the one that succeeds it, implements its plot to establish a sovereign Arab entity in Western Land of Israel, i.e. a terrorist entity in the heart of the Jewish state..
The strategic trend, as of today, is perfectly clear. The objectives of Teheran and Damascus (and the Iranians make these statements openly and declaratively) is to surround Israel from the north, the south and the center with an Arab terrorist entity that will lead to the destruction of the State of Israel. The miserable performance of the IDF during the Second Lebanon War proved to Israel’s enemies that 4,000 Hizbullah fighters armed with rifles and rockets circa World War II are capable of standing against a modern army armed with strategic weapons systems.
In the period that has elapsed since the war, there has been a far-reaching escalation in the scope, the armaments and the preparedness of the Hizbullah troops in preparation for the next war.
A similar situation is taking place in the south. The ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Israel against the settlers of the Gaza Strip transformed Gaza into a Hamas military base almost immediately. Here too, the rate of armament is lethal and within a year or two, Hamas will gain the operational capability to strike at planes and armored vehicles as well as rocket capability that will threaten Beersheba.
The establishment of an Arab terrorist state on the outskirts of Greater Tel Aviv will subject Israel to a choke hold from all its borders and will strip it of its right to exist even within the 1949 borders. This trend – which cannot be described as anything other than national suicide – is openly and declaratively led by the Olmert/Livni Government.
Thus, the time has come to make public a sane proposal in order to attempt to block the defeatist trends that have become, as mentioned above, the staple of the political echelon.
The proposal in question does not contain a magical formula for a "New Middle East", "peace" or "resolution of conflict". It is problematic and difficult and will therefore encounter Arab hostility and international, primarily European, antagonism. However, it will be received supportively by broad circles worldwide, including by many of Israel’s friends in the two houses of Congress – the central focal point of power in the West. Furthermore, the sole advantage of this proposal is that it is the "least of all evils" as every alternative is nothing other than a recipe for national disaster.
The concrete proposal that will be submitted to members of Knesset will be based on a comprehensive study carried out by the Ariel Center and will appear in book form in Hebrew and English. The study will be divided into two sections:
A. An analysis of the current situation through analysis of the short term political trends.
B. The political proposal that is intended to thwart the current campaign of defeatism.
A. An analysis of the current situation through assessment of the short term political trends.
1. General foreword
2. Israel as a forward outpost of the Western civilization against the Islamic expanse – and therefore a primary and decisive objective in the "war of the civilizations".
3. The Arabs of Eretz Israel – the Arab-Moslem spearhead in its war against Israel.
4. The establishment of a "Palestinian state" and its legal, military and political ramifications.
(The demand for partition borders, return of refugees, military pacts, membership in the Arab League, etc., i.e. "The Palestinian state will be established upon the ruins of the State of Israel!" – Yizhak Rabin)
5. The delusion of the "peace process" – the Geneva document as a representative model of political blindness.
6. Defeatism as an outgrowth of the weariness of the Israeli public.
7. Trends of self-destruction among the Israeli Left.
8. Escalation of the Israeli Arab struggle to destroy the State of Israel from within (a state of all its citizens, autonomy in the Galilee, etc.).
B. Political Proposal
1. Extending Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
2. "Jordan is Palestine" and restoration of Jordanian citizenship to the Arabs in Judea and Samaria.
3. Municipal autonomy for the Arabs of Judea and Samaria (on the basis of the Camp David Accords) accompanied by a total disarmament of the autonomous areas.
4. The areas of Arab settlements located on private property (the Mosaic Program by Dr. Yuval Arnon Ohanna).
5. Military liquidation of the military infrastructure in Gaza and according responsibility for the area to Egypt.
6. Israeli Arabs: Equal rights in exchange for equal obligations.
The submitted proposal relies to a certain extent on the "Israeli Initiative" – MK Binyamin Elon’s program. That is in terms of its two primary components: A. Extension of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria; B. Restoring Jordanian citizenship to the Arabs of Judea and Samaria.
The proposal is unilateral, i.e. no one is deluding himself at present that the Arab side will accept the proposed resolution. However, that is a situation that is ongoing for sixty years and any proposal that contains anything less than Israel’s political and military liquidation is summarily rejected by our neighbors. (See on that note the Saudi proposal that is unifying many of the Arab enemy countries at present).
At this stage, we have approached several experts in this field, presented the principles of the program and invited them to participate in the project, each expert in his own discipline. The intention is to consolidate a group of 10 to 12 experts in order to cover the central topics in the proposal.
The intention is to publish the study within six months, i.e. towards the end of 2008.
The study will be published in the form of a 250-300 page book, in Hebrew and English in cooperation with one of the big publishing houses in Israel.
The political proposal – the gist of the study – will be submitted in the form of a 20 page booklet, half in Hebrew and half in English.
Thank you,
Arieh Stav
FRAMEWORK PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL STRATEGY REGARDING JUDEA AND SAMARIA AND THE ISSUE OF ERETZ ISRAEL ARABS
by Arieh Stav
Comments by Bernard J. Shapiro, Chairman,
Freeman Center For Strategic Studies
The Framework Proposal concept is an excellent idea and we are thankful that it was proposed by the Ariel Center For Policy Research, under the direction of Arieh Stav.
The sections: Central Objective & Projected Audience are in agreement with my views.
The section on Implementation leaves much to be desired. While the individual items are correct, they do not create a whole. That is, while I agree with them, they would not work.
My reasons:
A. While the analysis of the current situation and short term political trends is again very correct, there is NO WAY to implement proper change in the proposal.
B. The Political Proposal - Again mostly correct.
The problems with it are both historical and philosophical. It is 30 years too late for municipal autonomy for the Arabs of Judea and Samaria. Israeli policy since 1967 has created a Palestinian nationalism. The Genie can not be put back in the bottle. Pandora’s box has already been opened.
I agree that the TRANSFER of the hostile Arab population must be accomplished. This can be done through:
1. Economic incentive
2. Enforcement of laws protecting the Jewish population. Demolition of illegal Arab occupation of State lands.
3. Rapid settlement of Jews in lands of Judea and Samaria
4. Improved transportation from Judea and Samaria to the Israeli coast. This would create huge bedroom communities for the coastal industries and businesses.
5. Removal of all restrictions on real estate development in Israel. This includes voiding the agreement that the Jewish National Fund (JNF) made with the Israeli government, that allows it to give Jewish land to Arabs.
Item #5 on the Political Proposal calling for turning over responsibility for Gaza to Egypt is a non-starter. Israel must liquidate the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and then re-settle the expelled Jews to re-build their homes. Gazan Arabs that are unhappy with this and are hostile to the Jewish State should be allowed forcefully to find homes in Egypt.
Item #6 offering Israeli Arabs equal right for equal obligations should be amended to include acceptance and loyalty to Israel as a Jewish/Zionist State and renunciation of the existence of a "so called palestine" as a separate nation.
Re: The Two Comments:
No one should fool themselves into thinking that giving the Arabs of Judea and Samaria Jordanian citizenship would solve anything in the long run. Jordan is not as friendly (population wise) as we are led to believe. Though the government is helpful and friendly, that could change in the blink of an eye. Should American troops leave Iraq and it falls to Iran, the consequences would be severe for Israel. With Syria, Lebanon, and Gaza under Iranian control, it could easily extend its reach to Jordan and the Judean-Samarian ridge overlooking Israel’s vulnerable coast.
My Bottom Line (Conclusion)
Israel’s central problem is psychological and no amount of beautiful rhetoric and wonderful proposals can change that.
When will the Nationalist Camp realize that we are "at war already" with the PLO/Hamas/Hezbollah supporting tyranny that rules Israel? At what point will Israelis realize that the CIVIL WAR they fear, IS ALREADY TAKING PLACE AND THEY ARE LOSING?
Why don't members of the Nationalist Camp understand that FORCE is being used by only ONE side and that is the government. The monopoly on power must be broken or there is no hope.
Under the Nazis, the Jews of Warsaw numbered over 500,000. They were depleted with regular deportations aided by Judenrats (Jewish leaders). The Revolt in Warsaw began when the Jewish population was down to 50,000 (or 90% murdered). At what point is it OK to rebel?
When is civil disobedience OK? When is civil war a better course than suicide? All throughout history there have been rebels and loyalists. History is usually written by the victors but truly there is seldom a universally accepted moral standard as to what is a proper rebellion and what is not. We can say with absolute certainty, however, that the Jewish return to Zion and our struggle today for Eretz Yisrael are more righteous than any other struggle for national liberation in the history of the world.
Conditions in Israel may have passed the period where civil disobedience would be effective. A massive outpouring of Israelis prepared to get arrested in civil disobedience would have stopped the Sharon’s Expulsion of Jews Plan two years ago. Now, it appears that only civil disobedience and a willingness to fight for their homes will save the country.
We must expect the government to try to disarm Zionist patriots, to spy on them and to send agents provocateurs to discredit them. It is quite possible that the IDF will withdraw from Yesha and leaving the Jews with a difficult choice: being massacred or abandoning their homes. Their ability to defend themselves will have been thwarted by the government in collusion with the terrorists.
The Jews of YESHA must not be passive pawns in the political surrender of their homes. They must fight the Arabs, where necessary, to maintain their travel, water, and land rights. When the Israeli government retreats, leaving them behind PLO battle lines, they must be prepared to go on the offensive militarily to secure safe contiguous areas of Jewish control. The defeatist Israeli leaders, who have surrendered our Jewish rights to Eretz Yisrael, should be told that there are still proud Jews in YESHA who will give up neither their inheritance from Abraham nor their right of self-defense.
Exercising one’s right to self-defense is a moral imperative. There is a lot of hypocritical talk coming from the government about the danger of Jew fighting Jew. These warnings are coming from the Left who delighted in shooting Zionist (Betar) teenagers swimming to shore after their forces sank the Altalena in 1948. These same hypocrites are putting the Jews of YESHA in life threatening peril. They care nothing about Jewish lives!
Should the Jews of YESHA be forced into military combat -- most likely against Arabs, but, G-d forbid, perhaps also against Jews -- they would be fully justified. They will be fighting for the security of Israel and the future destiny of the Jewish people. These brave Jews would be continuing the long tradition of Hebrew Warriors, including Joshua, David, the Maccabees and Bar Kochba, who fought against all odds to save their people and their country.
The glorious Hebrew Warriors who defeated five Arab armies in 1948, three in 1967, and two in 1973 must not surrender their Jewish homeland to evil terrorists, who delight in killing Jewish babies. The Brave Heroes of Zion must not limit themselves to passive civil disobedience. Freedom sometimes needs to be secured through the barrel of a gun. If it is considered patriotic to die fighting Arabs for Israel’s survival, then it is just as patriotic to fight against Jews who would lead Israel to destruction. While such internal Jewish fighting would be dreadful, it is a consequence of the government’s disregard for the security and well being of its citizens. At this great time of trial and apocalyptic threat, the safeguarding of the future of the Jewish people’s right to Eretz Yisrael must take precedence.
Israelis my age have fought and died in four wars and I understand their desire to be free of constant conflict. Unfortunately, there is no magic cure. I wish I could write more optimistic words. Sadly, beyond the neighboring states that Israel is negotiating with now lies another ring of unmitigated hostility led by Islamic fundamentalists in Iran.
As Jews we are all involved in this historic struggle to survive. It is not our fate or that of the Israelis that we should retire from this struggle. The only peace the Arabs are prepared to give us is the peace of the grave.
In blood and fire was Israel born and on a hot anvil was she forged. The brave young soldiers of Israel must take a quick glance back to the crematoria of Auschwitz and then go forth to face the enemy knowing that there is STILL no alternative (ein briera).
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