Britannia Radio

YOSSI HALEVI: SURRENDER ARTIST

by David Basch

March 31, 2011

"Ignorant, short-sighted Israeli governments

thought that by gifting the Arabs with the lands of

the territories set aside for the Jewish people,

Israel would thus be able through this gift to buy

peace from the Arabs...."

"Bungling Israeli governments have since allowed the fact

that this was a Jewish gift of its own lands to go unrecognized

enabling the Arabs to falsely claim these lands as belonging to

them, having been robbed by Israel."

Reading Yossi Klein Halevi's article in the Wall Street Journal

("Israel is Resilient but Watchful " - 3.30.11), it is evident that it

is business as usual for that Israeli leftists. While the Arabs

continue to communicate by word, policy, and savage deed that Israel

is to be destroyed, liberals like Halevi refuse to recognize the

seriousness of the pernicious and implacable Arab threat to Israel.

For here again, he advocates that Israel continue what has been a

surrender process. Unfortunately, Halevi takes the part of world

powers that would press such surrenders as earlier occurred when

Czechoslovakia was forced to surrender its strategic lands to Hitler.

Halevi reveals this jaundiced thinking as he drops the comment that

Israel must communicate to the Arabs that it "has no intention of

continuing the occupation." Clearly, Halevi sees Israel's hold on

lands set aside for the Jewish people by the Mandate of Palestine as

constituting an "occupation." This is actually a slap at Israel since

it insinuates that the Arab war on Israel was and continues to be a

legitimate war of liberation of "occupied lands" -- this despite the

irony that a major war occurred in 1967 War, a time when the Arabs

held all the so called "occupied" territories they now say they want

for peace.

In fact, the upsurge of Arab attacks and indications that they are not

about making peace have caused serious second thoughts in Israel about

further surrenders of land. Nevertheless, Halevi insists that it is

Israel that must prove that it is not against a two-state solution. To

do so, he proposes that Israel initiate a new "freeze in the

settlements." This freeze, asserts Halevi, should be undertaken

"without expectation of reciprocity" from the Arabs. Apparently, this

is to be a gift to the terrorists who recently bombed Jerusalem and the

others who want to destroy Israel.

Noting that a new freeze would not be popular with Netanyahu's

coalition, Halevi suggests that Netanyahu dump this coalition so he

can partner with Livni and the Kadima party in a unity government.

Halevi believes this will bring a government whose policies will

include "military restraint, an unconditional settlement freeze,

realism regarding a Palestinian state." This he thinks "will express

the resolve and sobriety of the Israeli public."

To start this off, Halevi suggests that Israel "transfer control to

the Palestinian Authority of more of the West Bank, and continue

encouraging economic growth there." Clearly, Arab atrocities should

not be allowed to deter continuing Israeli surrenders toward a future

Arab state that will be an irredentist enemy from day one.

It is obvious that Halevi does not accept the provisions of the

Mandate of Palestine that set aside those lands for a Jewish homeland

and called for their "unlimited close Jewish settlement." As a matter

of fact, Israel began with this understanding of its ownership of the

Mandate lands recovered in 1967. (Egypt and Jordan had stolen these

Mandate lands in 1948.) What later happened was that short-sighted

Israeli governments thought that by gifting the Arabs with Jewish lands

it would buy peace. Unfortunately, bungling Israeli governments have

since allowed the fact that this was a Jewish gift of its own lands to

go unrecognized, enabling the Arabs to falsely claim these lands as

belonging to them, having been robbed by Israel.

The point of this is that freezing the building of Jewish communities

in the territories -- rightfully Jewish lands -- reinforces the

misconception that these are not Jewish lands. But, as has been noted,

these lands had only been gifted as an inducement to the Arabs to make

peace. Forbidding Jewish building make it seem that there is something

wrong with Jewish community building on its own lands. On the other

hand, continuing Jewish construction makes apparent Jewish ownership

under the mandate, and does not underwrite the false Arab claims.

The Arabs have no prior right to a new state on Israeli territories.

The continuation of Arab hate and massive aggression should call such

a prospect into question. Yet, Halevi proposes surrenders by Israel

that would undermine Israel's legitimacy and would reward that very

Arab aggression with a state that would further endanger the existence

of Israel.