126 Days to Go

By Sherwin Pomerantz

The fall 2011 session of the United Nations General Assembly opens 126 days from today, on September 14th with the speeches by heads of state beginning just nine days later on September 23rd. Is Israel ready? I don’t think so.

It is clear to everyone that the thrust of Palestinian diplomatic activity prior to the opening of the General Assembly is to garner worldwide support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and now Gaza, within the 1967 armistice lines (and that’s what they are, they are not “borders” as they are commonly called by diplomats and the press alike). As it appears today the world community will support that desire even though there is a reasonable chance that the U.S. will, albeit somewhat reluctantly, use its veto to prevent the Security Council from giving its approval to such a move. But that may not be the end of the story. There is always UN Resolution 377 (more about that tomorrow).

The Palestinians have made their position clear. They desire (a) an independent country within the physical confines described above, (b) the right of return of the refugees from 1948 and 1967 (and their descendants), and (c) a capital located in Jerusalem. Of course, coupled with all of that is their insistence (given President Obama’s first raising of the concept) of a freeze on all settlement construction and an understanding, in Mahmoud Abbas’ words, that no Jew will live in the newly created Palestinian state (which, of course, means the dismantling of all settlements). He even went so far as to say that should international peacekeeping forces also be part of the package, that no Jews could be part of those forces either. The Palestinian position could not be clearer. And what is the Israeli position?

Well, sadly, our position is not so clear. Our leadership speaks about seeking peace, our people here want peace, but our government, in spite of the urgings of many on both sides of the aisle, remains mute on what Israel wants and expects as a sovereign nation with a 63 year history of success. My sense is that we cannot afford to be silent and that not putting a plan on the table is significantly more dangerous to our long term survival here than anything we have faced in the last 63 years of our history.

We know from our history that, when we remain silent, conditions are imposed on us which are not generally in our best interests. Approaching a debate on a Palestinian state without our putting on the table our clear and unequivocal demands is tantamount to writing our own death certificate.

For those of us who understand that in order to survive here long term we need to come to some end of the conflict with our neighbors, we know the broad outlines of what our government here should demand as minimum conditions under which we can live side by side with a Palestinian state. They include (a) a demilitarized Palestinian state, (b) the continued existence of the large settlement blocs such as Gush Etzion, Ariel, Ma’ale Adumim, and the like, (c) a very limited right of return for some small percentage of families who were actually forced to leave in 1948 and 1967 [and not those who left voluntarily], (d) the maintenance of a united Jerusalem with the Old City under Israeli supervision and (e) the right of Jews who want to do so to live in the newly created independent Palestine.

Neither their position nor ours will end up to be the final framework and I am not even sure that my suggested points are exactly what we should be putting on the table, but we should put something on the table with the understanding that both sides will need to negotiate the resolution on those points where there is obvious disagreement.

Israel is the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people. We need to keep telling ourselves that over and over again and our leadership needs to believe it as well.

Our Prime Minister is due to make addresses shortly both at the AIPAC conference later this month as well as at a Joint Session of the US Congress. But before he goes to the US for these meetings, he owes it to us, those of us living here and whose future is bound up in this country, to tell us what our government’s position is in response to Palestinian activity in the run-up to the opening of the UN in September. We are owed that and it should be delivered to us here in Israel and not as a news report from America. We deserve nothing less!