Reply #12: Why do we spend all of our time dissing the source and not discussing [View All]

[pampango]

the idea?

The idea that there is a fundamental tension built in to the existence of the state of Israel is interesting but hardly earth-shattering. If Israel (with another name, of course) existed as a democratic Hindu state surrounded by Christian countries that were largely dictatorial, I would hope that we could discuss the challenges faced by this unnamed state. The question of whether the discussion was initiated by someone of the left or the right should not change the value of the discussion.

I realize that in American politics today (maybe everywhere in the world) if you don't want to discuss the message (it's too complicated, it's not popular, the political ramifications are negative), politicians and partisans make hay by attacking the messenger and his/her motives and background and leave the issue undiscussed.

To initiate a discussion of the message, leaving the messenger out of it, I will say that Israel needs to understand that it must return the land that it took in 1967. Its military is much stronger now relative to its neighbors'. While this does not provide them with perfect protection from attack, it does not have that much to worry about. Return the West Bank and Gaza to Jordan and Egypt from whom they were taken or to a Palestinian state, internationalize control of Jerusalem, and set up an international fund to compensate Palestinians for their right of return.

Would this be a gamble for Israel? Sure, but not an unreasonable one. I am sure that Palestinian representatives will quarrel with trading away the right of return, sole control over Jerusalem and its Islamic sites, who gets the West Bank and Gaza (and how to unite them if they end up in a Palestinian state). There will be plenty to discuss, but if Israel and its people want to be a Jewish, liberal, European democracy, they have to take some risks and promote the political and economic development of the Arab and Muslim area in which they exist.