Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Well, what happens if they don’t? This month, a bunch of Europeans and others walked into a room in Paris to decide what actually had already been decided in 1947 and discussed continually since then: That the best solution for the Holy Land of Israel was to whack it up into two states: One for the Jews, one for the Arabs. As we all know, all the way back in ’47, the Jews agreed, the Arabs did not.

The distinguished gentlemen at this latest meeting represented the U.N., a number of nations, a sprinkling of Arabs as well as John Kerry who, by the time you read this will be, thankfully, retired. Of course, these distinguished gentlemen never gave a clue as to how to accomplish this. So, they took a smiling picture of the attendees and went home. But, the meeting was in “Gay Paree” and they were not paying their own way, so... Vive Le France!!

Let’s just suppose that once again, against all his better instincts, Benjamin Netanyahu were to say: “All right—let’s get this thing done—let’s sit down at a table and figure out some borders, some tactics and we will have a two-state solution like all these geniuses are crying for.”

So, two Jews—Netanyahu and another designated negotiator walk into the room and... Oh wait—they did that twice—and nobody else showed up! A couple of years ago the Arabs said “Stop all ‘Settlement’ Building!”

So they did—stop all building in Judea and Samaria. The Jews waited nine long months. And... nobody showed up. Okay, so that didn’t work, Israel started building new Israeli towns and the Arabs screamed bloody murder (and also did more than scream it). Let John Kerry, the retiring U.S. secretary of state bring the leader of the Palestinian Arabs with him to a final—let’s get it done—meeting. Who is he going to bring?

Abbas, now in the fourteenth year of a four-year term? Okay—but wait—there’s more! Aren’t there a load of Arabs in a place called Gaza? How come they aren’t represented at the table? Oh—they do not want a “Two-State Solution.” That’s right! They are not ruled by Mr. Abbas. They are ruled by Hamas. Ay, there’s the rub ... Hamas wants a One-State Solution—no Jews. Matter of fact, no Jews—anywhere!

Years ago, Netanyahu himself, in his first creation as PM actually shook hands with the Late Yasser Arafat while President Bill Clinton clasped both their hands and beamed. He had done it! Only problem was, as soon as the unshaven Arafat got home, he said “thanks a lot but no thanks.”

In 1967 the foreign minister of Israel was Yigal Allon. He was a former front line general in the IDF and a distinguished archeologist. As such he knew exactly where the ancient and Holy land of Israel was. But he was also a man of peace. So, he tried to configure borders that would allow for an Arab Quasi State in most of Judea and Samaria to be ruled by Jordan. There was a break in the proposed borders to allow for an international zone that cut off the bottom part of Israel —the Negev. It was a terrible idea and never came to fruition. But—it did contain the germ of a wonderful idea. What nation on earth allows an organization thousands of miles away, most of whose members had never been to the area to declare their borders?

In order to negotiate a peace treaty with Egypt, Israel gave up the Sinai. The disputed area today for the most part remains Judea and Samaria—integral parts of the ancient and Holy land of Israel—but now known as the “West Bank” even though it is nowhere near the Jordan River.

There is an area in the “West Bank” called “Area C.” It includes some fairly large Israeli cities which the Palestinian Arabs and the U.N. call “Settlements.” The area is roughly divided between Arabs and Jews. What would happen if Israel were to simply annex the area?

It would become a part of Israel. The Arab citizens therein would become Israelis—entitled to the benefits of citizenship—and dependable electricity and garbage pick-up. They would maintain their educational system—with an adjustment to the curriculum, taking out the textbooks that call for the death of all Jews.

The argument against this is that demographically, because Arabs have much bigger families than Jews (except for the Haredi who tend to have massive families) that they would outnumber Jews in the area. Well, history shows that as people become more economically independent, family size decreases—which, as Israelis, these secular, intelligent Arabs would become.

Maybe it’s not perfect—but, It makes more sense than a bunch of Europeans and one American sitting in Paris and deciding... nothing.