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

(JNS)—We have now seen and heard the primary official details of the “deal of the century,” and it is, indeed, a bad deal for Israel.

Presumably, the intentions that led to the formulation of the plan, the formal title of which is “Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People,” were good; however, the plan displays a lack of basic understanding regarding the essence of the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel is the sole homeland of the Jewish people. The Land of Israel belongs to us—to the generations that preceded us and the generations that have yet to come.

One does not make deals regarding one’s homeland.

Any compromise regarding this absolute, historic principle, any agreement to relinquish sections of our land, will be interpreted by history as an admission that the occupation falsehood is true. A people cannot be an occupier of its own land. A people does not willingly relinquish its heartland. Beyond its historical significance, this concession has very severe security ramifications, as concession, especially in the Middle East, is interpreted as weakness, and as such encourages attack.

Should a Palestinian state be created, we are liable to find ourselves in a situation several times more severe than the one we face in Gaza, as the missiles will be much more advanced, much more deadly and especially, much closer to the densely populated center of the country.

The objective of sovereignty and the Sovereignty Movement is the realization of the right of the Jewish people to the entire Land of Israel. This is due to a moral obligation based on history, Jewish law and international law. All this is to ensure the independence and security of the Land of Israel and the Jewish people residing in it.

A necessary corollary of these objectives is preventing the delusional and dangerous idea of establishing a Palestinian state, abrogation of the Oslo Accords, stopping the Arab land grab, and the generous planning of the National Outline Plan for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, a plan based on Israeli sovereignty and a solid Jewish majority between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

The deal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump does not meet the essential requirements for the future of the Jewish people. It runs contrary to the objectives noted here, and consequently, we must forcefully reject it.

Israel must not be drawn into an agreement in principle to this proposal on the basis of long familiarity with Arab rejectionism. Israel cannot base its Zionist vision and its future on the incidental rejectionism of one Arab leader or the agreement of another. The Zionist vision and the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel are substantial matters of principle that are not currency to be used in any deal.

Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar are co-chairs of the Sovereignty Movement founded by Women in Green.