How to get international support for the Jewish settlements
In his usual tongue-in-cheek style, Israel Zwick presents a plan for obtaining international acceptance and support for the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
By Israel Zwick, CN Publications, December 21, 2009
Though he lived in Chicago, Barack Obama is probably too young to be familiar with Elvis Presley’s sentimental hit song, “In the Ghetto,” about a boy growing up in a Chicago ghetto. He probably is also unaware that the term “ghetto” originally referred to an area in Venice in the 16th century where Jews were confined. Jewish ghettos continued to be established throughout Europe through the end of World War II. Barack Obama may also be unaware that for the last 150 years there have been small Jewish settlements in Montana, where Jews have no cultural or historical attachments. So what does any of this have to do with Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria?
Knowing the dire conditions of urban ghettos, it unlikely that a humanitarian such as Barack Obama would support the establishment of ghettos for any ethnic group. President Obama would most likely also support the rights of Jews to establish settlements in Montana even if they have no historical connection to the land. Yet by insisting that Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are illegitimate and should be “frozen”, Obama is confining the Jews in Israel to urban ghettos and denying them the right to establish communities in areas where they have strong religious, cultural, and historical attachments.
The USA, UN, and EU, continue to insist that Jewish settlements in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza are illegal and should not be continued. The settler movement has responded with lengthy legal and historical treatises confirming the rights of Jews to live in these areas. All to no avail. The “international community” has decided that this is all “occupied Palestinian territory” and Jews have no right to establish communities there. Of course, Arabs insist on their rights to live anywhere they want to within Israel, Europe, or North America. Only Jewish settlement should be restricted.
Jews have already been expelled from over a dozen countries in the Middle East where they used to have thriving communities. When Jews want to move into Arab areas in the Galil, Negev, or Jerusalem, they are accused of “ethnic cleansing.” The southern city of Eilat has become an expensive tourist resort for wealthy Europeans that few native Israelis can afford. That restricts most of the Jews in Israel to living in “urban ghettos” along the narrow Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem corridor and along the Mediterranean coast. Yet Barack Obama, who would surely support the rights of Jews to live in Montana, sees no problem with denying them the right to live in their ancestral homeland.
Apparently, the USA, EU, and UN have no interest in legal or historical arguments establishing the rights of Jewish settlement throughout the original British Palestine Mandate. They continue to insist that the Jewish settlements be “frozen” and eventually dismantled to allow for the establishment of a “contiguous Palestinian state.” If legal arguments can’t sway them, then the Government of Israel should resort to the same tactics that the Arabs use to support their arguments. Israel needs to develop a diplomatic plan that uses a touch of chicanery, a bit of duplicity, a dab of sophistry, and a generous portion of mendacity. Here is the artful scheme:
First the Government of Israel will announce that it agrees to a permanent limitation of new Jewish housing in Judea and Samaria. Only 3000 new units per year will be permitted throughout the area. Because of the limitations, the units will be reserved only for Jews of Ashkenazic European descent. That is, all Jews descending from Arab-speaking countries and African countries will be barred from new housing in the territories. This plan will result in an immediate international uproar.
The Palestinian Authority will scream that European Jews have no right to live in Palestine. They are occupiers, usurpers, and thieves of Palestinian lands. The only Jews who have a right to live in Palestine are the descendants of those who lived there in 1948. Hamas will announce that the plan is a “crime against humanity” and “genocide against the Palestinian people.”
The Europeans, champions of humanitarian rights, will argue that this plan is a violation of civil rights. Of course, they have only their own interests in mind. They will fear that European Jews will be drawn to Israel with the lure of inexpensive housing in a scenic area. The resulting deficiency of Jewish academics in Europe may compel the Nobel Committee to award a Nobel Prize to someone who may not really deserve it. The Europeans would want to discourage anything that would undermine the credibility of the revered prize so they will also protest the Israeli plan.
The international NGO’s will proclaim that this plan demonstrates that Israel is an apartheid state because the plan discriminates against people of color. They will insist that people of color be given the same rights as the White Jews of European descent.
Islamic organizations such as CAIR will protest that Israel is trying to obliterate Arabic language and culture. They will cite this as proof of Israel’s continued oppression of the Palestinian population. They will insist that people who speak Arabic be included in the housing allocations.
The Reform Jewish organizations in America will complain that the plan fails to make allowances for intermarried and homosexual couples. Furthermore, it will increase the suffering of the Palestinian people. They will decry the plan as discriminatory and demand that it be modified to be more inclusionary.
There will be such an international outcry against the restricted housing plan that Israel will have to submit to international demands. The Government of Israel will announce that it is willing to expand new housing in the territories to 10,000 units per year to allow Sephardi, Mizrahi, African, and Indian Jews to participate. However, the GOI will announce that they don’t have the funds to build the extra units needed to accommodate all the Jews who are refugees from Asian and African countries. An international fund-raising effort will be required.
The USA will be asked to donate some of its vast surplus funds to the housing efforts. Susan Rice will bring the matter to the UN and argue that the EU and international NGO’s should also contribute. Enough money will be raised to bring thousands of Diaspora Jews to Israel. They will develop new settlements in Judea and Samaria. Jews from many different countries will be living in peaceful coexistence with Christians and Muslims. The area will become a center for international trade and tourism. Palestinians and Israelis will reap the economic benefits. The Middle East will finally enjoy “peace on Earth and good will towards men.”
The GOI will be shamed into admitting that it’s original housing plan was flawed and the Europeans were correct. The Obama administration will finally be able to announce that it has achieved a major diplomatic victory over Israeli intransigence. Most important, for the Jews in Judea there will be “light, gladness, joy, and honor.”
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