Oh Well, once again we are going to a conference in America in order to try and solve the conflict while our enemy refuses to recognize our legitimate right to exist as a Jewish State. The Palestinian leadership still chokes at the thought that they must live next to a crazy group of highly motivated Jews/Israelis that have a flag with the Star of David and a national anthem that reflects our Jewish identity. Erekat just couldn’t say the word instead and he said “There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined,” Erekat told Radio Palestine.
Excuse me, but we could list any number of countries with Iran coming to mind that reflects the foolishness of his statement. Folks, at this point in time nothing is going to change until a major attitude shift takes place on both sides. But I must admit, we have been more flexible to the changing landscape then our adversaries. They might complain at our reluctance to implement one thing or another but in essence it is their unwavering attempt to delegitimize our existence that is problematic.
The leadership in the US, Rice in particular, is caught up in her desire to end the conflict by putting pressure on Israel to make concessions. This is nothing more than a desperate attempt of trying to force the tide from enveloping themselves in the truth of the situation. Don’t get me wrong, I am one of the citizens of this country that thinks we need to go and at least try to talk to Abbas and his cadre about a realistic start to a long process of disengagement. There is no short cut in the process as we have fully seen in our exit from Gaza.
Our Arab members of the Knesset would also like Israel to drop its unique Jewish identity and dissolve into another Arab State. They are the spokespeople for the Arab minority and a small group of Jewish anarchists that would prefer if Jews didn’t have their own State. In fact, they want the Arab youth to use the system while keeping their commitment to the State at an absolute minimum just short of treason and jail. However, some of the Moslem youth have decided to participate in the alternative service program where they provide help in the social services most often within their own communities. This program provides opportunities for this sector to feel completely legitimate and gives them national benefits they were not entitled to before. This is a good beginning in integrating minority youth into the dominant Israeli experience. Our Arab MK’s are so worried at the thought that this project might succeed that one MK in particular has threatened to ostracize the young Moslem kids that participate.
Where do we go from here? We have a US Secretary of State that is desperate, a Palestinian contingent that doesn’t want to give an inch and the Israeli participants that don’t really expect much from the whole conference. What a waste of expectations. The US has not learned a thing from history in general and specifically from the Middle East. Force is the Boss in these parts. Compromise is a sign of weakness and defeat. It may take a miracle for some kind of agreement and it certainly will have to be in stages in order for both sides to begin to accept and trust each other.
