This peace proposal might seem unlikely or even virtually impossible, revolutionary or counterculture, and certainly imperfect — yet one that could very well deliver us what so many of us want to see.
That‘s an interesting vision. I can see that a lot of thought went into it. I have a basic question, though: In those wars against Israel that the Arabs lost in the various decades, were there only Jews fighting on Israel’s side or also non-Jewish Israelis that were Arabs? So, were Arabs outside of Israel fighting against Arabs inside Israel? What has the history been of minorities in Israel’s forces since 1948?
Most IDF members are Jewish Israelis. There is a very small minority of Arab Israelis in the IDF, but they do exist. Many Druze (a form of Arab Muslims) enlist in the IDF, but overall they are a small minority in Israel.
Thank you for replying. Do ALL Israelis including the non-Jewish minorities have to do military service in Israel? Are there exceptions for any group or groups? Are the people in the IDF full-time soldiers?
All Jewish Israelis have to do army service. Non-Jewish Israelis are invited to do so but don’t have to and won’t face any legal repercussions if they don’t.
Exceptions are for those who have mental or physical problems, and for those who have other extreme or extraordinary circumstances.
Hopefully Israel has a plan once the war is over. If not, they could adopt your plan and you will get the Nobel Peace Prize! Unfortunately, as you said, Israel and Jews are hated by Arabs, Muslims and the uninformed around the world. The world prays that there will be a solution...
For 20 years as a citizen of Israel where my permanent residence was Jerusalem (now living in the U.S.) I worked closely with the Arabs of the West Bank aiding them in their variety of needs and was graciously accepted in three homes as a member of their family. I saw in however that this individual friendship mattered not at all to their acceptance of Israel as a legitimate state. "Were you dancing on the roof when my home was bombed?" I mischievously asked one of my closest friends, and her response was a big smile, "Yes!" as she handed me the bouquet of flowers she'd brought for me.
I said "Arab" in the previous paragraph because that was the term we always used since I was born before statehood of Israel, and therefore am "legitimately" a Palestine. Of course I no longer use that identity but say it here just to show there is nothing wrong with the word Arab but I am very sadly, and increasingly, finding something wrong with this brand of Palestinians. I am so WEARY! I had a good reputation of one of those who had "a good relationship with the Arabs". I wrote articles about gettin along with my friends in the West Bank.
I was therefore asked by B'Tselem to join their forces when they were just beginning ... but I refused because I thought they were too one-sided and I wanted to tell both sides -- aside from which I didn't want to wash "our dirty linen in public" when Israel is always a target, even then in the easier days, of anti-Semitism.
Your proposal as an early draft is a step in the right direction, but I doubt Egypt in any circumstance will accept Gaza. Instead Jordan should annex and extend full citizenship to the residents of Gaza and Areas A & B of the West Bank, and Israel should annex Area C which is 90% Jewish and has the settlements. During the Oslo years in the 1990s a senior PA official was asked "What will happen the day after you get your state?" To which her replied, "We'll sign a federation agreement with Jordan." So let's cut to the chase.
Amman, Jordan, a 4/5 Palestinian city of four million whose modern incarnation was founded in the middle of the 19th Century by the children of merchant families from Nablus & Hebron, is the Palestinian metropolis and cultural center compared to which the West Bank and Gaza are provincial backwaters. Palestinian poets and fiction writers west of the Jordan river do not send their book length manuscripts to publishers in Ramallah or East Jerusalem; they send them to publishers in Amman. Likewise for all genres of artistic expression, except for the visual arts where art galleries in the Gulf states command the highest prices. King Abdullah II's wife and the mother of his children is Palestinian. The existing informal division of the public sphere under which the indigenous Jordanian Bedouins run the civil service and military and Palestinian entrepreneurs run the privatized economy could continue east of the Jordan river with decentralized home rule in the municipalities in Areas A, B, & Gaza.
Why have Jordan ruling over West Bank Palestinians? Simply restoring their Jordanian citizenship would create an excellent path to normalization for Palestinians as permanent residents in Israel. West Bank Palestinians were in fact always citizens of Jordan until their citizenship was abandoned by the Hashemite Kingdom in 1988. The Hashemite family of approximately 80 people rules over a nation where 78.5% are Palestinian. Of course they don't want more Palestinians. But the Kingdom is completely dependent on U.S. economic assistance, which suggests it would have no choice--IF the United States decides to move past the failed "Two State Solution".
Israel should withdraw from Oslo; reposition border security arrangements; dissolve the PA; end "the occupation" by suspending military law in favor of Israeli civil law; and deal directly with local Palestinian community leaders (hamoulas), who, if not for being jailed by the PA for trying, would already be collaborating in joint industrial zones and benefitting from brand new utility and other infrastructure built for Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria. If local Palestinian leadership in Israel would be enlightened enough to embrace living peacefully in Israel, renounce terror and re-program the younger generation to move past violent rejection of Israel, Palestinians could eventually enjoy the full benefit of work and travel throughout Israel.
Why has everyone believed for the last 30 years that the "Two State Solution" is the only path for peace anyway? Because people just assume that it's impossible to reconcile Israel's unique status as the Jewish homeland with citizenship and democratic participation for non-Jewish inhabitants of the land. But Israel is a Jewish nation that opted to govern itself by democratic principles. That does not mean the democracy of the Jewish homeland needs to be exactly like others. Law-abiding Palestinians with normalized permanent residency in Israel would still have better and freer lives in Israel than under any Arab monarchy, including especially Jordan's. If the Palestinians come to their senses, Israeli constitutional reform might even give them (and other non-Jewish inhabitants) a path to citizenship with participatory rights in civil government, so long as the unique Jewish character of Medinat Israel is eternally constitutionally protected by reserving power over immigration, defense/security and relations with the Rabbinate (who is Jewish?) to the Jewish population.
Thanks for your comments, Daniel! I’m not sure I see the majority of Israelis, including left-leaning ones, agreeing to naturalizing the West Bank Palestinians for security reasons. Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been growing in the West Bank, hence the IDF operation that was done in Jenin during the summer.
Agree entirely, but I'd trust Shin Beit over Jordanians any day. Even in a best case where this war is contained to Gaza and ends there, I can't imagine Israel being in a position to even consider any change of status quo before October 7th inquiries and new elections. What I had been proposing as an alternative to ignoring the issue, was a lengthy process that would only start once Israel exits Oslo, reveals what has really been achieved for everyone's benefit in J & S, and cultivates & engages a new generation of post-Arafat/Abbas/"resistance" leaders who demonstrably stop the violence emanating from their own communities. Even then, the process of normalization would be very measured and deliberately linked to Palestinian self-control.
Not sure I am confident that the Palestinians themselves can "self-control" much of anything, which we've seen consistently since the 1960s. I think it's time to move on from "the Palestinians" and try another arrangement not tied to Israel, and not tied to displacement either.
That‘s an interesting vision. I can see that a lot of thought went into it. I have a basic question, though: In those wars against Israel that the Arabs lost in the various decades, were there only Jews fighting on Israel’s side or also non-Jewish Israelis that were Arabs? So, were Arabs outside of Israel fighting against Arabs inside Israel? What has the history been of minorities in Israel’s forces since 1948?
Thanks Birgit!
Most IDF members are Jewish Israelis. There is a very small minority of Arab Israelis in the IDF, but they do exist. Many Druze (a form of Arab Muslims) enlist in the IDF, but overall they are a small minority in Israel.
Thank you for replying. Do ALL Israelis including the non-Jewish minorities have to do military service in Israel? Are there exceptions for any group or groups? Are the people in the IDF full-time soldiers?
All Jewish Israelis have to do army service. Non-Jewish Israelis are invited to do so but don’t have to and won’t face any legal repercussions if they don’t.
Exceptions are for those who have mental or physical problems, and for those who have other extreme or extraordinary circumstances.
Yes, the vast majority of the IDF are full-time.
Hopefully Israel has a plan once the war is over. If not, they could adopt your plan and you will get the Nobel Peace Prize! Unfortunately, as you said, Israel and Jews are hated by Arabs, Muslims and the uninformed around the world. The world prays that there will be a solution...
For 20 years as a citizen of Israel where my permanent residence was Jerusalem (now living in the U.S.) I worked closely with the Arabs of the West Bank aiding them in their variety of needs and was graciously accepted in three homes as a member of their family. I saw in however that this individual friendship mattered not at all to their acceptance of Israel as a legitimate state. "Were you dancing on the roof when my home was bombed?" I mischievously asked one of my closest friends, and her response was a big smile, "Yes!" as she handed me the bouquet of flowers she'd brought for me.
I said "Arab" in the previous paragraph because that was the term we always used since I was born before statehood of Israel, and therefore am "legitimately" a Palestine. Of course I no longer use that identity but say it here just to show there is nothing wrong with the word Arab but I am very sadly, and increasingly, finding something wrong with this brand of Palestinians. I am so WEARY! I had a good reputation of one of those who had "a good relationship with the Arabs". I wrote articles about gettin along with my friends in the West Bank.
I was therefore asked by B'Tselem to join their forces when they were just beginning ... but I refused because I thought they were too one-sided and I wanted to tell both sides -- aside from which I didn't want to wash "our dirty linen in public" when Israel is always a target, even then in the easier days, of anti-Semitism.
Dare I still hope? Slimly.
Your proposal as an early draft is a step in the right direction, but I doubt Egypt in any circumstance will accept Gaza. Instead Jordan should annex and extend full citizenship to the residents of Gaza and Areas A & B of the West Bank, and Israel should annex Area C which is 90% Jewish and has the settlements. During the Oslo years in the 1990s a senior PA official was asked "What will happen the day after you get your state?" To which her replied, "We'll sign a federation agreement with Jordan." So let's cut to the chase.
Amman, Jordan, a 4/5 Palestinian city of four million whose modern incarnation was founded in the middle of the 19th Century by the children of merchant families from Nablus & Hebron, is the Palestinian metropolis and cultural center compared to which the West Bank and Gaza are provincial backwaters. Palestinian poets and fiction writers west of the Jordan river do not send their book length manuscripts to publishers in Ramallah or East Jerusalem; they send them to publishers in Amman. Likewise for all genres of artistic expression, except for the visual arts where art galleries in the Gulf states command the highest prices. King Abdullah II's wife and the mother of his children is Palestinian. The existing informal division of the public sphere under which the indigenous Jordanian Bedouins run the civil service and military and Palestinian entrepreneurs run the privatized economy could continue east of the Jordan river with decentralized home rule in the municipalities in Areas A, B, & Gaza.
Why have Jordan ruling over West Bank Palestinians? Simply restoring their Jordanian citizenship would create an excellent path to normalization for Palestinians as permanent residents in Israel. West Bank Palestinians were in fact always citizens of Jordan until their citizenship was abandoned by the Hashemite Kingdom in 1988. The Hashemite family of approximately 80 people rules over a nation where 78.5% are Palestinian. Of course they don't want more Palestinians. But the Kingdom is completely dependent on U.S. economic assistance, which suggests it would have no choice--IF the United States decides to move past the failed "Two State Solution".
Israel should withdraw from Oslo; reposition border security arrangements; dissolve the PA; end "the occupation" by suspending military law in favor of Israeli civil law; and deal directly with local Palestinian community leaders (hamoulas), who, if not for being jailed by the PA for trying, would already be collaborating in joint industrial zones and benefitting from brand new utility and other infrastructure built for Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria. If local Palestinian leadership in Israel would be enlightened enough to embrace living peacefully in Israel, renounce terror and re-program the younger generation to move past violent rejection of Israel, Palestinians could eventually enjoy the full benefit of work and travel throughout Israel.
Step One: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-true-state-solution-11546473263.
Why has everyone believed for the last 30 years that the "Two State Solution" is the only path for peace anyway? Because people just assume that it's impossible to reconcile Israel's unique status as the Jewish homeland with citizenship and democratic participation for non-Jewish inhabitants of the land. But Israel is a Jewish nation that opted to govern itself by democratic principles. That does not mean the democracy of the Jewish homeland needs to be exactly like others. Law-abiding Palestinians with normalized permanent residency in Israel would still have better and freer lives in Israel than under any Arab monarchy, including especially Jordan's. If the Palestinians come to their senses, Israeli constitutional reform might even give them (and other non-Jewish inhabitants) a path to citizenship with participatory rights in civil government, so long as the unique Jewish character of Medinat Israel is eternally constitutionally protected by reserving power over immigration, defense/security and relations with the Rabbinate (who is Jewish?) to the Jewish population.
Step Two: https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-could-become-a-constitutional-democracy-separation-of-powers-judicial-reform-knesset-bibi-7731d4f9.
Thanks for your comments, Daniel! I’m not sure I see the majority of Israelis, including left-leaning ones, agreeing to naturalizing the West Bank Palestinians for security reasons. Palestinian Islamic Jihad has been growing in the West Bank, hence the IDF operation that was done in Jenin during the summer.
Agree entirely, but I'd trust Shin Beit over Jordanians any day. Even in a best case where this war is contained to Gaza and ends there, I can't imagine Israel being in a position to even consider any change of status quo before October 7th inquiries and new elections. What I had been proposing as an alternative to ignoring the issue, was a lengthy process that would only start once Israel exits Oslo, reveals what has really been achieved for everyone's benefit in J & S, and cultivates & engages a new generation of post-Arafat/Abbas/"resistance" leaders who demonstrably stop the violence emanating from their own communities. Even then, the process of normalization would be very measured and deliberately linked to Palestinian self-control.
Thanks for your important work.
Not sure I am confident that the Palestinians themselves can "self-control" much of anything, which we've seen consistently since the 1960s. I think it's time to move on from "the Palestinians" and try another arrangement not tied to Israel, and not tied to displacement either.