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?
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...
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.
The two-state solution is dead. Long live Israel.
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?
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...
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.