Pressure is growing on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a move on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Israeli press, world media and heads of states are prodding him to jump-start the failed negotiations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israel’s best friend in Europe, said some solid words in his ears when they spoke recently. One Israeli diplomat, Ambassador Ilan Baruch, even resigned because of the lack of diplomatic progress.
At the same time, anti-Israeli sentiment spread all around the world, with "Apartheid Week" celebrated in university campuses, viciously equating democratic Israel with that old South African loathsome regime.
If this were not enough, people here are talking about the prospect of young Palestinians, disillusioned with the hope for a better future, following in the footsteps of their brothers and sisters in Tahrir Square, and taking to the streets. If Israel acts to suppress this popular uprising, it might be portrayed as worthy of the repressive Moammar Gadhafi.
Netanyahu, not being blind to these developments, reacted by promising that soon he will be launching a new initiative, probably in a speech he is scheduled to make in Washington later this month. This is rumored to be his Second Bar Ilan Speech (in the first one, made at Bar Ilan University in June 14, 2009, he agreed to a demilitarized Palestinian state), and his aides urge us to stay tuned to some new, surprising, ideas. Alas, few people here are holding their breath.
Why, instead of saluting the prime minister for moving in the right direction, am I criticizing him? Haven’t I been pounding my keyboard for years trying to accomplish exactly that, and now, when it seems to happen, I’m complaining?
Which reminds me, of course, of the joke told about President Bill Clinton, who, on his visit to Israel, took a boat ride in the Sea of Galilee, with the press boat following behind. When Hillary’s hat fell, President Clinton walked on water and retrieved it. The press’ reaction: “Clinton can’t swim.”
No, the reason why I’m weary of Netanyahu is that he is always reacting, not initiating, and when he does finally act, it’s too little and too late. I can’t believe I find myself missing good old Yitzhak Shamir, prime minister in the 1980s (well, “missing” is perhaps too strong; “thinking of fondly’’ is more accurate). I didn’t subscribe to anything Shamir ever stood for, but he was one of the most resilient leaders we had, unshakable in his beliefs and conduct. Even when he said one of the dumbest things I ever heard — “The Arabs are the same Arabs, and the sea [they want to dump us into] is the same sea” — you knew exactly what he meant: that in the turmoil around us, we should stand strong and never yield to pressure. Period.
Not so with Netanyahu. While he shares the same ideology of Shamir, and deep in his heart abhors the idea of a Palestinian state (just read his book, A Place Among the Nations), he is now dragged into being a passive and reluctant partner in an undertaking he hates. His two years of doing nothing now result in a countdown to September, when the U.N. General Assembly is about to accept a Palestinian state whether Israel likes it or not. Netanyahu may count on President Obama’s support, but it remains to be seen if the United States will be one of the only countries in the world to stand against the wish of the Palestinians to rule themselves.
This is not to say that nothing can be done. Six months are enough to start a peace process. I saw it happen during the Rabin days. However, it takes leadership of the kind we miss now.
To be fair to Netanyahu, the Palestinians are not angels, and they have their own share of responsibility for the present deadlock. Furthermore, pushing Netanyahu to act now, because of present events in the Middle East, might be ill advised, because if under the guise of democracy, radical Islam prevails, it might spill over to the West Bank. In other words, this is not the right time to move. But when was there a right time?
The best interests of Israel call for pulling out of most of the West Bank, inviting Israeli settlers in areas allotted to Palestinians to return to Israel proper, and suggesting to those who wish to stay where they live now, to become law abiding citizens of the Palestinian state, and full partners in its future progress. All the while, Israel should offer a hand to a demilitarized, democratic and economically viable Palestinian state. To accomplish that, however, we need a new type of Israeli leadership.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/10/2108749/israel-needs-new-type-of-l... [2]
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