UNM Israel Alliance

by Daniel Pipes
Jerusalem Post
November 29, 2007

Surprisingly, something useful has emerged from the combination of the misconceived Annapolis meeting and a weak Israeli prime minister, Ehud (“Peace is achieved through concessions”) Olmert. Breaking with his predecessors, Olmert has boldly demanded that his Palestinian bargaining partners accept Israel’s permanent existence as a Jewish state, thereby evoking a revealing response.

Unless the Palestinians recognize Israel as “a Jewish state,” Olmert announced on November 11, the Annapolis-related talks would not proceed. “I do not intend to compromise in any way over the issue of the Jewish state. This will be a condition for our recognition of a Palestinian state.”

He confirmed these points a day later, describing the “recognition of Israel as a state for the Jewish people” as the “launching point for all negotiations. We won’t have an argument with anyone in the world over the fact that Israel is a state of the Jewish people.” The Palestinian leadership, he noted, must “want to make peace with Israel as a Jewish state.”

Raising this topic has the virtue of finally focusing attention on what is the central topic in the Arab-Israeli conflict – Zionism, the Jewish nationalist movement, a topic that typically gets ignored in the hubbub of negotiations. Since nearly the birth of the state, these have focused on the intricacies of such subsidiary issues as borders, troop placements, armaments and arms control, sanctities, natural resources, residential rights, diplomatic representation, and foreign relations.

The Palestinian leadership responded quickly and unequivocally to Olmert’s demand:

* The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee in Nazareth unanimously called on the Palestinian Authority not to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
* Salam Fayad, Palestinian Authority “prime minister”: “Israel can define itself as it likes, but the Palestinians will not recognize it as a Jewish state.”
* Yasser Abed Rabbo, secretary general of the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s executive committee: “This issue is not on the table; it is raised for internal [Israeli] consumption.”
* Ahmad Qurei, chief Palestinian negotiator: “This [demand] is absolutely refused.”
* Saeb Erekat, head of the PLO Negotiations Department: “The Palestinians will never acknowledge Israel’s Jewish identity. … There is no country in the world where religious and national identities are intertwined.”

Erekat’s generalization is both curious and revealing. Not only do 56 states and the PLO belong to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, but most of them, including the PLO, make the Shari‘a (Islamic law) their main or only source of legislation. Saudi Arabia even requires that every subject be a Muslim.

Further, the religious-national nexus extends well beyond Muslim countries. Argentinean law, Jeff Jacoby of the Boston Globe points out, “mandates government support for the Roman Catholic faith. Queen Elizabeth II is the supreme governor of the Church of England. In the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, the constitution proclaims Buddhism the nation’s ‘spiritual heritage.’ … ‘The prevailing religion in Greece,’ declares Section II of the Greek Constitution, ‘is that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Christ’.”

So, why the mock-principled refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state? Perhaps because the PLO still intends to eliminate Israel as a Jewish state.

Note my use of the word “eliminate,” not destroy. Yes, anti-Zionism has until now mainly taken a military form, from Gamal Abdel Nasser’s “throw the Jews into the sea” to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s “Israel must be wiped off the map.” But the power of the Israel Defense Forces has prodded anti-Zionism toward a more subtle approach of accepting an Israeli state but dismantling its Jewish character. Anti-Zionists consider several ways to achieve this:

Demography: Palestinians could overwhelm the Jewish population of Israel, a goal signaled by their demand for a “right of return” and by their so-called war of the womb.

Politics: Arabs citizens of Israel increasingly reject the country’s Jewish nature and demand that it become a bi-national state.

Terror: The 100 Palestinian attacks a week during the period, September 2000-September 2005 sought to induce economic decline, emigration, and appeasement.

Isolation: All those United Nations resolutions, editorial condemnations, and campus aggressions are meant to wear down the Zionist spirit.

Arab recognition of Israel’s Jewish nature must have top diplomatic priority. Until the Palestinians formally accept Zionism, then follow up by ceasing all their various strategies to eliminate Israel, negotiations should be halted and not restarted. Until then, there is nothing to talk about.

On Tuesday, November 20, three UNMIA people went to the Peace and Justice Center to join Justice First’s discussion of Jimmy Carter’s book “Palestine: Peace or Apartheid”. The crowd was small because of the Thanksgiving holiday, and there were four members of Justice First and an anti-Israel Jewish student from Arizona. Still, it was a hot discussion, as you might well imagine, and probably hotter because it was a small group. Justice First made an audio recording of the discussion, and you can probably contact them for a copy, if you are interested.

The Justice First co-leaders, Vicki Johnson and Mike, opened with a video presentation that Vicki had made for the discussion, and a handout featuring the main points and maps of Carter’s book, and a listing of the major factual errors in his book.

Rather than going into the debate and arguments of the evening, which were the sort that you would expect, this discussion brought up other issues that might be worth mentioning here…

The obvious question is, why go debate these things? Why go to discussions where the only attendees are devotees on one side or the other, and neither will change the other’s mind?

We constantly present factual and sometimes obvious challenges to the anti-Israel view, which can’t be contested, or at least aren’t contested, and yet it changes nobody’s mind. Why? Because the anti-Israel lobby, despite being made up mostly of well-educated and academic people, is not based on a rational cause, to be swayed by rational arguments, but an emotional cause. I won’t go into psychoanalyzing this movement, because I’m not qualified, but that’s how it is.

Probably the most practical advantage to be gained from going to these discussions is practice in debate and defending our views in public, and the sharpening of our arguments. The benefit applies equally to both sides. UNMIA, being the smaller and less experienced group, benefits most from the opportunity to spar with the opposition.

Frankly that sounds like a pretty dry reason to attend these discussions, and yet it is very important. However fervent and knowledgeable we may be and however much research we may have done, not many people are born debaters and public speakers.

Have you ever wished that you had spoken up, but fear of speaking in a group held you back? Have you ever tried to state your case and found that you just didn’t say what you wanted to say? Have you ever started out strong and then got flustered and ended up feeling embarrassed? Or maybe you realized that you said too much? This is the best way to learn to speak effectively with whoever you may encounter, so that you come away satisfied that you did well.

You could take a debating class, you could go to toastmasters to learn this…but why not jump into the fray and learn on the job? Instead of being absent, be a presence, be a mensch or a menschette. Take a stand, even if in a small thing like joining a discussion to speak up for Israel.

And then again, maybe sometime, in a larger meeting, there will be someone there who hears what you say and considers it, and comes away with more understanding of the situation…maybe they decide to look into issues on their own rather than simply believing the claims they hear. Then, a little good has been done.

Maybe these small experiences develop into larger and more useful opportunities to stand up for Israel…and if that happens, you’ll be ready.

If you are a supporter of Israel, if you don’t believe it should be vilified, divided, that it isn’t the cause of the world’s problems, if you don’t like to see what the anti-Israel groups in the US are doing on campuses, if it makes you mad when you hear a Jewish student say Israel makes them ashamed to be Jewish, and then they support the claim with a bunch of lies, why don’t you do something about it? That’s not just a challenge, that’s a real question. Why not?

There are all kinds of reasons why people who personally support Israel keep quiet and don’t do anything. Because of the silence of so many, for so long, a lot of damage has been done. By your action, even small things, you can start to reverse the trend. Look at your reasons and your excuses and see if they are really so strong.

You’re a liberal Zionist, and it seems like conservatives are running the Zionism show? Come and bring a friend, and the local movement will look more like you.

You’re afraid if you rock the boat you’ll fall overboard? There’s strength in numbers. If plenty of people are actively speaking up, it’s not rocking the boat to join them. Everyone who stays away and keeps quiet weakens themselves, as well as those who feel the same.

If you’re just timid, here’s the place to overcome your fear and be able to do some good.

You don’t like the kinds of things the pro-Israel group has been doing? Come and bring your ideas and effort, and you’ll like the direction better.

If you look into it, you’ll find there is something in your reach that you can do, and it’ll do you good to know you’re doing something. Maybe it’s a little, maybe it’s a lot.

You can do some research and pass it on to someone who needs it for a presentation. You can be an officer, make an ad, sit at a table and hand out flyers, put up some posters. You can help with fund-raising, go to anti-Israel events to speak up, or to pro-Israel events to make them stronger. You can write a letter to an editor, put something on your website, or lead a march. You can go to a conference, help set up for a movie, help arrange for a speaker. There’s something to fit everybody who wants to support Israel, at the UNM Israel Alliance.

Think about it as you prepare for your finals…think about it over the winter break…think about it when you start the new year, and then come help advocate for Israel. It’s a big deal.

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