I have been preaching for years that Israel should pull out of most of the West Bank, with minor modifications and maybe a land swap. I truly believed - and I still do - that it was the only way for Israel to remain both a Jewish and a democratic state. Once the Arabs become the majority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, Israel will either become an apartheid state or lose its Jewish identity [I suggest this is not necessarily a given].
Alas, it seems that not enough Israelis share my views. [alas!] In today's Israel, which is leaning to the right (and for good reasons, I hate to admit), there doesn't seem to be a government with the power to uproot 250,000 Jewish settlers from the West Bank.
Aw gee wiz.
But then, he gets a bit foreboding:
What's the alternative?...
I believe that the answer lies in the collective memory of the Israelis. Eighty years ago, in 1929, the Jews of Hebron, who had lived there peacefully for generations, were suddenly attacked by their Arab neighbors. For three days in August, the pogrom raged, until 67 Jews lay dead and the rest left the city. If the settlements stay under Palestinian rule, scenes like this might happen again, and then Israel has to jump in to help. In short, Balkanization of the conflict.
I still think a two-state solution is the best possible solution, but every day it becomes more difficult to realize.
Believe me, there are other alternatives.
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