Tuesday, April 13, 2010

That Silly Sullivan Sullies Again

The Atlantic's crypto-antisemite, Andrew Sullivan, is at it again. Here he is, praising a book, pamphlet actually, at his blog (more about that pamphlet here):

Fighting Back Against The Settlers

This gives you hope: a new book in Israel designed to rally a movement to end the illegal settlements on the West bank. The rationale is a familiar one:

“Israel is a democratic, Jewish state. If we remain in the territories we will have to choose: either Jewish or democratic. It won’t work together, because in a democracy the majority rules and soon [Arabs] will be the majority between the Jordan and the sea. If we want to remain a Jewish state, we will have to deny the rights of the majority and we will turn into an apartheid state. If we insist on remaining democrats, an Arab prime minister will soon be elected by a majority of votes.”

But there's the kicker: the book has been withdrawn from bookstores after a campaign from the far right (i.e. those in Israel who share Sarah Palin's and Bill Kristol's view). Along with this confusing but unsettling news, it reflects something that we need to come to terms with.

It is utopian to believe that Israel will ever withdraw from the lands it has occupied on the West Bank.


Andrew, or can I call you Andy by now, that line of argumentation is faulty and even false.


Here's Andrew with his partner, Aaron Tone




Demographics, besides being imprecise, especially as regards Jews and committed Zionists, is working against the theory that Arabs will overrun numerically the Jewish population within the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, not to mention the Arab cheating by inflating numbers.

As for democracy, there are several plausible political arrangements that Arabs can benefit from without endangering Israel's democratic character. Of course, life and security should be the paramount concern.

Utopian? No. Justice. Right. The best solution to a 90 year old violent conflict forced upon the Jews who were awarded the internationally legal recognition of the right to reconstitute their national homeland.

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