The Israel-Palestine Conundrum

On Wednesday, President Trump stood beside Bibi Netanyahu for a brief news conference, and it began and ended as a very cordial affair. Most will remember that Netanyahu and Obama had had a thorny relationship and most assumed that Trump's would more than likely be more amicable. But just as I was feeling comfortable, Mr. Trump glibly said that there would discussions about one state or two states and implied who knows? This was a bombshell for me. Am I overreacting? I do sometimes, but I've paid close attention to the Arab-Israeli conflicts since I began reading newspapers and watching the nightly news. Any of my World Powers or Global Issues will feel that they've heard most of this from me before, but stay with me.

Israel, as Zionists see it, is a Biblical land grant.  But what was once Israel became Ten Tribes ending up after thousands of other incarnations as the Palestinian Mandate (with the United Kingdom in charge) after WW I carved up the holdings of the losing Ottoman Empire. It remained thus from 1922-1947. After WW II, the winners were forced to see what Hitler and the Nazis had done primarily to the Jews in what has come to be known as the Holocaust. There had been voices demanding a homeland for the Jews for decades, but the world was finally compelled to listen.


UN Resolution 242 did just that. The British held area called Palestine was divided in a bizarre way to create the nation of Israel. Palestine was the rest after the carve-up but not given nation status. Arab v. Israeli wars immediately followed, and Israel gained even more of the areas that had been ceded to Palestinians. Thus, Israel has been and remains a twice promised land: once in Genesis and once by the UN. Very importantly, people's lives were collateral damage.

I always reminded my students to think how they might have felt had new lines drawn in Congress given our county to Ohio since we in Vanceburg lived on the Ohio River.  What if we had to give our farm to someone from Ohio? Where would we go?  To learn from history, point of view is always vital.

The conflicts are ongoing and have been calmed but a few times. After the Israeli-Egyptian War, Egypt's Anwar Sadat went to the Israeli Knesset to talk with Menachem Begin in 1979.  Wars on the Egyptian border ended, Begin and Sadat won Nobel Peace Prizes. Sadat was assassinated.

Under President Clinton, PLO leader Yasser Arafat (or terrorist depending on the time in history)  and Yitzhak Rabin met in DC with the President to discuss options. More conflicts, Jewish settlements built on land claimed by Palestinians, an Israeli wall built with check points to separate the two areas, terror attacks.

The concept of a two state solution first arose in the UN in 1974, but most recently by Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama.  Many applauded this as the only common-sense approach to the war-torn area.

Just what are those two states? Israel--currently a nation state recognized by all but some Arab nations--and Palestine, giving statehood to the erstwhile Palestinian territory.  It's clear why Palestine's leaders might desire this as they have little international standing as a territory. But why would Israel consider this? (Many moderate Israelis do.) A one state solution, folding the entire East and West Banks (of the Jordan River) into one nation, creates an Israel that is no longer a Jewish state. Palestinian Arabs outnumber Israeli Jews. Very few Israelis wish to see this.

The Israeli-Palestinian "Problem" continues. Diplomats with years of experience in and knowledge of this area have worked  to unravel these many difficult and seemingly impossible-to-solve problems. And failed. Recently, President Trump suggested he'd send his son-in-law, a Jew, over to deal with it. Kushner's parents have known Netanyahu for over ten years, which could be useful, but Bibi is in a bit of difficulty in his own country. I do not disparage the capabilities of the President's son-in-law, Jared Kuschner. Yes, he's brilliant, but brilliant in real estate. While this  situation does deal with real estate, it's a real estate problem that is millennia old. It involves an understanding of ancient history, Arab and Jewish culture, a knowledge of conflicts within these groups, an understanding of the area's effect on the entire area, and much more. This is hardly Let's Make a Deal. It is not our deal to make. The US can facilitate, encourage, and do what is asked, but peace in the Middle East depends upon careful thought, cool heads, and a willingness to realize that no one will get everything desired and everyone will have to give up something as well.

What should not happen is anyone speaking without being briefed. Shooting from the hip on this issue can easily cause bullets to fly in the Gaza and on the West Bank.  All interested in peace must proceed with caution. Perhaps, as the Arab-Israeli War Era old soldiers' power passes to the next generation, there will be more hope. As for now, I flinch easily.