A Jewish Peace Plan
By Paul Eidelberg
Ever since the futile and fatal Israel-PLO Agreement of 1993, I have advocated a Peace Plan to overcome the Israel-Palestinian conflict. It is a Jewish peace plan, the only kind based on a realistic assessment of Israel’s enemy.
Genuine realism requires a theological understanding of the enemy. Genuine realists know that territorial compromise with Muslims only whets their appetite for further aggression. Genuine realists know there are no empirical grounds to expect Muslims to renounce Jihadism—the precondition of peace—unless they are so devastated as to expunge their desire to wage war for a hundred years—as the Allied powers did to Nazi Germany.
Israel’s leadership must first act on the recognition that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, Israel will cease to be a viable state as I have shown in previous articles. Hence, Israel will have to destroy Iran’s nuclear weapons development program.
Israel’s leaders must understand that Jerusalem is the focus of Islam’s war against the West. The West is steeped in denial. Israel must awaken the West by going on the offensive. After eliminating the genocidal threat issuing from Iran, Israel must pursue a phased strategy for destroying the entire Fatah-Hamas terrorist network west of the River Jordan.
Since the goal of the Palestinian Authority, depicted in its maps, is to conquer all of Palestine, a rational government of Israel should adopt the following course of action:
- Abrogate the Oslo Agreement and emasculate the leaders of the PA. This will demoralize the Arabs. No Arab leadership will speedily arise and command the loyalty of the artificial collection of rival clans called the “Palestinians.”
- With the PA destroyed, Israel’s Government should declare Jewish sovereignty over Judea and Samaria. (The Arabs in these areas will retain the personal, religious, and economic rights they enjoyed under Israeli law, but they will not vote in Israeli elections.)
- The Government should establish unequivocal jurisdiction over the Temple Mount.
- It should move certain cabinet ministries to Judea and Samaria. (This will convince Arabs that the Jews intend to remain in these areas permanently.)
- The Government should pass a Homestead Act and sell small plots of land in Judea and Samaria at low prices to Jews in Israel and abroad with the proviso that they settle on the land, say for a period of seven years. This would diminish the dangerous population density of Israel’s large cities and encourage Jewish immigration to Israel.
- Develop model cities in Judea and Samaria by attracting foreign capital investment on terms favorable to the investors. Based on experience, and given Israel’s present Gross Domestic Product of $200 billion, at least 150,000 Jews could be settled in Judea and Samaria within a few years. Their presence will prompt many more Arabs to leave, as tens of thousands have done in the past, and in greater number if offered generous incentives.
7. Adopt a Constitution that stipulates that Israel is a Jewish Republic whose Jewish character is the Republic’s paramount principle to which all other principles are subordinate.
- The Constitution should empower the people by making members of the Knesset.
- The Knesset should be empowered to override decisions of the Supreme Court affecting the Jewish character of the Republic.
- Amend the “grandfather clause” of the Law of Return to diminish the number of gentile immigrants, and devote the vast funds thereby saved to assimilate gentiles now residing in Israel.
- Enforce Basic Law: The Knesset, which prohibits any party that negates the Jewish character of the Republic.
- Enforce the 1952 Citizenship Law, which empowers the Government to nullify the citizenship of any Israel national that commits “an act of disloyalty to the Republic.” (The term “act” should be amended to protect freedom of speech and press.)
- Put an end to the notorious tax evasion of Arab citizens and their countless violations of building and zoning laws.
- Terminate subsidies to, or expel, Arab university students who call for Israel’s destruction, and require Arab schools to include Jewish studies in their curriculum.
- Phase out U.S. military aid to Israel (now only 1.5% of the country’s GDP), as well as American participation in Israel-Arab affairs. Both undermine Israel’s strategic interests as well as Jewish national pride.
Of course, this is a grandiose project. It’s not designed for “men without chests.” But the God-inspired Jewish people, though few in number, revolutionized humanity. Thus inspired, the Jews can do it again, but with one caveat. They must go on the offensive with the understanding that in a world steeped in barbarism, it’s better to be feared than loved.
Looks good – needs to be put into action immediately
There are three steps: creating incentives for Jews to live in Israel by lowering taxes or forgiving them for a set number of years, giving them a free plot of land on which to build a home and raise a family and assimilating people with partial Jewish ancestry into the Jewish nation.
The Arab problem will take care of itself with principled and courageous policies. Israel only needs to implement them.
The US is headed for bankruptcy, Europe is descending into anarchy, and the Israeli Government is so out of touch with its constituency and its reason for being, they might as well be absentee landlords from Mars. Dr. Eidelberg has some good points; but I don’t think “good points” will carry the day in the months and, God willing, years ahead: The mob will decide; and ultimately, no human will be able to control it.
@BlandOatmeal – Eidelberg is our savior, pure and simple.
I’m not sure what #8 means. Next: private property must be safeguarded for the citizens. No direct (poll/head) taxes should be imposed on citizens. [this includes income and property taxes]. Finally: the right to keep and bear arms (non-firearms included – crew served weapons not-included) with very few exceptions [mental illness, violent criminal convictions, mental incompetence for example] should not be interfered with by the government. I, personally, hold that the right to vote should be given ONLY to those who have served honorably in our armed forces. Because, they have put their bodies in the service of our country; and, have shown their commitment and concern for our country.
Natan, I have honored Prof. Eidelberg for years and I don’t believe that he is respected enough; however, your reference to those who might be eligible to vote is skewed because there are many Jews, for one reason or another, were physically unable to serve in the IDF, and what about the mothers of children they must raise? Members of yashivas are not excused.
@ Ed Katz:
Obviously you have never been in an Army. Most of the jobs do not require combat fitness. Amputees are serving in the US Army as I type this. Some in combat positions. Your objection holds no water. The IDF should be an all volunteer force, anyway. Women who want to vote and hold public office should serve before becoming mothers. One of my sons is disabled; yet he served in the IDF. At age 41 I served in a miluim combat unit in the IDF; until age 55. You want to vote? Serve. MY opinion. Paul Eidelberg is a voice of sanity crying out in the desert of stupidity.
I still need clarification of #8. Does he mean voting for the individual as opposed to the ‘Partyocracy’ that we currently have?
Eidelberg has a number of good points, but (1) “emasculating” PA leaders, however tempting, would be cut short by the international community. (2) is not acceptable as it would make Israel undemocratic; the non-Jews of Judea and Samaria would need to acquire Jordanian, Lebanese, etc citizenship with residency conditional to obeying Israeli law. Points (3)to (6) are fine, but what about non-Jews? Should their development be subsidised by Jews to give them a stake in the development of the Jewish state, or should lack of development be encouraged to persuade them to leave – or convert to Judaism? What is (7), a Jewish Republic? Does that mean incorporating halacha into the basic law, making it a theocracy, or simply reinforcing the humanistic concept that underpin Western values? [(8)was meant to be a heading for the points that followed, I think.] (9) is a most excellent point; the elected legilature of a nation must make its rules and have the power to change, reverse repeal and make new ones it decides upon. An unelected judiciary must never make laws. Judges are there to interpret legislation, not to make new rules. (10) has some merit, but ignores the suffering of people who have Jewish roots; such people must be given the chance to regain their roots and if as some have shown turn out to be Jew haters and economic opportunists, then they must be returned to their land of birth. (11) to (15) absolutely. No other country would tolerate parliamentarians who denigrate their state or show loyalty to its enemies. Moreover, those Jews who actively work to undermine security and democracy, should have their civil rights removed or their citizenship revoked.Further, Israel should execute terrorist, thus eliminating both those villains and the temptation to kidnap hostages in exchange for those. Israel should also try to create a form of government like the USA’s three branches, possibly with one house elected on a nationwide basis (provided the % for quotas was raised substantially ) and another house by district. And Israel must resume arms manufacture as it has been shown time and time again, that it can only rely on itself. Eidelberg has many good points all worth discussing. The best point is that he has proposed points to discuss, because in the increasingly difficult times ahead, Israeli governance and society needs to be more cohesive and focused; and that does not mean regimented and silenced but with a broad tolerant vision.