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Joel Bainerman has been thinking about Middle East political and economic subjects since 1983. His research studies and published archive can be viewed at www.joelbainerman.com.
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By Joel Bainerman
February 25, 2007
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Since the establishment of the state, all Israeli governments have announced to the world that unless the Arabs recognize Israel's right to exist, there can't be peace.
This diplomatic stance gives Arab states the opportunity "not to recognize" Israel's existence. Then, if they announce they have 'changed their mind' and "recognize Israel's existence," they will expect to be rewarded.
A better diplomatic strategy for Israel would be to publicly announce that "Israel no longer recognizes the existence of any Arab country which does not recognize Israel." Then, when the Arabs announce that they have decided to "recognize Israel," Israel can reciprocate, and "recognize" them too.
Has Israel not existed for the past 59 years without the recognition of its existence of most of the Arab peoples? What other country in the world is asked to acknowledged the "existence" of another country? Even during the height of the Cold War, when they were threatening to blow each other to Kingdom Come, the US and USSR didn't think of not recognizing each other's existence. What would the international community say if, one day, Sweden decided that it no longer recognized Norway's existence"?
So why does the Israeli government put its own existence into question -- putting it up for grabs -- to be debated by the Arab world? Why does it announce that "unless the Arabs do something, such as 'acknowledge Israel's existence,' Israel won't make any concessions? Why does the Israeli government not object when foreigners make a big deal about recognizing that nation's existence?
Middle East peace processes never bring peace
The policy of begging the Arabs to "recognize" Israel is and has always been the creation of elements outside the region. During her recent trip to the region, US Secretary of State Condalizza Rice declared: "For there to be peace, Hamas must recognize Israel's existence." Declarations by foreign diplomats that "the Arabs must recognize Israel" usually accompany "new Middle East peace plans."
It doesn't matter what it's called -- the peace initiative always fails. Whether the international peace conference of the 1970s and 1980s, the Rogers plan, the Saudi plan, the Reagan plan, the Madrid, Oslo, Mitchell, Tenet, Geneva plans, or, the most recent one -- the Road Map -- they all wind up in the trash heap of history. Always. In fact, the foreign diplomats are by far the most incompetent Middle East peace makers, yet they not throw their hands up in defeat. No matter how many of their peace plans fail- they keep coming back to the region to "bring about a peaceful resolution of the conflict."
Every time a world leader comes up with a "Middle East plan" they talk about whether it is good or not. Israel and the Arabs then complain that it doesn't "satisfy all of their demand" and before you know it six months to a year have passed. Then, there aren't any more meetings or delegations, because the process is "stalled." Fingers are then pointed at either Arab terrorism or Israeli intransigence, and the circle of blame goes around and around before it is time to initiate a "new round of Middle East peace talks" and "confidence-building measures."
The western leaders who come up with all the new "peace initiatives" come to the region and then they go around the Middle East and meet with all the Middle East leaders to explain to them what their new initiative is all about and how about because of this new initiative the whole thing is going to change and there is going to be peace in the Middle East now. Despite the fact that the region is going up in smoke, during the meetings all of the foreign and regional leaders are smiling.
After the meetings (which are held behind closed doors) the leaders tell the journalists at the press conferences how they believe that "this time there is great potential for this new peace initiative to work."
They never tell you why all the other old "new peace initiatives" didn't work.
The foreign dignitaries leave the region and then from long distance via the international media the leaders inside and outside the region complain that the other side "isn't doing enough to further peace in the region" and that the other side has to make "a gesture of good faith." The editorial and oped writers in the international media write about how, as a result of this "good will gesture," the decades-old conflict will end because the other side will "respond with a concession" and then, before we know it, there will be a "new Middle East peace process."
All of this happens with the full participation and approval of every single Israeli government, which invariably claims that "peace cannot exist unless the Arabs recognize Israel's right to exist." When will the Israelis, and the Arabs, recognize not each other but the folly of this farce?
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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