 |
Egor (George) Murzin was born in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel at the age of ten. His family later moved to Canada, where he is studying physics at the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
|
|
|
|
By Egor (George) Murzin
October 22, 2002
Dear Settler,
I have some questions for you. You will have to calm down and think about them, because they are important.
My first question to you is: are you an Israeli? I ask that simple question, because as an Israeli, you have to understand that there are Israeli soldiers risking their lives to protect you, day in and day out. As an Israeli, you are obligated to obey Israeli laws. The rights and privileges of Israeli citizenship come with responsibilities, for you and for everyone else.
The government, as the elected and accepted representative of the entire Israeli people, is responsible for all strategic planning decisions. As a citizen, you do not have the authority to build settlements according to your beliefs, but rather only when and where you receive appropriate permission from the Israeli government. That is what living in a state of law is all about.
My next question to you is: what do you want? What do you value? Is it only the land where your settlement was built? Or do you also value Jewish lives and Israeli resources? If this is also the case, why would you even consider building illegal, indefensible settlements that threaten the lives of civilians and soldiers alike? Your actions are putting their lives in danger.
As a side-question: why should a "lost cause" settlement like one of the isolated communities in Gaza waste our resources? Why should young Israeli soldiers risk their lives and fight Palestinians in Gaza, when realistically we all know that these settlements in Gaza will be those that will eventually have to go?
Yes, in the past the settlements have often been strategically located and helped defend the borders of the State of Israel. They added strategic depth, basically serving as military outposts. Today, many of them are, instead, a strategic weakness. Rockets can shoot over the settlements, people can walk around them (which is why we need borders with a fence), and even within Israel's boundaries, a part of Israel's Arab population seems inclined to turn to terrorism (yes, during conflict all sides radicalize, whether Jewish, Israeli Arab or Palestinian Arab).
My last question is: what do you see as the just and realistic end-game solution in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? I would really hope that you don't call for drastic measures like the transfer of all Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. This is not a just solution nor even realistic. If you want the right to live in all of West Bank and Gaza, where does that leave the Palestinians? Will you live together with them peacefully? It seems unlikely today.
If you ask: should we withdraw now, while Israel is under fire, I'll say no. But should we plan for withdrawing from much of the West Bank if we get the appropriate security guarantees from the U.S. and the international community, and after we see actual reforms in Palestinian society, with the complete cessation of Palestinian terrorism, then I say yes, we should.
You may ask: what is a just and a realistic solution? Well, the political reality is that it will be a two state solution, and this solution we will all, Israelis and Palestinians alike, have to accept.
There are many Palestinians who are willing to accept peace and Israel's existence. We have the right to battle terrorists, to arrest them and kill them when necessary, but we must act nonetheless to encourage the Palestinians who are willing to live alongside us in peace.
At a time when the Palestinians do not have a responsible leadership, we may even try to impose a political solution. We should act together with the United States and work with Arab nations such as Jordan to de-brainwash and re-educate the Palestinians into accepting a future of coexistence. We should nurture the peaceful and democratic elements in Palestinian society - these elements do exist.
But transfer? No. That we should not even consider. The Palestinians are our neighbors, and we must learn to live with them. So do not try to lead us down that path.
In any negotiated solution to the conflict, the majority of the "settlers," many of whom live in communities that could be considered suburbs of Jerusalem and/or Tel Aviv, will stay Israeli. The settlements close to the borders will likely stay Israeli. But what about the rest? Except for the status of Jerusalem, the West Bank is still viewed by the majority of Israelis as disputed territory. It is still negotiable. By your undemocratic acts, by defying the government and the state of law, you are attempting to close the possibility of negotiation to us by force. This must not be tolerated.
As an Israeli, I hope you agree with the following statement: A just and realistic solution must protect the existence and legitimacy of Israel and protect the lives of the Israeli people. Pursuing solutions which are not just, or not realistic, will get us nowhere, as they got the Palestinians nowhere.
I hope that after some soul-searching you, my settler brother, will see the wisdom of justice and compromises made in the name of saving Israeli lives, in the name of the eventual peace.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
