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Richard L. Benkin is an independent author and activist. He has penned manuscripts on the Temple Mount; East European Jewish Life; and Miriam, the true hero of Exodus. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and lives with his wife and daughter in suburban Chicago.
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By Richard L. Benkin
May 30, 2003
Now hear me out on this. Is there anyone familiar with the Israeli-Arab conflict that actually believes the U.S.-backed "road map" will lead to a true and enduring peace? I doubt it. Even as we walk but the first tentative inches on the map, we cannot miss the no-compromise deal-killer that dooms the entire process. Arab representatives in one voice have said that no individual can give up the so-called "right of return"; that is, that former Arab residents of Israel proper, plus their descendants, must be given their previous residences inside Israel, as part of any peace. With the same unanimity, they have gone even further, declaring that the right is a sacred one; to negotiate it away would betray the Arab people. Of course, whatever the rationale the real objection is that giving it up would mean their recognition of Israel - which also reveals many of the Arabs' true motives in their refusal to negotiate on this point. By the same token, everyone-Israeli, Arab, American, and European-knows that implementing that policy would in effect spell the destruction of the Jewish State of Israel. And so, even in its acceptance of the road map's steps, the Israeli cabinet made it clear that the "right of return" is out-also non-negotiable.
No Israeli leader ever will agree to it, precisely because it would mean the end of Israel. And if no Arab leader will ever give it up, we are at an impasse. All the verbal contortions of diplo-speak ultimately will founder on the rocks of reality on this point. That is inescapable. One side or another has to give, and neither side will. Even so, I am glad that the Israeli government formally accepted the road map. As more than one minister put it, the United States is Israel's friend and ally, and you choose carefully when to have a spat in such a relationship. Moreover, the acceptance was also in part a sign of gratitude from Israel to its best friend.
Even laying the "right of return" aside, however, the road map is doomed. I highly doubt we will ever get that far. Before we get there, the Arabs have to disarm their terrorists and destroy their infrastructure. Even before the road map's first steps, the duplicity behind the Arabs' acceptance is clear. On the day that Israel's cabinet voted in favor of the map, the PA's ruling party, Fatah, voted to strip Mohammed Dahlan of any powers with regard to security service, thus insuring that one of the map's most important preconditions would, in effect, go unmet. Yasser Arafat continues to serve as the PA's leader - and was even acknowledged as such by the PA Prime Minister - and is recognized as the author of increased terror attacks in Israel recently.
Will Israel help its friend, the United States, by dismantling some outposts, or by withdrawing from a few areas outside of the 1967 borders? Probably. Will the terrorists lay down their arms or even acknowledge the Israeli efforts? Undoubtedly not! I believe that the best Israel can hope for from the "map" is a brief respite from terror and Israel bashing - that is, until it is declared dead officially. And that is why I favor the Israeli cabinet's decision to approve it.
In 2000, the government of Israel offered the Arabs virtually everything they asked for. If they accepted the offer, they would have had their "Palestinian" state with its capital in Jerusalem. We know that the response was not even a simple no, certainly not a counter offer. The response was violence that has lasted unabated and unchecked by the Arabs for 32 months at last count. That rejection was a pivotal event for the vast number of Israelis and friends of Israel, the vast majority of whom backed the Israeli offer and all attempts to make peace with the Arabs. For us, the Arab rejection and subsequent violence sent a clear signal that - despite our desire for peace - that our policy had been Pollyannaish. We had invested our hearts and souls in the belief that the Arab leaders did not seek Israel's destruction; that peace was possible among reasonable individuals. That investment was shattered. Consequently, there was an essential shift in our thinking and political backing. Labor was voted out; Likud was voted in. Since then, Labor has become a more marginal party, associated with the failures of that policy.
Perhaps it is only anecdotal, but I believe it is indicative, as well. I remember when Labor's Ehud Barak ran on a platform of negotiation with the Arabs. In our Torah Study group outside of Chicago, there was only one individual sporting a political button supporting his Likud opponent, Binyamin Netanyahu. By the next election, Labor's supporters were silent.
Why, then, do I love the road map? Because the events of 2000 failed to make clear to the world what they made clear to us. So many in the press, on campus, in the streets still seem to think that something they call "the occupation" is at the root of the conflict. With the road map, the United States will be investing itself and its prestige in the belief that a negotiated peace is possible right now. And it is the U.S. that will be spat upon by the Arab rejectionists who refuse to live up to their commitments. In its ultimate failure, the road map could prove to be the same pivotal element for the U.S. that Camp David and Taba were for Israel and its friends. (We can hardly hope for the same understanding from the UN and EU!)
Peace? Certainly, that is our hope - but a true peace, not a hudna, or a temporary Arab agreement until they feel they are strong enough to pursue their true agenda. That would be a false peace. At this point, the trap of hudna seems to be all the road map holds.
As soldiers for justice, we can do our part by pointing out Arab duplicity - and Israeli efforts. We must point out the false moral equivalency in the press and in the State Department. We must guard against the falsehoods and red herrings we know that the Arabs and their friends will spew regularly to hide their duplicity from the American people. And we must never let the press fail to show the people the anti-American, anti-Semitic, and anti-Christian actions on the Arab side - things a real "partner in peace" would never do.
I love the road map because it again shows Israel's moral authority and Arab perfidy. To paraphrase what Victor Laszlo said to Rick Blaine in Casablanca, "This time, I think our side will win."
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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