We have been wandering in the desert for forty years and we still have not arrived at the Promised Land. Forty years of occupation, illusions, violence, hope, despair – and still Israelis and Palestinians have not found the wisdom to divide the beloved land into two states. The majorities on both sides already understand that the way to the Promised Land passes through its partition, and that both leaderships are still afraid to lead us that way.
1967 may have been Israel’s best year, but might turn out to have been its worst. The jury is still out, but the verdict is closer than ever.
1967 can still be remembered as the year in which the Arab world understood that the Jews returned to their homeland to stay; the year in which the entire world witnessed that Israel is strong enough to defend itself; the year in which Jews returned to the Wailing Wall.
1967 could also be remembered as the year which brought the beginning of the end: the year in which the Jews deviated from the ways of Theodore Herzl and David Ben Gurion, choosing the dream of Greater Israel over the reality of a Jewish State on part of the land.
In an ideal world, we would not forsake any of these three elements: a Jewish state; a Democratic state, and the entire Land of Israel. In reality, however, we can have only two of the three. We can aspire to a Jewish state on the entire land, but such a state will not be a democratic one, since the Arab public will be stripped of basic rights. One can create a democratic state which stretches across the entire Land of the Fathers but that state would cease to be Jewish, as almost half of its citizens would not be Jewish at all. The best alternative then, has been and remains: a Jewish democratic state on part of the land.
With the lack of a true political process, it appears as though the wheel is about to turn. Take Jerusalem for example. For many years we adhered to the slogan of “United Jerusalem” while the Palestinians have demanded the city’s division. Now we are already beginning to witness a reshuffling of the cards. More and more Jews understand the damage inherent in continuing to control over a quarter of a million Palestinians who live in neighborhoods where Jews never tread. More and more Palestinians are coming to the recognition that in fact the Jews were right: let’s keep the city united, they say, and in less than a decade Palestinians will be the majority here and then all that’s left to demand is: one man, one vote.
Within a few short years, the case of Jerusalem is bound to apply to the entire land of Israel. If we do not find the wisdom to divide the land in time, we will not find a partner to divide it with in future. We will then remember the euphoria after the 1967 victory and find it hard to explain to ourselves why we find ourselves overtaken by a mood of despair and defeat.
It is still not too late to win the 1967 war.
If we cease to speak about finding ultimate justice, we may find peace. A Jew who will be unable to live in Hebron (a.k.a. the City of the Fathers) and a Palestinian who will be unable to live at his fathers’ house in Jaffa will not know justice, but they will be able to grant their children normal lives in their own states.
If we stop thinking in terms of a zero-sum-game, and understand that only a win-win outcome will bring hope to both peoples, we may find victory. If we stop lying to ourselves and to others by determining false red-lines, then perhaps we will succeed in serving the real interests of both sides.
We are living in a tragedy within a tragedy. The blood being spilt on both sides belongs to people who already know what a solution to the conflict looks like. In contrast to previous years, in which the Arab world refused to accept Israel’s existence and most of the Israeli public believed it possible to continue controlling most of the Palestinian Territories, today the compromise is known to all.
The Palestinians understand that there will never be an Israeli government that will accept a “Palestinian right of return” to sovereign Israel. The Israelis understand that the Palestinians will never settle for anything less than a state based on (but not identical to) 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The majority on both sides is not only aware of the compromise but supports it as well. Those who are interested in the principles of a compromise can consult the Clinton Parameters of 2000. For those seeking even greater detail, there is the model proposed in the Geneva Accord of 2003 at www.geneva-accord.org. The problem we face now is the lack of trust on both sides, the lack of hope. The credit for that goes to the leaders.
The fear factor has played a major role in the behavior of various leaders in the Middle East: the fear of surrendering the slogans and the fear of performing the operation that the patient so desperately needs and wants. It is in the name of this fear that no Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been held for over six years and it is this fear that has prevented the opening of even a small window of hope for both sides.
For us, members of the Jewish people, the rescue of our state is at stake. Nothing less. The Jewish voice is vital and must be heard, especially in the U.S. Forty years after that great military victory, we are still awaiting the national victory that we and our children so deserve. Only this triumph, a peace agreement between the Palestinians and ourselves, will finally enable us to reach the Promised Land.
