Another Key to Middle East Peace
Just got around to reading last week’s New Republic (at the smoke-free! Jade Pagoda) last night. Really cool article on the run up to the historic Israeli elections coming in March, featuring Sharon’s new Kadima Party—with its unilateral withdrawal policy.
The more I think about what Sharon is doing, the more I respect the epiphany he’s had. Can you imagine— when Arafat turned down Clinton and Ehud Barak’s land for peace offer back in 2000—if Barak had just said: Well, we’re gonna cede you 95% of the West Bank and 100% of Gaza anyway, and you can turn it into a state or not. Basically, we’re outta here.
What’s really smart about Sharon’s move, though—as the article shows—is this: He’s left the right wing Likud in the fucking dust. Current polls there have Netanyahu’s Likud, which is clinging to its Greater Israel/Settlement fantasy, in a limp third. Meanwhile, Labor, under the new leadership of labor lefty Amir Peretz, is clinging to its own fantasy that the Oslo road map is still in tact. It’s a nice hope, but as TNR points out: “Few Israelis believe the road map has any chance of working. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas hasn’t begun implementing its first clause, which requires disarming terrorists—even as Sharon has already implemented, at least in Gaza, the road map’s final clauses, which require dismantling settlements and creating a Palestinian state.”
Sharon is hoping for a fist fight between Netanyahu and Peretz on economic issues, as his Kadima emerges victorious from the election on its 3rd Way ticket. (Although, that could backfire. TNR does quote one lefty voter this way: ” ‘What’s the difference between Sharon and Peretz?” one voter who intends to vote Labor asked me. ‘In the end, they’ll both create a Palestinian state. So I might as well vote for Peretz. At least he’ll help the poor.’”
BTW: There were a couple of other good articles in the issue, including a must-read article on McCain’s 2008 bid & a downright weird, incensed lead editorial (a non sequitur take down) of Conor Oberst and how he’s not actually the “New Dylan” …. ????? OK.
the thing that freaks me out most about this is that it's Ariel freaking Sharon we're talking about. He's a pretty serious rightwing nutter in the land of Israeli politics, and if even he has looked at the whole situation and decided that unilateral withdrawl is the only way...what can Netanyahu and the remainder of Likud be thinking?
Speaking as an America of Jewish heritage, who basically looks at Israel as the Jewish version of freaking Utah or something (let's make this desert bloom with our wacky faith in God!) I've long belived one basic thing: the land was seized in the Yom Kippur war wiht the intention of using it to negotiate for peace. Settlement happened to call the bluff. But for the love of bagels, we've all always known that the point was to trade back the west bank and gaza one day. Just fucking do it already.