Here Comes Mitchell
It overjoyed Leftists to hear Obama’s envoy was coming to “create order.” But eventually he, too, will realize that there is no state of order to give the Palestinians.
George Mitchell does not watch television. It is hard to believe he would bother hurrying over to us in the east had he watched the television program “60 Minutes” this Sunday on the American network CBS. Bob Simon's report about the settlements was fairly nasty, but also determined that nothing else can be done; that the situation is irreversible. Arab and Jewish interviewees explained to him, some sadly, others pleased, that the Jewish settlement project has buried the vision of a Palestinian state. The Begin-Sadat center at Bar-Ilan University reached a similar conclusion this week, stating in recent academic research that “a solution of two states for two peoples is an option that has expired."
At the core of Simon and Bar-Ilan’s new conclusions are maps and numbers. It turns out that even during the tenures of Sharon and Olmert, the settler population only continued to grow. The building of the security wall and the dismantling of Gush Katif ("Harvest Bloc") did not result in massive abandonment, nor did it scare off young couples. Recently the 300,000th Jew settled or was born in Judea and Samaria. Increasingly fewer Jews from the west side of the wall are eager to have it removed, realizing they have received no great salvation from the last disengagement. Therefore it is harder today to build a Palestinian state. There is no space, no future, and no rational reason.
Yet despite all this, Mitchell arrived. Nobody really remembers what became of his mission here eight years ago, and nobody will remember the current mission eight years from now. But for the time being there is great jubilation among Leftists. They have a tendency to fall in love with all American envoys at first sight.
Lacking strength at the polls, they desperately seek for support externally. Leftists always dream about a strong gentile that will come one day from America and sweep us back to the '67 borders. When Obama promised a week ago to deal with the Middle East "aggressively," it aroused great joy.
Netanyahu Can Live Peacefully With Obama
Meanwhile, Obama has slightly cooled off. In his first presidential interview to the Al Arabiya news channel, he warned against trying to force solutions on both sides. One could even detect a critical tone directed at previous American presidents who had flexed their muscles using forcible means.
This is very good news considering the possibility that Likud will soon be in power. In contrast to Mrs. Kadima's demagogue scare tactics, there need not be a falling out between a right-wing Israeli government and the Obama administration. If Netanyahu prefers this, he can live in peace with Obama. This is all subject to whether he is honest from the beginning, and reports nothing but the truth. Namely, something along the lines of “Mr. President, we are not going to establish a second Palestinian state. We already built one in Gaza, and look what happened. Do you want a weekly "Operation Cast Lead"? Are we not better off lowering our expectations and looking for saner solutions?”
After all, a Palestinian state is not part of the American Constitution. It was considered a profane word in English up until only six years ago. On the banks of the Potomac they realized you cannot cram two states between Jordan and the
Mediterranean sea. If not for our own Ariel Sharon, George Bush would not have foolishly thought it was possible. Now Obama and Mitchell must be convinced to let it go. Instead of wasting time on Sisyphean mediation efforts, they are better off searching for arrangements that do not go against the tide of time.
George Mitchell does not watch television. It is hard to believe he would bother hurrying over to us in the east had he watched the television program “60 Minutes” this Sunday on the American network CBS. Bob Simon's report about the settlements was fairly nasty, but also determined that nothing else can be done; that the situation is irreversible. Arab and Jewish interviewees explained to him, some sadly, others pleased, that the Jewish settlement project has buried the vision of a Palestinian state. The Begin-Sadat center at Bar-Ilan University reached a similar conclusion this week, stating in recent academic research that “a solution of two states for two peoples is an option that has expired."
At the core of Simon and Bar-Ilan’s new conclusions are maps and numbers. It turns out that even during the tenures of Sharon and Olmert, the settler population only continued to grow. The building of the security wall and the dismantling of Gush Katif ("Harvest Bloc") did not result in massive abandonment, nor did it scare off young couples. Recently the 300,000th Jew settled or was born in Judea and Samaria. Increasingly fewer Jews from the west side of the wall are eager to have it removed, realizing they have received no great salvation from the last disengagement. Therefore it is harder today to build a Palestinian state. There is no space, no future, and no rational reason.
Yet despite all this, Mitchell arrived. Nobody really remembers what became of his mission here eight years ago, and nobody will remember the current mission eight years from now. But for the time being there is great jubilation among Leftists. They have a tendency to fall in love with all American envoys at first sight.
Lacking strength at the polls, they desperately seek for support externally. Leftists always dream about a strong gentile that will come one day from America and sweep us back to the '67 borders. When Obama promised a week ago to deal with the Middle East "aggressively," it aroused great joy.
Netanyahu Can Live Peacefully With Obama
Meanwhile, Obama has slightly cooled off. In his first presidential interview to the Al Arabiya news channel, he warned against trying to force solutions on both sides. One could even detect a critical tone directed at previous American presidents who had flexed their muscles using forcible means.
This is very good news considering the possibility that Likud will soon be in power. In contrast to Mrs. Kadima's demagogue scare tactics, there need not be a falling out between a right-wing Israeli government and the Obama administration. If Netanyahu prefers this, he can live in peace with Obama. This is all subject to whether he is honest from the beginning, and reports nothing but the truth. Namely, something along the lines of “Mr. President, we are not going to establish a second Palestinian state. We already built one in Gaza, and look what happened. Do you want a weekly "Operation Cast Lead"? Are we not better off lowering our expectations and looking for saner solutions?”
After all, a Palestinian state is not part of the American Constitution. It was considered a profane word in English up until only six years ago. On the banks of the Potomac they realized you cannot cram two states between Jordan and the
Mediterranean sea. If not for our own Ariel Sharon, George Bush would not have foolishly thought it was possible. Now Obama and Mitchell must be convinced to let it go. Instead of wasting time on Sisyphean mediation efforts, they are better off searching for arrangements that do not go against the tide of time.
Next article![]( "The Two Sides of Ethics")
