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Thank You, Mr. President

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Maale Adumim (JTA)
I am a peace lover. I believe that a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians is worth a hefty price if that’s what it would take.

How hefty? I supported the peace agreement almost reached between then Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Yassir Arafat that took place at the end of the Clinton administration. An agreement that would have meant dividing Jerusalem but with a guarantee that there would be free access to each side by both Palestinians and Israelis.  

And that would certainly have meant giving up most of Judea and Samaria (otherwise known as the West Bank).  However, the agreement to which I refer would have allowed Israel to keep the large ‘settlement’ blocks (eg. Maale Adumim) that border pre 67 Israel – in exchange for ‘land swaps’ to compensate for them.

This might sound like heresy to many of my coreligionists. But I don’t care. I stand by my belief that a lasting peace where there would be no more attacks by Palestinians against the Jewish people would save many lives. And that a two state solution that ended up having the kind of friendly relations that the US and Canada enjoy is worth the price.  

That being said, I am also a realist. I do not consider it possible to have any kind of 2 state solution at this point in time. Or in the foreseeable future. The idea of giving up even one inch of territory under Israeli control would mean Israel would be one inch closer to annihilation. If a significant portion of the West Bank were to be given to the Palestinians it could easily result in the deaths of many Jewish lives at the hands of Palestinians that are currently calling the shots. 

For an example of what a Palestinian State on the West Bank might look like - we need not look very far. It would probably look something like Gaza on steroids. If that God forbid happened the West Bank would make Gaza’s attacks against the Jewish state look like child’s play! Protestations to the contrary by ‘moderate’ Palestinians notwithstanding. The so called moderates of the Palestinian Authority would be just as unable to control them there as they are unable to control them in Gaza now. 

So  just as I would support a radical peace plan if it were viable, I am even more opposed to giving up any West Bank land now.

None of this is new. I’ve said it all before. I just wanted to say that my views on this subject have not changed. I am neither a messianic religious Zionist (never have been) nor am I naïve enough to believe we can make peace under current conditions. I am in fact a pragmatic realist.

I mention all of this now in light of a recent announcement by secretary of State Mike Pompeo: 
The United States will no longer consider Israeli Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. 
The Trump administration has reversed decades of US policy on the subject.  Unlike the UN and the rest (of the antisemitic world) of Europe, the US now recognizes these ‘settlements’ as legitimate. They no longer consider them illegal.

Even though I have in the past considered the outlying ‘messianic’ trailer trash settlements to be an outrage (and still do), I do not feel that way about the more established settlements. It is one thing to support long standing ‘settlements’ like Maale Adumim – which Israel considers legal and treats them the way they do any other city in Israel.  

But  the ‘messianic’ trailer trash settlers are an entirely different matter. I am fiercely opposed them and their settlements.  They could not care less about  their Palestinian neighbors. These are the people from which Jewish terrorists come. It is not beneath them to -  for example - torch the home of an innocent family in a neighboring Palestinian village in some sort of misguided reprisal. As I have said many times, I believe these people are Rodfim! And belong in jail!

But this does not take away from what the US just did. It has in effect recognized the right of every Jew to live anywhere they choose in biblical Israel. But at the same time it only recognizes the legality of those settlements that the Israeli government considers legal. Not those outlying ‘messianic’ trailer trash settlements Israel itself considers illegal. 

Recognizing a long standing reality is the right thing to do. Hundreds of thousands of peaceful Jews have made their homes and raised families in those areas for many years. But it is also the right thing to do to reject what those extremist messianic Jews do.

That being said, I can understand why Palestinian Authority ‘moderates’ object to this. They see it as a step away from the 2 state solution they seek. But if they were too be honest they would realize that what the US now recognizes has (as noted above) already been agreed to by their patron saint Yasser Arafat. And that these settlements have been a reality for decades. And that this recognition does not prevent the possibility of a 2 state solution (Although the current reality on the ground does prevent it.)

I could not be more pleased with this turn of events. Whatever one might think about the President or the possibility that he is guilty of an impeachable offense (which is far from certain) – one thing is clear. He is by far the most pro Israel President in US history.

Those who might argue that none of the President’s pro Israel policies have any practical benefit - or worse - causing more harm than good are not in concert with the majority of Israeli people. Including both Prime Minister Netanyahu and his opponent in the last election, Benny Gantz. They are in a far better position to judge than we are. I’m pretty sure they see the Presidents pro Israel policies the way I do. Thank you Mr. President!


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