Daily Alert Archives

Asking the Wrong Question about the Occupation

(Times of Israel) Daniel Gordis - "When will Israel end the occupation," or more commonly among many American Jewish progressives, "What can we do to pressure Israel to end the occupation?" are the wrong questions. The right question lies emblazoned on the other side of that same coin: "When will the Palestinians declare an end to their desire to destroy Israel?" As long as the Palestinians insist that they are committed to destroying Israel, why would any sane Israeli depart the West Bank without guarantees that Hamas will not take over that territory, too, turning it into another Gaza? Our conversation about making the situation better would be infinitely more useful if we spoke about the Palestinians and their role in this mess at least as much as we speak about the Israelis. Those who know anything about Israel know that there are very, very few Israelis who proclaim "end the occupation now." The writer is Senior Vice President at Shalem College in Jerusalem. His most recent book is, We Stand Divided: The Rift Between American Jews and Israel.
2019-11-22 00:00:00
Full Article