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The Lessons of Oslo Remain Unlearned

(JNS) Jonathan S. Tobin - Following years of terrorism and bloodshed rather than a historic reconciliation following the Oslo Accords, for the overwhelming majority of Israelis, the accords proved an epic disaster rooted in wishful thinking. Yet some still stubbornly look for explanations other than the obvious one about the Palestinian lack of interest in ending their century-old war on Zionism and the Jews. Instead of trading land for peace, all Israel did was exchange territory for terrorism. Prior to Oslo, the arguments in favor of land for peace were much stronger than they are now that Arafat and Abbas demonstrated that no matter what they were offered or given, they were still unwilling to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders were drawn. The international community isn't any more sympathetic to Israel as a result of the risks it ran and sacrifices it made than they were before 1993. Indeed, it is entirely possible that they are less sympathetic to an Israel that was willing to gamble with the likes of a veteran terrorist like Arafat. Rather than interpreting Oslo as a generous gesture in which tangible assets and territory to which Israel had at least as good a claim as the Arabs were given up in exchange for the hope of some quietude, the international community viewed it as an Israeli admission of guilt for holding onto stolen goods.
2023-09-11 00:00:00
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