Rant #1: I Hate to Say It, Redux

First, let me make something clear: I hate Netanyahu.  I hate him because he's a hawk who isn't really interested in making peace with the Palestinians.  The occupation is anti-Democratic and anti-Jewish and it must end.  To be sure, Israel has a right to defend itself, a right which most of the world doesn't recognize, due to hypocrisy and anti-Semitism.  (As Americans we forget that most of the rest of the world actually does still hate Jews.)  But there is a whole swath of Israeli polity that is willing to defend Israel and make peace.  Let's not forget that Yitzhak Rabin, the great Israeli peacemaker, earned his fame as a brilliant military general.  His party, the Labor Party, is still willing to fight for peace.  Likewise Kadima, the legacy of Ariel Sharon, a man whose hands were previously stained with the blood of Arabs but who learned to work for peace before he ate himself to death (literally).  Ironically, when Sharon left Likud and created his own party, he took all the moderates with him.  The result is a Likud party that is more right wing and hawkish than ever.

The bottom line is that there are people in Israel who really do believe in peace.  Netanyahu is not one of them.  But my darkest wrath is reserved for Avigdor Lieberman, the head of the fringe party Yisrael Beitanu, or the "Kill Them All" Party.  Lieberman utterly fails to embrace any of the ideals of Judaism, and would be thrilled if he could deport all the Palestinians, even the ones who are Israeli citizens, and keep the West Bank in Jewish hands.  And now, thanks to Netanyahu, Lieberman is foreign minister.

Now that my own position is on the record, you'll understand my surprise when Lieberman put forward a proposal advocating independent statehood for the Gaza Strip.  Israel will even help them build their own power plant and desalination plant, and allow foreign observers to patrol the border.  That sounds like an awfully enlightened proposal.  Of course, it is selfish: Lieberman doesn't want to be blamed any more for the occupation, and I can't blame him.  He has decided (rightly so) that Hamas will never be a partner for peace.  Perhaps Israel can reach a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, but with Hamas in Gaza our only real option is unilateralism.  Of course, it's not really unilateral as Egypt has been a steadfast and dedicated ally on the other side of the fence, and the proposal calls for neutral international border guards.  But the key is it doesn't rely on Hamas, and so it stands a chance of success.

So we've got an honestly enlightened, pro-peace, pragmatic proposal that would be good for both Israelis and Palestinians?  From Lieberman?  As the saying goes, "Only Nixon can go to China."  Does that mean we might finally have a breakthrough?  Of course not.  Netanyahu still doesn't want peace, and Lieberman's proposal will only serve to further divide Netanyahu's coalition.  It's more likely that Netanyahu will fire Lieberman and lose his coalition.  Will Kadima be willing to step in?  Possibly; I imagine it's cold on the outside, and a cabinet that includes a Kadima foreign minister and a Labor defense minister has a much better chance of actually making peace happen.

That aside, I hate to say it, but Lieberman is right and his proposal deserves support.

J<