KevinTheOmnivore
May 16th, 2003, 07:26 PM
This piece is a bit old, but I feel it's relevant with what's going on now. What are some opinions on this tactic? Are we seeing a "creeping" version of this being put into use now???
----
Relocating Israeli Arabs makes sense
By Robert I. Lappin
The Jewish Advocate
Boston, Massachusetts
December 27, 2002 ?January 2, 2003
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz has promulgated a practical way for
Israel to deal with terrorism. He proposes that Israel, with fair, advance
warning, destroy Arab villages that have been used as a base for terrorist
operations. The residents would have 24 hours to leave, and then Israeli
troops would come in and bulldoze the buildings. Israeli leaders would do
well to implement Dershowitz뭩 proposal.
A detail that Dershowoutz has not dealt with is the relocation of those
displaced.
The Arab world and the world of Islam are saturated with hatred of Jews and
of Israel, beyond the point of no return. That Israel is an interloper of
Arab hegemony that must be expunged is an Islamic dictum. It is now widely
recognized that negotiations, including the Oslo peace process and the Barak
initiative, have been a snare and a delusion, and that negotiations are not
a realistic option, given the existing and foreseeable circumstances.
Terror, by suicide-homicide, is the Arab tactic of choice to destroy Israel,
and indeed to intimidate the world.
To protect its citizens, Israel must occupy then West Bank and Gaza Strip
for the foreseeable future, thereby ruling, de facto, over several million
Palestinians. If Israel relinquishes its hold on the territories and
retreats, as it has so many times, terror and suicide attacks resume. This
is intolerable.
To rule over another people is an assault on the Jewish conscience, and
unacceptable over the long run to the world as well. However, the very
process of relocation, once started, may result in shocking the Arabs into a
condition of reality, even to the point of moderating their behavior.
Nonetheless, an option that must be considered is the unspeakable:
relocating Arabs from the West Bank and Gaza to Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and
other Arab countries. Relocation can be a gradual process, starting with
those who will be displaced under the Dershowitz plan.
In tandem with this policy of relocation, Israel should pass a bill, already
presented in the Knesset, encouraging Arab emigration to Arab lands by
offering a basket of financial assistance. Israeli Arabs, most of whom
identify with Israel뭩 enemies, are a deadly source of terrorism. Another
bill, already in the Knesset, calls for every citizen of Israel to take an
oath of loyalty to the state of Israel as a Jewish state as a condition for
citizenship. As a nation under siege, from both within and without,
inhabitants of Israel who are unwilling should be subject to relocation.
It is time, too, for Israel to affirm its rightful claim to Judea, Samaria
and Gaza. Our Torah provides a solid deed to this land, which should be
asserted. The historical roots of the idea of relocation must be vigorously
presented to the world. Since the time of Mohammed, relocations of
Christians, non-Islamic people, and Jews have been commonplace in the
Islamic world. Elsewhere in the world, relocation of tens of millions of
hostile populations have taken place, particularly following World War II.
It is not acceptable for the world to impose on Israel, or for Israel to
impose on itself, standards that no other
nation has assumed. It cannot be required that Israeli Jews live permanently
with people whose greatest joy is the mass murder of Jewish civilians.
Events have borne out that Jewish-Arabs coexistence is no more than a cruel
fantasy.
As difficult as it will be, Israel will have to hunker down and make the
best of the extreme economic and political adversities that it will face
under this plan. Solidarity and support of Diaspora Jewry for Israel will be
essential, perhaps as never before, since Israel뭩 rebirth.
-30-
Robert I. Lappin of Massachusetts is a businessman, philanthropist and past
president of the Jewish Federation of North Shore.
----
Relocating Israeli Arabs makes sense
By Robert I. Lappin
The Jewish Advocate
Boston, Massachusetts
December 27, 2002 ?January 2, 2003
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz has promulgated a practical way for
Israel to deal with terrorism. He proposes that Israel, with fair, advance
warning, destroy Arab villages that have been used as a base for terrorist
operations. The residents would have 24 hours to leave, and then Israeli
troops would come in and bulldoze the buildings. Israeli leaders would do
well to implement Dershowitz뭩 proposal.
A detail that Dershowoutz has not dealt with is the relocation of those
displaced.
The Arab world and the world of Islam are saturated with hatred of Jews and
of Israel, beyond the point of no return. That Israel is an interloper of
Arab hegemony that must be expunged is an Islamic dictum. It is now widely
recognized that negotiations, including the Oslo peace process and the Barak
initiative, have been a snare and a delusion, and that negotiations are not
a realistic option, given the existing and foreseeable circumstances.
Terror, by suicide-homicide, is the Arab tactic of choice to destroy Israel,
and indeed to intimidate the world.
To protect its citizens, Israel must occupy then West Bank and Gaza Strip
for the foreseeable future, thereby ruling, de facto, over several million
Palestinians. If Israel relinquishes its hold on the territories and
retreats, as it has so many times, terror and suicide attacks resume. This
is intolerable.
To rule over another people is an assault on the Jewish conscience, and
unacceptable over the long run to the world as well. However, the very
process of relocation, once started, may result in shocking the Arabs into a
condition of reality, even to the point of moderating their behavior.
Nonetheless, an option that must be considered is the unspeakable:
relocating Arabs from the West Bank and Gaza to Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and
other Arab countries. Relocation can be a gradual process, starting with
those who will be displaced under the Dershowitz plan.
In tandem with this policy of relocation, Israel should pass a bill, already
presented in the Knesset, encouraging Arab emigration to Arab lands by
offering a basket of financial assistance. Israeli Arabs, most of whom
identify with Israel뭩 enemies, are a deadly source of terrorism. Another
bill, already in the Knesset, calls for every citizen of Israel to take an
oath of loyalty to the state of Israel as a Jewish state as a condition for
citizenship. As a nation under siege, from both within and without,
inhabitants of Israel who are unwilling should be subject to relocation.
It is time, too, for Israel to affirm its rightful claim to Judea, Samaria
and Gaza. Our Torah provides a solid deed to this land, which should be
asserted. The historical roots of the idea of relocation must be vigorously
presented to the world. Since the time of Mohammed, relocations of
Christians, non-Islamic people, and Jews have been commonplace in the
Islamic world. Elsewhere in the world, relocation of tens of millions of
hostile populations have taken place, particularly following World War II.
It is not acceptable for the world to impose on Israel, or for Israel to
impose on itself, standards that no other
nation has assumed. It cannot be required that Israeli Jews live permanently
with people whose greatest joy is the mass murder of Jewish civilians.
Events have borne out that Jewish-Arabs coexistence is no more than a cruel
fantasy.
As difficult as it will be, Israel will have to hunker down and make the
best of the extreme economic and political adversities that it will face
under this plan. Solidarity and support of Diaspora Jewry for Israel will be
essential, perhaps as never before, since Israel뭩 rebirth.
-30-
Robert I. Lappin of Massachusetts is a businessman, philanthropist and past
president of the Jewish Federation of North Shore.