A Vision For Israel
Since this will be my first post as a member of Bloggers In Support of Israel (BISI), I thought it would be best to start with my views on Israel.
Unlike other countries in the region, Israel is a liberal democracy like America and we have many shared values. They have taken a barren desert and turned it into thriving country, especially in comparison to the Arab countries that surround Israel. Through their industry they have created an economy with a per capita GDP around $18,000 as compared to an average of $2500 per capita in other Arab states. They don't wallow in misfortune or blame others for problems of their own making. They solve problems. Recently I blogged about some new technology they developed for desalinization that they expect to deploy in the next couple of years. That's a single example of Israeli industry that has amazingly managed to thrive in an environment of terror.
Their opponents are clearly terrorists. They don't wear uniforms and target civilians in their suicide bombings. The fact that they don't wear uniforms especially irks me. Soldiers wear uniforms to protect civilians. It identifies them for their opponents -- they know who to shoot -- and therefore protects civilians. Recently Kofi Annan "deplored" civilian deaths when Israel went after a known terrorist leader. My response was that I'll "deplore" Israel's accidental killing of civilians when the terrorists start wearing uniforms and quit holing up with civilians.
As for a solution to the violence, I don't have one other than building a wall around the West Bank. I do have a vision for what the area should look like when all of the disputes have been settled. There would be two states that are contiguous on land and in the air. That means Israel would get Gaza, not because they would want it but because it would remove a source of irritation and put them closer to a real solution. A like amount of land would be provided to the Palestinians to augment the West Bank.
A wall would be built around this new Palestinian state, draped in razor wire if need be, to prevent bombers from being able to enter Israel. This might not prevent any violence between Israel and the new Palestinian state but it would bring the violence out into the open. There would be points of ingress and egress that allowed Palestinians through that included explosives detectors.
Jerusalem would be the capitol of the Israeli state. No shared sovereignty but with Israel making accomodations to Muslims in the same way they have made accomodations to Christians. Muslims would manage their holy places as Christians manage the churches in Jerusalem. As for places that are holy to both Jews and Muslims, I don't know and am open to suggestions.
There you have it. I have no idea how to get from where we are now to this solution but it seems optimal given everything I've been able to learn about the Arab-Israeli conflict over the years. I'm, of course, open to suggestions and look forward to posting on Israpundit many times in the future.
Since this will be my first post as a member of Bloggers In Support of Israel (BISI), I thought it would be best to start with my views on Israel.
Unlike other countries in the region, Israel is a liberal democracy like America and we have many shared values. They have taken a barren desert and turned it into thriving country, especially in comparison to the Arab countries that surround Israel. Through their industry they have created an economy with a per capita GDP around $18,000 as compared to an average of $2500 per capita in other Arab states. They don't wallow in misfortune or blame others for problems of their own making. They solve problems. Recently I blogged about some new technology they developed for desalinization that they expect to deploy in the next couple of years. That's a single example of Israeli industry that has amazingly managed to thrive in an environment of terror.
Their opponents are clearly terrorists. They don't wear uniforms and target civilians in their suicide bombings. The fact that they don't wear uniforms especially irks me. Soldiers wear uniforms to protect civilians. It identifies them for their opponents -- they know who to shoot -- and therefore protects civilians. Recently Kofi Annan "deplored" civilian deaths when Israel went after a known terrorist leader. My response was that I'll "deplore" Israel's accidental killing of civilians when the terrorists start wearing uniforms and quit holing up with civilians.
As for a solution to the violence, I don't have one other than building a wall around the West Bank. I do have a vision for what the area should look like when all of the disputes have been settled. There would be two states that are contiguous on land and in the air. That means Israel would get Gaza, not because they would want it but because it would remove a source of irritation and put them closer to a real solution. A like amount of land would be provided to the Palestinians to augment the West Bank.
A wall would be built around this new Palestinian state, draped in razor wire if need be, to prevent bombers from being able to enter Israel. This might not prevent any violence between Israel and the new Palestinian state but it would bring the violence out into the open. There would be points of ingress and egress that allowed Palestinians through that included explosives detectors.
Jerusalem would be the capitol of the Israeli state. No shared sovereignty but with Israel making accomodations to Muslims in the same way they have made accomodations to Christians. Muslims would manage their holy places as Christians manage the churches in Jerusalem. As for places that are holy to both Jews and Muslims, I don't know and am open to suggestions.
There you have it. I have no idea how to get from where we are now to this solution but it seems optimal given everything I've been able to learn about the Arab-Israeli conflict over the years. I'm, of course, open to suggestions and look forward to posting on Israpundit many times in the future.
posted by Robert Prather @ 12:41 PM
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