17 April 2002

Dear editor,

              Former Israeli foreign minister, Abba Eban, said, "Since war is everybody's tragedy, diplomacy is everybody's business." How certainly true in the age of modern conflict where cruelty, propaganda, devastation, and hatred feed the never-satisfied stomach of violence. I offer here my own, limited opinion, hoping to start a discussion.

              Everyone has a role to play in peace, even if it only means increased awareness leading to better choices of leaders and policies. The American people have a vital role to play in negotiating a semi-permanent political framework for peace. Our power says so.

              It all comes down to an just solution of a peace without punishment, a peace without resentment, and a peace without victory. If any three of these conditions fail to apply, any negotiation will only lead to a temporary state of non-war conflict.

              Certain questions need answers. Does Israel deserve the right to exist? Absolutely. Do Israelis need a right to self-defense and internal security? Of course. Does a Palestinian deserve economic, political, social, and cultural rights? Most certainly. Do the Palestinians need the right to political independence? Without question. Curiously enough, Israel fought a war of independence in 1946-49 (beginning with terrorism against British occupation) to secure its existence. How should we judge the violence?

              Is the Palestinian method any different? As an historical fact, it only takes one side to declare war, but mutual agreement to negotiate peace. Regardless of who started this conflict (perhaps it was Abraham, after all), neither side wants to stop the violence long enough to chat. It has become the proverbial, "failure to communicate."

              How to pacify the conflict? First, Israel is an immigrant country, begun under the quest for a homeland in the mid 1800's. Israel built itself on the pioneering spirit. It did reclaim productive land from the desert. But Israel also took land from the Palestinian "group" who moved there following the Jewish exile in the first century AD. In order to continue growing, Israel moved immigrants into areas conquered after the 1967 war, primarily the West Bank which the Jordanians first took by force in 1948.

              The conflict proves that Jews and Arabs cannot live under one house. Therefore, Israel must end the pioneering. It must accept demographic reality and then stop its expansion and consequently its immigration. The West Bank and Gaza are the only viable lands for a Palestinian state. Israel must remove its settlers from these areas, draw the line and defend it. In addition, the Palestinians cannot build a military to threaten Israel.

              In exchange, the Palestinians must abandon claims to homes they left in 1948-49. They also need to concede placing all Holy Sites under international supervision. Furthermore, without doubt, the Palestinians require new leadership. Arafat still believes in 1960s style radicalism when those methods have no merit. With these understandings, perhaps Israel and all Arabs will find out they have much to offer each other. With Israeli technology and oil money, the entire area could become an oasis and a prosperous commercial area which will raise the living standards of everyone.

Sincerely,