Wednesday, January 04, 2006

But, what will the Goyim say?

Every morning, before leaving for work, I take a look out one of the windows in my apartment to see what the weather in Jerusalem is looking like, as the weather in Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem is often very different, even though they are geographically so very close.

Each morning, when I raise my eyes towards Jerusalem, I can't help but notice one large hill in particular, that stands between my home in Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem, known in Israel and throughout the world as E1, that lies barren.

The idea behind E1 is for Israel to link Ma'aleh Adumim - one of the fastest growing cities in Israel, where currently nearly 25,000 Jews live - to the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem, thus strengthening Israel's hold on eastern Jerusalem, on the Jewish city Ma'aleh Adumim, and helping to ensure Jewish / Israeli territorial contiguity from Jerusalem in the center of the country eastward towards the Jordan River.

All 3 of these points are viewed as consensus within Jewish / Israeli society (meaning, well short of what my beliefs on the matter are):

* A United Jerusalem under Israeli / Jewish sovereignty

* Strengthening Israel's hold on Ma'aleh Adumim and the surrounding area

* A territorially contiguous State of Israel with "Defensible Borders".

As such, it should come as no surprise to learn that the Government of Israel has decided to freeze any and all construction at E1.

Why, you ask?

Two words:

International.

Opposition.

This was summed up best by Jerusalem's Mayor, Uri Lupolianski:
"Whether or not I support it is not the point," the mayor said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. "Pragmatism says that today, given Israel's relations with the international community - with the Americans and the Europeans - there's no chance."

He added that he certainly believed, nonetheless, that Ma'aleh Adumim should be connected to Jerusalem and knew of tentative plans for non-residential construction.

Lupolianski also asserted pragmatic concerns to dismiss the notion of adjusting some of Jerusalem's borders, excluding certain Arab neighborhoods, to offset demographic trends that see a rising proportion of Arab residents in the city.

So, there you have it. You can say goodbye to Jerusalem and the Jewish State in the name of pragmatism.

Keep in mind that there are only two countries that have officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish State, made evident their embassies being located within Jerusalem: Costa Rica and El Salvador.

* If it were up to the international community today, there would be no Jewish State, but a bi-national state of its citizens where Jews would be a minority.

* If it were up to the international community today, Israel would not be allowed to build a single house anywhere over the Green Line (including the settlement blocs).

* If it were up to the international community today, Israel will be expected to sit by silently as the Jewish majority disappears in Jerusalem and in Israel on the whole.

* If it were up to the international community today, Israel would not be allowed to take any measures to ensure the security of its citizens that might inconvenience the "Palestinians".

Pragmatism is nice and good, but at the end of the day, I would rather be a little less pragmatic but maintain Israel as a Jewish State, than continue to be pragmatic and watch the Jewish State of Israel slowly slip away from us. I have no doubt that should that day come, the world will laud us for having been pragmatic but will not shed a single tear over the fate of the now homeless Jews.

Are we prepared to say goodbye to Jerusalem in the name of pragmatism?

Are we prepared to say goodbye to the Jewish State in the name of pragmatism?

Are we prepared to say goodbye to our Homeland in the name of pragmatism?



12 Comments:

Or, are we willing to take the steering wheel out of pragmatists' hands? And if we're unable to do this now - is it pragmatic to think that we'll be able to do it later without it being too late?

By Blogger Critically Observant Jew, at Wed Jan 04, 04:57:00 PM GMT+2  

Ze'ev,

As far as I knew, there was no Israeli consensus for E1 - never in a million years, in fact.

You can throw a random bunch of keywords which most Israelis would say yes to together and make an omelette if you want, but it don't make it true.

Most Israelis accept that there will be more disengagement and believe that it is worth it for peace.

Most Israelis want defensible borders.

Most Israelis want a contiguous state.

Most Israelis believe that in a final settlement, we should not rule over any large Palestinian urban population that we do not currently rule over.

Now 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = So in a permanent status agreement, most Israelis would be willing to give up Hevron.

?????

Wait no - it was just a trick of the light.

Ze'ev, really?

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Wed Jan 04, 08:22:00 PM GMT+2  

Haim - most Israelis (Jews) are not in favor of keeping the settlement blocs of which Ma'aleh Adumim is one?

Most Israelis (Jews) are not in favor of keeping Jerusalem as a United city?

Most Israelis (jews) are not in favor of territorial contiguity in the State of Israel?

All those lead to supporting E1 - which was proposed by Labor intiailly - Rabin in fact, many years ago...

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Thu Jan 05, 08:27:00 AM GMT+2  

Ze'ev: You've been to- or at least driven thru- Shuafat, Wadi Al-Joz, Issawiyya, Sheikh Jarrah, Silwan, Bet Safafa, the Old City or even Abu Tor lately, right? Where do you think the hundreds of thousands of Arab residents of those Jerusalem neighbourhoods think they live? United Jewish Jerusalem?

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Thu Jan 05, 09:33:00 AM GMT+2  

PP - are you implying that anyplace where non-Jews live in Israel can no longer be considered part of the Jewish State? Perhaps, you are implying that if Israel is to retain Jerusalem as its undivded capital, and to exist as Jewish State that we need ot remove the non-Jews?

Yikes!

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Thu Jan 05, 12:00:00 PM GMT+2  

No Ze'ev, I was just pointing out that on the ground, there is no such thing as an undivided capital of Jerusalem.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Thu Jan 05, 12:07:00 PM GMT+2  

PP - so does that mean that any area where non-Jews live in Israel can't be considered part of the Jewish State?

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Thu Jan 05, 01:37:00 PM GMT+2  

No that is not what I meant at all. Again, I was just trying to point out that the notion of undivided eternal Jewish Jerusalem, while it exists in people's heads, isn't actually the reality on the ground.

I guess you were right when you said Haim is the only coherent one!

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Thu Jan 05, 02:23:00 PM GMT+2  

PP, why can't Jerusalem be considered as the undivided / united jewish capital, even if it has non-Jewish neighborhoods?

I just don't get it...

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Thu Jan 05, 02:58:00 PM GMT+2  

Ooh I don't know- perhaps because those non-Jewish "neighbourhoods" you speak of are exactly that- not-*Jewish*? And their residents don't wish to be governed by Jews? And don't have any aspirations for unity? And don't speak Hebrew? And don't generally affiliate to the Zionist dream?

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Thu Jan 05, 03:10:00 PM GMT+2  

So, by your logic, if the majority of Arabs in the Galil (or in other areas within the borders of the State of Israel, decide that hey no longer wish to be "ruled" by Jews, that those areas will no longer be considered part fo the State of Israel?

By Blogger Ze'ev, at Thu Jan 05, 04:07:00 PM GMT+2  

Who knows what will happen? I'm not presenting any "logic" here, Ze'ev. I'm saying that you can't ignore the fact that half of Jerusalem does not consider itself in any way united with the other half, nor Jewish.

If you want to get into a discussion about the differences between the Galil and disputed parts of East Jerusalem, you might want a fresh posting.

By Anonymous Anonymous, at Thu Jan 05, 06:59:00 PM GMT+2  

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