Jesus Christ, whom we all presumably love, and with whom we are well pleased, walked on water, multiplied loaves and did dozens of other really stellar things. However, even the much-heralded Prince of Peace would probably be unable to impart a lasting tranquility to the Middle East.
This reflection did not entice the secretary of state, who last week went to the region to calm everyone down. Powell, whose 10-day visit was magnificently futile, did get Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat to agree on something. The two men agreed to continue to try to agree on something other than that the other side is totally disagreeable.
Meanwhile, many American students, Europeans and a smattering of leftists continue to denounce the Israelis for having the audacity to defend themselves and commanded them to follow United Nations resolutions.
And breaking through the thousand blended notes of anti-Israeli rhetoric came the following comments (translated from Arabic by the Middle East Research Institute) of a Palestinian Imam, which were broadcast live on April 12th in Gaza City:
“Oh Allah, show the Jews a black day . Oh Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters . Oh Allah, raise the flag of Jihad across the land.”
And so on.
The organization that enabled this Imam to be heard on television was the Palestinian Authority-the same organization that is governed by the man whom Colin Powell and President George W. Bush consider a suitable partner for peace, and whose wife, Suha Arafat, last Saturday said in several U.S. publications there would be “no greater honor” than for a son of hers to blow himself up amid a crowd of Jews.
Many people believe that peace will be achieved once Israel cedes all of the West Bank, the Gaza strip and East Jerusalem to the Palestinian Authority. This belief presupposes two things: First, that the Israeli occupation of those territories is invalid; and second, that the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Iranians, Syrians and the Iraqis would let Israel live unmolested – even if the Israelis gave up the occupied territories. Both presuppositions are pure folly.
In 1947 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a plan that would have divided Palestine into a Jewish state, an Arab state and a small internationally governed zone that included Jerusalem. The Jews, following the lead of the UN, adopted the plan. The Arabs rejected it. The Jews, tired of waiting for the Arabs to get their act together and perhaps ready to recover from the concentration camps, on May 14, 1948 proclaimed the state of Israel.
The next day, Egypt, Trans-Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen invaded Israel, pursuing its total destruction. Israel prevailed. However, the Arabs did not lose hope. In 1967 (the Six-Day War) and in 1973 (the Yom Kippur War) Egypt and Syria again tried to destroy Israel. Israel was victorious in both wars.
Israel’s current borders are the results of wars that were forced on them by Arab countries, dreaming of Israel’s annihilation. As Washington Post columnist George Will said, “There is no basis in international law or historic practice for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan’s assertion that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is `illegal.'” And even if Israel did withdraw from the occupied territories, does anyone seriously think this would mollify Yasser Arafat and other Arab terrorists?
Many are calling for a Palestinian state, believing that such a move would assist the peace process. But a Palestinian state is exactly what the UN proposed in its 1947 plan-a plan the Arabs rejected. If all the Palestinians wanted, and if the Israelis believed that all the Palestinians wanted, was their own state, such a territory probably would have been redrawn up long ago.
However, considering 1947, 1948, 1967, 1973 and the persistence of suicide bombers today, there is little reason to think that the creation of a Palestinian state represents the desire of a regime as ruthless at the Palestinian Authority.
As this commentary is written, Israeli soldiers are engaged in a standoff with a group of Palestinians taking refuge in the Bethlehem Church said to be the birthplace of Jesus. That contrast says it all.
Matt Emerson is a sophomore studying political science.
