It’s Israel’s Decision

We admit to jumping the gun. Even before the “official” announcement of an American plan to persuade Israel to withdraw from an additional 13% of West Bank territory, we think it is a bad idea. Let us be clear, we think ANY plan that substitutes American – or any other – judgment about redeployment and defensible borders for that of the Government of Israel is a bad idea. Substituting American political judgment for Israeli military judgment is a doubly bad idea. And it is naive to think an American plan might be construed as a “suggestion” without pressure on Israel to accept it.

We admit to jumping the gun. Even before the “official” announcement of an American plan to persuade Israel to withdraw from an additional 13% of West Bank territory, we think it is a bad idea. Let us be clear, we think ANY plan that substitutes American – or any other – judgment about redeployment and defensible borders for that of the Government of Israel is a bad idea. Substituting American political judgment for Israeli military judgment is a doubly bad idea. And it is naive to think an American plan might be construed as a “suggestion” without pressure on Israel to accept it. Any plan bearing the prestige of the Government of the United States has enormous implicit pressure. Over the past 17 years, we in JINSA have had the privilege of seeing Israel – the Golan, the West Bank, and the coastal plain where 75% of Israel’s population lives – through the eyes of more than 220 American military professionals. They understand land in a way that the President, the Secretary of State and the Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs cannot. The difference between 9% and 13% is not just 4%. Height, depth and – most important – threat assessment can make 4% the difference between defensible and indefensible borders.

This week, JINSA placed a full-page ad in The New York Times. The headline was “Israel Alone Should Decide its Security Needs.” The ad read in part:

“For 25 years, since the Yom Kippur War, the US has sought to bring peace between Israel and the Arab world. In all those years, every American administration has taken care not to second-guess the details of the security of Israel. Only the Israel Defense Forces can decide which terrain and deployment areas will make Israel defensible. The US must continue to be a facilitator in the peace process, but it cannot impose solutions on Israel.”

The JINSA leadership signed it, as did the 21 “alumni” of our annual Flag and General Officers Trip to Israel that we were able to reach in the limited hours available before the newspaper deadline. It cannot be said more strongly that Israel, and Israel alone, must determine the borders that make Israel secure. Any American plan that violates that fundamental principle is worse than a bad plan. An American plan that would determine Israel’s borders would be one deliberately designed to encourage the world to heap blame on Israel – and specifically on the current elected government – for being intransigent, mean-spirited and not “peace loving.” And such a plan would be contemptible and beneath the honor of the Government of the United States.