Topsy-Turvy

The Syrians are running Nazi propaganda that would make Joerg Haidar blush, and have announced that the time is ripening for a Syrian-Iraqi rapprochement, while Iran ships weapons for Hizballah through Damascus. Egypt’s President-for-Life Mubarak visited Lebanon to encourage Hizballah’s war against Israel. Hizballah Chief Nasrallah told The Washington Post that if Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, how to expel “Israeli occupiers” from “northern Palestine” (i.e., the Galilee) would remain an open question.

The Syrians are running Nazi propaganda that would make Joerg Haidar blush, and have announced that the time is ripening for a Syrian-Iraqi rapprochement, while Iran ships weapons for Hizballah through Damascus. Egypt’s President-for-Life Mubarak visited Lebanon to encourage Hizballah’s war against Israel. Hizballah Chief Nasrallah told The Washington Post that if Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon, how to expel “Israeli occupiers” from “northern Palestine” (i.e., the Galilee) would remain an open question. The PA canceled talks with Israel aimed at increasing the scope of PA rule, causing King Abdullah of Jordan to cancel his planned visit to Israel.

A reasonable person could conclude that in the face of an Israeli government determined to create normal relations with its neighbors by resolving the issues that might be the cause of their hostility toward Israel, those neighbors are getting cold feet. Why? Maybe because the issues that could be the cause of Arab hostility toward Israel are in fact not the cause.

Huh?

These issues are not the issue; Israel’s existence is the issue. In fact, eliminating issues simply brings everyone closer to having to acknowledge the ugly, but fundamental truth. Syria, Hizballah, and the Palestinians (at least) have never acknowledged the legitimacy of ANY Jewish sovereignty anywhere. Anwar Sadat did, as did King Hussein, but they are gone and their successors face pressure to minimize relations. Iran and Iraq are implacably hostile to Israel and exert their own pressure against resolving specific problems such as the Golan Heights, southern Lebanon, or establishing a mutually agreeable border between Israel and a Palestinian entity/state.

But the United States still seems to believe that if only Israel would offer one more inducement, one more inch, one more gesture, the Arabs would respond. Thus U.S. policy has been largely aimed at changing Israel, not changing Arab rejection. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk revived the largely discredited notion of a U.S.-Israel defense pact (more about this next time), presumably to give Israel the confidence to come down from the Golan regardless of what Syria does. At the same time, he is trying to gin up support for the proposed Golan referendum among Israel’s Arab community — an egregious foray into the internal affairs of the country to which he is posted. Anonymous “senior sources” in the American government have expressed displeasure with Israel’s position in the Israeli-Palestinian talks, insisting that the Barak government do more to meet the Palestinians “halfway.” Halfway from where?

Enough. The goal of Arab-Israeli negotiations remains what it always has been — demonstrable Arab acceptance of the legitimacy of Jewish sovereignty in the Middle East. Anything less is unacceptable. The Arabs have had more than 120 years to adjust to Jewish nationalism, and 53 years to adjust to the reality of the State of Israel. If they need more time, OK, but the adjustment is still for them to make to Israel.