Facing Facts and Possible Solutions in the Middle East
Let’s admit it. The current reiteration of all-out war between various Palestinian terrorists and Israel was, of course, totally predictable. Yes, it was something of a surprise that the usually dependable Israeli intelligence did not pick up on an imminent attack by Hamas sooner, but it was an attack for which Israel’s current coalition of inept and largely “pre-hysterical” troglodytes had been laying the track for some time. Their brain dead assumption that by bribing Jewish families to have more children, they could somehow maintain Jewish majority control as part of a one state “solution,” should come as no surprise. Just as other troglodytes in our own country pine for those mythological “good old days” before the Civil War and hope that by banning abortions and contraceptives we will manufacture enough young people to supply our unfilled jobs, far right Israelis dream of a mythical time when we Jews supposedly conquered and ruled a vast “Judea.”
Obviously, any reasonable coalition of adults would understand not only the dire need for a “two state” solution to this situation, but also how much more difficult and complicated any solution is. Apparently, it seems much more convenient for the current Israeli coalition to use brute force to solve any and all of their problems and, so far, they have put themselves (with the help of far worse troglodytes like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PIJ) into positions where this is assured. Trump and Netanyahu, both thinking of their own popularity among the lowest tier of their foolish bases over the welfare of their respective nations, broadcast their scatterbrained idea of moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, thus acknowledging the city as the capital of Israel and basically kicking Muslims out. What did they think would happen: that the inhabitants of Gaza would protest vehemently and vote in Hamas over the Palestinian Authority that Israel and some Amricans helped to corrupt?
Far right Israelis and far right Jews must realize that despite thousands of years of the oppression of Jews, ironically, we enjoy a privilege accorded no other people in the world. We are automatically ascribed Israeli citizenship by simply being Jewish. Even Palestinians, born in Israel do not necessarily enjoy the privilege of full citizenship. Troglodytes step lightly, as history tells us, we will probably lose this tenuous privilege, eventually, under a “one state” solution through either violence, Muslim population explosion, or international law.
For now, it is clear, no matter how we parse it, Israel finds itself in a situation in which, for now, violent and largely hopelessly repeated retaliation is the only alternative. The question is what can be done next? For this to be answered, certainly cooler heads must prevail than those in the current Israeli coalition or, for that matter, in the U.S. House of Representatives on both sides of the aisle. The ideas that I propose in this article are not cure-alls. Some are only observations or suggestions that others more qualified than I can use to construct solutions.
First, personally, I thought Mr. McCarthy was a decent speaker. As usual, I disagreed with more of his ideas than I agreed, but he was willing to work with both sides to some degree. The speaker pro-temp seemed quite similar. Please fill me in on the reason that the Democrats didn’t simply nominate Patrick McHenry as official speaker? To date, Dems are also somewhat responsible for the current House-wide failure. Time for them (us) to stop snickering and get up off our duffs and get the ball rolling. Our Congress will have to assure Israel (as well as Ukraine) of our military support, but only under a two state solution.
Meanwhile, as the whole world bemoans the fact that millions of Palestinians are caught in a hell-hole, for most not of their own making, not one blasted Arab nation is willing to take any of them in as refugees! Clearly, the financial as well as the strategic solution of the Israeli/Palestinian problem is in the hands of the Arab states even more than Israel’s. All the U.S. can do in negotiations is to act mostly as an arbitrator, right? Not so fast…Actually, in addition to arming Israel and supplying humanitarian aid to Palestinians, there may be a few ideas circling “outside the box” so to speak.
Forgive me fellow liberals, but, correct me if I am wrong, the main reason that some Arab states are cozying up to Israel and recognizing its right to exist, is the far greater fear of Iran and its allies. In doing so, they have conveniently forgotten about their brethren in Palestine. Perhaps the best way to “encourage,” the Arab states to assist in a meaningful Palestinian solution is to threaten to flood the market with oil. It may actually result in a multi front assault on Iran and Russia at the same time. It would, however, entail some back-room deals between a Democratic administration and U.S. oil companies. Face it, Israel cannot erase the threat from Arab terrorists without engaging assistance from the surrounding Arab countries who protect those terrorists to a significant degree.
Believe it or not, so far we seem to have discussed the “easy stuff.” Obviously, as part of any “two state” solution, somehow Israel must be assured of the protection of its borders. The latest rocket attacks from Gaza as well as the history of incessant bombings of settlements from the Golan Heights serve to illustrate the importance of this issue. To date, international policy and law does nothing to address the problem. Peace keeping forces often end up as sacrificial lambs. Severely limited in their options, they can be easily slaughtered by terrorists. Perhaps some sort of bilateral “police force” with actual power can be employed, not controlled by, but monitored and financed by Israel together with a few willing Arab countries. In fact, any talk of a cease fire must involve Arab countries committing to the neutralizing of terrorist elements.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority needs to be furnished with “dental implants,” new teeth to address the real problems of the Palestinians, jobs, food, shelter, education, and health care. Instead the Netanyahu troglodyte government exults in the corruption and ineptitude it actively seeks to cultivate. Again, it is the U.S. who must insist that both Israel and the Arab states back and supervise the Palestinian Authority both financially and politically. No more U.S. business deals with Mahmud Abbas' sleazy sons! Otherwise, even with the destruction of Hamas, another terrorist organization would simply step into the void.
Again,I hate to say it, but we still have not addressed the most difficult problem of all. That is the fact that thanks to the current corrupt and beyond incompetent Palestinian Authority, Palestinians are completely, yes, totally unable to govern themselves. History tells us that, left to their own devices, their deeply corrupt leaders will invariably steal the vast majority of their entire GDP. This fact is so grossly obvious that it actually convinced even some intelligent Israelis that for the good of all, only Israel could govern in Palestine. That is, the dreaded “one state solution.”
In the end, I believe the most important question to ask is whether there are any Arab countries who even can and are willing to actually work with both Palestinians and Israelis to dismantle Hamas and teach Palestinians to govern. The final question is whether the current troglodyte Israeli coalition could even survive without the constant threat of attack by fellow troglodytes like Hamas, Hezbollah, and the PIJ to justify their existence?
Al Finkelstein, 10/19/23