A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews.

 
The Road Map

In Tuesday's Haaretz, Amnon Rubinstein writes that "Israel must accept the road map to guarantee itself American support, because only it has the strength to possibly avoid the greater danger. There is a good chance that if Israel accepts the road map, which George Bush supports, it will be possible to create a Pax Americana in the Muslim world, so no Islamic bomb can threaten the Jewish state."

Essentially, Rubinstein's point is that the nuclear threat to Israel from terror groups is growing, and that Israel needs U.S. support to try to alleviate that danger, so Israel must accept the roadmap.

I agree with Rubinstein that Israel faces threats that require it to ensure that it does not alienate its greatest ally, which also is the current world superpower, and to make concessions which it might not make if those threats did not exist. However, Rubinstein does not show that U.S. support for Israel will disppear if Israel refuses to return to the 1967 borders and demands changes to the roadmap. If Israel has a disagreement with the U.S., would the latter decline to protect Israel, if it could, from threat of nuclear attack? I don't think so, as Israel and the U.S. have disagreed for decades about settlements, yet the relationship has remained strong.

In any event, what if Israel agrees to the world's demands and withdraws to the 1967 borders, would that really end the threat? There still would be no peace as long as Palestinian refugees were not allowed into Israel. That demand is stated in the Saudi "peace" plan and was the basis for the failure of the Clinton Plan. Abu Mazen, supposedly a moderate, insists on a "right of return." Rubinstein does not support giving in to those demands, even if it means that Islamic fanatics' hatred for Israel still resonates among the masses, but believes that Israel must insist that the Palestinians abandon their dreams of refugees returning to Israel. Similarly, contrary to Rubinstein's views, it is absolutely legitimate for Israel to insist on living in secure borders, including a portion of Judea and Samaria.

posted on 5/12/2003