By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM — The New York Times and the Toronto Globe and Mail, together with no doubt countless other publications around the world, seem to be surprised at the announcement by Prime Minister Netanyahu that he doesn’t favour a Palestinian state. It didn’t come as a surprise to most Israelis. Yes, he had said a few years ago that he was for a two-state solution, but only the naïve believed him then.
He doesn’t say that his opponent Isaac Herzog is in favour of a Palestinian state. His spin is that Herzog wants to divide Jerusalem, which is the nearest to heresy in contemporary Israeli politics. Because Jerusalem is de facto still divided, Netanyahu and his allies – including the mayor of Jerusalem – are building housing for Jews in East Jerusalem to present both Palestinians and world opinion with a fait accompli of a totally Jewish city hoping that many of the Palestinians still there will relocate to the West Bank.
Herzog, as a way of reassuring the Jewish public that Netanyahu is misrepresenting him, went to the Western Wall – the symbol of a united Jerusalem – where he was seen praying and depositing a note between the stones. Even he cannot avoid a bit of cheap political theatre.
The real reason why Netanyahu made the statement against a Palestinian state days before the election wasn’t so much to embarrass Herzog as to assure the members of his Likud party that they should vote for him, because he’s as radical on this issue as Naftali Bennett, the leader of Habayit Hayehudi, which is the party that brazenly advocates the cause of the Jewish settlers.
Though Netanyahu says that Bennett will be his partner in the next government, the latter is really his most serious rival. The prime minister seems worried that members of Likud will vote for Bennett because they don’t want to give up any of the territories and Bennett has been blunt about that all along.
A Netanyahu-Bennett government will, therefore, kill the prospect of a two-state solution for the foreseeable future. Not that the Palestinians are eager to make peace, but they might have been more willing to continue to play the charade of negotiations, an approach seemingly preferred by Herzog.
If Netanyahu wins, the Palestinians will continue to do their utmost to embarrass Israel in the United Nations, the International Criminal Court and among the members of the European Union. Herzog hopes to prevent that by telling us that he knows how to restore Israel’s good name in the world.
Amos Oz, the world famous Israeli writer, is concerned about more than Israel’s good name. He warns repeatedly that the occupation will destroy Israel from within. That’s why he has signed appeals for the public to vote for Meretz, Israel’s most discernable party committed to peace.
But Meretz may not even be represented in the next Knesset, which is a sad reflection of where Israelis stand politically, especially when it comes to the issue of peace with the Palestinians.
Zahava Galon, the leader of Meretz, said on the morning of the elections that she had a sleepless night worrying about the outcome. Many of us are likely to have a sleepless night tonight watching the results and worrying about Israel’s future.
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Rabbi Marmur, spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, now resides in Israel. Your may comment to him at dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com, or post your comment on this site, per the instructions below.
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