By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM– The Prime Minister of Israel is suffering at the moment with migro-aine, which in this part of the world might be called the mother of all headaches. Whereas a conventional migraine can often be treated with medication, this one can only be controlled by an artful combination of political savvy and, probably, police power.
Migron is the largest unauthorized Jewish settlement outpost in theWest Bank. It’s located 14 kilometers north of Jerusalemand was established in 1999. Today, some 50 families live in caravans on a site that’s considered to be private Palestinian land. Last August,Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that Migron was illegal and must be dismantled before April this year.
The settlers refuse to budge, which is the cause of Netanyahu’s presumed indisposition. Though he himself may be sympathetic to the settler movement, and no doubt wants to appease the right wing of his own Likud party as well as his coalition partners to the right of it, he’s also committed to the rule of law. Therefore, to ignore the decision of the Supreme Court would damage his credibility and put the democratic nature ofIsrael into serious doubt.
But if the government allows the police and the army to forcibly evict the 50 families, as it has done in some smaller places, there’ll be very ugly scenes and many repercussions, including settler “price tag” terrorism. In addition, there would be serious internal political fallout that may even cost Netanyahu the leadership of his party.
The settlers are determined to resist every attempt to tamper with their ever growing presence in the West Bank. Even accepting the accusation that the Palestinians don’t want to make peace, the intransigence of the settlers remains a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to the so-called two-state solution.
Bearing all this in mind, Netanyahu tried a compromise. Proposing something that looked like a legal fiction within the letter of the law, he suggested that the caravans be moved a little distance away from where they’re now to a site that could be designated as public, not private, land. This would turn Migron into an “authorized” settlement.
The settlers refused. I haven’t been able to work out all their reasons for it, but I’ve heard one of their spokesmen say that the land on which they’re now is as public as the one proposed in the compromise. Another, less obvious but probably strong, reason is that the settlers don’t want to set a precedent. They’re worried that if Migron is dismantled, or even moved, similar outposts elsewhere may become targets. And after the outposts, perhaps even the “authorized” settlements may be in jeopardy.
Ariel Sharon faced a similar situation when he ordered the dismantling of ostensibly legal settlements in anticipation of the Gaza pullout. But it’s not likely that Netanyahu would have Sharon’s guts and flair. Hence his headache: if he gives in to the settlers, he becomes a serious law breaker; if he sends in the troops, he may be seen as a traitor by his own followers.
I’m not in a position to predict the outcome but I fear that the present Government of Israel has neither the political savvy to find a solution nor the courage to use force to impose one. Many more Migrons are, therefore, in the cards with ugly consequences. Peace isn’t on the horizon, alas.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He now divides his time between Canada and Israel and may be contacted at dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com