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Enoch
Ziss originally from
Latvia, has been living in the United States since
1984.
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By Enoch
Ziss April 6, 2003
An open letter sent to
President George W. Bush and Sec. of State Colin Powell:
The history of the Middle East, including the region
once known as Palestine, is a complicated one. Without going
into too many details, it can be summarized as follows:
The Balfour Declaration of Nov.2, 1917 issued by the
British government proposed the establishment of a national
home for the Jewish people.
The area in which that
Jewish national home was to be established was understood, at
the time of the Balfour Declaration, to be the whole of
historic Palestine, which includes the area currently known as
the modern state of Jordan.
All of "Palestine" was
supposed to be shared by both the Jewish people and the
existing Arab-speaking population. In other words, historic
Palestine was supposed to become the home of two major groups:
the Jewish-Palestinians and Arab-Palestinians.
In
1921, Britain subdivided the Palestine Mandate, drawing a line
along the Jordan River to the Gulf of Akaba. The eastern
portion, known as Transjordan, was renamed Jordan and became
independent in 1946. This state was carved out of almost 78%
of Palestine Mandate and approximately 80% of its citizens
call themselves Palestinian. No Jew has been allowed to live
there or to become its citizen.
Thus, the viable,
independent Palestinian state already exists and it is called
Jordan.
In reality, a two-state solution for Palestine
has been in place for more than half a century.
As
Prince Hassan, brother of King Hussein, said while addressing
the Jordanian National Assembly on February 2nd, 1970:
"Palestine is Jordan and Jordan is Palestine; there is one
people and one land, with one history and one and the same
fate."
Common sense dictates that the rest of the
territory of historic Palestine should become a
Jewish-Palestinian state.
There are many arguments
against the creation of a second Arab-Palestinian state.
A mere glance at the map of the region shows both how
tiny is the size of the land west of the Jordan River and how
contrived is the idea of carving yet another state out of it.
It should be obvious that the Jordan River is the only natural
eastern border of Israel.
Judea and Samaria, or the
west bank of the Jordan River, are the heartland of the
ancient Jewish homeland where most of the Biblical holy sites
are located.
As recent and painful events have shown
(including the destruction of Joseph's Tomb in Nablus, the
desecration of the ancient synagogue in Jericho, and the
unlawful digging and excavation conducted by Moslem Waqf on
the Temple Mount), the only way to ensure the sanctity of
Jewish holy places is to place them under the protection of
Israel.
There is also a strategic military
consideration. The proposed creation of a second
Arab-Palestinian state will leave Israel yet again with only a
9-mile width at its midsection. Considering the history and
reality of the Middle East it is obvious both to laymen and
military experts that this would expose Israel to unacceptable
existential risks and leave the country with indefensible
borders.
The scarcity of natural resources as basic as
water is another argument against dividing the area between
the Jordan River and the Mediterranean into two states, as
this is clearly a recipe for conflict.
Once the idea
of a second Arab Palestinian state is rejected it will become
possible to concentrate on finding a creative solution to the
conflict.
Residents of Judea, Samaria and Gaza have
already been offered broad autonomy in most spheres of
cultural and economic life.
One possibility might be
to offer financial incentives and help in relocation may be
offered to those who would opt to join their kin in Jordan or
other countries.
If tiny, embattled Israel with its
limited resources has been able to absorb millions of
repatriates from all over the world (including a million of
refugees from Arab countries), than it is certainly should be
possible to resolve the problem of Arab-Palestinian refugees
as well.
Views expressed by the author do
not necessarily reflect those of
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