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November 12, 1999/3 Kislev 5760, Vol. 52, No.11
Peace process dissonance grows louder
GARY ROSENBLATT
New York Jewish Week
Morton Klein, president of the Zionist Organization of America and outspoken critic of Oslo, says
he has not seen any significant improvement in the Palestinian Authority's efforts to stop terror,
and opposes Israel discussing more concessions until the P.A. lives up to past promises.
"I feel that we have an obligation to criticize the prime minister's policies, when
appropriate, and Israel has the right and responsibility to make the decisions," he says.
His detractors say it is "chutzpah" for American Jews to tell Israel what to do.
Certainly the debate among American Jews is not a new one over how, when and under
what conditions, if ever, they should differ with the government of Israel on issues of Israeli
security. Some say that we have no business expressing our views about life-and-death matters for Israel.
If you want a say, they argue, move to Israel and vote.
Others, though, including some Israelis, maintain that if we are truly one Jewish people,
then we should all have a voice on Israel's future though only Israelis should make the final decisions.
But as we start final-status negotiations as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators begin finally
to grapple with the most difficult issues of all, such as Palestinian statehood, permanent borders,
water supplies, Jewish settlements, Palestinian refugees who want to return "home," and the status
of Jerusalem the dispute over the merits of the Oslo process has never been sharper, the
stakes higher, or the dissonance among caring Jews greater.
Fewer and fewer American Jews, it should be noted, seem emotionally attached to the
Mideast these days. Only 25 percent, in a recent American Jewish Committee poll, said they felt "very
close to Israel." But the ones who care, care deeply. And at this critical juncture, they seem to live
in parallel universes when dealing with the Mideast peace process.
An Israeli Policy Forum poll shows 88 percent of American Jews supporting the peace
process, while a Middle East Quarterly study found that by more than 3 to 1 (59.6 percent to 19
percent), American Jews believe that "the Arab world still seeks the eventual destruction of Israel."
Almost the same percentage says Israel should not sign a treaty with the Palestinian Authority.
Critics of the peace process send out daily statements quoting Palestinian leaders
exhorting their people to continue the armed fight against the Zionists, while supporters of Oslo send
news clips about better cooperation between Israeli and Palestinian security forces.
Whom are we to believe?
Like so much of Mideast politics, the answers are not simple, and the truth is that there
are multiple truths at work here. American Jews favor the peace process while remaining wary
and distrusting of Arafat. Palestinian officials speak of their glorious struggle while working with
their Israeli counterparts. And even as they insist on dismantling all Jewish settlements and taking over
all of east Jerusalem, Arafat's deputies work on maps with more moderate and realistic goals.
The issue for Israel is not whether it trusts Yasser Arafat and his motives, but whether it
can establish a reality that he, and they, can live with. The end game is not about harmony and
brotherhood. It's about separation and weighing the costs of conflict. It's not about peace. It's about
living without war.
Yes, we have every right to speak out and be heard. And Prime Minister Ehud Barak and
the Israeli people have the right to listen, or ignore us.
Gary Rosenblatt is editor and publisher of The New York Jewish Week.
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