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Congregation Phone: (314)576-5230 Fax: (314)576-1162 Rabbi Seth D Gordon |
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Articles by Rabbi Gordon: February, 2008 |
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Israel & Palestinians – “Mah Nishtanah?” “Mah Nishtanah” of the Pesach seder is still months away, but in the aftermath of the Annapolis Peace Conference and President Bush’s trip to Israel, we can ask the same question of prospective peace between Israel and the Palestinians. “Mah Nishtanah -- What has changed?” In 1979, after the Camp David Accords, genuine hope for peace pervaded. Egypt, because of Anwar Sadat, was the first Arab state to make peace with Israel. Not only did the most formidable Arab enemy abandon military means against Israel, but a psychological barrier had been broken. That was real change. Now there was tangible reason to believe that others would soon follow. Following more than a decade of stalemate, in October 1991 President GH Bush initiated the Madrid peace conference. Then, without any overt American involvement, in September 1993 came the Oslo Accords. Camp David was again the site of another attempt at peace. In July 2000 President Clinton convened negotiations between Ehud Barak and Yassir Arafat. But Arafat walked away from a deal that, according to President Clinton and Ambassador Dennis Ross, gave the Palestinians 98% of the land they demanded. Despite the rhetoric, recent developments appear more like padding a resume than achieving success. President Bush had not been actively engaged in diplomacy for seven years. Yet, it is debatable whether that was good or bad. To his credit, his calls for Palestinian reform changed the dynamics from “what concession will Israel make” to “what internal changes will the Palestinians make.” In part, once President Bush took that approach, he would be forced to wait. Apparently, he did not want to wait any longer. Indeed, internal reform is the key to any true peace. A majority of Israelis, whether one agrees or disagrees with them, is prepared to make significant concessions once they feel confident that Palestinians are prepared to live in peace with them. It makes no sense to sign an agreement yet still face enemy rockets from another faction with Palestinian society. The key development will be when the Palestinian government and Palestinian adults start teaching their children that the Jewish people have historic rights to their land. That will not be easy. But if and when it occurs, it will mean that the adults and the children have come to accept Jewish national claims. Then the little children who are 5, 6, and 7, who in a decade will become the teens on the cusp of leadership and mentors to other little children, will not have reason to make outrageous demands and act barbarously. They will reject their own extremists and will not fund them, shield them, or join them. Then we will have more than just demonstrative peace-signing ceremonies, but the prospects for genuine peace. On that day, we will be able to answer the question, “Mah Nishtanah?”
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