Published April 10th, 2006 by Future Atlas
Israel backs away from the precipice
The March elections in Israel represent a step toward a more stable future for the country — but only a preliminary one.
An Israeli political science professor suggests in the CSM that Israel was presented with three futures to choose from:
- “the right-wing utopia of greater Israel by blood and fire”
- “the left-wing utopia of peace and harmony”
- disengagement from the Palestinians, as a compromise
In this view, the rise of the new centrist Kadima party represents the third choice.
The election results suggest a rejection of Likud and the right, as Steve Clemons notes.
Disengagment would offer Israel its best shot at peace in decades, but even Kadima does not seem willing to pursue it fully. The unilateral borders under discussion will not fall along the 1967 boundaries, and, more importantly, may include large numbers of Palestinians on the Israeli side. This is especially problematic in Jerusalem, where a compromise reflecting the wishes of the city’s two populations would be an important step in defanging Muslim hostility to Israel.
Meanwhile, the role of the pro-Israel lobby in the United States does not reflect the evolving situation on the ground, argues Daniel Levy in the IHT. He concludes
In short, if Israel is indeed entering a new era of national sanity and de-occupation, then the role of the Lobby in U.S.-Israel relations will have to be rethought, and either reformed from within or challenged from without.