Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
U.S. should pressure freeze
By ALAN FEDERMAN
Special to the CJN
Times are changing. Where in the past, pressuring Israel to freeze settlement-building activity would have been met with almost uniform resistance from the American Jewish community, today it is met with wide-ranging support.
Influential Jewish members of Congress support a freeze on new construction. The Central Conference of American Rabbis, representing 2,000 Reform rabbis, approved a resolution in favor of a freeze, and a recent poll for J Street found 60% of American Jews opposed new settlement construction.
Yet, the Israeli government has announced plans to expand settlement construction. This raises two issues. First, what is the impact of settlements on the prospects for peace, and second, should the U.S. pressure Israel to freeze further construction?
The impact of settlements cannot be underestimated. There are 290,000 settlers living in 200 settlements and outposts. The biggest settlement blocs are adjacent to Jerusalem and inside the separation barrier, while thousands live outside the barrier in settlements dotted throughout the West Bank. The impact of a policy of “natural growth” such as Israel is following creates different but problematic consequences of construction on each side of the barrier.
It is assumed that ultimately, those Jewish settlements outside of the separation barrier will have to be abandoned, since they would be in the future Palestinian state, so every housing unit built there today represents a future angry settler who will have to be forced to leave his or her home later. Added housing now inside the separation barrier (presumably to become part of Israel proper) increases the Jewish footprint into the West Bank, making a fair division of land all the more difficult. In short, every additional housing unit Israel builds in the West Bank makes it incrementally more difficult to achieve a two-state resolution to the problem.
While every U.S. administration since 1967 has looked at settlements as an obstacle to peace, the realities of domestic politics have prevented the U.S. from putting any teeth to the issue until now. Even today, many large Jewish organizations and influential leaders harbor the notion that U.S. pressure on Israel signals a weakening of ties between Israel and her strongest ally. Fortunately, a growing majority of American Jews has come to realize that by accommodating this ill-conceived policy, the U.S. has actually undermined its ally and the peace process with it.
Alan Federman is a member of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, a grass-roots, pro-Israel, pro-peace organization.
Influential Jewish members of Congress support a freeze on new construction. The Central Conference of American Rabbis, representing 2,000 Reform rabbis, approved a resolution in favor of a freeze, and a recent poll for J Street found 60% of American Jews opposed new settlement construction.
Yet, the Israeli government has announced plans to expand settlement construction. This raises two issues. First, what is the impact of settlements on the prospects for peace, and second, should the U.S. pressure Israel to freeze further construction?
The impact of settlements cannot be underestimated. There are 290,000 settlers living in 200 settlements and outposts. The biggest settlement blocs are adjacent to Jerusalem and inside the separation barrier, while thousands live outside the barrier in settlements dotted throughout the West Bank. The impact of a policy of “natural growth” such as Israel is following creates different but problematic consequences of construction on each side of the barrier.
It is assumed that ultimately, those Jewish settlements outside of the separation barrier will have to be abandoned, since they would be in the future Palestinian state, so every housing unit built there today represents a future angry settler who will have to be forced to leave his or her home later. Added housing now inside the separation barrier (presumably to become part of Israel proper) increases the Jewish footprint into the West Bank, making a fair division of land all the more difficult. In short, every additional housing unit Israel builds in the West Bank makes it incrementally more difficult to achieve a two-state resolution to the problem.
While every U.S. administration since 1967 has looked at settlements as an obstacle to peace, the realities of domestic politics have prevented the U.S. from putting any teeth to the issue until now. Even today, many large Jewish organizations and influential leaders harbor the notion that U.S. pressure on Israel signals a weakening of ties between Israel and her strongest ally. Fortunately, a growing majority of American Jews has come to realize that by accommodating this ill-conceived policy, the U.S. has actually undermined its ally and the peace process with it.
Alan Federman is a member of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, a grass-roots, pro-Israel, pro-peace organization.
 |
||
| Settlements not obstacle |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of clevelandjewishnews.com.
You must register with a valid email to post comments. Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments. Registration is free.
Registered users sign in here: |
Become a Registered User |
dhchoh wrote on Jun 28, 2009 11:29 PM:
Thank you Alan for presenting this position so clearly. "