that's a very good statement of the situation, and a legitimate, defensible position. I don't happen to agree with it myself--I think some kind of two-state solution west of the Jordan is both desirable and feasible--but one can hardly deny that recent events have not made this a slam-dunk.
But aside from those on the side you mention who I believe are just hacks (and that unfortunately includes Bibi), the problem with the smart and sincere ones is that they simply have no answer to what to do about the Palestinians. I mean, it seems to me that they can't really complain about the way things are going--violence, poverty, frustration--because they see such conditions as basically inevitable for the foreseeable future, and somebody else's problem, not theirs. So my response to them would basically be the following:
"look, you're living in a difficult neighborhood, you're in a long-term struggle with difficult neighbors, and you don't have the ability to get everything you want in the way that you want. Such is life; get used to it. Because we're strong good guys who wish you well, we'll help defend you in major ways against major threats, particularly external ones. But beyond that, you make your bed and sleep in it. Don't expect us to support, underwrite, or coddle everything you do, especially those things that we believe make the situation worse rather than better."
tb@toughlove.com |
