Dozens of prominent Israeli artists and intellectuals are signing their names to a document calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the 1967 borders. They will be making their public statement on Thursday, in front of Tel Aviv's Independence Hall on Rothschild Boulevard, where David Ben Gurion declared Israeli statehood 63 years ago. The signatories include 17 winners of the Israel Prize, which is Israel's highest civilian award.
"We call on everyone who seeks peace and freedom for all peoples to support the declaration of Palestinian statehood, and to act in a way that encourages the citizens of the two states to maintain peaceful relations on the basis of the 1967 borders... The total end to the occupation is a fundamental precondition for the liberation of the two peoples," the statement continues.
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Professor Yehuda Bauer, a historian of the Holocaust and one of the signatories, asserts that the initiative is rooted in the Zionist ideals that founded Israel:
"I am speaking from a Zionist standpoint," Prof. Yehuda Bauer explained. "Zionism sets as its goal the preservation of a Jewish national home with a solid Jewish majority - this was the dream of people from the left, right and center of classical Zionism. But the continuation of the occupation guarantees the nullification of Zionism - that is, it rules out the possibility that the Jewish people will live in its land with a strong majority and international recognition. In my eyes, this makes [Israel's] government clearly anti-Zionist."
Bauer said that he sees the establishment of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders as the "realization of genuine Jewish nationalism that exists in peace in the region, and within the international community."
Among the signatories are 16 recipients of the Israel Prize, including civil rights pioneer Shulamit Aloni and actress Hannah Marom.
This public statement by many of Israel's leading intellectuals and artists lends support to a drive on the Palestinian side for an independent declaration of independence by this September, if the parties don't sit down together to negotiate a bilateral peace treaty. It adds more pressure to a growing international movement to get this conflict solved, sooner rather than later.
At the same time, Republicans in the US are posturing and trying to isolate President Obama politically, by inviting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, coinciding with the annual AIPAC conference in Washington. If Netanyahu appears before Congress and puts forward his own peace plan, it takes a great deal of US pressure off him, even if his proposals are seriously deficient. And let's be honest here -- they will be seriously deficient. Everyone here seems to be trying to set the terms of the agenda, whether they are US Republicans, Netanyahu, Israeli intellectuals and artists, or Palestinian leaders. So the question is, will Obama follow his usual pattern and let everyone else set the terms of debate, leading from behind essentially, or will these events motivate him to step forward and introduce his own plan for a resolution to the conflict?
In my opinion, a unilateral declaration of independence from the Palestinians, even if there was international support, would be meaningless. It would not result in a single Israeli settlement being removed, nor would it do anything to resolve the complex and numerous issues between the Israelis and the Palestinians. That being said, the more pressure upon both sides to sit down together and talk, the better. This declaration puts quite a bit of pressure on Netanyahu, and the looming indictment of Foreign Minister Lieberman may weaken Netanyahu's coalition enough that he has to comply. The US Republican moves may pressure Obama to get off his ass and actually do something, which would also be helpful. Actually, Obama's active involvement would be crucial. Maybe someone can loan me $39,000 so I can attend a fundraising dinner for Obama and tell him so, face to face.
Of course, there is still the problem of Palestinian intransigence to deal with. The Palestinians still refuse to sit down at negotiations until all Israel settlement-building stops. Regardless of whether the settlements are illegal or not, they represent practical facts-on-the-ground. The Palestinians say they won't negotiate while Israel is stealing their land. OK, fine. But the longer you sit on your hands, the more land Israel takes for settlements. So are you in a stronger position today, or a year from now, when Israel has taken more of your land for settlements? Well, it's not like this is the first instance of the Palestinians acting against their own interests. They've made a virtual cottage industry of acting against their best interests, so why should they change their behavior now?
In other news from the region, the 16-year old boy involved in the PAlestinian missile attack on a school bus has died from his wounds. His name was Daniel Viflic. If there is any silver lining in such a brutal incident, it's that the rest of the 30-odd students had already been dropped off. The murder count could have been much higher. Our condolences go to Daniel's family and friends.
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Also, two Palestinians have been arrested for the murder of most of the Fogel family in Itamar. Two residents of the West Bank village of Awarta were arrested: Amjad Awad, 19, and Hakim Awad, 18. They are not related, but have both been identified with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
An investigation revealed that the two suspects decided that they would carry out the murder on Friday afternoon, hours before the murder was carried out. According to the investigation, the two left Awarta at nine p.m. carrying an umbrella, several knives and wire cutting shears.
According to the investigation, it took the suspects about ten minutes to cut the fence which separates the settlement of Itamar from the Palestinian village of Awarta. They climbed the security barrier at the settlement unnoticed and walked about 400 meters into the settlement. Once inside the settlement, they broke into an empty home and stole an M-16 rifle, a weapons cartridge, a vest and a helmet before proceeding to the Fogel family's home.
Before entering the house, the suspects noticed Yoav and Elad Fogel in the home's window. Yoav and Elad were the first to be stabbed after the suspect entered the home. The suspects then entered the parents' room. Ehud and Ruth tried to fight off the attackers, but were eventually overcome and stabbed to death. Ruth was also shot, but due to the weather at the time of the murder, the gunshots were not heard. The suspects fled the home, fearing that the gunshots had been heard.
Outside of the home, the suspects realized that their gunshots had gone unnoticed and they had not yet been discovered. Amjad Awad subsequently reentered the home in order to steal an additional M-16 rifle that was there. Back inside the parents' room, Awad noticed three-month-old Hadas and stabbed her to death. While leaving the home once more, the suspect noticed that there were more children but apparently figured that he was running out of time. The lives of Roi Fogel, 8, and Yishai Fogel, 2, were spared.
The two suspects escaped the settlement at around 11 pm. An hour and a half later, twelve-year-old Tamar Fogel returned home from a youth group meeting and discovered the murder scene.
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