On November 20, the last day that Benny Gantz held the mandate to form a government--which, it turned out, he was not able to do--Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a bill to annex the Jordan Valley, and he called on Gantz, his rival, to sign on to it. Even now, when Israel's governance still remains up for grabs, a bill to annex the Jordan Valley continues to make its way through Netanyahu's caretaker Knesset.
The Citizens Proposal regards annexation as a seriously wrongheaded and foolhardy move that will bring only disaster to Israel. As a Jew, I must sound the alarm. This bill is an existential threat to Israel. It should not pass, for Israel’s sake.
Annexation is an irreversible step that will set in motion a trajectory of events that in 50 years will bring an end to Israel as a Jewish State. It goes like this: Israel annexes the Jordan valley. The Palestinians decide that there is no point in continuing to seek for Palestinian state on such a reduced territory, and they begin advocating a unitary state of Israelis and Palestinians with equal rights, including the right to vote. For the time being, Israel will be able to use its muscle to enforce the continued disenfranchisement of the Palestinians. However, with their annexation purpose plain to the world, the Israelis will undoubtedly face the accusation of apartheid. Israel will end up on course like that of South Africa, with the inevitable result that sooner or later the Palestinians will gain the vote and become the demographic majority.
At that point, Israel will no longer be a Jewish State. It will become like Lebanon, with a Jewish faction and a Palestinian faction of roughly equal size cohabiting in the government in some sort of arrangement. The resulting instability will lead many Jews to emigrate. Less Jewish and more Arab, the name Israel may give way to Palestine.
This demographic future should give any Israeli Jew pause. Yet even if Israel were to prevent the Arab population from obtaining their natural rights, would not the resulting moral corruption of Israel be even more serious? Annexation would make official the continuing subjugation of the Palestinian people. No longer residents of an occupied territory that could someday expect to regain its independence, the inhabitants of the West Bank would become a permanent subject people. Should Jews, who endured a history of oppression as a religious minority, now turn around and oppress its Palestinian neighbors in perpetuity?
Every human being has a right to freedom, justice and dignity. Palestinians will not cease yearning for freedom. They will fight, and Israel’s sons and daughters will become the jailers who keep them in their place. What will that do to the character and morality of Israel’s defense forces, citizen-soldiers who have been proud of the righteousness of their cause?
God has given Jews mastery over Israel, and expects his people to live by a higher standard, that of the covenant. The Tanakh declares that God’s covenant calls for peace and justice, for the alien as well as the Jew. If Israel flexes its muscles to expand its territory in the West Bank at the expense of a future for the Palestinians, it could face consequences akin to God’s judgments of old.
Such could be Israel's future in 50 years, as step by step, the consequences of this folly slowly fall into place. How tragic it would be, if the grandchildren of today's Israelis no longer lived in a Jewish state.
By what logic could Netanyahu commit to an action that could bring such dire consequences? The pro-settler people in Likud are energized after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave America’s approval to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Netanyahu, who was about to be indicted for corruption, saw a possibility that Gantz would be able cobble together a minority government that would remove him from office. Wanting to continue as Prime Minister at all costs despite his party's weaker showing in the last election, Netanyahu made last-ditch efforts to rally the country behind him, first by attacking militants in Gaza and now by proffering the annexation bill.
“You cannot [annex the Jordan Valley] in a minority government that depends on Ahmad Tibi and Ayman Odeh,” he taunted Gantz, and by extension Liberman, continuing his scare campaign against the predominantly Arab Joint List whose support will still be required to create an alternative to his right-wing bloc.
Ratcheting up the pressure even more, the bill’s sponsor, Likud member Sharren Haskel, wants to fast-track the bill, exempting it from the mandatory six-week waiting period for any new legislation so that it can go to a vote next week.
Although Netanyahu remains Prime Minster for the time being, we urge all members of the Knesset to think deeply about the gravity of taking the step of annexation and what it could mean for Israel's future. This is not the time, when Israel lacks a constituted government, to act so precipitously. A step as fraught with consequence as annexation needs a broad consensus of support from the public, which currently it does not have. The Knesset will do well to shelve the annexation bill.
The Joint List Should Join the Government
Andrew Wilson October 2, 2019
The current electoral impasse in Israel may be disheartening to some, but there is one group, long an outsider to Israeli politics, to which it also offers an unprecedented opportunity: The Joint List. We of the Citizens Proposal want to extend an invitation to Ayman Odeh and the Joint List to help the party of its choice to form the governing coalition in Israel. Whether it is with Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party or with Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud, the Joint List has a unique opportunity to advance the interests of Arab Israelis by joining the government. Although it would be a challenging circumstance for the Jewish parties that welcome them into their midst, there are even advantages for Israel if the Arab parties can serve in government.
I know there are many good reasons why the Arab parties have stayed out of the government of Israel. The way Israel has been treating their Palestinian brothers and sisters has been disgraceful. Arabs are discriminated against, and Arab MPs are even mocked in the Knesset. It will take much political courage and vision to put aside the narrative of victimhood in favor of constructive engagement for a better future. Yet despite the challenges, I believe that the Joint List should seize this special moment when it has won 13 seats, the most ever for Arab parties. The opportunity may not repeat if there is a third election and Arab voters become discouraged.
The Joint List can certainly partner with Mr. Gantz to create a Center-Left coalition that will have a decent shot at forming a government. It was a good first step that 10 of the 13 representatives from the Joint List recommended Gantz to President Rivlin. Nevertheless, because they refused to join his government, it ended up being only an empty gesture, and Rivlin gave the first mandate to Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud.
However, now, should the Joint List join a prospective Gantz government, the parties on the Center-Left will have 57 seats. Then it will be only a matter of bringing on one of the smaller parties to get over the electoral threshold of 61 seats. Perhaps one of the religious parties like Shas with its 9 seats would come over to Gantz, seeing the prospects of gaining some of its religious objectives. Perhaps Avigdor Lieberman with his 8 seats would find a way to put aside his scruples about sharing governance with Israeli Arabs. There are any number of scenarios where the prospects of political power can cause politicians to put aside their posturing and find the best deal for themselves and their constituents under the circumstances.
The Joint List could also enter the government in a Likud-led coalition. The math is simple: if the 10 Joint List members who were willing to present their mandates to President Rivlin were to turn around and join the right-wing parties, they would give it a comfortable majority of 65 seats. They would enable its coalition to outflank Mr. Gantz and the Center-Left. Moreover, Netanyahu would be spared the unpleasantness of dealing with Lieberman, whom he deeply dislikes. For sure, it would be challenging for the settlers in Likud and Yamina to work with Arabs as coalition partners. Yet I believe that the politicians of both the Joint List and Likud have the political skills for horse trading and deal-making that could accommodate the interests of both the settlers and the Arabs. Although many Arabs would find moving into a right-wing alliance distasteful, its very audacity would make Odeh the actual kingmaker and the Joint List a power to be respected by Israeli politicians of all stripes.
As a player in the government, the Joint List can improve the lot of Arab citizens of Israel in so many ways. Repeal of the Jewish Nationality Law would be at the top of the list in a Gantz government; Israel must be a country that serves all its citizens. In an alliance with either side there are economic benefits: the national budget should increase funds for police and security in Arab towns where even today a wave of murders has led to a general strike; it should fund improved roads and public services in Arab areas, and fund new hospitals and clinics. From its position in the government, the Joint List will be able to improve parity in social services for Arab communities overall.
There are also intangible benefits to all Israeli Arabs from the sight of Arab MKs taking up major ministerial posts. One can make the analogy to the presidency of Barack Hussein Obama that raised the esteem of American Blacks. It will encourage more Israeli Arabs to have ambition to public service. It will encourage more joint business enterprises between Jews and Arabs. When the entire Israeli society sees Arab legislators and ministers dedicated to the nation’s welfare, it will break down their fears and stereotypes of Arabs as a disaffected minority that would turn on Israel at the first opportunity.
Even the Israeli-Palestinian relationship can improve. Certainly, a government that includes the Joint List will put the kibosh on any talk of annexation of the West Bank. Annexation may not figure into the plans of a government under Gantz, but it remains an ever-present danger should there be another Netanyahu government in whatever coalition he may form--except a coalition with the Joint List. Moreover, as a partner in such a government, the Joint List could trade benefits to the settlers with benefits to the Palestinians in the occupied territories such as better roads and loosening of restrictions on economic development. (continued on page 2)
