No future for a Jewish minority in Palestine

Bataween
Point of No Return
24 June '10

The Palestinians of the West Bank may be moving towards declaring their own state, but could Jews continue to live there? Writing in the Jerusalem Post, Amiel Ungar balefully concludes that remaining Jews would be condemning themselves to harassment and martyrdom. The treatment of Palestinian Christians, and Jews in Arab countries, sets a worrying precedent. But why would Israel ever allow a new hostile Arab state on its doorstep?

The fear of serious resistance to expulsion orders also accounts for the renewed interest in a solution that leaves many Jewish communities within a Palestinian state. It will require the Jewish communities of Judea and Samaria to make a Hobbesian choice between principle and peril.

The principled and patriotic decision would be for the communities to remain in place. Jewish “sumud” (steadfastness) will demonstrate to the Arabs that Jews are not latter day Crusaders – an alien entity – but are motivated by their religious and historical link to the land of their forefathers.

The sages in the Talmud, perhaps observing a similar predicament in their era, opined that it is preferable for a Jew to live in the land of Israel even in a city with a non-Jewish majority than to live outside it in an ancient version of Borough Park in Brooklyn.

It is also a matter of simple reciprocity. If an Israeli state can be expected to host an Arab minority approaching 20 percent, then a neighboring Palestinian state can be expected to do the same for Jewish communities rather than emptying its territory of Jews.

Unfortunately, the issue of principle clashes seriously with the perilous reality on the ground.

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