2009 Peace Now Beilin

A letter from Dr. Yossi Beilin 14/12/2009

Dear Friends of Peace Now,

I write to you today because I believe that while the need for peace may be ever more urgent, it is no less attainable. We stand today at a critical juncture. The Goldstone Report weighs heavy upon the nation, Mahmoud Abbas threatens to resign and dismantle the PA, and the frosty relationship with the Obama Administration leaves Israel ever more isolated to deal with the challenges she faces.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, whose speech at Bar Ilan lit a flicker of hope when he supported the principle of two states for two people, has since proven that he is not serious about a peace agreement, only recently announcing a partial and temporary settlement freeze, but without initialisng any steps to bring about an end to the occupation. As the Israeli government belittles the PA at every opportunity, it is of little surprise that Abbas’ authority has diminished, undermining him as a partner for peace. Hamas alone is the victor.

In Jerusalem, the situation remains delicate and explosive, as Jewish settlers move into Palestinian neighbourhoods such as Sheih Jarrah or Silwan, creating realities on the ground, further complicating steps
towards peace. While the Palestinians remain relatively calm today, that an escalation in settler provocations in East Jerusalem could drag us towards a third intifada.

Right now, we must call upon our politicians and demand that they take the necessary and courageous steps to advance towards a comprehensive peace accord with our Arab neighbours. American involvement is essential, and Obama must present a practical plan for all parties to follow. Nevertheless, we have come a tremendous
way and polls consistently indicate that almost four fifths of the Israeli public support peace based on the twostate principle, even if they do not share our urgency. If Israel wishes to avoid becoming a pariah state, she must move forward on multiple diplomatic tracks.

She must work towards the conclusion of a peace accord with the Palestinians. She must heed the calls of Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the state of war between the two sides, which would break up the axis of fundamentalism running from Iran to Gaza. She must take the Saudi Peace Plan seriously.

Settlements are the single greatest threat to the implementation of the two-state solution, and this so-called freeze must be implemented and extended to East Jerusalem. Change is in the power of the Israeli government and its citizens.

As a man who for decades has written and promoted peace initiatives from Oslo to Geneva, both behind the scenes and in the public arena, I applaud Peace Now’s efforts to work tirelessly within the Israeli population – through public campaigns, student activities, demonstrations, running tours and educating society through its magnificent Settlement Watch programme. The Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago because of two major factors: bold leaders and brave citizens. Then, as today in the Middle East, the factors were not on the side of progress. But their wisdom and determination should encourage us all.

You are an essential part of this movement, and it is by writing letters to news outlets, pressuring your political leaders and spreading the message of Peace Now to both sides of the debate that you can make a real difference.

2008 June Article By Beilin

A very Good article by Yossi, But Read Next Post to Understand why I am nearly sure returning to Avoda.
Last update - 22:46 11/06/2008
A moment before the obvious
By Yossi Beilin Haaretz.com

In a few more days, something will apparently happen that almost no
one wants, but no one has enough courage to prevent. Even if anyone
would bother to look at the history books, which are full of examples
of collective folly, it is probably too late. The horses have already
left the barn. The pledges have been made; the slogans shouted.

And the temptation: Such certain knowledge that you can decide
tomorrow's headlines and public discourse, to demand that everyone
show a solid front in the face of the enemy. This is not about
envelopes and testimony, moving up the elections or lame ducks.
Serious men are pouring over military maps and leading, after a
two-year break, "a war of no choice" that they did not want, that did
not need to happen, that they worked to avoid. But now there is no
choice and we must stand behind our soldiers. This is not the time for
political disagreements.

And the funerals, the promises that no sacrifice was in vain, that
this is a matter of protecting the homeland, and those who sacrificed
their lives saved many others. The gun salutes and the parents at the
open grave, the interviews with teachers and friends. This is not the
right time for politics or investigations, nor for intrusive burrowing
into envelopes or into someone's upgrade on some flight or another.

And the "non-combatants" who will be killed on the other side. There
is no choice, we will soon explain. The combatants are using them and
taking advantage of them; would that we could separate and hit only
the combatants. After all, the terrorists kill innocent people on
purpose while we kill them by accident.

The head of the opposition will prove once again his willingness to
stand up for all of us and place his marvelous rhetorical skills at
our disposal. As usual, he will rise above any political discord and
explain how justified this war is. He will manage to persuade Jewish
activists in the United States and the various neo-cons. And everyone
will concede, even his sworn adversaries, that nobody else can explain
this war in such fine English as he can.

During the war he will not vote no-confidence, and will support the
prime minister and the government without petty calculations or
demands. Only after the war will he explain that finally the depth of
his theory has been understood - that nothing moves here except by
force, that the whole problem is that we ended the war too early, and
if it had only gone on another week or month the head of the snake
could have been smashed.

The Palestinian Authority will announce that Israel is commiting war
crimes in striking at the leadership of Hamas and Islamic Jihad on
purpose, and at women and children by accident, and behind closed
doors certain Fatah members will say to certain politicians and
journalists that the operation in Gaza came at the right time. They
will later appear on Al-Jazeera to denounce Israel in the harshest
terms for hurting their brothers in Gaza, and the PLO will declare a
hiatus in the final-status talks and the end of the Annapolis process.

The Arab world will join in the harsh criticism, will approach the
United Nations and run into a solid wall put up by President Bush,
which will continue to protect us against the wrath of the world until
his last day in office. Only then will the Arab League call an urgent
meeting and decide to suspend the Arab peace initiative.

And then, obviously, the decision-makers will remember that they had
completely forgotten to prepare an exit plan from the Gaza Strip.
Leaving cannot happen just like that, after all the blood that has
been spilled and the economic cost, and the storm of world public
opinion. Then they will stay much longer than they had planned, trying
to grasp at any international straw to reach a cease-fire at any cost,
with the goal of justifying the departure and ensuring that a moment
thereafter a volley of Qassams and mortars will not be let loose at
the western Negev.

We can still prevent clearly selfish considerations, crude partisan
reasoning and other political motives from sweeping the country into
an unnecessary war after a break of less than two years. It is still
possible to try to reach a cease-fire instead of the war, and to
overcome the primitive thought that the cease-fire must be preceded by
a major strike so as to rehabilitate "deterrance."

The biggest idiot in Islamic Jihad understands that Israel can wipe
Gaza off the face of the earth. This realization does not require a
military operation in which victory over the militias will be, at
best, imperfect.

The writer is a Meretz MK