Baskin’s Generous Offer: Making Peace with Israeli Occupation | Ramzy Baroud

[Tace]

Ramzy Baroud -- World News Trust

July 1, 2015

It would be fair to assume that Gershon Baskin’s recent article in the Jerusalem Post -- Encountering Peace: Obviously no peace now, so what then? (June 24) – is not a mere intellectual exercise aimed at finding "creative" solutions to the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Baskin is a regular contributor to the Jerusalem Post, a rightwing newspaper. He is more or less embodied in the Israeli political establishment, otherwise, he would have never been allowed to initiate the “secret back channel for the release (of captured Israeli soldier) Gilad Schalit” as he proudly states in his bio.

In the article, Baskin offers a way to manage the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Jerusalem. Not an end to the occupation, but a gentler way to sustain it, if not profit from it. The co-chairman of "Israel Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives" is indeed being "creative," the kind of creativity that brought about the Village Leagues, Oslo and the Geneva Initiative without truly delving into the heart of the matter -- the illegality and brutality of Israel’s occupation, sieges and wars.

Baskin’s reading of the situation is quite bleak. He carefully tries not to place any responsibility on any side for the lack of any political horizon, as a way to gain credibility. “Neither side seems to be particularly interested in escalation and violence,” he wrote, reaching a puzzling conclusion that seems at odd with reality, at least Palestinian reality: “Noteworthy is the sense that the young people on both sides have of being more interested in their daily lives than in national causes.”

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http://worldnewstrust.com/baskin-s-generous-offer-making-peace-with-israeli-occupation-ramzy-baroud

[guillaumeb]

1. Definitely recommended.

The irony of any country thinking that it can cover up an endless war by calling it peace. Orwell would have been so proud.

[Little Tich]

2. Gershon Baskin: Encountering Peace: Obviously no peace now, so what then?

Source: Jerusalem Post, June 24, 2015

As an Israeli I have never understood that I should want my Palestinian neighbors to suffer.

It is quite obvious that within the current political constellation on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides there will be no renewal of negotiations for peace. No one seriously believes that either side is really prepared to renew negotiations that could have the slightest chance of producing an agreement. There is deadlock on all of the core issues and the gaps in positions between Israel and Palestine are far too wide to even contemplate how to narrow them.

There are initiatives coming from the Palestinian side to isolate Israel. The Palestinians are advancing their international strategy of gaining recognition and pushing for a new UN Security Council Resolution to set parameters for future negotiations and to lock the international community into preserving the two-state solution. Israel is busy fighting the delegitimization campaigns gaining steam around the world. Israel is also beginning to apply pressure on the various allies it has within the Security Council to prevent a Palestinian success there in September.

Neither Israelis nor Palestinians have any political horizon regarding the conflict. Perusing the region both sides note that the relative stability in the land between the river and the sea is something that should not be taken for granted. Neither side seems to be particularly interested in escalation and violence. Noteworthy is the sense that the young people on both sides have of being more interested in their daily lives than in national causes. There is no burning passion for revolution, for taking to the streets, for being an active participant in the conflict. Perhaps this is because there is no belief that any kind of action could actually make a difference. Both sides seem to be locked into the belief that there really is no partner for peace, at the same time that they both believe that they themselves really are partners for peace.

As an Israeli I have never understood that I should want my Palestinian neighbors to suffer. It has never made sense to me the idea that if they suffer they will become more moderate and more willing to make peace. Collective punishment has never been a motivator for moderation. The idea that Israel should place obstacles on Palestinian economic growth and welfare seems to me to be so counterproductive. Palestinians’ daily life is hard, maybe not when compared to Syria, however the real relevant comparison for Palestinians is Israel, which controls much of their existence. Even Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said over and over again that he believes that through economic development we can help the Palestinians to be more prepared to make peace. The more cynical expression of this notion is that the Palestinians must have something to lose so that they will be more prepared for peace.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Encountering-Peace-Obviously-no-peace-now-so-what-then-407041