Correction to a "Realistic Solution ..."

Submitted by Paul Eidelberg (Israel), Jan 8, 2009 at 06:24

My apologies to Dr. Pipes: he did not mention any geographic area in his article. Of course, we must bear in mind that what is called the "Jordanian option" goes back to the 1970s and, in my opinion, it has never been a realistic ption. Indeed, why should the Palestinians accept such an option when the international community as well as Israel's left-wing parties are committed to a Palestinian state?

The hard truth is this: Israel cannot rely on any other power or powers to solve the "Palestinian" problem.

However, Dr. Pipes candidly and courageously refers to Israel's own flawed "polity," by which I suppose he means not only Israel's dysfunctional system of governance, but Israel's failure to produce the kind of leadership she needs to persevere in a protracted war that will not end even if Hamas, only one of Iran's proxies, is defeated.

Even the renowned Professor Yehezkel Dror, a member of the Winograd Commission that investigated the Second Lebanon War, has blamed not only the incompetence of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but also Israel's inept decision-making institutions, especially the executive branch. Indeed, Dror and other eminent professors—for whom I have written a working paper-- have advocated a unitary executive or presidential form of government to replace Israel's bungling system of multiparty cabinet government in which five and more rival party leaders compete for purse and power.

What this means—and as I have been saying for decades—is that Israel is in dire need of "regime change."

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".