No Good Option

Submitted by Ira Katz (United States), Aug 15, 2005 at 09:58

I truly appreciate your (D. Pipes') views and have received many emails from a friend who lived in Israel for most of her life with this point of view. As a Jew I feel immense pain over this. I have signed petitions but also must recognize that there are perhaps a majority of Israelis who support the withdrawal. I have read that defending this territory requires as many military personnel as settlers/residents and costs billions every year. In some ways the residents are victims of Israel's previous policies, as much as of the current ones, by believing they could settle there. It also seems obvious that mustering support against the withdrawal is futile at this point. Israel's existence, in the 'theater' of international law, however one-sided or unfair it is, unfortunately, depends on the continued support of the U.S.

The U.S. must, in this theater, make every effort, support every initiative/concession of either side, that appears to possibly lead to peace. So now after Sharon's persistence with this initiative, any U.S. president we have would support it. The 'test' might cost Israeli lives and could, justifiably, lead to escalation of retaliatory aggression on Israel's part. I pray it all goes in the other direction - peace.

To reiterate, I see no action that could stop this withdrawal. In the same vein, future events only will dictate statuses of the West Bank and Jerusalem. The dreadful history of my people leading up to and including the holocaust, made creation of a Jewish state seem a reasonable, justifiable cause. But I have some reservations about the 'fairness' of a Jewish state the same way I have concerns abiout the U.S. being a 'G_d-fearing', Christian country. Of course, if I could be in the minds and souls of the early Zionists, the time-worn idea that life is not fair comes forth loud and clear.

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