Mofaz has a reputation as a tough leader
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Most people outside of Israel don't know much about MK member Shaul Mofaz, and it's not surprising. He's one of the few 'non-European' Jews in Israel to have become a Knesset member, and who dared to challenge former presidential candidate Tzipi Livni, and lost.
There is an entire dynamic, which is an undercurrent in Israeli society, that Jews from North Africa who emigrated to Israel are grossly misrepresented in government, policy making, negotiations with friends and foes alike. However, here is a perfect example of how 'Arab Jews' can play a pivotal role in the peace making process with the Palestinians.
According to a report in Israel's daily 'Ma'ariv', as reported by the Mideast Peace Pulse, Mofaz is putting forth the idea of the immediate formation of a Palestinian state which would require the demolition of Israeli settlements which translates into displacing some 70,000 people. Those settlers would be compensated as described below:
The evacuated settlers will receive everything they want: settlements will be relocated in their entirety to new sites, funds will be allocated at three and four times the value of their evacuated property, their children will be given free education at universities and yeshivas for an extended period of time and so forth.
Borders would be temporary but with the removal of settlements, it seems that there should be sufficient contiguous land to form a separate, sovereign state. Said state would encompass large villages and neighborhoods and arrangements would be made to keep a 'holy basin' separate that would include the Old City, the Temple Mount, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and other holy sites.
Though Mofaz's idea is far from perfect, it does take into account the realities of the immediate need for the Palestinians to have a sovereign state. In addition, the status quo would position Israel into further international isolation, having lost the support of Turkey, one of its most important allies in Eurasia. His centrist views would serve the country well, bringing it back from the brink of the far right cliff it has been straddling since the Netanyahu election.
Mofaz is also vying for the chairmanship of the Kadima Party as he feels that Livni has not been effective in the peace process.
Comments
Interesting ideas however somewhat impractical economically. Where will the money come from to pay folks three times what their property is worth? I do agree, as do many of us, that the need for a separate Palestinian state is long over due.
Mofaz is not of North African origin. He was born in Iran. What is the significance of Mofaz proposing this when it has been proposed in the past by many Israeli Jews of European origin in the past? What makes it being proposed by Mofaz more constructive? It should be also noted that Mofaz has been an extreme militarist up until very very recently. Furthermore, even if Israel was fully willing to implement this proposal in the real world, it is not clear if the Palestinians would sign off on it as their position always has been that the refugees and their descendants have the right to return to their homes in what is now territorial Israel.
The Israeli colonists stole the land from the Palestinians in the first place. Why should anyone pay a thief to return what was stolen?
European Jews are NOT the descendants of the original Hebrews. They are descendants of the Khazars who converted to Judaism. The real descendants of the original Hebrews are the Sephardic Jews. These Jews were taken in by their Arab friends and neighbors and given refuge during and after the Great Revolt in the First Century. Many may have assimilated in order to survive. They probably kept their religion alive as best they could. Others migrated to Spain and France (also under Roman control). Thus, the European Jews or Ashkenazi that dominate Israel DO NOT have the "right of return" because they were NEVER the ones who were forced into exile. It is the Sephardic Jews who have the right of return as the original descendants.
Why do the settlements have to be demolished?
If the land is to be returned to the Palestinians, why not leave the houses, apartment blocks etc. on it? Plenty of Palestinians were left homeless by assorted Israeli bombardments, and handing over the settlements intact would be an additional sweetener.
Or is the Israeli public so mad with vengeance, spite and racial hatred that their politicians would prefer to spend extra money to have the settlements demolished?
I truly believe that in another 2 millennia, the European Jews who are really Khazars will become Jews again. This parallels the break up of Pangea into a series of widely spaced continents which once again are coming back together. And since man made global warming climate change is a hoax, the world will be a healthy place indeed when these new Jews reemerge in 2000 years, breathing in healthy air, drinking in healthy water, in totally moderate temperatures with no change in coast line (short of the whole Pangea-to-continents-to-Pangea shtik (shtik being a Kharzan word). And speaking of Yiddish, wouldn't that be a cruel irony: those very Jewish girls that Jewish boys are supposed to marry after fooling around with non-Jewish girls ARE ACTUALLY SHIKSAS THEMSELVES. Life is cruel. Who knew?
from The Mideast Peace Pulse linked in the posted article:
"...With respect to refugees, Mofaz is not prepared to make any compromises. He is prepared to have refugees return only to the sovereign Palestinian state."
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