President Trump's Deal of the Century Should Look Like This, says Shiloh, Israel Mayor, David Rubin
SHILOH, Israel, June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- President Trump has teased forward his impending 'Deal of the Century' peace plan for Israel. Hope wanes eternal. But what might his historic peace plan actually entail?
First and foremost, there is one major element that it likely will not include: A two-state solution.
That's according to former Shiloh, Israel mayor David Rubin, who is a frequent interview guest on Fox News and whom President Trump has personally Tweeted in solidarity with Mayor Rubin's position on security fences and walls during his interviews on Tucker Carlson, Stuart Varney, and Lou Dobbs. Mayor Rubin poses this question and the subsequent commentary. "How do we know there is no 2-state solution"? Because when President Donald Trump met with Israel Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the President publicly hinted, "The two-state solution might not be the way to go forward." Since then, leaked elements of the plan, as well as the outright rejection by the Palestinian Authority seem to confirm this.
This new reality creates a clear opportunity for those who have ideas for alternative peace proposals that may include Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (the so-called 'West Bank').
To most recent American administrations, the land for peace formula, or the two-state solution, was considered sacrosanct. Under this recipe, Israel was expected to vacate all or most of Judea and Samaria and the eastern half of Jerusalem to create a Palestinian Arab state. It has long been the mantra of the peace process promoters that Israel, resembling in size the small state of New Jersey, would need to surrender its ancestral areas to bring the elusive peace that it has always sought, even before its reestablishment as a sovereign nation in 1948.
However, after several decades of Middle East peace summits, with millions of dollars wasted on these efforts, resulting in well over 1,600 Israeli lives lost in terrorist attacks just in the past twenty years, with thousands of others wounded, perhaps it's time to try something new?
Trump's comment about the two-state solution sent a clear signal that he would welcome a new approach, leading to a new situation in which alternatives that include Israeli sovereignty may have an ear in Washington. However, the concern is that Israeli sovereignty that includes granting automatic citizenship to all residents denotes demographic disaster for Israel.
Toward this end, what President Trump should propose is a new peace plan called Peace for Peace, doing away with the failed land for peace formula and the hopelessly stalled negotiations, while offering a unilateral path to peace between Israel and the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria (the Palestinians). Peace for Peace would change the rules of the game, without arousing unrealistic Palestinian appetites. The approval of the Palestinian Authority, which has caused so much terrorism through its financing and incitement, would not be required, but the plan would, indeed, provide a better future for all residents of the area.
President Trump and Jared Kushner's 'Deal of the Century' should contain all or most of the following four key principles of "Peace for Peace":
1. The entire land of Israel is the eternal sovereign inheritance of the Jewish people. Israeli sovereignty will be declared within the borders in Israel's possession, which at this time consists of the territory from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
2. Israel extends its hand in unconditional peace and cooperation, peace for peace, to all its Arab neighbors, including those who live within its borders.
3. A path to loyal citizenship in the State of Israel will be offered for all non-citizens of Israel living within its borders, including Judea and Samaria. Such a path will include an extensive 3-year course in Zionism, Jewish history, Bible, and civics, culminating in a required oath of loyalty to the Jewish State of Israel, and followed by a 3-year commitment of national service to Israel, as performed by other citizens.
4. Residents who refuse this path to citizenship will be offered a stipend to be resettled in one of the neighboring countries. The option of subsidized resettlement will be on the table for one year. After that point, a small number of non-citizens will be allowed to remain, based on Israel's needs. The others will be deported. No rational, sovereign country would allow the continued residence of those who wish its destruction.
As has been revealed in recent demographic studies, Israel need not fear such a scenario. Given past experience in eastern Jerusalem, many Arab residents would reject the offer and Israel would nonetheless be putting an end to the nagging "apartheid state" accusations without imperiling Israel's demographic future.
The dire warnings of demographic disaster caused by a declaration of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, need not be heeded. As reported extensively by demographic researchers, such as Yoram Ettinger, Israel's growth in Judea and Samaria is now outpacing Arab growth. In fact, it's the only part of the world where the demographic struggle opposite the Muslim world is being won.
While it is true that automatic citizenship for all, including unrepentant haters of Israel, could be suicidal, the conditional path to loyal citizenship, an approach used in most free countries, including the United States, is a sensible middle ground that would enable loyal citizenship for those who truly want peace.
Such a plan should be explained to, and closely coordinated, with the Trump administration, which has seemed open to hearing other new ideas, such as land transfers from Egypt and/or Jordan. President Trump has shown a remarkable ability to think "out of the box", and he's learned that repeating past failures is not a recipe for success. The time has come to move forward by adopting this new approach to peace ? a peace plan based on biblical principles, historical justice, and common sense---perhaps even including creative Trumpian land deals.
David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of the new book, "Trump and the Jews". Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children's Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack. He can be found at http://www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or at http://www.ShilohIsraelChildren.org
SOURCE David Rubin
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