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viewpoints » S e n d l e t t e r s t o : l e t t e r s @ t h e j e w i s h n e w s . c o m 6 December 10 • 2015 D E T R O I T J E W I S H N E W S theJEWISHNEWS.com To make a donation to the DE TROIT JEWISH NEWS FOUNDATION go to the website www.djnfounadtion.org Arthur M. Horwitz Publisher / Executive Editor ahorwitz@renmedia.us F. Kevin Browett Chief Operating Officer kbrowett@renmedia.us | Editorial Managing Editor: Jackie Headapohl jheadapohl@renmedia.us Story Development Editor: Keri Guten Cohen kcohen@thejewishnews.com Arts & Life Editor: Lynne Konstantin lkonstantin@renmedia.us Senior Copy Editor: David Sachs dsachs@renmedia.us Editorial Assistant: Sy Manello smanello@renmedia.us Senior Columnist: Danny Raskin dannyraskin@sbcglobal.net Contributing Editor: Robert Sklar rsklar@renmedia.us Contributing Writers: Ruthan Brodsky, Suzanne Chessler, Annabel Cohen, Don Cohen, Shari S. 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Subscriptions: 1 year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85 2 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $153 3 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $204 1 year out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $125 2 years out-of-state . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $225 Per year foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $300 Detroit Jewish News 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110 Southfi eld, MI 48034 ©copyright 2015 Detroit Jewish News essay Fragile Palestinian Government Unsettling T he Palestinian Authority, which governs Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank, may or may not collapse because of daunting political and economic influences. Regardless, if the people living under the P.A. and their Israeli neighbors truly want a two-state solution to their bitter, decades-long conflict, both sides must demonstrate a painful willingness to humanely negotiate and compromise. Not trying to find common ground would saddle Israel's right- wing government with what Haaretz Editor Aluf Benn calls an "indefinite occupation of millions of disenfran- chised Palestinians." While supporting the concept of two states, one Jewish and one Arab, coexisting side by side, Israel commands a military occu- pation in the West Bank for good reason: to protect against Palestinian violence and terror toward Israelis. Israel also holds a historic and biblical claim to the West Bank. But its seemingly endless expansion of settlements ignores the consequential matter of 2½ million Palestinians living in the West Bank and another 200,000 residing in the eastern sector of Jerusalem, the Israeli capital. Despite the Palestinians' ingrained culture of hate toward Jews and Zionism, and himself entrenched in a splintered government, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up while in Washington in November, inviting a new round of peace talks with no precondi- tions — a notable concession itself. At the U.N. climate conference in France on Nov. 30, P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas said, "Our hand is still extended in peace to our neighbors." He could dem- onstrate that by branding the tides of ter- ror waged by young Palestinians against Israeli soldiers and civilians these last 2½ months as terror — not as a "peaceful popular uprising," a term he used two weeks earlier on official P.A. TV. CREATIVITY NEEDED U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's Thanksgiving week gambit at shut- tle diplomacy, as reported Nov. 27 by Haaretz, revealed both leaders seeking something from the other before even considering a return to direct bilateral negotiations. Kerry left the Middle East frus- trated on the diplomacy front. Still, there's hope for bridging the diplomatic divide. Israel, drawing upon its inventive- ness, will have to rise up with a course of engagement that not only lights the way for renewed conversation, but also bur- dens the Palestinians if they continue to resist negotiating. Over the long haul, the Israeli- Palestinian status quo, including Israel's West Bank military occupation and the Palestinians' terror-encouraging mindset, would be a disaster. In the short term, Israel and the P.A. do cooperate, with some success, on West Bank security. And the P.A. largely handles its own governmental affairs, something Israel certainly isn't angling for. U.N.'S SHADOW Meanwhile, Abbas ponders his next move at the United Nations. The U.N. seems receptive to his eyeing inter- national recognition of and protection for "the occupied State of Palestine." The U.N. already considers "Palestine" a nonvoting "observer state." In speaking before the U.N. General Assembly in September, Abbas implied he'd revoke the Palestine Liberation Organization's recognition of Israel, the framework for the 1993 Oslo Accords. The PLO is the negotiating and diplomatic umbrella for the P.A. Following Kerry's fruitless meetings with Netanyahu and Abbas relative to rekindling talks, the Israeli prime min- ister convened a Diplomatic- Security Cabinet meeting on Nov. 25 principally to address P.A. diplomatic rumblings targeting Israel. Amid warn- ings by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet general security service, however, discus- sion shifted to what a P.A. col- lapse would mean. According to Haaretz, quoting Israeli sources familiar with the Cabinet meeting, such a collapse wouldn't result from Abbas call- ing it quits, but possibly from a combination of Israeli military pressure, the dependent P.A. economy and Abbas' eroding legitimacy among Palestinians. As Israeli ministers debate the impact of a potential P.A. collapse, Israel must be vigilant against its conflict with the Palestinians hurtling beyond control. Israel is in the tougher spot. Its tenuous government coalition has all but straight- jacketed Netanyahu. And Israel knows even if Abbas miraculously becomes a peace partner, the Palestinian people remain indoctrinated to despise Israel thanks in part to his repeated incitement. Clearly, Palestinians of all ages must show they desire peace. What's more, the Palestinian pursuit of statehood through international treaties and conventions is more than a flirtation. It's finding traction — one of Israel's big- gest fears. * Robert Sklar Contributing Editor Over the long haul, the Israeli-Palestinian status quo would be a disaster. Aluf Benn