Shalom all.

“*** [The] issue of Jerusalem is a misleading one. Whether or not there will be an independent “Palestinian” state somewhere is not the focal point of the conflict. The bottom line is the unwillingness of the Arab states to recognize and allow a Jewish state to exist in their midst. Iran desires to re-establish the Persian caliphate. Turkey wants to re-establish the Ottoman Empire. ISIS wants to establish an Islamic caliphate and usher in the Third Imam. None of these things are possible as long as Israel is in the land of its forefathers that was promised to it by the God of all the earth. To the Islamic mind, the Jew is an infidel, whose presence in the midst of the Arab nations prevents the coming of the Islamic messiah. Therefore, the struggle to remove Israel will continue, whether or not Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, or East Jerusalem will be the capital of a future “Palestinian” state. Real peace will not be based on possession of any particular stretch of desert sand, but upon a recognition and personal acceptance of the Prince of Peace, Messiah Yeshua.

“The only question I have at the moment is ‘What price is Israel going to have to pay for this announcement?’.

In response to the question posed at the end of the quoted segment, one of the long-time readers of this blog wrote: “I believe there are no free lunches. We will be forced to compromise on something significant in exchange. That’s the nature of a deal.”

And so it is. A little more than a month and a half after U.S. President Trump’s historic anouncement, recogning Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish people, he opined that Israeli and “Palestinian” attempts at peace failed because of the inability of both sides to agree over Jerusalem. So, his recognition of Jerusalem was his way of taking the issue of Jerusalem off of the negotiating table. At a press conference held on 26 January, 2018, Trump stated: “there were never any deals that came close because [of] Jerusalem. You couldn’t ever get past Jerusalem. So when people said, oh, I ‘set it back’ – I didn’t set it back. I helped it. Because by taking it off the table, that was the toughest issue. And Israel will pay for that.” (emphasis mine) The removal of Jerusalem from the “peace” discussions prompted the chief “Palestinian” negotiator, Saeb Erekat, to condemn the President’s remarks and to comment that taking Jerusalem off of the table was the equivalent of “taking peace off the table”, as if the issue of peace was ever genuinely a matter for negotiation from the point of view of the “Palestinians”.

About a half year has passed since then, with the proposed “deal of the century” being drafted and re-drafted. And lo and behold, once again we face the reality in politics that “there are no free lunches”. 

Last week, at a rally in West Virginia, President Trump re-shuffled the cards and wanted to deal out a good hand to the “Palestinians”. He referred again to the fact that Jerusalem was “off the table” and that there is a price to pay for that, saying: “We took it off the table. In past negotiations, they never got past Jerusalem. Now Israel will have to pay a higher price because it’s off the table (i.e., because of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital). The Palestinians will get something very good because it’s their turn next.” (my emphasis)

From the point of view of the “Palestinians”, Trump’s “higher price” in peace talks declaration fell on deaf ears. They dismissed his comments are “meaningless”, asserting that President Trump’s declaration was “a continuation of U.S.’s biased policy in favor of Israel. The U.S. administration is peddling an illusion, as if the ‘deal of the century’ can be implemented without Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state in any future agreement” [and] that if the U.S. does not cancel its statement that the issue of Jerusalem is “off the table”, there is “no chance for peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” As a result of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the only alleged “compensation” that the “Palestinians” say would be acceptable to them is “to recognize the State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.” But, Majdi al-Khaldi,  the senior diplomatic adviser to “Palestinian” Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, hit the nail on the head when he stated that from the “Palestinian” point of view: “The obstacle in the path of the peace process is not Jerusalem – it is the occupation.” And so we come full circle and return to the opening paragraph of this post: The bottom line is the unwillingness of the Arab states to recognize and allow a Jewish state to exist in their midst….Therefore, the struggle to remove Israel will continue, whether or not Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, or East Jerusalem will be the capital of a future “Palestinian” state. 

Things are bound to heat up somewhat, as the U.S. is planning to announce that it rejects the “Palestinian” claim to a right of return and will take this issue “off the table” as well.  If that’s not enough, the waving of the “Palestinian” flag in the public sphere in Israel might become illegal. Such a potential prohibition would apply to the flying of flags of all enemy states and not specifically, or exclusively, to the “Palestinian” flag.

Realistically, we have nothing to talk about with the “Palestinians”. They will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. For our part, we cannot give up any land in the heart of Israel to allow the setting up of a “Palestinian” state in our midst. Such an action would be sheer madness on our part. When will the dead peace process be finally buried? Maybe then, talk about a two-state solution will cease. This is not, and cannot be, an acceptable solution for Israel, but an opportunity for the “Palestinians” for further conflict against Israel.

The proposed “deal of the century” will soon be put on the table. And “the cost of the lunch” will be …..

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” (Ps. 122:6)

“May the L0RD bless you from Zion, He who is the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Ps. 134:3)

Have a great week.

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin