Finally, Harsh Realism from Israel

I have no love lost for Clinton, but lets clarify the facts. What Oslo did is to bring to the West Bank and Gaza Arafat with his gangsters. They were absent from there before Oslo. It was Israel’s own leftists idiocy that Clinton gladly milked. When you are talking about the trash can - what do you mean? That it produced nothing good? Then yes. That it accomplished nothing before the last ditch effort with Barak - then No, I disagree. It already changed positions on the ground: vastly and irrevocably.

Bibi’s leadership only slowed it down (he caved in a few times as well, remember?), and later Barak put more life in it. But it was the tsunamic change of having Arafat with his gangsters as a partner in a first place that changed the game from 1993 on.

We are definitely on the same side of the barricades. But somehow the point that I am trying to make is getting missed.

Its easy to blame Clinton and all others who were giddy in pushing Israel into more and more appeasement. But the ultimate responsibility rests with the Israel’s Left.

Oslo accomplished nothing positive. But what Oslo did is changed drastically and irrevocably the balance of powers. Before Oslo, Arafat was marginalized and stopped being a primary player. The hope for future was (IMHO of course) in economic development of Arabs (Palestinians) living under the Israeli control. Because Arab countries refused to negotiate with Israel and take responsibility for these Arabs, the hope was that living and working side-by-side with Jews they, Palestinians, will recognize the benefits of peace versus damages of war. As it was, the rates of improvement for Palestinian Arabs from 1967 to beginning of 90th was higher than for any other Arabs, as well as access to medical care and education; and their GDP was second only to the oil rich Arab states.

The local governments while not outright friendly to Israel were wise and balanced enough to recognize the benefits they were getting. The personal safety of travel for jews and arabs throughout was ok. (all of this I recall from reading on the situation - I admit that I look from the outside, but there was no shortage of information back then).

All of this could lead to a very slow improvement and slow progress. Nothing is ever is given, but the optimism was in seeing Arabs recognizing personal economic benefits from peaceful coexistence.

Everything was shattered by Israel’s Left that wanted quick Utopian solutions. They came up with nothing better than hiring gangsters to control that level of hostilities that existed back then. As I recall, there was a rush of Arabs of getting Israeli citizenship to avoid being subjects of PA rule (those who had an opportunity to do it). Many local mayors were outright hostile to newcomers from Tunisia. Armed gangsters took over. Arafat was talking in English one thing and in Arabic the opposite. Palestinian society was radicalized, and kids education became nothing but brainwashing in hate.

I was catuosly hopeful before Oslo that after a generation will grow in peace and economic cooperation between Arabs and Jews, a final settlement will become possible.

Not after the Oslo. While Israel has grown a generation in multicultural PC, Palestinians brought up a generation that knows nothing but hate. A bad situation with some hope became worse with much less hope. And Oslo was that seismic event that worsen the situation. All continuing appeasement on the part of Clinton and Barak were just logical steps that were made possible by Oslo, not another way around.

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