JCall stelt zich in haar petitie zeer gematigd op, met zinsneden als:
We zien dat het bestaan van Israël opnieuw in gevaar is. Verre van bedreigingen van externe vijanden te onderschatten, weten we dat het gevaar ook in de bezetting ligt en in het onafgebroken voortzetten van de nederzettingen op de Westelijke Jordaanoever en de Arabische wijken van Oost-Jeruzalem, wat zowel een politieke vergissing is als een morele fout. Deze draagt overigens bij aan het proces van onaanvaardbare delegitimatie van Israël als staat.
De toekomst van Israël gaat noodzakelijkerwijze via het stichten van vrede met het Palestijnse volk, volgens het principe 'twee volkeren, twee staten'. We weten allemaal dat er urgentie is. Binnenkort zal Israël geconfronteerd worden met een moeilijk alternatief: ofwel een staat waarin de joden een minderheid in hun eigen land zullen vormen, ofwel het opzetten van een regime dat Israël schande zal berokkenen en het zal transformeren in een gebied van burgeroorlog.
Klinkt mooi. Vrede, twee staten die vreedzaam naast elkaar in vrede leven, geen bezetting meer, geen oorlogen, een erkend Israël naast een democratisch Palestina....
Ik ben er echter steeds meer aan gaan twijfelen of een Palestijnse staat op dit moment de vrede dichterbij zal brengen. Ami Isseroff zegt daarover:
Most important, however, is that [Gadi] Taub [on Ynet] ignores the really big problem that is driving a lot of Israelis away from the "peace process:" The peace process has not worked, and many of its most ardent supporters, including myself, have had to admit that giving up "land for peace" has not led us closer to peace and there is no sign that it will. Aaron David Miller, a leading American protagonist in the "Peace Process" now has admitted that it is not going anywhere - it is a "false religion." He has not taken the next step, which is to understand that in the current situation, Israeli concessions are not likely to result in peace, but rather in a Hamas- controlled Islamist terror state.
It is not as if we have a choice between keeping the settlements or having peace. We have a choice only between keeping the settlements and gaining some probably temporary American and European approval. The history of disengagement from Gaza shows how ephemeral even this approval will probably be. Israel was lauded for withdrawing from Gaza, but when it turned sour, the EU, the Americans and the UN were quick to condemn Israel.
No matter what the borders or the rights of a new Palestinian state, it will never satisfy the Iranians or the Libyans or Al Qaeda or Hamas or others who insist on wiping out Israel. It is certain that they will try to use that state as a base for destroying Israel, and if the lessons of Gaza and Lebanon are a guide, it is nearly certain that they will succeed. The Goldstone report demonstrates vividly that in the almost certain eventuality that the "peace process" goes sour, Israel will not be allowed to fight the terror state that would be created by it.
Hoewel JCall zegt zich zorgen te maken over Israëls delegitimatie en ook gevaren buiten Israël ziet, ziet zij de oplossing toch weer vooral in meer Israëlische concessies. Het probleem is dus dat dit al vaak is geprobeerd, en tot nu heeft het steeds niet zo uitgepakt. Misschien waren de concessies niet genoeg en niet op het goede moment, maar het klinkt toch een beetje als de dokter die, als aderlaten niet helpt en juist averechts blijkt te werken, voorstelt om nog wat meer ader te laten zodat het nu wellicht wel zal werken. Dat hij daarbij ondertussen een flink risico neemt met de gezondheid van zijn patiënt, neemt hij op de koop toe. In zijn paradigma is dat nou eenmaal de enige oplossing, het moet gewoon wel helpen. Ik geloof dat Einstein domheid heeft gedefinieerd als hetzelfde experiment steeds weer herhalen en een andere uitkomst verwachten.
Het gevaar van initiatieven als JCall is dat zij blind zijn voor de mogelijkheid dat de oorzaak geheel ergens anders ligt, en dat daarom Israëlische concessies op dit moment gewoon niet werken. Israël zal weg moeten uit de Westbank en er moet een Palestijnse staat komen, maar voor een vreedzame Palestijnse staat is meer nodig dan Israëlische concessies. Een Palestijnse staat is geen recept voor vrede; het kan dat onder bepaalde voorwaarden zijn, en we moeten eraan werken die voorwaarden te creëren. Door alleen aan Israël eisen te stellen en de Palestijnen in hun eisen en narratief te bevestigen, brengen we die voorwaarden niet dichterbij, integendeel. Juist een kritische houding naar de Palestijnen is nodig, en zij moeten worden aangemoedigd om, net als veel Israëli's doen, eens kritisch naar de eigen maatschappij en verleden te kijken, de balk in eigen ogen te aanschouwen in plaats van altijd maar naar Israël te wijzen als de grote boosdoener, en uit de slachtofferrol te stappen.
Een nieuwe Europese organisatie die vooral meer druk op Israël bepleit zoals JStreet dat in de VS doet, zal de vrede dus niet dichterbij brengen. Een evenwichtige organisatie die obstakels aan beide kanten ziet, en zich naar beide partijen kritisch opstelt, is een aanwinst. De tijd zal leren wat het wordt.
Ratna Pelle
PARIS-BRUSSELS (EJP)---Around 3,000 European Jews, including prominent intellectuals from France, have launched a drive to call Israel's government "to reason" in its conflict with the Palestinians, angering the leaders of several French Jewish groups.
They have signed a petition titled "JCall - European Jewish Call for Reason" – on the model of the J Street lobby group in the US- speaking out against Israel's settlement policy and warning that systematic support for the Israeli government "is dangerous."
Among those who signed the call are philosophers Bernard Henri-Levy and Alain Finkielkraut, considered some of Israel's strongest defenders among French intellectuals, but also leftists like Daniel Cohn-Bendit, leader of the student protests in the 1960s and now head of the Greens in the European Parliament.
Backers of the petition are to outline their position at a press conference at the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday.
They present themselves as "citizens of European countries, Jews, and involved in the political and social life of our respective countries." They hope to build a European movement that is both "committed to the state of Israel and critical of the current choices of its government."
"Systematic support of Israeli government policy is dangerous and does not serve the true interests of the state of Israel," says the text, published in six languages on the website www.JCall.eu.
The petition calls to stop construction in West Bank settlements and East Jerusalem.
It says that "occupation and settlements are morally and politically wrong," noting that they "feed the unacceptable delegitimization process that Israel currently faces abroad."
"Our objective is to create a European movement that will allow the voice of reason to be heard by all," it adds. "This movement is non-partisan. Its aim is to ensure the survival of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. This depends on the creation of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state."
David Chemla, chair of the leftists 'Peace Now' movement in France and co-founder of JCall , said:"Diaspora Jewry is not monolithic," adding that members of the new group -- for now primarily in France, Belgium and Switzerland -- had fought against European attempts to boycott Israeli scholars and trade, but "we also criticize the politics of Israel in the territories."
"Of course, we understand that the Israeli government has to make its own decisions," he said. "But we believe that other voices should be heard, in Europe as in the United States."
French Jews angered by JCall
While many signatories have a history of strong support for the state of Israel, the main Jewish groups in France — home to Europe's biggest Jewish population — reacted with anger.
"This will largely be used by those who are true enemies of Israel," warned Richard Prasquier, president of CRIF, the umbrella representative body of the Jewish community in France, who declined to sign the call, saying he objected to some of its language and its tone.
"Do Israelis need the Jewish Diaspora to know what is 'the right' decision, what should be the borders of a country that their sons and daughters are protecting?" Richard Prasquier wrote in Le Figaro newspaper.
"It's very serious because these are prestigious personalities," he added, saying that Levy and Finkielkraut had made a "serious mistake".
Joel Mergui, president of France's Central Consistory, called the wording of the petition "excessive" and said he was "shocked by the term 'a call to reason' when Israel is a democratic state."
Pierre Besnainou, chairman of the United Jewish Social Fund (FSJU), said he was worried about "Jews being divided in public" and Claude Barouch, deputy head of UPJF, the Jewish employers' association, said the call "weakens Israel."
The Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium (CCOJB) issued a statement "deploring" the campaign and the timing of its launch on Israel's Independence Day with no mention of Israel's achievements.
It suggested that Muslims and Arabs launch their own "call for reason," urging their brethren to recognize Israel.
Several pro-Israel groups have launched a competing petition roughly translated as "Keep Your Reason" (in French at www.dialexis.org/php/index.php). A co-sponsor, the Algerian-born French scholar Shmuel Trigano, calls the J Call initiative "totally outdated," giving "the feeling that Israel is the sole obstacle to peace."
Israel's Foreign Ministry declined to comment because the initiative is not government-sponsored.
'They simply do not understand the situation'
For Emmanuel Navon, Paris-born political commentator and professor at Tel Aviv University, supporters of JCall, as well as J Street, "simply do not understand the situation.""I wonder if these people even watch the news! The situation has changed, and it is no secret to say that Israel has already accepted the two-state solution. Therefore, there is absolutely no point in trying to convince the Israeli government of anything,", he said.
"On the other hand, what these people do not seem to understand is that every time Israel offered concessions for peace, the Palestinians systematically refused. That is the main issue today – not trying to push for a two-state solution, but getting the Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations."
But according to Elie Barnavi, a former ambassador of Israel to France, who is expected to speak at Monday's presentation of JCall in Brussels , "it is not enough to speak about a two-state solution, it is also essential to do everything for this solution to take form. And that will only begin with the end of colonization."
He said it was "time for other voices to be heard. Israel is in an unbearable situation today, because of its irresponsible government. Time is not our friend. JCall will finally give the opportunity to European Jews to speak out, before it's too late."
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