Israel without Cliches, by Tony Judt
Posted by Ethan Casey on June 10, 2010 · Leave a Comment
A bracingly clear-eyed and helpful New York Times op-ed by one of my favorite writers, NYU professor Tony Judt, himself Jewish:
“Terrorism is the weapon of the weak — bombing civilian targets was not invented by Arabs (nor by the Jews who engaged in it before 1948). Morally indefensible, it has characterized resistance movements of all colors for at least a century. Israelis are right to insist that any talks or settlements will depend upon Hamas’s foreswearing it.
“But Palestinians face the same conundrum as every other oppressed people: all they have with which to oppose an established state with a monopoly of power is rejection and protest. If they pre-concede every Israeli demand — abjurance of violence, acceptance of Israel, acknowledgment of all their losses — what do they bring to the negotiating table? Israel has the initiative: it should exercise it.”
