From the River to the Sea

Let’s once and for all stop getting excited about America mounting pressure on Israel to freeze West Bank settlements. The entire fascination with the topic is a product of Zionist spin. It is there to divert attention from the root cause of the conflict: The robbery of Palestine and Palestinians in the name of a ‘Jewish home coming’. The call to stop Israeli construction in the West Bank is there to leave us with the false impression that the robbery of Palestine started in 1967. The facts are known to many of us, but not to all. The vast majority of Palestinians were expelled from their towns, villages, fields and orchards in 1948.

What seems as an American peace initiative putting pressure on Israel to halt its expansion into the West Bank is in fact an agenda that is promoted by Zionists within the US Administration who realise like the late Sharon, that the only chance for the Jewish state to survive the next decade, is to shrink into a little Jewish shtetle (ghetto). The Two state solution is indeed the last effort to keep Zionism alive.

Netanyahu is far from being stupid. He understands it all. He knows that his Zionist Revisionist father’s dream of ‘greater Eretz Yisrael’ is unattainable.

Haaretz reported that the Israeli PM admitted in Washington that he was committed to ‘two states living side by side’. However, he stressed that the “the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the homes from which they were expelled, would not be on the table.” Seemingly, an Israeli hawkish PM is voluntarily confronting the Israeli original sin namely the expulsion of the vast majority of the Palestinians people. However, the fact that he insists that it won’t be ‘on the table’ can only mean that it is on the table already. “They”, continues Netanyahu, “must abandon the fantasy of flooding Israel with refugees, give up irredentist claims to the Negev and Galilee, and declare unequivocally that the conflict is finally over”.

Clearly, Netanyahu expresses here a wish that is shared by most if not all Israelis. They all dream to open their eyes in the morning just to find out that all Goyim, Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims just left the region.

I am here to advise Netanyahu and every Israeli who is willing to listen that this is not going to happen. As much as being flooded by ‘refugee’ Palestinians is a deep Israeli nightmare, it is far from being a Palestinian fantasy. It is actually a reality waiting to happen. Israel has lost its opportunity to reconcile with its neighbours. It failed to settle its conflict with the indigenous people of the land. The fate of Israel will be determined by ‘facts on the ground’ namely demography. In terms of reconciliation, Israel has past the no return Zone. Its fate is doomed. One Palestine from the river to the sea is not any more a matter of ‘if’ but rather a question of ‘when’.

Unlike most Israelis who dismiss the Palestinian cause, Netanyahu admitted today that Palestinians were indeed expelled. For the first time Palestinians’ “irredentist claims” are being addressed by an Israeli PM. And yet, Netanyahu should stop deluding himself and his people. It is not just the Negev and Galilee. It is actually every piece of land between the river and the sea: Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Be’er Sheva and every village, orchard, field, river and tree in between. The only question that is left open is how long will it take for the Shekel to drop? How long will it take before Israelis grasp that they dwell on stolen land? How long will it take before the Israelis realise that the battle is lost? How long will it take for the Israelis to internalise the obvious fact that they have once again managed to get on the wrong side of their Neighbours?

Gilad Atzmon, now living in London, was born in Israel and served in the Israeli military. He is the author of The Wandering Who and Being in Time and is one of the most accomplished jazz saxophonists in Europe. He can be reached via his website. Read other articles by Gilad, or visit Gilad's website.

8 comments on this article so far ...

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  1. x said on November 13th, 2009 at 11:14am #

    Beautiful ! The whole basis of all of their arguments are spent. I have talked with supporters of Is-real, and they admit that they are doomed. I just hope that they don’t take everyone down with them. WE must must stand fast with reality and recognize the service that our Palestinian brethren are enduring in the struggle against such archaic, evil idiologies.

  2. william james martin said on November 13th, 2009 at 12:56pm #

    This is not my reading of the state of mind of Israeli or their leaders, Netanyahu, Leberman, Askenazi, et al. Nor has Ariel Sharon ever advocated contraction of the Israeli state. The Gaza evacuation of settlers was a compromise in return for Bush’s US imprimatur for continued settlement expansion in the West Bank.
    Sharon told President Carter in 1978 that Carter could take for granted that within the next few years that there would be 2 to 3 million Jews living in the West Bank. The subsequent years have not yielded any reversal of Sharon’s intent.
    The expansion of Israel settlement activity continues. The deprivation of Palestinian human rights continues, in fact, has accelerated. Israel continues to close the valve for the Palestinians of water underneath their own land. The Lukud allied with the religious fanatics, whose intent is to increase the level of abuse and suffering of the Palestinians in order to promote their departure, gain strength and confidence everyday owing to the world’s indifference and their pampering by the Lukud government.
    I am afraid Mr Atzmon is wrong in his optimism, at least in the foreseeable future.
    William James Martin

  3. Contrarian said on November 13th, 2009 at 1:51pm #

    I think their plans for Greater Israel are working as planned, contrary to what is stated by this Israeli Jew.

    Iraq is now in their possession. Iran will soon be weakened beyond repair.

    I don’t foresee any obstacle in their path. Sure the settlements are discussed here and there but so what.

  4. Mary said on November 13th, 2009 at 2:22pm #

    What is this the precursor to? Some more Muslim blood letting? Note the Merkel quote.

    US Generals Flood Israel for Exercise against ‘Specific Threats’
    By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

    November 08, 2009 “(IsraelNN.com) — 11/03/09 — An unprecedented number of American generals, along with 1,400 U.S. army soldiers, are participating with top IDF brass in the high-level Juniper Cobra military exercise that one U.S. Navy commander said is aimed at “specific threats.” Public affairs officials interrupted the naval commander in order to divert the conversation from the scenario of Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities and defending itself from a counter-attack.

    One senior IDF source told BBC magazine, “I’ve never seen so many American generals.”

    Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, along with the commander of the U.S. force in Europe and U.S. ambassador to Israel James Cunningham attended the three-week exercise on Tuesday. It is one of the largest-ever joint training drills and is fueling speculation that the United States is preparing for the worst while hoping for the best concerning Iran’s nuclear program.

    Former IDF General Yitzchak Ben-Israel told BBC, “[On] one thing we are serious: We will not let Iran have a nuclear bomb.” He said that the joint drill, which is held annually, “is not a bluff’ but is aimed at pressuring Iran to back down from its refusal to cooperate with international authorities on its program to enrich uranium, a key element for a nuclear weapon.”…

    As the joint drill was taking place, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the U.S. Congress, “Whoever threatens Israel also threatens us.”

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23920.htm

  5. Rehmat said on November 13th, 2009 at 7:01pm #

    The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the most powerful Jewish think tank – in its June 15 issue quoted Aaron David Miller, a former senior US negotiator in the Middle East: “The Israeli prime minister’s speech was less about pursuing Arab-Israeli peace and much more about pursuing the US-Israeli relationship. It’s a part of tick-tock in an ongoing test of wills between President Obama, “Mr. Yes We Can,” and the prime minister, “Mr. No You Won’t”. It was designed to pacify prime minister’s domestic constituency by not going too far on one hand, but also giving Obama something that can get the US-Israeli relationship right and help him in his efforts to leverage the Arabs to produce something,” by creating further rift between Hamas and Fatah plus isolating Hamas from its committed supporters, Hizb’Allah and Islamic Iran.

    Bibi’s “great offer”
    http://rehmat1.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/bibis-great-offer/

  6. onecansay said on November 14th, 2009 at 9:05am #

    Does any one actually have a grasp of what is “truly” going on. This “biblical” area, where peace among nations has been touted for millennium, always seems to be in constant conflict. What may be required after all is the biblical revelations. Looks as this IS the only way to peace. Earth without humans.

  7. k_w said on November 14th, 2009 at 9:34am #

    To be precise: The ethnic cleansing began in late 1947 and was based on the plan Gimel before it was refined to Dalet. I can only recommend to everyone reading Ilan Pappé: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine. All the allegations are proven with sources from Israeli archives, correspondences, and eye-witness accounts. A must-read.

  8. bozh said on November 14th, 2009 at 12:44pm #

    Yes, obviously, there is a problem for world talmudniks. The facts that there is not yet an israel nor a state for ‘jews’ only proves it. But, what’s the nature of the problem?
    We can only guess. That israel appears total or near-total dependency on US/nato appears of grave significance for the talmudniks.
    The ideal way to be for both individuals and groups of people is being very well interdependent.

    That israel is not de jure part of nato or US, appears alo as a negative factor fir israel.
    I think that many idividuals boycott ‘jewish’ businesses and professionals. We hope more and more people join us.
    It wld be nice for americans to espy that they are near-total dependencies of the very interdependent top class of people as socialism of the banksters clearly proves. tnx