Sunday, January 14, 2007

Green Line Gremlins

David Newman, friend and foil, had an op-ed in Thursday's NYTimes.

My letter to the editor hasn't appeared so, here it is for you all:-

David Newman's suggestion that the Green Line is Israel's "default boundary" for peace even though "there are many reasons for drawing a completely new line" ("A Green Line in the Sand", Jan. 9) is truly fatuous.

The Green Line, tortuous and meandering, was a major cause of Arab terrorism ever since the early 1950s in that it simply invited the activities of first, the fedayeen and then the Fatah who began its incursions in 1965. With the improvement of military capabilities as now displayed by the Hamas in Gaza and their Qasam campaign, the Green Line will only serve as another tripwire for future hostilities. This could happen when shoulder-held missiles shut down Ben-Gurion International Airport. These are but a few of the reasons Newman avoids clarifying.

As long as diplomats and academics continue to propose a return to the Green Line, Israel and its neighbors willl never be able to move forward to peace.

1 comment:

Cosmic X said...

If you read his article you will find factual errors, among them:

"But in the past decade, for most Israelis, the Green Line has once again become the line separating the relatively safe roads of Israel from the danger of the West Bank. Few Israelis, other than the settlers, venture beyond it, even when doing so would make their route shorter."

I guess he never heard of highway 443 or the Jordan Valley highway.

It is sad that people that spout falsehoods with such ease are professors at Israel's universities.

BTW, Newman has also won a very prestigious award.