The dilemma in the Middle East
Muhammad Abdul Hai is skeptical about a new work
The Case for Peace
Alan Dershowitz
John wiley and Sons, Inc. New Jersey
The wound in the heart of the Middle East has been bleeding ever since the Jewish state came into existence. Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, hundreds have been evicted from their homes and abodes have been pulled down to make space for the growing number of Jews migrating from across the world. This never-ending process has the direct support of the United States and many European allies. Despite efforts at eye-washing on the part of the United States to establish peace, nothing concrete has happened. Such efforts have only acted as an intoxicant to keep many a Middle Eastern country in a state of stupor.
Long before Israel was established as a state in May 1948, Jews throughout the world thought a Jewish nation in Palestine would be the best escape from the religious persecution they often faced in other countries. During the late 1800's, in the hope of establishing such a nation, Jewish immigrants began arriving in Palestine. Farm settlements appeared, communities flourished and by 1948, they became strong enough to declare Israel independent. It was right then that the process of bloodletting began. Arab- Israeli wars were fought in 1956, 1967 and 1973. The Israeli government continued to expand the Jewish state in the occupied territories. The authorities have erected security walls which Palestinians call a 'wall of hatred.' The Jewish war machines have never gathered dust or rust as they have kept working day and night on exterminating the Palestinians. There has been so much cruelty done to the innocent Palestinians, there has been so much of bleeding caused to them by the Jewish defense forces, that it now looks as if a peace deal is impossible.
Against this backdrop, Alan Dershowitz has propagated his own theory in the book, The Case for Peace. He dwells on how the Arab-Israeli conflict can be resolved. The author is a professor of law at Harvard Law School, and he is a strong defender of the Jewish state against what he calls as 'lies and distortions' hurled at it in recent years. Readers may not find much truth in it since all leading news agencies (newspapers and television channels) have been making systematic false-reporting against Islam and the Muslims. But a thorough reading of the book will give us an insight of what the Jewish idea of peace could be.
The author quite cleverly introduces the issue, and manages to draw the attention of readers at the very early stage by quoting from the Ecclesiastes. In The Case for Peace, Alan Dershowitz has resorted to the best of his literary skills to offer a provocative analysis of the opportunities and challenges of mending the damaged- beyond -repair fence between two entirely different peoples. He feels that the one-state theory, comprising two nations of Palestine and Israel, is a utopian idea, and it is a wall in the way of the process of achieving peace which needs to be immediately pulled down for the sake of initiating a dialogue.
The author argues that those who sincerely desire peace will have to agree on a final peace settlement that will look like two states based on Israel retreating from Gaza and most of the West Bank. As a symbolic gesture of goodwill, Israel will be required to extend its recognition of Palestine as a sovereign state. The rights of refugees also need to be acknowledged, with appropriate compensation being granted to them. Alan Dershowitz, however falls short of recognizing their right to return to the land where they were born and brought up. He is scared to think what might be the outcome a decade later in case the 'right to return' is accepted. He warns that if the Palestinians are allowed to settle in Israel, a day will come when they will outnumber the Jews, and then the state of Israel will be in jeopardy. Putting a tag on the Palestinian authority to denounce terrorism and also to take reasonable measures to stamp out terrorism, in every fair judgment, is one-sided, and needs to be amended by incorporating a clause, making the government of Israel equally responsible to denounce and dismantle all state sponsored mechanisms of terrorism.
The book, however, confronts, with profound insight, the difficulties of materializing the roadmap to peace. Dershowitz's wisdom and experience has certainly helped him frame his points of argument in flawless rhetoric. And for anyone concerned about the fate of the innocent Palestinians, this thought-provoking, hard-headed look at the prospects for peace will make for encouraging reading.
Muhammad Abdul Hai is a critic and Principal, ABC International School, Narayanganj.
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