Our right to exist is not subject to negotiations

Our right to exist is not subject to negotiations

Dr. Haim Shine


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned Israelis of the awful scenario that could result should Israel decide not to accept the Palestinian conditions for a political settlement. That scenario included a third Intifada, international isolation and even disrupted military and political aid from the U.S.

With such warnings, Kerry joined the ranks of previous secretaries of state who, itching to bring about an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, caused widespread anger, resulting in many Israeli and Palestinian victims. The victims of the peace process, to use the twisted words of a known Israeli leader.

Kerry and his predecessors never managed to digest the fact that the State of Israel is not a protectorate. Two thousand years of exile was enough for the Jewish nation, 2,000 years in which Jews' fates were left to the mercy and whims of foreigners. Speaking with pride and humility I must explain, to both our enemies and our friends, that the Jewish right to exist with dignity and security is not subject to peace talks.

Reports from the negotiating room signal that the Palestinians are ready within the framework of an agreement to declare an end to the conflict and their demands. However, the Palestinian Authority is not willing to recognize Israel as the Jewish state. The Jewish state is the national state of the Jewish people; a dream, thousands of years old, that we managed to see come to fruition. Declaring the end of the conflict without recognizing Israel as the country of the Jewish people is like getting sand tossed in our eyes. Whoever refuses to admit the exclusive right of the Jewish people to its country will also never let that state exist in peace and security.

Every Israeli understands the true meaning of dividing Jerusalem and pulling back to the 1967 lines, borders that Israel cannot defend. If we want to survive, let's not tire in the long journey that started with the settlement of Zion in our time.

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