By Daphne Anson
Here’s the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.
He writes:
Celebrations marking the 100th Anniversary of the signing of the San Remo Resolution on 25 April 1920 by Britain, France, Italy and Japan will be marred by bitter confrontation between those American Zionists who support Jewish sovereignty being restored in 30% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and those who don’t.
Rejoicing was the order of the day, as The Times of London pointed out on 26 April 1920:
Judea and Samaria – the Jewish People’s ancient and biblical heartland – was included in the land designated for “close settlement by Jews” whilst “ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced” under article 6 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.
Israel today exercises full security and administrative control in about 60% of Judea and Samaria – “Area C” – 150,000 of whose residents are Arab and 464,000 Jews – under the 1993 Oslo Accords.
Negotiations to resolve the final status of Area Cand the remaining 40% of Judea and Samaria – Areas “A” and “B” under control of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) – have been non-existent since 2014.
President Trump’s Peace Plan – released on 28 January 2020 – provides the first realistic opportunity in 100 years since the San Remo Resolution to restore Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria – and create a second Arab state in Mandatory Palestine never contemplated at San Remo.
The PLO and the Arab League have rejected Trump’s plan out of hand.
President Trump nevertheless has decided to proceed, with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restore Jewish sovereignty in about 30% of Area C. A joint US-Israel mapping committee is presently finalising details identifying the particular areas.
Trump’s decision has been opposed by many Israeli political leaders – notably Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi – who are currently struggling to form a Government of National Unity with Netanyahu – in which Gantz will succeed Netanyahu as Prime Minister after18 months.
Until recently Gantz has opposed any alteration to the current status of Judea and Samaria unless the international community and the Arab States agree. It is now being reported that Netanyahu and Gantz have agreed that Gantz’s party can – as members of a National Unity Government – vote against any such Trump-Netanyahu action.
American Zionist groups have similarly attacked this Trump-Netanyahu historic move. One such group – the Israel Policy Forum (IPF) – has written to Gantz:
“We write to you as American Jewish communal leaders who are proudly Zionist, unquestionably pro-Israel, and who have devoted our lives to supporting the State of Israel and ensuring an ironclad relationship between Israel and Diaspora Jewry.”
IPF proclaims:
“We have strongly objected to Israel unilaterally annexing West Bank territory and applying sovereignty to Jewish settlements, whether according to the parameters of the Trump plan or any other similar proposal, at any point in time.”
IPF couches its plea in the language of the enemies of the Jewish people – “unilaterally annexing West Bank territory and applying sovereignty” – rather than “restoring Jewish sovereignty in 30% of Judea and Samaria”
138 prominent American Jewish communal leaders including Charles Bronfman and Sir James Wolfensohn have signed this letter.
Other American Zionist groups such as J Street and T’ruah use the identical anti-Zionist language to vent their opposition to Trump’s decision.
These Zionist naysayers opposing long-lost Jewish sovereignty being restored in partsof Judea and Samaria are repudiating the miraculous resurrection of this entitlement recognised at San Remo 100 years ago.
Trump-hatred seems to be driving these American Zionists to sacrifice the Jewish People’s long-term national interest for short term partisan American politics.
Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”—one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators—whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.
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