INTO THE FRAY: An inane, insane initiative

For your perusal, my latest INTO THE FRAY column

An inane, insane initiative

(Kindly consider “liking”, sharing, tweeting – please use hash-tag ‪#‎IntoFray)

Once you utter the “magic password,” endorsing the two-state principle, you are immediately welcomed into ‘polite society’, invited to participate in prestigious events & expound on your “progressive perspectives” – no matter how detached from reality they may be

It appears this week on the following sites (in alphabetical order):

ALGEMEINER: https://www.algemeiner.com/2016/12/16/an-inane-insane-initiative/
ISRAELI FRONTLINE: http://www.israelifrontline.com/2016/12/fray-inane-insane-initiative.html
ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/19913
ISRAEL NEWS ONLINE: https://israelnewsonline.org/into-the-fray-an-inane-insane-initiative/
ISRAEL’S VOICE: http://www.israelsvoice.org/2016/12/16/fray-inane-insane-initiative/
ISRAPUNDIT: http://www.israpundit.org/archives/63620175
MEDIUM: https://medium.com/@martinsherman/into-the-fray-an-inane-insane-initiative-214c99962287#.munv4wg28
JEWSDOWNUNDER: http://jewsdownunder.com/2016/12/16/into-the-fray-an-inane-insane-initiative/
JEWISH PRESS: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/into-the-fray-martin-sherman/into-the-fray-an-inane-insane-initiative/2016/12/18/

An excerpt:

While there is, at best, only a slim chance for a comprehensive permanent status agreement in the foreseeable future, the conflict will eventually be resolved, and once it is, the package deal will be very similar to the Clinton Parameters, based on the principle of two states for two peoples…President Obama should present his blueprint for what a two-state solution should look like, including: an end to the conflict; boundaries based on the June 4, 1967 lines with mutually agreed-upon land swaps, notably incorporating the main settlement blocs within Israel’s territory; the rehabilitation of Palestinian refugees primarily within the Palestinian state; Jewish Yerushalayim [Jerusalem] and Arab Al Quds as capitals, with a special regime in the “Historic Basin” surrounding Jerusalem’s Old City guaranteeing freedom of worship; a robust security framework safeguarding Israel’s security, and a demilitarized Palestine state. – Gilead Sher, Head of Center for Applied Negotiations, Institute for National Security Studies,8 Tel Aviv, in   “Obama’s Last Chance To Bring Lasting Peace To Israel”, Newsweek, December 9, 2016.

Almost exactly a year ago, I remarked on the curious nature of the discourse on the Arab-Israeli conflict, in general and the Israeli-Palestinian one, in particular. I wrote  that it does not seem to “matter how utterly unhinged what you have to say is, as long as you declare that you support the two-state principle. Once you utter the ‘magic password’ you are immediately welcomed into ‘polite society’, embraced by the ‘enlightened, erudite’ bonton, and invited to participate in prestigious events to expound on your “progressive perspectives” – no matter how deluded/detached from reality they may be.”…This week, I had occasion to recall my rather acerbic characterization, when I encountered an article, written by Gilead Sher in “Newsweek”, urging President Barack Obama to do precisely what the democratically elected Government of Israel has urged him not to—i.e. to undertake any definitive steps in his final days in office that could predetermine the outcome of any negotiated settlement with the Palestinians…

As usual your talkbacks/comments/critiques welcome,
Best wishes,
MS

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