Summary
The fixation of Israeli
governments on “land for peace”, a policy that has resulted in the murder and
maiming of more than 10,000 Jews, puzzles the pundits. They puzzle over the
fact that regardless of which party or coalition of parties controls the
Government, the policy of land for peace continues despite its obvious futility
and fatal consequences. They wonder what animates Israel’s ruling elites? Why do
they continue to negotiate with terrorists, with Arabs or Muslims steeped in a
fourteen-century religion driven by hatred of “infidels”, a religion whose
armies, according to the Center for
the Study of Political Islam, have slaughtered approximately
270 million people since Muhammad? The pundits also wonder why the people of
Israel, who exercise the franchise, tolerate their ruling elites? Given
periodic, multiparty elections, why don’t the voters elect statesmen possessing
enough courage, wisdom, and integrity to face the truth about the implacable
nature of the enemy – statesmen who can pursue a strategy whose goal is to
defeat the enemy? Why do the voters repeatedly elect governments that appease
the enemy via the futile and fatal policy of land for peace?
This paper examines five
interpretations of that policy and the mentality of its advocates. In addition
to economic, psychological, cultural, theological interpretations, it sets forth
a Machiavellian interpretation of Israel’s ruling elites going back to the
founding of the state, an interpretation that departs from conventional
analyses. These interpretations sometimes intersect, but each provides a
distinctive way of understanding the persistency of Israel’s bewildering policy
of land for peace. Moreover, with the help of Machiavelli (and his disciple
Thomas Hobbes) we shall see that the policy of land for peace renders the
differences among Israel’s ruling elites insignificant.
For the
complete text of this paper in English, click
here.