Gary Fitleberg, September 23, 2004

First there was Oslo. Now there is Oz.

Novelist Amos Oz believes in his heart of hearts that most Israelis and Arab "Palestinians" want peace. Well the author lives in Oz. He is only half right. Most Israelis want to co-exist and live together with their neighbors in peace.

This is a documented fact as Israel negotiated a "Land for Peace" deal that gave up a land mass three times its size, and oil wells, and resort areas, in exchange for a cold peace with Egypt that still allows smuggling for terrorists and produces public TV anti-Semitic broadcasts such as "Horseman without a Head" during the fast month of Ramadan.

Israel also made another peace deal with Jordan.

But peace like marriage comes with a price. On that subject and topic, a partnership depends on the willingness of both parties. Unfortunately, Israel has no other Arab/Islamist peace partner who is honestly willing to make peace and co-exist in harmony.

Arafat proved that when he turned his back and walked away from peace and statehood (a second Arab "Palestine" -- the first being Jordan, formerly Transjordan, according to the British Mandate of Palestine Mandate, delineating an Arab Palestine and a Jewish Palestine).

Arafat would have achieved historical grand theft if he would have accepted a second state of Arab "Palestine" which would have included the Palestinian Authority's (formerly known as the Palestine Liberation Organization) controlled, dominated, and "occupied" Gaza (100%) as well as the rest of the ancient biblical and modern disputed territories of Judea and Samaria (97%) belonging biblically, honestly, legally, and morally to Israel and the Jewish people with its Holy City of Jerusalem (the eastern portion) as its capital. But instead Arafat turned his back and walked away because peace was not what was truly on the table.

Acclaimed novelist and peace activist Amos Oz says most Israelis and Arab "Palestinians" want peace, even if only for pragmatic reasons, and are grudgingly accepting the concept of a two-state solution.

The honest key word her is grudgingly.

Arabs want the whole piece of pie. Piece by piece. They do not want an honest real PEACE. They grudgingly accepted a two-state solution but their aim is the annihilation of any Jewish state in the area of bad, corrupt dictatorships, ruthless repressive regimes, and tyrannies in the Arab/Islamist neighborhood of the Middle East. Their aim is clear. Listen to their words. Look at their websites. Read their charters and manifestos.

Israelis also begrudgingly accept a two-state solution.

They do so because historically speaking they know that they always end up on the short end of the stick.

Originally the whole "Palestine" was destined as the Jewish homeland. Until the British and French "occupiers" intervened and gave away land piece by piece to the Arabs as political concessions and rewards, neither having history favorable to Jews.

The only Arab "Palestinians" who truly want peace are those that are labeled as "collaborators" with Israel and murdered for their crime. Let's be honest!

In an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday, Oz said even some hard-line Israelis had reached a more pragmatic position.

"I say more pragmatic. I do not say pragmatic enough. It is a positive development, but it's not positive enough," Oz said.

"We have (Israeli Prime Minister Ariel) Sharon openly promising to remove all the Jewish settlements from Gaza and some from the West Bank," Oz said during a visit to Romania.

Although a comprehensive agreement involving direct negotiations with the Palestinians would have been better than a unilateral pullout, "an Israeli (move) is better than no move at all," Oz said.

Speaking to Romania's Writers Union at the end of a five-day conference that brought together writers from 30 countries, Oz said he was encouraged by a shift of sentiment among Israelis and Arab "Palestinians" towards reconciliation.

Arafat also won a Nobel Peace prize.

Oz, whose family immigrated to Israel from Poland and Russia, was awarded the Ovidiu prize this week for his contribution to literature and peace work.

He launched a Romanian-language version of his 1989 novel "To Know a Woman" before an audience of writers and Israel's ambassador to Romania, Rodica Radian-Gordon.

Oz said he had been "besieged by questions on the Middle East" during the Romania conference and had discussions with Arab "Palestinian" poet Hanan Awwad.

Conceding he is sometimes "appalled" by his homeland, Oz said with a wistful smile: "I happen to love Israel even at times when I don't like it. Such emotional juxtapositions happen in the best of families.

One can say the same thing about Amos Oz. Although he is an Israeli and a Jew he surely hasn't got a clue.

Let him move from his homeland to Oz. Anywhere east of the Jordan River. Let him get a dose of reality and truth. In Oz.

Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.

Copyright © 2004 Gary Fitleberg