Horrified as we are by antisemitism, hypocrisy, ignorance, stupidity, and downright evil, which are evident on Western streets and American campuses in recent months, we would do well to note that their foremost slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine shall be free” has a mirror image in official Israel.
It is doubtful that most of the demonstrators (as opposed to those who lead them) know where the river that appears in their battle cries is situated or which is the sea that strains their vocal cords. Some might not understand that they are in fact advocating for murder and rape. And all are probably unaware that their actions not only protest against Israel and its actions, but also strive to undermine international resolutions and agreements.
As background, it should be remembered that on November 29, 1947, the United Nations voted to partition British Mandatory Palestine into two states, one for Jews and one for Arabs. Thirty-three countries supported the resolution, 13 opposed it, 10 abstained, and one did not participate. The international community thus expressed broad support for the fulfillment of the vision and goal of the Zionist movement: the establishment of a political home for Jews in their historical homeland. It also supported a state for the local Arab population.
The land is shared
The Jewish establishment adopted the resolution; the Arabs rejected it, and Israel’s War of Independence broke out. Upon its culmination, the boundaries of the young Jewish state were larger than those envisioned by the resolution. However, other than some issues relating to Jerusalem, the world expressed few reservations, and the armistice lines, known as “The Green Line,” were in practice recognized as Israel’s physical outline.
Following the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel came to control the Sinai Peninsula, which it conquered from Egypt (and returned following the Camp David Accords a decade later), the Golan Heights (Syria), and the West Bank of the Jordan River (under Jordanian control since 1948, which was barely recognized internationally).
In November of that year, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 242. Soon after, Israel accepted it. The resolution, among other things, affirms the principle of Israeli armed forces withdrawing from territories occupied in the 1967 war.
The resolution is mentioned in the preambles to agreements Israel has signed, including the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, meaning that it accepts the general principles laid therein, including withdrawal (and partition) as a foundation for its diplomatic agreements.
Until the formation of the current government, official Israeli policy did not exclude that possibility. Thus, when defining its specific priorities as negotiated and agreed upon between coalition partners, the first of Netanyahu’s six governments declared upon its formation that the cabinet will act according to the belief in the eternal and inalienable right of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Similar terms appear in the guidelines to subsequent Netanyahu governments but not necessarily in the guidelines to other governments; the Bennett-Lapid guidelines contained no such reference.
Then, in 2022, a fully right-wing government was formed. One new word was introduced to the former phraseology, and it reflects a major conceptual change. That word is “exclusive.” Our right was defined not only as inalienable, but also as exclusive. From the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, the entire land is only ours.
What is currently happening in the countries that are allegedly the bastions of democracy, tolerance, and freedom has raised threatening echoes of dark days. Confronting the reality behind those horrific scenes requires serious thinking, planning, and doing; facing them effectively will not be simple.
But on one matter we would do best to look at ourselves as we complain about the hostile supporters of our enemies. Their call for one entity between the river and the sea – meaning no compromise, no recognition of the rights of the other, no partition – reads as though it was taken from the guidelines of our current government.
The writer was Israel’s first ambassador to the Baltic states after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, ambassador to South Africa, and congressional liaison officer at the embassy in Washington. She is a graduate of Israel’s National Defense College.