Submitted by Josh, May 23, 2007 16:19

There are some major misconceptions going around about the Arabs and how Israel should approach them. To the poster who says "the genocide would be complete", I have to first say that the conflation of "moving people" and "killing people" into the single word "genocide" is a contemptible linguistic manipulation. Not only is moving people around nowhere near as bad as killing people, people routinely do it of their free will, and physical separation can actually cut a conflict short. Isn't that just logical? If the Arabs were moved out of Gaza today for example, it would put more distance between them and us, and demoralize them as well. Another dishonest and manipulative practice is to define certain areas, call the Arabs there "Palestinians", and then complain that "Palestinians" live only in certain areas. The distinction between Arabs and Palestinians is political and false, and in fact, Arabs dwell in every part of the state of Israel proper as well as in the territories and beyond. Sure some of these Arabs were relocated during wartime, but as Arabs were responsible for the war, they're responsible for the refugees too. Children and grandchildren of these refugees get little sympathy from me. So you live a few miles away from where your parents once lived? Big deal. As for their areas being overcrowded today, the idea that you'd even blame Jews for Arab habits in the bedroom is beyond belief. Are you joking? Can Arabs be responsible for NOTHING? Lastly, their unenviable monetary situation is mainly a result of their disregard for it. If you compare their activities to those of the pre-state Jews, it's like night and day. (I believe Mr. Halkin has written on this before.) The Arabs have hardly lifted a finger to build up their own economy or infrastructure, and the aid they get from the outside, be it money or greenhouses, disappears into some big black hole. There's a good reason for this: their goal is not so much to create something for themselves as to destroy what the Jews have. Please remember that this "people" is an undistinguished and geographically defined group of Arabs without a national history, that sprung up overnight when the times called for it. It exists solely as an antithesis to the Jewish people living in its own homeland. If it were ever successful, it would probably fade away again. And to the one who suggested Israel use the "way of peace", you avoidance of stating what that is betrays the fact that such a way does not exist. In this case as in many others, though peace is the desired state, it takes something more weighty to achieve it. Gandhi was able to get the British out through non-violent non-cooperation and through shaming them. The Arabs are not susceptible to such tactics, and when Israel leaves the Arabs alone, they take advantage of the time to attack us and fortify their arsenals. Yours is a theory that's already been proven false. What has to be done stems from the most basic economic theory. The way to stop someone from doing something is to take away their incentives. The Arabs are clearly willing to suffer bombings and assassinations and all-out war as long as they feel they are making progress towards their goal of destroying Israel. So for Israel to bomb Gaza while still holding out for peace talks, or to reconquer the strip even as it's planning to run out again, accomplishes NOTHING. If the Jews of Israel are to stop the Arab aggression and maintain their state, they have to first decide for themselves that that's truly what they want (which they so far have not), and then make that known to the Arabs in word and in deed. When the Arabs see that their violence yields only destruction on their side, without political horizons, without money, weapons, and surrender of territory, then it will surely dissapate. Their only possible incentive would be to let off steam and give expression to their hatred, but wisely chosen negative consequences, or maybe even just time itself, could cancel out even most of those.

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