In this blogpost at Haaretz, Allison Speiser defends the expansion of her settlement, saying the West Bank is no different from any other part of Israel, on which "the Arabs" look longingly, wishing to return, having been expelled 61 years ago.
Note to unsuspecting readers: Allison Speiser elected to "return" to Palestine herself just a few months ago, rather than sit in the U.S. and just pull for Israel, because she’s a "Zionist," she explained.
Another American colonizing the West Bank, during the Obama administration. Ain’t life grand?
“Another American colonizing the West Bank, during the Obama administration.”
Shouldn’t Richard Witty’s son also get some credit here? Or is he home on leave?
Making Aliyah does not excuse either her stupidity or cupidity about who owns the West Bank. Low-rent American escapes to cheaper lifestyle, is what this is about.
Can you imagine what the American Jewish prison population would be if there were no settlements?
Those settlement people are helping to give American Jews a reputation for law-abiding behavior, which would be completely ruined if they stayed here.
I wonder, given her attitude towards Israel’s boundaries, how she can oppose a one state solution, unless she’s an unthinking racist.
Just answered my own question.
She’s right, of course. Is there really that much difference between living on land that was stolen in 1948 vs. in 2009? I find these settler-types refreshingly honest.
It’s about (intentionally) inculcated prejudices, like “guy who nicks a pack of gum is a dirty rotten thief – guy who exploits hundreds and endangers thousands, or even millions, is a captain of industry.” We make these distinctions all the time without actually evaluating actions and circumstances. “Wild-eyed West Bank settler is a racist, Arab-hating obstacle to peace – mild-mannered Tel-Aviv professor with a cool old house in Jaffa is a nobel-worthy paragon of virtue.”
And of course “terrorism” vs. “legitimate defense”, “kidnapping” vs. “administrative detention”, “military operation” vs. “massacre”, etc., without judging actions and circumstances by a single standard.
Yes she makes the point, albeit unwittingly, that we should all be making. If the State of Israel is legitimate then so are the settlements. (In fact it would be consistent for Israel to ethnically cleanse the west bank and gaza). Settlers are correct to ask the question about why it was right to build kibbutzim on land conquered in ’48 but not land conquered in ’67. One happened sixty one years ago and the other forty two years ago.
We can be asking this question ourselves in a reversed format. If the settlements are called into question then so should the State of Israel itself.
As Israeli apartheid becomes transformed every settlement between the river and the sea must be examined for the nature of property aquisition – not for what side of the ’48 armistice line it is on. Which ones were built on empty state land and which ones were built on land legitimately purchased and which ones were built on the ruins of ethnically cleansed villages. In cases where the settlements are on confiscated private property, the original owners have the right to repossess, or they might be offered compensation using the same formulas used to calculate reparations to Jewish refugees who forfeited property in Europe. Acceptance of such reparations would only imply a relinquishment of rights to specific pieces of real estate, not a repudiation of the right to return to the neighborhood.
It is an idea whose time has come. Talk about it, write about it, forward links to this blog everywhere.
RE: ” or they might be offered compensation using the same formulas used to calculate reparations to Jewish refugees who forfeited property in Europe.”
BETTER YET: They might be offered compensation according the same formulas used to calculate compensation to Israelis evacuated from the settlements in the Gaza Strip.
SEE – “Disengagement Authority: Gov’t spent NIS 6 billion on settler evacuees”, By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz, 05/19/09
(EXCERPT) The state has thus far spent over NIS 6 billion on settlers evacuated from the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank in August 2005, according to the Disengagement Administration, known as Sela. This cost, which averages out to NIS 3 million per family (approximately $1.5 million), includes direct compensation payments, investment in infrastructure for the evacuees’ new communities and social assistance aimed at helping to ease the trauma of the evacuation. In addition, the Knesset recently approved an increase in compensation payments that will total some NIS 640 million….
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to haaretz.com
ALSO SEE: “Gov’t paid illegal Gaza settlers millions in compensation”, By Yuval Yoaz, Haaretz, 11/24/06
The government’s Disengagement Administration (Sela) has paid millions of shekels in compensation to dozens of families evacuated from illegal outposts in the Gaza Strip in the context of the August 2005 disengagement, Haaretz has learned.
By law, only residents of legal settlements were entitled to compensation. Nevertheless, as an “act of grace,” Sela also compensated residents of five Gaza outposts: Tel Katifa, Shalev, Kfar Yam, Shirat Hayam and Kerem Atzmona…
…Another problem is that Sela has not kept track of where the Gaza evacuees relocated. Thus, in theory, residents of Gaza outposts could have used their compensation to move
to illegal outposts in the West Bank…
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to haaretz.com
The issue is what significance does the demarcation line have? The binding treaty that formed the imaginary line clearly stated that it would not prejudice future negotiations on the final border. The Arabs insisted on this language. Since Israel’s final border is not established it is racist to demand Jews halt construction but Arabs remain free to build on land in dispute. All the advantages of private land tenure would fall to the Arabs stalling any peace, which they were offered many chances at, including immediately after the Six Day War and all Israel got was the three NOs of Khartoum.
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