BREAKING NEWS: SOME HAMAS LEADERS PROPOSE 2-STATE PEACE
by Rabbi Arthur Waskow
Dear friends,
Leaders of the Political Wing of Hamas, distinct from its military leaders, met during the last ten days with West Bank Palestinian leaders and leaders of some Arab states. They offered the following extraordinary proposal:
"The Hamas political leaders in these talks indicated that they would be willing to join the PLO and support negotiations under a unity government for a Palestinian state within 1967 borders."
Those words of the proposal come from deep within a Wall Street Journal report.
This may be the first hint of serious change within what was the government of what was the beleaguered community of Gaza — now a community of broken bricks, glass, steel, and people.
And it is important to read Thomas Friedman’s “Tough Love for Israel” column in the NY Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/opinion/israel-war-gaza.html?unlocked_article_code=1.JU0.ldsR.zRPQWHEgCEBq&hpgrp=ar-abar&smid=url-share
His major points are VERY important. I think even one of his muffled side-comments is important:
"And if you follow news of Hamas politics, you will have noticed reports this week of significant tension between Sinwar [head of military wing of Hamas] and Hamas leaders [of political wing] abroad, who have begun — to Sinwar’s apparent rage — talks with leaders from the West Bank Palestinian Authority about reunifying and revamping the Palestinian leadership after the war to enable some kind of long-term peace arrangement with Israel."
What is so remarkable about the story of this offer? Remember that it seems to be just an old proposal that many had given up when hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers moved into Palestinian land after 1967. But we must remember that the formal ideology under which Hamas had been operating — for sure its military wing — was that the State of Israel is immoral and illegitimate — so sharing the Land with it is forbidden. For the political wing of Hamas to break its own basic rules is astounding.
If this is a serious but wistful, tentative offer, it needs a clear signal from an Israeli government of willingness to negotiate. It is almost certain that the Netanyahu government would never open the door. It is not so clear that this government represents the people it rules. After all, a million Israelis were in the streets four months ago saying the opposite.
We might ask: What can the American Jewish communities do to help a new Israeli government take seriously this proposal?
With blessings of shalom in your own lives for all who work for shalom in the life of the world
— Arthur
