OPINION:
This week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is in America to meet with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and speak to Congress. He will thank the U.S. for its support for Israel in general, and specifically during the current war against Hamas, talk about the unbreakable relationship between Israel and the U.S. as democratic allies with common values, and enemies. He will talk about the righteousness of Israel’s position in this war that was thrust upon us, and possibly about what the future of Gaza and maybe the wider Middle East ought to be. Minimally, he’ll talk about what the relationship cannot be: with the Iranian Islamic regime continuing to threaten Israel and the world, and the Iranian proxies of Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis not being able to continue to threaten us “the day after.”
Mr. Netanyahu may or may not expressly mention (or reject) the “two-state solution” as the answer for long-term peace. But what he should call for, and the U.S. should widely embrace, is a bold solution that actually can bring a real solution for peace in Gaza, one that addresses the theological and ideological root of the problem, rather than creating an independent Palestinian state governed by terrorists.
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The actual solution is a complete restoration of Gaza undertaken by Christians from America and around the world. It’s a radical idea, all the more so as promoted by an Orthodox Israeli Jew.
The core of the problem in Gaza under the Iranian-backed Hamas, and embraced by most Gazans, is an extremist Islamic ideology that calls for the destruction of Israel, and the genocide of Jews. Christians, on the other hand, love Gazans and love Israel and the Jewish people. They are honest brokers who can restore Gaza with love, and prevent a rebuilding of the culture of hate and terror.
Christians have a tradition of going to some of the most dangerous and inhospitable places in the world to show their love and uplift communities. Gaza is ripe, the need is great, and the time is now.
Since the inhuman Oct. 7, 2023 massacre by Hamas terrorists where 1,200 people were murdered, hundreds were raped and sexually mutilated, people were incinerated alive, and over 250 people kidnapped (120 of whom are still in captivity in Gaza) I have been troubled by the absurdity so many posits that a “two-state solution” is the only answer. How can creating a Palestinian Arab state in a territory whose population (as many as three in four of whom) actively supports Hamas, even denying the Hamas massacre ever took place be the panacea? Or, if they acknowledge it did happen, many find justification for and celebrate it. They subscribe to a genocidal theology that Israel has no legitimacy, that Jews are foreign occupiers, and they pray for the destruction of Israel and the murder of all Jews.
It is definitely not a solution that will bring peace. It is more of a “two-state illusion.”
Today, fast-tracking a Palestinian state simply rewards Islamic terror with the message: Kill enough Jews and get a state. The lack of peace is not for lack of the creation of a Palestinian state. Rather, it is due to Islamic intolerance of the existence of the Jewish state. That’s what they mean when they chant, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” No more Israel and no more Jews.
Nevertheless, despite these realities, the world still reflexively calls for a “two-state solution,” as if it is actually viable. It’s as if their foreign policy is directly out of the movie “Argo” when CIA agent Tony Mendez notes, “There are only bad options. It’s about finding the best one.” At the time, the U.S. faced its own Islamic-rooted hostage crisis. The CIA official to whom he was reporting asks, “You don’t have a better bad idea than this?” to which he is told, “This is the best bad idea we have, sir, by far.”
The current situation is not sustainable, but the answer is not to promote the “best bad idea” that will make the situation worse, legitimizing another terrorist state on Israel’s borders whose citizens want its destruction, and which has failed for decades. What needs to happen now, to actually achieve peace in and restore Gaza, is a truly good idea.
Despite promoting the two-state illusion, even those who promote it acknowledge why it’s not practical.
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State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said as much: “We’re also going to have to defeat the ideology behind Hamas and that is not something that can be accomplished on the battlefield… Ultimately you have to beat that idea with a better idea.”
Palestinian Arabs need a change of heart. Creating a new terror state because there’s no better idea is foolhardy. And dangerous.
Gaza does need to be restored, rebuilt from (under) the ground, where hundreds of miles of tunnels created a maze of terrorist infrastructure. The Palestinian Authority and “moderate” Arab states cannot be relied upon. They have been central to the kleptocracy endangering Palestinian Arabs through smuggling weapons that allowed Hamas to hijack and control Gaza to begin with.
The actual solution for peace in Gaza requires Christians who will restore everything. Engineers, architects, and city planners. Medical personnel, nutritionists, and educators. People with backgrounds that can rebuild and create prosperity. Christians will succeed because they love Gazans and want to see them prosper and reject the evil Islam represented by Hamas and Iran. They will oppose a return to hatred of and terrorism against Israel because it’s bad for the Gazans. But they’ll also do so because they love Israel and the Jewish people, and want to see Israel live in safety, free of genocidal threats.
And when the Christians show their love and genuine caring, Gazans will see another path, a “better idea.” They will realize that the extremist Islam that they have embraced has failed them. They will experience people with a relationship to the God of Israel, and begin to realize that the people and the State of Israel are not enemies, but essential allies.
Ridiculous? Crazy? Perhaps. But there are no other feasible ideas. For details visit SolutionForPeaceInGaza.com.
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Jonathan Feldstein was born and educated in the U.S. and immigrated to Israel in 2004. He is married and the father of six. Throughout his life and career, he has become a respected bridge between Jews and Christians and serves as president of the Genesis 123 Foundation (www.Genesis123.co). He writes regularly about Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He is host of the popular Inspiration from Zion podcast and publisher of www.IsraeltheMiracle.com. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.
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