http://bringthemhome.btvshalom.org
A Call to Bring the Settlers Home to Israel
We are American Jews who care deeply about Israel and who are filled with
sorrow by the continuous cycle of violence and death in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We call upon the United States government to
embrace an initiative which can break through the present stalemate, create
a new opening for a negotiated settlement, safeguard the lives of Israeli
settlers and remove a major obstacle to peace.
We call upon the United States government:
· to urge the Israeli Government to reverse its longstanding financial
inducements to Israeli settlers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and instead
to redirect those funds to settlers who are now willing to return to Israel
proper;
· to provide generous foreign assistance and to solicit contributions
from the European Union, other major industrial democracies and the United
Nations for this massive relocation effort, irrespective of whether the
Israeli government is ready to participate.
FOR THE SAKE OF ISRAEL'S SECURITY, BRING THE SETTLERS HOME
For the past 35 years, more than 200,000 Israeli citizens have been induced
by special economic incentives to settle in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A
recent comprehensive survey* of settlers found that nearly 80% were
motivated by a desire to create better lives for themselves and their
families and not by ideological or religious reasons. That dream, however,
quickly became a nightmare of constant terror, sniping, murderous incursions
into settlements, and suicide bombings. Simultaneously, enormous suffering
has been inflicted upon the Palestinian population.
The relentless campaign to settle hundreds of thousands of Israelis amidst
millions of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip threatens the moral
foundation of the State. One year after the 1956 Sinai Campaign, Israel¹s
first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion explained to IDF officers the reasons
for Israel¹s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Nearly
fifty years later, his speech serves as both warning and grim prophecy.
[I]t was clear that our remaining in Gaza, while the entire world ostracized
us would lead to ... finding ourselves in a hostile sea of terrorism. Our
military authorities would have had to shoot terrorists on a daily basis.
... We would not have been able to withstand this. For the State of Israel,
such a reality would have become a catastrophe ... . Possibly, this would
have destroyed us, not militarily, but morally - and in my opinion our
morality underpins our very existence.
David Ben-Gurion, Yihud ve-Yi'ud (Tel Aviv) 1971 p. 294
(Translation: Dr. Shai Feldman and Michael Davis)
The settlers have never enhanced Israel's security. On the contrary, their
vulnerability to attack has resulted in the loss of nearly a thousand
Israeli soldiers and civilians in the last 35 years and hundreds in just the
past two years. Those who live on land expected to be negotiated as part of
the new State of Palestine -- especially those in settlements that are
distant from Green Line Israel and are surrounded by much larger Arab
populations -- are an obstacle to peace; their continued presence prevents a
viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
FOR THE SAKE OF ISRAEL'S ECONOMY, BRING THE SETTLERS HOME
The cost of sustaining and protecting the settlers is draining Israel's
resources; it limits Israel¹s ability to provide vital social services,
build a stable economy, and ensure peaceful coexistence between the Jews and
Palestinian Arabs of Israel. The unending conflict, which the settlers
exacerbate, has contributed to a severe economic downturn, a rising rate of
unemployment (over 10%), a dramatic decrease in foreign investment, and an
increase in the number of Israelis (now 20%) living below the poverty line,
including 27% of all children.
PROVIDING SUITABLE COMPENSATION OPENS UP THE POSSIBILITY FOR MANY SETTLERS
TO VOLUNTARILY RETURN TO ISRAEL PROPER
A popular misconception claims all settlers would actively resist any
attempts to bring them home to Israel; but the same survey* revealed if a
decision is made for withdrawal, a clear majority of settlers is prepared to
accept a withdrawal from the settlements in exchange for suitable financial
compensation. Undoubtedly, among this majority, there are many if not most
who would leave voluntarily even in the absence of a comprehensive
settlement were they provided with the financial wherewithal to do so.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO BRING THE SETTLERS HOME TO ISRAEL
Please sign the Call and share it with others in your community. In doing
so, you will help move Israel one step closer to peace.
*Dr. Micha Hopp, "Settler Attitudes towards Withdrawal from the
Territories," July 2002 (Hopp Research Company)
http://bringthemhome.btvshalom.org/settlersurvey
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