There's been a lot of talk recently (and not so recently, too!) about "Peace in the Middle East". The term is already slightly misleading, since what people generally mean is peace between Israel and the Arabs. There are plenty of other conflicts in this area: Sunni vs. Shia in several countries, Iran vs. Iraq, Christians vs. Muslims in Sudan and in Lebanon, etc. Somehow, though, all these others seem to pale in comparison to the world's obsession with the Israeli-Arab conflict.
This is no accident. Arab leaders have pushed this conflict to the front constantly. They point out the suffering of the Palestinians, those living in the so-called "West Bank" (really the part of Palestine WEST of the Jordan River that was seized in 1948 by the Kingdom of Jordan, which had been established by the British only EAST of the Jordan River) and, especially, the "refugees". I put this in quotes, because ordinarily (in fact, in EVERY other case since World War II!) the term "refugee" is used only to people who actually flee their homes during a conflict, not to their descendants, as well. Also, in most cases, the goal is to resettle the people in new homes as quickly as possible.
A very good example of this is the hundreds of thousands of Jews who were forced out of Muslim countries where their families had lived for centuries (in most cases, since before there WERE even any Muslims anywhere!) in the late 40's and early 50's. The majority of these Jews ended up in Israel (not many other countries were willing to accept many of them), which was a newly-established and embattled country at that time. Absorbing so many people in such a short time was NOT easy, and of course there were many problems. Nevertheless, it WAS done, and the descendants of these Jews (generally known as "Sephardim") make up a significant percentage of the current population of this country.
Immediately after Israel was established (by a decision of the United Nations) in 1948, it was attacked by ALL of the neighboring countries and at least one other (Iraq). These countries made absolutely no secret of their intention not only to destroy Israel but to kill all the Jews that were here, as well. When Israel actually was able to defend itself and "win" this war, it's hardly surprising that a great many Arabs fled in fear and panic -- they naturally assumed that the Jews would do to them exactly what their Arab brethren had very publicly and prominently promised to do to the Jews if they won! Besides this, there were actually calls from the attacking Arab countries for the Arabs to flee so that they would not be in the way of these countries' stated genocidal intentions. All of this is well-established fact. There is some dispute about possible Israeli massacres and forced expulsions. These may very well have happened, especially under such dire circumstances. But these were definitely NOT the source of MOST of the refugees, nor did they represent the clear policies of the leaders of Israel at that time.
Remember, all of this happened more than 60 years ago. Although some of the Arabs who fled are still living, most of the so-called "refugees" now are actually descendants of the real refugees. By now, they should be settled in their new homes: in Lebanon, in Syria, in Jordan, in Egypt, and even in the "West Bank" and Gaza. With the exception of Jordan, this has NOT been the case. Why? After all, they are fellow Arabs, speaking the same language and having the same religion. The reason is quite simple: they are pawns in the hands of the Arab leaders who are STILL determined to destroy the world's only Jewish state and to either expel or kill all the Jews here. If they were settled in their new homes (as the Sephardim HAVE been here in Israel), they conflict might be lessened, Israel would be legitimized, there might even be peace.
This brings me more directly to my stated topic: what are the obstacles to peace? There really is only one significant one: the complete refusal of ALL Arab leaders to recognize that Israel has any right whatsoever to exist here as a JEWISH state. Within on the last 2 or 3 weeks, leaders of the MODERATE Fatah party, which controls the Palestinian Authority and is the de-facto government of most of the population centers of the "West Bank", have stated very explicitly that they do not recognize and have never recognized Israel as a JEWISH state!
Their idea of the two-state solution is this: one state, Palestine, which is an "Arab Muslim State" (whether or not a Jewish minority would actually be tolerated is not clear, but it seems rather unlikely); and another state, Israel, whose Jewish majority they fully intend to subvert by their demand that all those so-called "refugees" be allowed to return to their (well, not really "their" but their ancestors') homes IN Israel! This is precisely what they mean when they say that they do not recognize Israel as a Jewish state.
This is why President Obama's current approach worries me and why it will NOT work. He simply doesn't understand where the problem lies. Jewish settlements in the "West Bank" should pose no more problem than Arab cities and towns in Israel, whose inhabitants, though not Jewish, are full citizens of Israel and have been since 1948! Of course the Arabs in the "West Bank" and, even more so, in Gaza have been suffering and deserve a much better situation. But the problem does not lie with Israel, it lies with the Arab leadership and their consistent refusal to accept the reality of Israel.
