Old joke: A lion and lamb share an exhibit at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem
illustrating the prophetic vision of the Messianic era. Each morning,
before visiting hours, the carcass of the lamb from the previous day is
replaced by a new live lamb.

Real poll results: Telephone survey 18-20 October, 2010, of adult Israeli
Jews by the Dahaf Institute for The Peace Index under the auspices of the
Evens Program for Conflict Resolution at Tel Aviv University and the Israel
Democracy Institute.

12. What is your opinion of the following statement: “The Palestinians have
not accepted the existence of the State of Israel and would destroy it if
they couldâ€Â?
Agree 80.4 Disagree 17.8 I don’t know 1.5 Refuse to answer 0.4

13. What is your opinion of the following statement: “Even if a peace
agreement is signed, the Palestinians will never accept Israel’s existence
and would destroy it if they couldâ€Â?
Agree 74.1. Disagree 21.5 I don’t know 3.5 Refuse to answer 0.9

We may have a president who thinks that a piece of paper signed at an
impressive ceremony on the White House lawn (best if followed by Nobel
Prizes) is the best guaranty of Israel’s security. But the Israeli public
doesn’t buy into the fantasy.

The Israeli public is anything but naïve.

They expect their policymakers to, indeed, keep in mind that the
Palestinians, and for that matter, the Syrians, will never accept Israel’s
existence and will destroy it if they could.

And that means that any proposed arrangement or agreement must be considered
and reviewed from the perspective of a worse case rather than best case
scenario.

Simply put, policymakers have to assume that the other side’s goal will be
to exploit the deal to facilitate the ultimate destruction of the Jewish
State.

In terms of Syria, that means not taking the reckless simplifying assumption
of many in the Israeli military that Syria would never ever attack Israel if
they possessed the Golan because they would have no reason to. (Yes, it
sounds silly but that is the argument for why the Golan can be
relinquished).

In terms of the Palestinians, it mean, first and foremost, taking into
account that regardless of what the Palestinians may sign before a sovereign
Palestinian state is created, that that sovereign Palestinian state would
continue to exist, under international law, even if it abrogated every
letter of the agreement.

It is, indeed, a harsh reality.

But it is better to set policy based on reality than fantasy.

We can’t afford to be the lamb in the Biblical Zoo joke.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR