Declaration of Palestinian Rejectionism

I: The event:

"Israeli left wing activists sign the 'Declaration of Independence from the Occupation' in favor of creating a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines, during a demonstration in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, April 21, 2011. Prominent Israeli left wing intellectuals and artists demonstrated Thursday in central Tel Aviv in favor of creating a Palestinian state based on the 1967 line marking the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, and signed a 'Declaration of Independence from the Occupation', drawing a counter-demonstration of the opposing right wing camp. The 47 signatories of the declaration include 16 recipients of the Israel Prize, the country's highest civilian honor."

II. And here is Ben Dror Yemini, a Leftist Israeli journalist who skewers the blindstruck Leftists by a critique from the Left (unauthorized translation by CC):

"Though I was not invited to join the solemn occasion, I am hereby adding my signature to the “Declaration of Independence” of the Palestinian people. I have only one request from the engineers of this initiative: Please present to us the Palestinian intellectuals who support this declaration. I’m not asking for a thousand or a hundred such signatories. I’ll be happy with ten of them. Do they exist?

Your declaration refers to “The UN resolution which called for partitioning the land of Palestine into two states: a Jewish-democratic nation state and an Arab democratic nation state”. This is a courageous and commendable position; one that part of the Left has already abandoned. If you recognize and accept this solution, more power to you.

How come, then, that your declaration has been met with hostility? There now; could it be that the majority of Israelis are sick and tired of listening to people claiming they are to blame? We are fed up with the continuous distortions of the historical record. We are fed up with the fact that you systematically neglect the primary truth: the Arabs, not the Jews, rejected the partition resolution.

They still do. It’s not that we need their recognition of our state as a Jewish state. It is our own busniness, how we define our state. But they reject even the formula of “two states for two peoples” because such a formula implies a de-facto recognition in the existence of a Jewish people. They refuse to admit such a reality.

Who is the rejectionist?

The problem is not your declaration. The problem is rooted in your attitude. Palestinians are looking at your spectacle and shake with mirth. Instead of explaining to the world that the Palestinians are the rejectionists, you explain to the world that it is all Israel’s fault. Yet, most Israelis recognize the right of Palestinians for self-determination. Most Palestinians -- certainly their leaders -- recoil from a similar recognition of the Jewish people. So who obstructs the path to peace in this situation?

Please, enough with "It's the occupation!” card. This mantra no longer carries any traction. Once and twice and thrice Palestinians were offered a state and full independence but all they could do was repeat the same old refrain: No.

No to the Peel Commission’s recommendation for partitioning

No to the UN partition resolution.

Three “No”s after the Six Days war.

No to the Clinton proposal.

No to Olmert’s proposal.

If Netanyahu were to offer them Clinton’s plan, or Olmert’s proposal, or even the Geneva Accord – and how we wish he would – their response is known well in advance.

We are all fed up with Palestinian rejectionism and we are disgusted with the sameness of your one-note tune, with your insistence on reversing and twisting historical facts."