On January 28, 2020 President Trump announced the “Deal of the Century.” It is his plan to settle the conflict between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. (Read all 181 pages here)
Unlike any previous peace plans in the history of the State of Israel, this one was almost universally lauded by the Jewish People in Israel. (The Arabs in the Palestinian Territories and the Arabs in Israel almost all condemned the plan)
In the past, the Left-Wing Secular Jews in Israel have been the proponents of all the “Peace Plans” which were based on “Land for Peace.” Right-Wing and Religious Jews have been largely against the plans.
WHY IS TRUMP’S PLAN DIFFERENT?
Why are Orthodox Jews positive about this plan when they were against previous plans that offered the Palestinian Arabs “Land for Peace?” It seems Trump is offering a Palestinian State built on parts of the Holy Land of Israel in exchange for Peace!
Indeed, according to Torah, it is not our Land to give away! As God tells us in Exodus 6:8…
וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י לָתֵ֣ת אֹתָ֔הּ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֑ב וְנָתַתִּ֨י אֹתָ֥הּ לָכֶ֛ם מוֹרָשָׁ֖ה אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃
I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a heritage, I, the LORD.”
I translated the word “morasha” as “heritage” rather than “inheritance” or “possession.” Morasha is related to the word yerusha which means “inheritance.”
What is the difference between an inheritance and a heritage in Hebrew? Yerusha is something you RECEIVE from a previous generation and it becomes yours to do with as you please. If you inherit your parents’ home, you can sell it and do whatever you like with the money.
Morasha is something that is HANDED DOWN to you from the previous generation that you must “possess” and maintain so that you can HAND it DOWN to the next generation the same state you received it. Think about old homes that are designated with Heritage status which means they must be preserved for the next generations.
In Judaism we call both the Land of Israel, and the Torah a “morasha.” Both must be preserved and handed down to the next generation intact. They belong to all generations of the Nation of Israel for eternity.
LAND FOR PEACE?
The only case in which one would be allowed to temporarily trade parts of the Land of Israel for Peace would be if you knew that you would save many Jewish lives as a result.
In Torah, human lives take precedence over the Land. That is why there were a small number of Rabbis who voted for the Oslo Accords because they thought it might lead to a cessation of Palestinian Terror.
History taught us differently, and we know that giving Palestinian Arabs territory only leads to more terror and bloodshed. Over 1000 Jews were slaughtered by Palestinian Terrorists after the Oslo Accords were signed. Thousands of rockets were fired on our civilians from Palestinian Territories. There is no justification to give them more Land.
SO HOW CAN YOU BE FOR THE TRUMP PLAN?
The Palestinian Arabs refused much better deals than the one Trump is proposing. Ultimately, they want the entire State of Israel replaced by a Palestinian Arab State. In this regard, there is no difference between Hamas and the PLO except for tactics.
Hamas wants “all or nothing” but in 1974 Arafat of the PLO proposed the “Salami Plan.” Arafat’s tactic was to use terror until the enemy gives you a little bit of land (Gaza and Jericho first)… and then continue terror on a low burner until they give you another slice of land, and another slice of land until you have the whole “Salami.”
In the Oslo Process, we Israelis gave Arafat a big chuck of Land as a “confidence building measure” without first requiring him to disarm terrorists, stop incitement etc. No problem for the PLO. Get land and do nothing, and then keep attacking until the Jews unconditionally give up more land. That’s exactly what happened!
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At Camp David the PLO was offered a Palestinian State that would require Arafat to give up terror and his demands for more land. Arafat refused and started an Intifada killing hundreds of Jews as a result.
Religious Jews know that the PLO and Hamas will NEVER accept a limited Palestinian State no matter how much money they are given. Islam tells them they cannot do this. (more about that in a future post).
There are also many “poison pills” in Trump’s plan that make it impossible for the PLO or Hamas to accept it (in fact the leaders of the proposed Palestinian State may not be a member of neither the PLO nor Hamas!)
So even though it looks like the State of Israel is offering Land to the Palestinians, it will never happen according to the terms in the “Deal of the Century.” All Jews in Israel understand this.
However, the Americans will allow the State of Israel to annex the Jordan Valley and ALL Jewish “Settlements” in the territories while “negotiations” are taking place.
Sounds like a reverse Salami Plan to me. Israel gets Land as a “confidence building measure” and we don’t have to give the Palestinians anything in return. How did that happen?!!