GOLDSTEIN: Trump worked on Mideast peace deal while the world mouthed platitudes

Article content

While Prime Minister Mark Carney and the United Nations were spouting empty rhetoric about recognizing a non-existent state of Palestine last month, U.S. President Donald Trump was working on a practical, 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas.

Practical because it focuses on the two things that must happen before there can be an end to the conflict.

First, Hamas must release the estimated 20 living Israeli hostages it still holds captive, plus the remains of 28 others believed to have died in captivity, in return for a release of Arab and Muslim prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Second, a ceasefire must be agreed to by both sides to allow the full restoration of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, 65,000 of whom have died in the conflict according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between terrorist and civilian deaths.

Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas — with Israel warned by Trump to stop bombing Gaza and for Hamas to accept this deal or guarantee its own destruction — have for the moment accepted Trump’s plan, albeit with conditions that could scuttle it.

Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority which presides over the West Bank and is a key figure in the eventual creation of a Palestinian state, has praised it.

Predictably, many of the usual suspects globally who hate the U.S. and Israel have mocked it.

But Carney described it as “historic” while, most significantly, Trump’s plan has been endorsed by such major players in the Mideast as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

So has Indonesia, which has the largest population of Muslims in the world at more than 240 million, along with India, Pakistan, China, Russia, Germany, the U.K., EU, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Ending the conflict that began with Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, which will mark its second anniversary on Oct. 7, is also vitally important for Jews in Canada and around the world.

That’s because antisemitism has exploded globally over the past 24 months.

In Canada, Jews make up 1% of the population while 70% of all reported religiously-based hate crimes are now aimed at Jews.

A recent Leger poll done for the Association for Canadian Studies, reported by the National Post, found a startling 28% of Canadians surveyed now believe “Jews are often to blame for any acts of prejudice they face,” including more than a third of those aged 18 to 34.

Blaming Jews in Canada for the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza is textbook antisemitism — born of the same hatred that blames Muslims in Canada for Hamas’ terrorism against Israel.

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Try refreshing your browser, or
tap here to see other videos from our team.

Play Video

As long as this war continues — the fifth outbreak of violence between Hamas and Israel since 2008 — there will be increasing attacks against Jews, including vandalism, threats, harassment, violence and murder, which Western democracies, including Canada, have failed to counter effectively.

There are also many reasons Trump’s deal could fall apart.

Neither Netanyahu nor Hamas support the “two-state solution” endorsed by Canada and the UN, meaning a viable Palestinian state living in peace beside a secure Israel, and Trump’s deal does not guarantee the creation of one.

Netanyahu, captive to hardline elements within his minority government, wants to annex the West Bank, which, along with Gaza and East Jerusalem, would form a future Palestinian state.

There are 700,000 Jewish settlers living in 160 communities in the West Bank — illegally, according to International law — among three million Palestinians, plus two million in Gaza.

(In 2005, Israel unilaterally shut down all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, containing about 9,000 settlers.)

Hamas, which has not committed to disarming, a key provision of Trump’s deal, has not abandoned its ultimate goal of creating a Palestinian state comprised of all of Israel, with its Jewish population killed or expelled.

Hamas has also agreed to temporary truces in the past, while never disavowing its ultimate goal of cleansing Israel of Jews.

Finally, previous attempts over the past two years containing many of the provisions in Trump’s deal have failed.

But it remains the last best hope for peace and the end of suffering on both sides.

A deal Trump initiated while Carney and other western leaders piously proclaimed their support for a Palestinian state before the UN General Assembly, which is collectively a nest of antisemitic vipers who pass more resolutions condemning Israel than all other nations on earth combined, year after year.

lgoldstein@postmedia.com