For your perusal, my latest INTO THE FRAY column:
The imperative for incentivized Arab migration & the emerging inevitability of the Humanitarian Paradigm
(Kindly consider “liking”, sharing, tweeting – please use hash-tag #IntoFray)
Once inconceivable, the dismantling of UNRWA; the naturalization of stateless Palestinian residents in Arab countries; and the emigration of Palestinians from Judea-Samaria & Gaza are slowly emerging as realistic outcomes>
It appears this week on the following sites (in alphabetical order):
ISRAEL NATIONAL NEWS: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/23352 ISRAPUNDIT: https://www.israpundit.org/into-the-fray-the-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-humanitarian-paradigm/
ISRAEL NEWS TALK: http://israelnewstalkradio.com/into-the-fray-the-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-humanitarian-paradigm/?fbclid=IwAR2yptfRZSCTTc_uOOUW_FMoOgIZXQVKbu1l3DMhGV5k9Z19zSyio2hSAS8
JERUSALEM HERALD: https://www.jerusalem-herald.com/single-post/2019/02/01/Humane-Arab-Resettlement-Policy-Is-Not-Ethnic-Cleansing
JEWISH PRESS: https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/into-the-fray-martin-sherman/into-the-fray-the-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-humanitarian-paradigm/2019/01/28/
JNS: https://www.jns.org/opinion/the-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-humanitarian-paradigm/
JEWS DOWN UNDER: https://jewsdownunder.com/2019/01/25/into-the-fraythe-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-humanitarian-paradigm/
MEDIUM: https://medium.com/@martinsherman/into-the-fray-the-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-f58d46db9ce8 RICHSWIER: https://drrichswier.com/2019/01/25/into-the-fray-the-imperative-for-incentivized-arab-migration-the-emerging-inevitability-of-the-humanitarian-paradigm/
Several short excerpts
Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth – Sherlock Holmes, in “The Sign of the Four”.
Over a quarter-century ago (in 1992) , I warned of the consequences—for both Jew and Arab—if Israel were to evacuate Gaza.
I cautioned: “…the inevitable implications of Israeli withdrawal can be ignored only at great peril to Israelis and Arabs alike”, observing:“…no measure whether the total [Israeli] annexation or total [Israeli] withdrawal can be reconciled with either Israel’s security needs or the welfare of the Arab population there.” Accordingly, I concluded that the only viable and durable policy was the resettlement and rehabilitation of the non-belligerent Gazans elsewhere—and I underscored: “this was not a call for a forcibly imposed racist “transfer” by Israel, but rather…a humane and historically imperative enterprise”.
Confusing economic enhancement with “ethnic cleansing”
Today, after a more than a decade-and-a-half of bloody confrontations, including three large scale military engagements—imposed on Israel to protect its civilian population from predicted assaults—and a fourth appearing increasingly inevitable; with the Gazans awash in untreated sewage, with their sources of drinking water polluted, and with perennial power outages, my predictions appear to have turned out to be lamentably precise..
A tripartite plan Several years after my 1992 article, I extended the idea of incentivized emigration to the Arab population in Judea-Samaria (a.k.a. the “West Bank”) and in 2004 I formulated a tripartite plan (The Humanitarian Paradigm) for the comprehensive resolution—or rather the dissolution of the “Palestinian problem”, which include the following components:
The first was the dismantling of UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency)…
The second component was the launch of an international campaign to induce the Arab countries to desist from what is essentially a policy of ethnic discrimination against the Palestinian diaspora, resident in them for decades, and to grant its members citizenship… A tripartite plan (cont.)
The third and arguably the most controversial—element was to offer the non-belligerent Arab residents in Judea-Samaria generous relocation grants to provide them and their families an opportunity to seek a better and safer future in third-party host-nations, than that which almost inevitably awaits them—if they stay where they are.
Once inconceivable, now slowly materializing
For many years, advocating these three elements—the dismantling (or at least the radical restructuring) of UNRWA; the naturalization of the Palestinian diaspora resident in Arab countries as citizens; and the emigration of Palestinian-Arabs from Judea-Samaria and Gaza—seemed hopelessly unrealistic…However today, all three are slowly but inexorably materializing before our eyes in a manner that would have appeared inconceivable only a few years ago.
Naturalization of Palestinian diaspora in countries of residence
In this regard, the Trump administration has reportedly undertaken an important initiative–see here; here; and here. According to these reports, President Trump has informed several Arab countries that, at the start of 2019, he will disclose a citizenship plan for Palestinian refugees living in those countries…Significantly, Palestinian sources told the news outlet: “Trump informed several Arab countries that the plan will include Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.” According to these sources: “the big surprise will be that these countries have already agreed to naturalize Palestinian refugees.”
Emigration: The preferred option of the Palestinians?
As for the third element of the tripartite plan, emigration of the Palestinian population to third-party countries, there is rapidly accumulating evidence that emigration is emerging as an increasingly sought-after option. Indeed, earlier this month, Israeli mainstream media highlighted the desire to leave Gaza in order to seek a better life elsewhere. For example, the popular website, YNetnews, ran a piece entitled, Gaza suffers from brain drain as young professionals look for better life, with the Hebrew version appearing a few days previously, headlined The flight from Gaza: What Hamas is trying to conceal from the media…
Let their people go: A slogan for April’s elections? …It is…time for the idea of incentivized emigration to be embraced by the mainstream parties as the only viable policy paradigm that can ensure the continued survival of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people. It is time for the mainstream to adopt an election slogan that sounds a clarion call to “Let their people go”.
