re: #19 Buck

I am finding it incredible that you can say that and not be more challenged.

1. I really don’t think you can reliably say that no one else thinks that East Jerusalem is part of Israel. There are others who think that Jerusalem is part of Israel, and cannot be divided.

It’s illustrative you don’t name a single other state. Even the US doesn’t officially accept EJ as part of Israel.

2. The idea that Israel cannot possibly be right if (almost) everyone else thinks differently is troubling. (almost) Everyone thought Israel was committing piracy a few months ago, but that didn’t mean they were right.

Bad analogy. In matters of territory the official acceptance is paramount. Basically, if most states will accept South Ossetia as a state it will be a state. It’s not a state now since most other states don’t accept it as a state. So it is with EJ.

3. I really think you need to do some research about Jerusalem. It has been the capital city for jews for almost 4 thousand years. Let me be even clearer, there has been a CONTINUOUS jewish presence in Jerusalem for as long as a recorded history of the area.

How does it make EJ a de jure part of Israel? Kiev was a capital of the Ancient Rus. Should we, Russians, take it back for this reason?

4. I think it is naive to think that stopping the building of homes in Jerusalem would somehow satisfy the PA and bring them to the table. As if during the time that Israel did stop construction it was considered by anyone to be significant. AND even if the PA wanted to make peace… they don’t have the authority over the Palestinians, and cannot make a deal anyway.

This may or may not be so (e.g. the Palestinian Papers that were just released shed some new light on the issue), but this is not what we’re discussing. It may very well be in everyone’s interest for EJ to become an official part of Israel, accepted by everyone. Or not. But this is not the issue at hand. Until the issue is negotiated, it’s simply a fact that one can call buildings in EJ “settlements”. It’s not even a value judgment. And personally I think (and J-Street seems to agree) that Israel should not build in disputed territories.