456
PARTISAN REVIEW
Palestinian people has come to mean - ignores a sizable portion of
the Palestinian people. A West BankiGaza state, even devoid of the
sixty thousand or so Jewish settlers, will not have enough space to
resettle the Palestinian refugees who will be unable to return
to
post–
settlement Israel. Just as a solution that ignores the Palestinians fails
to address a central part of the moral and political calculus , a solu–
tion that ignores Jordan runs the serious risk of creating an irreden–
tist (westward toward Israel and eastward toward Jordan) ministate,
incapable almost by definition of solving that glaring symbol of
Palestinian statelessness, the refugee question. Given the P.L.O.'s
tradition of "armed struggle," one may suspect the ability of their
political leadership to withstand the maximalist pressures.
Just as we must take a balanced approach to the Jor–
dan/ Palestine issue , we should reject the currently fashionabl e polar–
ized discussion of the occupation. Israeli reaction to the
intifada
has
been harsh. But brutality, such as it is, while a constant theme , has
not been the only element. As Israel's defenders like to point out, ac–
cording to almost every index Palestinians in the territories are liv–
ing better now than they did before Israel began administering their
lives in 1967. Economically and educationally, the numbers all point
upwards from 1967.
This is not a defense of the occupation; it is merely part of the
overall truth. The benign self within the schizophrenic , multiple–
identity Israeli occupation has helped raise Palestinian expectations.
The humaneness of the occupation, at least in good part, is no
answer to the frustrated national quest of the Palestinians. But
neither are the Israelis behaving like "Nazis." There is evidence of a
slow change in this traditional Arab consensus - the Camp David
Accords are one- but the intentional ambiguity in Arab statements
of "moderation" are hardly satisfying. Arab leaders seem un–
prepared - or have a constitutional inability - to talk about nor–
malizing relations with Israel. This is partly the result of a negotiat–
ing posture: as long as Israel remains uncommitted to a withdrawal
from the West Bank and Gaza, why should they risk the wrath of
Arab rejectionists and recognize Israel? But as time goes on , it ap–
pears to be less a tactical feint and more a reflection of the strategic
uncertaintly of the Arab position on Israel.
Arab moderation has not been forthright enough to help Israeli
moderates advance their cause. Of course, Arab moderates can and
do say the same thing in reverse , but in the test case - when Egypt's
Sadat broke the taboo against the Jewish state - an Israeli govern–
ment led by the right was prepared , after much kicking and scream-
