In the Spirit of the Gracious and Compassionate
Creator of the Heavens and the Earth
Resolving the Palestine situation — five points:
1. Form One State.
Form one state, not two. Separation – a form of segregation or Bantustan – is a bad idea. The current nation of Israel will not feel secure with a viable Palestinian state as its neighbor. A dependent, non-viable Palestinian state will perpetuate the cycle of violence on a larger scale.
2. Name the One State “Israel”.
Keep the name “Israel”. It is a good name — in both the Bible and the Qur’an. In full, it could be called The New Democratic Republic of Israel or The Democratic Republic of New Israel or just The Democratic Republic of Israel.
3. Have a written constitution.
Currently, Israel does not have a written constitution. There should be no second-class citizenship. All citizens should have the same rights. Thus, it would be neither a Jewish state nor an Islamic state. Fourteen centuries ago, Muhammad established a government in Madinah with a written constitution respecting the rights of Muslims and non-Muslims; it was not an Islamic State as that concept is currently understood. The United Nations should hold the new Israel to the standards of the UN Charter and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
4. Have a Law of Return.
There would be a law of return in which every reasonable case would be heard. Jews and Palestinians who wish to settle in the new Israel would have preference over others.
5. Have an Independent Jerusalem.
Jerusalem would be an independent city whose government would represent the interests of Muslims, Christians and Jews worldwide. This government would be charged with protecting all sacred places and rites.
With this government’s permission, Jerusalem could be the capital of Israel.
Notes:
The children of Israel did not call themselves Jews (i.e., Judeans, people of the country called Judah) until after the Babylonian exile. Thus, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Elijah, Jonah and the other prophets were not Jews. The nation called “Judah” was named after the tribe — the “Children of Judah” — and Judah, the patriarch of that tribe, was a great-grandson of Abraham. Thus, Abraham could be called a father of the Jews, but he himself should not be called a Jew. He was also the father of Ishmael. Does that make him an Ishmaelite?
All of the prophets came from the same creator and delivered the same message. The contradictions that produced separate religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam – are man-made.
The Zionist state of Israel was established in the wake of the European conquest of the world. While it is true that the Zionist cause uses whatever allies are most practicable, it is also true that the Zionist movement is a convenient tool for continued European domination of the Middle East.
Power rests with the Creator. It seems that the House of Israel is once again making the mistake that Jeremiah warned them against: seeking the backing of a powerful worldly ally while at the same time claiming that the Creator will back them up.
In this age of waning European power, the “Greater Israel” which many Zionists seek, is not even a remote possibility.
The Messiah has already come. The son of Mary was the Messiah. Anyone waiting for a different messiah will be waiting forever. Anyone acknowledging someone else as a messiah is risking a repetition of the Bar Kochba episode, with similar tragic consequences. The Jews can either have a place in Palestine or risk being expelled again. The contract under which the land was promised to the Children of Israel was breached time and again by the Children of Israel. Is the contract still in force? Is it in abeyance? Or, has it been terminated? The Children of Abraham — the Palestinians — have the land, and that is a fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham.
Lester A. Knibbs
3 Shawwaal 1422 / 22 Shawwaal 1436
December 18, 2001 / August 7, 2015
Which Way Is Up? 