Professors Richard N. Rosecrance and Ehud Eiran have suggested that perhaps if Israel and the Palestinians were offered membership in the European Union, they'd be able to nail down a peace agreement.
Richard N. Rosecrance is a professor at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center and on the policy planning council at the State Department while Ehud Eiran is a research fellow at the Belfer Center and served in Israel's prime minister's office.
The two list the failures of all previous attempts for a peace deal: Oslo, the Gaza disengagement, and even the Intifadas (uprisings). They lame opponents of peace agreements: Israeli settlers and also call to task weak political leadership on both sides.
Then they go on to sugest this shocker: Offer the Israelis and Palestinians EU membership. I had to pause, but I read on. Giving the two EU status would not only provide fresh vision, but it would serve to heal the historic wounds between Christians, Jews and Muslim. I'll just let them state this in their own words:
To find a path forward, we need to go back to the origins of it all. It was Europe's violent rejection of Jews in the past that begat modern Zionism and paradoxically contributed to its success. Once the problem, Europe may now be the solution. To both encourage and reward a territorial and security agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, it should offer a clear path for their membership in the European Union.
It could help the parties fashion a settlement. The prospect of joining the richest union of states on earth is an enormous incentive for reaching a deal. The union's organization and values offer the frame for a peace agreement.
...
Of course, there will be challenges. Israelis are haunted by the potential flood of Palestinian refugees from the open borders that Europe espouses (though the Schengen agreement has been applied differentially). Palestinians are still angered by the result of European colonialism, and Europeans may not want to proceed beyond admitting the nearby Island of Cyprus. Europe might hesitate to broker such a deal, but the possibility of their succeeding with a Palestinian settlement, which had eluded the US for 40 years, would be a strong incentive to proceed. All these are weighty issues, but solvable ones.
The possibility of a day in which the descendants of the ancient foes – Christendom, Islamic civilization and Judaism – come together to resolve the century-long conflict over the Holy Land, finally acknowledging their common ancestor, Abraham, is not far afield. By using entrance to the European Union as an incentive for peace, Europe would not only free the region from a seriously destabilizing quarrel, but may also finally put to rest a millennia-long rivalry.
Interesting take. Not that I think it would work. Thoughts?
No comments:
Post a Comment