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By Ira Sharkansky
 JERUSALEM, July 19—Several of the American Jews who were avid supporters of Barack Obama and angled for appointments in his administration use the term "tough love" for their preferred course of action toward Israel. Their point is that supporters of Israel, like themselves, should tell the Jewish state what it must do in order to reach an accord with the Palestinians. They are sure that Israel does not know what to do, or is not able to take the appropriate steps without American pressure. Their pressure would ultimately bring peace to Israel as well as Palestine. It would be a boon to Israel. Hence, tough love.
More recently there has been another indication that "tough love" is less appropriate for what should be American policy than "benign neglect."
Israelis know pretty much what their government has offered, and they know that it has never been enough to satisfy Palestinians. Perhaps it never could be enough, given the extremism of several Palestinian clusters, and the reluctance of even those considered moderate to persuade their people to accept something other than 1967 boundaries and the right of return to Israel for 1948 refugees and their families.
Recently Javier Solana suggested that the international community impose on deadline on Israel-Palestine negotiations, and then declare the creation of a Palestinian state if the parties do not reach an agreement by the deadline.
No surprise that the Palestinian leadership has accepted that as the ideal rule of the game, and are pressing the Americans to adopt that policy as their own.
Again the Palestinians are waiting for someone else to solve their problem. They can continue demanding what they want, and when the Israelis do not agree by the date set for ending negotiations they may get it from the international community.
Hence the need for benign neglect.
Again and again, against what has become acceptable among the flakey left, it is essential to repeat that the problem is not Israel but Palestine. A few minutes with Google can demonstrate to anyone who is literate what Israelis have offered and what the Palestinians have rejected.
It is time for the Palestinians to mature, if they want a state of their own. They must recognize that the international community is not likely to bind Israel. And if tries, Israel may not accept the shackles.
An empty threat?
Maybe not.
I am not about to predict when Israel will fold in order to go
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along with international players, and when it will pursue its own course.
Anyone who casually assumes that all the cards are with the United States or Western Europe should take another look at Gaza. Not only are there piles of rubble and people still in tents seven months after the destruction, but there is little or no construction material getting through the blockade.
That's what Israel does when it tires of rocket attacks on its civilians, even though the incidence of Israeli casualties was substantially lower than those due to traffic accidents.
My own tough love directed at Palestinians is to start thinking about an agreement that will strike Israelis as reasonable. My tough love directed toward the United States and other Western democracies is to adopt benign neglect. It is the only chance of helping the Palestinians recognize that they must learn to help themselves.
There are two late flashes showing the futility of tough love directed at Israel. They apply to the ban on Jewish construction in East Jerusalem demanded by key members of the Obama administration. The Israeli government has rejected the demand. And Varda has demonstrated that the Obama administration is nothing against an insistent householder. Her curtains have arrived, and are hanging where she wants them.
If tough love will not work, benign neglect will not work quickly.
It is unlikely to produce a Palestinian state in less than a generation or two, until those committed to the fantasy of 1967 borders and the return of refugees' families pass from the scene. The refugees themselves will pass before then, and descendants holding keys to doors that no longer exist may also have to pass away.
Meanwhile, things are not all that bad on the West Bank. A recent New York Times report describes an economic resurgence that results from improved security. That is provided by Palestinians trained in Jordan by Americans, whose loyalties are to the principle of providing security to Palestine as opposed to following the orders of a family elder, gang leader, or a charismatic figure who claims to speak for Allah. As new units have shown they can be reliable, Israel has limited its involvement in Palestinian towns and has reduced the roadblocks between them.
Those committed to the idea of a Palestinian state should recognize that most nations (i.e., ethnic groups) do not have a state of their own. The list includes the Basques and Catalonians of Spain, the Welsh of Great Britain, hundreds of native tribes in North and South America and most tribes in Africa. Palestinians discovered themselves to be an ethnic group only in the last century. They may have to wait a while, and perhaps forever, to achieve a state called Palestine.
Things remain bad in Gaza, and will continue as long as the leadership persists in its pledges to destroy Israel. Should those people gain power in the West Bank, I would no longer recommend it as a place for Palestinians to invest their money or their lives.
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