March 19, 2020
Peace Now
P.O. Box 22651, Tel-Aviv, 6203204
Dear Peace Now,
It appears that your organization is very busy keeping track of Israeli building in disputed areas or occupied areas if that is the term you prefer. I assume that this collection of data would be used in peace negotiations in which Israel would be required to vacate the land, assuming that the disputed/occupied land is returned to the Palestinian Arabs. I wonder if counting nails is the best way to bring about peace.
Assuming that the name of your organization reflects a sincere desire to see the two parties negotiate a happy ending to 1400 years of Islamic animosity towards Jews, maybe Peace Now might want to look into the historical refusal by the PA to negotiate with Israeli Prime Ministers and U.S. Presidents. Perhaps you should study why the deal offered by Ehud Olmert in 2008 that would return every inch of the West Bank plus extra land to sweeten the deal was not even considered by the Palestinian side.
Would Peace Now agree that the recent comment by Mahmoud Abbas longing for the Olmert deal to be resurrected might reflect that Israel’s building in the disputed/occupied areas, or chipping away at Palestinian land if that is how you want to view it might reflect that home construction has brought the Arabs closer to accepting the reality of a Jewish country on land the Arabs claim is theirs?
Will Peace Now work to bring the two sides together or will you continue to waste your time monitoring building permits to demonize Israel? If the latter, I ask you to consider if an anti-Palestinian organization would be tolerated in Palestinian lands as you are tolerated in Israel. You know the answer to this question. Unless your work reflects this reality, you will just be pumping an empty well.
By the way, I observed that your official address is P.O. Box 22651, Tel-Aviv, Postal Code 6203204. Is the omission of the name of the country where Tel Aviv is located accidental of deliberate? If deliberate, why not just get it over with and call it Tel Aviv, The Zionist Entity.
Respectfully yours,
Larry Shapiro,