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We propose to achieve this by actively advocating for the following:

Prove that all of the present schemes, (Oslo Accords, the Road Map, the Geneva accords, Sharon’s disengagement, and the like) are fatally flawed, cannot work and must be discarded.

Inform everyone that an amicable, internationally recognized, Arab-Jewish agreement was reached after WWI but was sabotaged with England being the prime initial culprit.

Adhere to four fundamental principles:

1. Tell the truth, the whole truth. and nothing but the truth.

2. Apply the same standards to all sides, both local and international.

3. Keep all promises unless there are overwhelmingly compelling reasons not to do so.

4. Respect and protect the vital interests of all sides, i.e. no "winner take all" solutions.

Pursue a fresh approach with the P.A.I.R. initiative which embodies the above four principles. P.A.I.R. stands for Plan for Arab-Israeli Reconciliation. It is a bold, fair and comprehensive approach to achieving a win-win outcome for both Arabs and Jews.

Explain how the P.A.I.R. initiative also benefits all the peoples of that region.

Promote a flourishing Israel which can then contribute even more to the American-Israeli alliance to promote shared moral values among the nations.

Invite input from Jews and non-Jews who share this vision.

Establish a growing constituency to press the U.S. and other governments to engage in an honest debate of all plans based solely on their merits.

We do not claim to have all the answers, but rather to offer a plan that is far superior to anything else that has been put forward thus far.

We invite all who support this initiative to so indicate by joining our e-mail list for periodic updates.

Rev: December 14, 2004

MiddleEastSolutions.com is an independent grass roots organization that has developed a comprehensive peace plan designed to replace the present lose-lose schemes with a true win-win approach. The P.A.I.R. initiative is also a timely response to those voices of reason now starting to emerge from deep within the Arab world.

Resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict has thus far defied long term efforts by the affected parties and by outside intervention, as typified by the road map, including that of the United States, Europe and the United Nations. They have all had ample opportunity to succeed and they have all failed. The time is long overdue to consider other approaches and open the field to independent grass roots initiatives - i.e. a ‘free market’ for peace plans. If "war is too important to leave exclusively to the generals", as they say, then peace is also too important to leave exclusively to the diplomats. History shows that better ideas can also originate from non-official sources and those ideas should be judged entirely on their merits and not on their origins. (A few examples include Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Theodore Herzl, the Wright brothers, Nikola Tesla etc. and other independent individuals who changed history often over the opposition of the establishment.) All those claiming to seek a just and peaceful resolution have a moral obligation to consider all proposals, regardless of origin, with an open mind before judging.

We insist that any viable approach must begin with adherence to the following four immutable principles.

1. Tell the truth, the whole truth. and nothing but the truth.

2. Apply the same standards to all sides with no exceptions.

3. Keep all promises unless there are overwhelmingly compelling reasons not to do so.

4. Respect and protect the vital interests of all sides, i.e. no "winner take all" solutions.

We maintain that all parties have lied and thus fail to meet even the first requirement. In Israel’s case their failure to refute Arab lies constitutes a form of lying because it involves lying against themselves. Without all parties, including outside powers, adhering fully to all four principles there can be no peace that is just, viable and permanent. Because these principles have been violated on all sides for so long there is now an entrenched conventional wisdom that totally distorts reality and creates insurmountable obstacles to peace. We can see this failure in the fatally flawed "peace" schemes ranging from Oslo to the Road Map, resulting in an intensification of the conflict.

The persistence of old, flawed thinking is like a cancerous tumor that continues to spread and metastasize inside the body politic. Surgeons attempt to cut out the entire cancer to save the patient. Contaminated thinking resembles a political cancer that must also be totally and boldly removed to make way for a fresh approach and allow political healing to follow. As with medical surgery this process will not be emotionally painless.

Much intellectual effort and talent has long been spent criticizing and commenting on the present impasse. What is urgently needed right now is our own peace plan to compete with those of the establishment. It is far more difficult now to introduce an alternative plan, than it would have been years ago, but that is no reason to forgo the effort. Because the current situation is so dangerous, any real peace plan must therefore be bold and imaginative, yet fair and practical while also realizing that it will surely generate fierce opposition by entrenched interests. Therefore, our side must be committed and prepared to undertake a tenacious, and prolonged battle for the sake of peace and justice.

We believe this plan can withstand scrutiny, reasonably answer any objection, and win out in any open debate. The danger is so great that we now have no alternative but to consider every approach. Success cannot be guaranteed, but there is nothing to lose by advocating for this plan. However, failing to even try would be irresponsible

We invite serious readers to patiently examine this plan with an open mind. There are many questions to be addressed and many objections to be answered. A conflict with such deep roots cannot be solved in a simplistic manner. We do not claim to have a perfect solution with all the answers. We do claim that our plan is far superior to any others that have been put forward. We feel that our plan deserves to be given a fair hearing and allowed to compete on its own merits with all other plans.

Part I of the plan proves, analytically, why the present schemes absolutely cannot work and also why all the nations, including the U.S. administration, lack the moral, intellectual and historical rights justification to meddle in Israel’s affairs. It demands full recognition for Jewish rights while preserving Arab rights. It is essential that old thinking must first be completely discredited and discarded to open the way for consideration of fresh ideas.

Part II outlines a phased, peaceful, long-term resettlement solution with compelling reasons for its support. The Palestinian Arabs would be offered a far better future than under any competing plan.

Part III shows the larger beneficial implications for both parties, for the peoples of the region and beyond. Enlightened world public opinion would also see benefits to themselves in support of this plan.

Because the P.A.I.R. initiative also benefits the Palestinian Arabs far more than creating a PLO/PA mini-state inside the "territories", we could then justly claim that we are the only ones who are truly ‘pro Palestinian Arab’ thus depriving our opponents and our critics of their primary issues. Their dilemma would now be having to choose: 1) Is their main purpose to truly help the Palestinian Arabs? or 2) Do they want to risk being exposed as only seeking a pretext to attack Israel?

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Revision of Jan 25, 2005

Part I - Why the present ‘Land for Peace’ approach cannot work

1) I A - Common, fundamental, negotiating principles are lacking.

2) I B - Historic truths are being ignored and distorted.

3) I C - The bitter and enduring hostility of the Arabs against Israel and Jews is not being addressed.

4) I D - There is no development plan to avoid a demographic time bomb.

5) I E - Imposing a settlement on Israel would create dire risks to everyone.

The following four reasons are discussed in the Appendix.

6) I F - The nations have failed to recognize the historic rights of, and the immense debt they owe to, the Jewish People.

7) I G - All outside nations, including the U.S., are morally, historically and intellectually unqualified to craft a just and lasting peace.

8) I H - The history and nature of Islam itself has not been confronted.

9) I I - Part of the blame for the current situation is due to long-term failures, mistakes and even crimes by some among the Jewish People.

II A - Four primary points

II B - The peace that almost happened

II C - A Palestinian Arab State

II D - A Jewish State of Israel

II E - Jews and Arabs - lands and peoples

II F - New attitudes for Arabs and Jews

II G - An orderly resettlement plan

II H - Defending the general principle of relocation

II I - But won’t the Palestinian Arabs reject this idea?

II J - Many Arab states are moving toward their own internal crisis.

II K - Another vision of the future

II L - Holding the west, and other nations, accountable for their actions

II M - The future choices can be visualized by presenting three maps.

II N - The opposition

II O - Islamic voices of moderation

II P - A letter to the Arab people

II Q - On the world scene

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III A - This would offer an attractive opportunity to establish democracy and the rule of law inside the heart of the Arab world.

III B - This would create a political breakthrough for the whole Arab world and a radical departure from traditional non-acceptance of Jews and other non-Moslems.

III C - The peoples of the region could finally become free of foreign domination.

III D - This would redirect resources from weapons to regional development including greening of the region.

III E - The Jewish People would finally achieve their just place among the nations and be able to contribute even more of their unique talents to the advancement of human society.

III F - The American People along with the people of the Middle East will benefit by having a more stable and peaceful region that does not require military intervention.

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The present conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs has failed to yield to a peaceful resolution based on the Oslo Accords and prospects for peace remain remote. Nevertheless the same failed Oslo Accords, dressed in new clothes, and with the possibility of an externally imposed solution, is being re-introduced as the Road Map scheme, and it seems to be the only game in town. A genuine solution requires the courage to engage in radically fresh thinking that is free of prior assumptions and constraints. Furthermore, this conflict cannot be solved in isolation from its many historical, religious, political, economic and social roots, all of which must be taken fully into account.

To accommodate this larger context this plan is presented in three parts. Part I explains why the present approach absolutely cannot work and therefore must be completely scrapped to make way for fresh thinking. Part II addresses a plan that, although radical, does offer a huge win-win outcome for both Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. Part III examines the larger implications of this plan because the central problem cannot be viewed in isolation from the region, from the family of nations, from history and from the universal struggle for peace and security.

Part III examines the larger implications of this plan for the region and for other pressing issues of our times.

There are at least nine compelling reasons why the present approaches cannot possibly lead to a just and peaceful solution. There is no agreement on the most basic negotiating principles. There is no proper respect for Jewish rights or respect for the place of Jews and Judaism in world history. Historic truths are being ignored and distorted. All outside nations are unqualified to contribute to a just peace. Arab anti-Semitism is not being addressed. The minority extremist left wing Jews have also exacerbated the present conflict. No solution that is imposed on Israel can work because it would threaten Israel’s survival and force Israel to do the unthinkable. The current failed approaches must all be set aside to make way for entirely fresh thinking.

One glance at the map of the middle East virtually screams out the logical solution in two steps. Twenty two Arab states already have 99.8% of the land and can easily accommodate resettlement of their Palestinian Arab brothers with ample land for them to live and thrive in their own independent state. Israel with only 0.2% of the land also needs more space, not less space, and space that is also free of Arabs, so it too can live and thrive securely in a state of Israel that can permanently maintain its Jewish character.

There are no practical reasons why an orderly and peaceful resettlement plan cannot work, and work smoothly. The only things that the Palestinian Arabs must forgo are their sterile hatreds and their fanciful illusions. Given the right attitudes this conflict becomes among the most easily solvable. And Saudi Arabia is a prime candidate to offer 35,000 square miles, comprising only 4% of their vast territory, for a Palestinian Arab State which would be 15 times the size of the West Bank and Gaza combined. It is now time for the Saudi rulers themselves to ‘take a risk for peace’.

The larger implications of such a solution to the Arab Israeli conflict would be profoundly positive and not only for the two parties directly involved. An immense amount of human suffering would be ended and a prime pretext for anti-Israeli hatred would be removed. But beyond that a living model for future progress within the Arab world, and even the larger Muslim world, would be created. A strong and secure Israel would now be free to make its own positive contribution to the region and on the world scene as well. A new momentum would be created for social and political reforms that are urgently needed throughout the Arab societies. And a vast cooperative project to totally transform the region by converting the vast deserts into a garden of Eden.

Present approaches are inherently impractical, illogical and small minded. What is needed is fresh thinking that is bold, optimistic and even visionary so that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be able ultimately to reconcile with the descendants of Abraham, Ishmael and Esau. Nothing less can succeed.

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PAIR Part I

Revision of Jan. 25.5, 2005

Part I of this plan will prove why the present schemes to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict absolutely cannot work. It also demonstrates why outside governments lack the credibility, trust and authority to propose or to impose their solutions to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. It demands full recognition for Jewish rights while preserving Arab rights. Years of unchallenged falsehoods about the history, origins and causes of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the history of the country variously known as the Land of Israel or Palestine, have become deeply embedded in the minds of Arabs, Jews and people throughout the world. An elaborate edifice has been built upon a foundation of falsehoods that has now become conventional wisdom. This edifice of falsehoods must first be totally demolished before a true peace between Arabs and Israelis can be achieved. Truth and peace are inseparable

Part I - Why the present ‘Land for Peace’ approach cannot work

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I A - Common, fundamental, negotiating principles are lacking.

I B - Historic truths are being ignored and distorted.

I C - The bitter and enduring hostility of the Arabs against Israel and Jews is not being addressed.

I D - There is no development plan to avoid a demographic time bomb.

I E - Imposing a settlement upon Israel would create dire risks to everyone.

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The following four reasons are discussed in the Appendix.

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I F - The nations have failed to recognize the historic rights of, and the immense debt they owe to, the Jewish People.

I G - All outside nations are morally, historically and intellectually unqualified to craft a just and lasting peace.

I H - The history and nature of Islam itself has not been confronted.

I I - Part of the blame for the current situation is due to long-term failures, mistakes and even crimes by some among the Jewish People.

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Efforts to resolve the mid-East conflict encounter insurmountable obstacles at the very outset because of disagreements over fundamental issues such as historical background, moral values and even definitions. Another sobering reality is the daunting task of replacing incorrect beliefs with the truth. "We’re faced with a difficult task. We need to teach the unteachable, and what we have to tell them is counter to the very illusions that are sustaining them." - The Company of Good and Evil by Ken Power and Craig Winn, pg 396.

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I - B Historic truths are being ignored and distorted. Deeply ingrained falsehoods about the historical background of the conflict must be corrected.

The current Arab-Israeli conflict was not inevitable but was artificially created. At the end of WWI Jewish and Arab leaders were in amicable agreement [link] over the Balfour Declaration and its boundaries. It was the British who violated their obligation and began instigating Arabs against Jews as far back as 1919 although they had issued, only three years before, the Balfour Declaration, which promised to establish a Jewish National Home in Palestine. Arab-Jewish relations never recovered from the pernicious "divide and rule" tactics employed by the British rulers of Palestine between 1918 and 1948. Before advancing towards a fair and just solution, the accumulated debris of years of myths and fallacies must first be exposed and jettisoned, clearing the way to consider fresh ideas based on truth and fairness.

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Contrary to current Arab claims the land of Israel is the ancient heritage of the Jewish People. The Bible says it clearly, the land itself provides archaeological testimony of prior Jewish sovereignty and secular history also confirms it. A Jewish state existed in the land of Israel twice, beginning over three thousand years ago under King David who established Jerusalem as its eternal capital. Two temples in Jerusalem served as the focus of Jewish spiritual and national life for over a thousand years. While it is true that the Jewish population of the country gradually declined after 70 C.E., because of repeated massacres and repression by the Roman colonizers and later conquerors, there has nevertheless been a Jewish community in the Land of Israel almost continuously for over three thousand years. To deny this historic truth is to block any chance for a just peace.

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There never was a state of Palestine. It was the Romans who changed the name from Provincia Judea to Provincia Philistia/Palaistina (after the Philistines in Gaza) and the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capilolina in an attempt to erase Jewish history following their crushing of the Jewish revolt. The name Palestine (a non-Arab name) originally designated a region but never a country, much like the term New England that represents a region in North America and not a sovereign country, past or present. As recently as 1948 the term "Palestinian" was usually employed to describe Jewish pioneers in the Land of Israel. The local Arabs had migrated in from neighboring Arab countries to find employment opportunities created by the Jews and they resented being called Palestinians. While it is true that Arabic- speaking people have lived in the area now called "Palestine" for hundreds of years, until the late nineteenth century their numbers were quite small. Only with increased Western influence in the country and the beginnings of large-scale Jewish settlement towards the end of the nineteenth century did the Arab population increase. Only after the PLO charter in 1969 did the local Arabs begin to refer to themselves as "Palestinian". The motive for the use of this new nationality word was largely political—to stake a claim on behalf of the Arab inhabitants, or former residents, to the land that had once again become "Israel" in 1948.

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Throughout history various peoples have assumed new identities for old ones, including those who had migrated to America as foreign refugees from Europe. Nonetheless, it must be stressed that the concept of a "Palestinian people" is a very recent one, in contrast to the Jewish identity and to the Jewish claim to the Land of Israel to which the ancient country was referred in the Bible and by ancient Jewish tradition.

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A revealing statement comes from PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein as quoted in the Dutch newspaper Trouw 3/31/77. In a moment of candor he admitted:

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"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct ‘Palestinian people’ to oppose Zionism."

In modern times the historic Jewish right to the land of Israel was recognized in the Balfour Declaration, accepted by the Emir Faisal, leader of the famous "Arab Revolt" against Turkish rule of the Arab lands and ratified by The League of Nations. Following WWI, the League created a "Mandate" for Palestine for the purpose of enabling the Jewish people to establish their National Home and England, as the Mandatory power, undertook the administrative responsibility.

Almost immediately after accepting the Mandate for Palestine, Britain, in pursuit of its own national interest, detached 35,000 square miles (over three fourths of "Palestine") to create the artificial entity, the Arab Kingdom of Trans-Jordan. This single act was contrary to the spirit and letter of the League of Nations Mandate document that the British had accepted as the basis for their rule over the territory. That new territory was to be the place for the local Arabs with the Jews possessing all of the remaining 10,000 square miles of the land located west of the Jordan River. That newly-created entity was the Arab-"Palestinian" state while the remaining quarter was to be set aside for the Jewish "Palestinians." Although the country of Jordan is mostly Palestinian Arab and is Judenrein (without Jews) today, attempts are still being made to detach additional portions of mandated Jewish territory west of the Jordan River to create a second Arab Palestinian state at Israel’s expense.

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The British also bilaterally transferred the Golan Heights to France in 1922, enabling the French to expand their area of French-controlled Syria. Thus much of the Arab-Israeli conflict has its origins as a direct result of British imperialism in imposing illogical and artificial boundaries upon numerous foreign peoples. Over the ensuing years, this has caused much conflict and suffering. Some of these boundaries are obsolete and should be revised in the interest of true peace and justice.

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It is also not true that all Arabs, from the beginning, universally opposed the return of the Jews. On the contrary, in 1919 at the Paris Peace Conference, the Emir Faisal, in his capacity as head of the Arab delegation, warmly endorsed the Zionist program to establish a Jewish National Home in Palestine as envisioned under the 1917 Balfour Declaration including large-scale immigration of Jews. More details [link] are provided later on in this paper.

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Nor is it true, as so many Arabs and Muslims have been led to believe, that the Koran rejects Jewish claims to the Land of Israel. Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Secretary General of the Italian Muslim Association, has said the Jewish right to the Land of Israel is inscribed in the Koran. He also traced how the original message of acceptance became perverted into one leading to rejection, murderous hatred and bloody conflict. The following verses from the Koran support the Jewish right to the Land of Israel.

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"And thereafter We said to the children of Israel: ‘Dwell securely in the Promised Land. And when the last warning will come to pass, we will gather you together in a mingled crowd.’ " (Koran 17:104, The Night Journey)

Palazzi’s discussion of these issues is found at www.tellthechildrenthetruth.com/ourmessage.htm#sheikh

Contrary to general belief this dispute is not over land but rather over Israel’s very existence. Twenty-two Arab countries already occupy over 5,000,000 square miles of territory vs. only 10,000 square miles for Israel, which includes all of the disputed ("occupied") territories. It is simply untrue to claim that Arabs need 0.04% more land (i.e. the areas comprising the ‘West Bank’ and Gaza) in which to create a 23rd Arab country and second Arab-"Palestinian" country! They already have a surplus of countries and a vast excess of land... over 600 times the land area as does tiny Israel. Arab land claims constitute a deliberate attempt to deny Israel her legitimate right to exist in peace in any part of the historic Land of Israel.

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Arab rulers and politicians may express vague hints of peace for western ears but these statements are totally contradicted by their murderous exhortations in Arabic to fight unceasingly for total victory over Israel. Maps of the mid-East published by the PLO/PA and other Arab governments, invariably show no Israel at all! Many Arab rulers and political factions continue to deny sovereignty in this region to any society that is not both Arab and Muslim. That denial applies to Christians, Jews, Bahais, Druze, Copts, Kurds and Berbers, as well as Jews - even though each of these peoples has lived in the Middle East since time immemorial.

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Land-for-peace-based proposals contain no provisions for addressing the decades of indoctrination of the Arab peoples in hatred for Jews that is the fundamental driving force of the conflict. Nor do these proposals contain any provisions for replacing the present corrupt and violence-oriented leadership of the Palestinian Arab community with one genuinely committed to peace, democracy and the rule of law. Worst of all, these proposals by the Quartet (U.S., Russia, E.U. and U.N.) contain no plans for re-educating the Palestinian and other Arab peoples in democratic values, the rule of law and tolerance for people of other faiths and other ethnic groups, including Jews.

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The U.S. and other governments continue to ignore root causes of Arab hostility in favor of the false and simplistic belief that Israel’s "occupation" of Arab land is the over-riding issue and source of all ills. By their logic it follows that ending the "occupation" and expelling Jews from the territories (that is ethnic cleansing), but not also and equally expelling Israeli Arabs from Israel, However, a parallel expulsion of Arabs from Israel-controlled territory would not, in their way of thinking, further a similar just and lasting peace! All nations must be obliged to confront the real causes of the conflict and not be allowed to perpetuate their simplistic fictions and false moral equivalences. This section lists some of the real and varied causes of Arab hostility.

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As Arabs began to search for ways to cope with a changing world and the challenge of the West, an extremely militant and narrow form of Islam, based on a combination of German Nazi ideology with the most narrow and intolerant interpretation of the Muslim scriptures and hadith, began to take root in the Arab and Islamic worlds. Rejecting key aspects of Western civilization, notably democracy, tolerance for different beliefs, respect for individual conscience and recognition of women as equal to men, organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood sought to combine a return to the values and morality of 7th century Arabia with the mass mobilization techniques of the twentieth century fascist movements in Europe. Central to this "political Islam" or "Islamism" is belief in a Jihad, understood to mean "Holy War," to place the entire world under the rule of Muslims, Sharia (Islamic religious law), and a single Caliph, or religious-political absolute ruler. This includes Jihad against moderate Islamic regimes and moderate Muslims and even the assassination of leaders who would live in peace with Jews. Two well-known examples of the latter are the assassination in 1948 of Jordan's King Abdullah and the 1981 assassination of Egypt's Anwar Sadat.

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This Islamist philosophy has thoroughly spread to the Palestinian Arabs as it has to all sectors of Arab society. (Yasir Arafat's father was a founding member of the Muslim Brotherhood.) Arab terrorism is reaching new heights of barbarism with large numbers of young Arabs indoctrinated into committing every kind of atrocity against Jewish men, women and children. For the terrorists and their sponsors, no crime is too diabolical or fiendish to commit. No tactic is too heinous to consider. No truth too great to deny, including denial of the Holocaust itself. (When the U.N. recently observed the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the extermination camps in WWII and to commemorate the Holocaust, all the Arab countries, except Jordan, refused to be present as if to send a message that they turn their backs on any compassion or even acknowledgement of the destruction of Six Million Jews. And this outrage did not even provoke any criticism from the international community.) Even child sacrifice, in the form of teenage homicide/genocide bombers, is celebrated. Young men are inducted into the service of Islam with promises of heavenly rewards (including seventy-two young virgins) and all they have to do is detonate themselves. Even blood money is paid to their proud and celebrating parents.

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This is a social pathology of murderous proportions, misusing religion to legitimize it, and should be denounced soundly by every civilized voice on the planet. And yet we actually observe so-called statesmen minimizing, ‘understanding’ and even justifying the slaughter of Jews. With such a mindset prevailing among the Palestinian Arabs, Israel’s neighbors and even many others in the democratic West, it is impossible for any sovereign Jewish state of any size to be acceptable to Arabs. This is not a dispute over real estate but over Israel’s very existence as a Jewish state.

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With such an extremist, fanatical mindset prevalent in the Arab world it is pointless to negotiate any agreement over territory until this mindset is changed by the dissemination of accurate information and civilized values within the Arab countries. The rigid persistence of this false territorial assumption constitutes an obstacle to even a first step toward a just and lasting solution.

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Any true solution requires an end to Arab hostility and this will require a radical shift in beliefs that have persisted and been reinforced for decades and, in some instances, for centuries. This hostility has deep roots that feed hatred generation after generation. These roots of hatred must be clearly identified so that they can then be addressed and, hopefully, reversed. Western nations, including the U.S., have remained conspicuously oblivious and have remained largely derelict in their moral obligation to publicly reject this unremitting Arab hatred toward Jews in general and Israel in particular.

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Present-day fundamentalist Islamism preaches a return to the spirit of jihad as it was in the first Islamic century, which involves relentless expansion by conquest and conversion. As taught by fundamentalist Islam, non-Muslims are to pay a special tax and accept a lower status, encouraged or forced to convert to Islam or, if neither choice is selected, then simply killed.

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Most Muslims do not practice a war-like jihad. Unfortunately, Islamic fundamentalists can and all to often do misuse and distort traditional Muslim teaching in order to enlist support for their war against Israel, America and the entire West. The fundamentalists often insist that Muslims must follow what they claim to be the true teachings of Islam by either joining the jihad itself or at least donating money to finance the activities of those who do practice jihad. Today, this translates into many Muslims donating money that ends up financing terrorism in the name of Islam.

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What now goes by the general name of global terrorism is actually a jihad to spread Islamic rule to every country. The barbaric methods that shock and horrify decent people are a part of fundamentalist- Islamist teachings which look backward to the most violent, expansionist periods of Islamic history rather than to its periods of enlightenment, tolerance and material progress. It is dangerous self-delusion for the West to think that its conflict with certain elements in the Islamic world is just about "terrorism." This Western delusion fails to understand the Arab-Israeli conflict as well because the West has yet to grasp the radical Islamist rejection of any non-Islamic society. They try to reduce it to a mere land dispute over what some call the "West Bank" and Gaza. In reality it is about the Islamist movements' rejection of any non-Islamic sovereignty in their midst.

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Much of the blame rests with Western countries, including America and England, for providing the petrodollars to Saudi Arabia while ignoring their use in funding Islamic extremism. These governments certainly could not have been unaware of where the funds were going, for what these funds were used or the resultant dangers the use of such funds might pose for the world.

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Perhaps the West may have coldly calculated that most of the potential threat of violence would be directed at Israel and Jews rather than themselves. After 9/11, however, it is painfully obvious that the West had miscalculated. Any solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict must therefore include confronting the West on its complicity in facilitating the worldwide spread of Islamic extremism emanating from Saudi Arabia and acknowledge its responsibility for its consequences.

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No peace can be secure as long as Islamic hatred and extremism persists and is not resoundingly and unequivocally rejected by the nations, including the U.S. administration. An essential requirement for peace is a re-education of the Arab public in the actual character and history of Israel and the Jews. Another part of that re-education requires a sustained attack on the crude anti-Semitic falsehoods that have been inculcated into Arab society for decades by the media, the schools and the clergy throughout the Arab world. Without such a massive re-education campaign, leading to a fundamental change in Arab attitudes towards Jews and Israel, no stable, long-lasting peace plan can succeed.

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Arabs resent their cultural, social and economic backwardness. Hostility to Israel has provided a way that Arab rulers and politicians can divert the anger of the public away from themselves and evade the need to make essential reforms in Arab society to bring it fully into the modern world. Instead of critical introspection, Arab leaders have chosen to blame and scapegoat others, especially Israel and the Jews. There are a number of thoughtful Arabs/Muslims today who are finding the courage to engage in critical introspection and confront the reforms that need to be made. Sadly they are in the minority.

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Efforts at reconciliation are not being given sufficient encouragement and support by all parties. It is essential that moderate Arab/Muslim clerics, Israeli/Jewish rabbis and political leaders meet in a spirit of truth and reconciliation. The Root and Branch association, [link] www.rb.org.il, with Sheikh Palazzi, a Muslim scholar as an active participant, is an example of this effort. The Arabs must give up their illusions and their hatred and recognize that Jews are not their enemy.

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In the 1980’s Saudi oil wealth began funding the spread of the Wahhabi [link to Appendix 1-C] message of anti-American, anti-Jewish and anti-Western hatred around the world. And, with the coming to power of the Ayatollahs in Iran, a second Islamic source has emerged to promote militant Islam within the region and beyond. American and other Western officials have largely ignored the dangers posed by this campaign of hatred and ignored its negative effects on establishing peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

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Western petrodollars were used by the Saudis to fund Madrassas, [link to Asian Times www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/EA14Df01.html] or Islamic schools, in Muslim and Western countries, including the U.S. In these schools Muslim children are taught radical, extreme Wahhabi doctrines rather than more moderate traditional Muslim beliefs. They are also taught to regard Western societies, especially those with significant Christian and Jewish populations, as corrupt societies to be converted, defeated or killed. The world is to become Islamic and they are to help bring this about. The result of this indoctrination has been total non-acceptance of a Jewish Israel, no matter how small its size. It also has led to Osama bin Laden, the 9/11 attacks, Yasser Arafat, terror networks and to homicide/genocide bombings. It has led to violent internal conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims in a growing number of countries. Today a powerful force among many Muslims is religious intolerance and rejection of non-Muslims. Along with that is a sense of mission to convert or eliminate the non-Muslims and to strive for an Islamic world. Moderate voices among the Muslims often face rejection and sometimes even death. Most of the Islamic world has yet to come to terms with modernity and the concept of pluralism and religious tolerance. In such an unhealthy ideological climate the Arabs will never accept a sovereign Jewish state, no matter how territorially confined.

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Today the entire Western world is in a mindless rush to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict by establishing a Jewish-free Palestinian Arab state in the territories, in return for yet more empty Arab promises of peace and without even the semblance of any process to re-educate the Palestinian Arabs out of their hatred for Jews, Israel and the West. After WWII the U.S. made sure to take the time and apply the resources and force required to re-educate the Japanese and Germans toward a peaceful and democratic society. Peace in the Middle East requires a similar approach.

Present ‘peace’ schemes envision establishing a Palestinian Arab state in Gaza and the West Bank. One of many reasons why this plan will fail, even assuming the unlikelihood of Arab-Jewish harmony, is the demographic problem. The land area is far too tiny to contain the natural growth of the present populations for more than a limited time. No advocate has fully addressed this obvious problem. Any serious peace proposal must plan for at least a century into the future. This means ample territory for both parties to accommodate their projected population growths plus all necessary infrastructure, economic and environmental considerations. That would also have to allow for immigration by both Jews into Israel and Palestinian Arabs from refugee camps into their Palestinian Arab state. The current area comprising Israel and its territories of some 10,000 square miles is hopelessly insufficient. The projections of population growth will tell the story.

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Note: On January 10, 2005 a report [link] www.pademographics was issued that revised downward the number of Arabs living in Gaza and in Judea and Samaria together with a lower rate of growth. The new population numbers are included in this study. However it will be seen that even at the lower figures a serious demographic problem still remains.

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Israel = 7,849 square miles. Population is shown in millions

Present growth rates for Jews and Israeli Arabs are projected for 100 years beginning in 2004.

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A Palestinian Arab state in Gaza and West Bank = 2,316 square miles. Population is shown in millions. Present growth rates are projected for 100 years beginning in 2004.

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Some representative population densities expressed in people per square mile are listed: Saudi Arabia = 29; USA = 80; Egypt = 198; China = 361; Belgium = 885; India = 928; Netherlands = 1,246; Japan = 8,795.

The very low density of Saudi Arabia suggests room to absorb a few million of their fellow (Palestinian) Arabs. Egypt and Arabia have vast territories and their absorptive capacities can be substantially increased by converting their deserts into fertile areas. Japan has a much higher density but their society is socially stable, peaceful, highly developed, homogenous and has long since stabilized its growth - critical advantages which are lacking for a potential Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

With the Arab population in a potential Palestinian Arab state doubling about every 25 years and quickly reaching high density there is no proposed plan to cope with the requirements of such a state. And while their populations would be doubling there would also be a striving to raise the living standards which would see requirements for resources increase even faster than their rapid population growth. The 50-year projections will not be achievable, much less the 100-year projections. Living conditions will become unbearable in the Palestinian Arab state and hence explosive even without a political conflict and the political conflict still remains a major factor.

But Israel’s Jews too need adequate living space for inevitable future growth although their population pressures will be felt somewhat later. The 5,000,000 Jews of present day Israel will likely become at least 30,000,000 in one hundred years based only on natural increase plus moderate immigration from the Jewish Diaspora. There are also long dormant Jewish communities of considerable numbers in unlikely places that are now awakening [www.kulanu.org] to their ancient heritage. In addition, the long, near-dormant, flow of converts may be resuming in our time. During the eras of the Greeks, the Romans and the early Church there was a substantial flow of converts to Judaism. Converts comprising even a tiny fraction of one percent of the global population could total in the millions. Rising anti-Semitism will also drive more and more Jews to seek refuge in Israel. The fertility rates of Israeli women are rising gradually which would also contribute to an increase in the growth rate. Given all of these factors, the population of Israel could far exceed 30 million in 100 years.

The dangerous nature of compound population growth is that it can be underestimated in the early stages. Once the first threshold of difficulty becomes evident it may already be too late to avoid the next doubling in population which triggers a social/political explosion. Avoiding this danger requires advanced planning that assures ample space to grow for at least the next century. It is absolutely clear that no viable solution is possible either for Jews or for Arabs within the current geographical boundaries! Advocates of a two-state solution, within the present territories, offer no development plan that addresses any of these issues

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The U.S.-sponsored Road Map is being promoted as the only way to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and is therefore a key part of the present approach. Israel reluctantly accepted the sacrifices inherent in this plan albeit with requests to alleviate certain harsh provisions. The U.S. took note of those requests but also refused to provide relief to Israel from those objectionable provisions despite the prior American promise not to impose a settlement. Further, the Road Map is supported by the other three members of the ‘Quartet’, namely the E.U., the U.N. and Russia all of whom are quite prepared to pressure Israel in support of Arab demands. Thus the present approach to peace contains the very real prospect of imposing a settlement on Israel despite possible harm to Israeli security. This possibility is part of the current approach that must be totally rejected to make way for a genuine peace initiative.

Despite Israel’s reputed military strength, it remains a tiny presence in a vast, and largely hostile, Arab world containing powerful enemies still bent on her destruction. Israel’s strength cannot eliminate her real vulnerabilities and cannot afford to ever lose a war and still survive. To impose a settlement, such as the Road Map, would seriously weaken her ability to survive.

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Israel remains vulnerable. Israel is a tiny speck of land comprising only 0.2% of the vast Arab territories. It has only 5 million Jews vs. about 270 million regional Arabs. Israel has no ally ready to offer military support. The U.S. has mutual defense treaties with dozens of nations but not with Israel. Israel’s enemies have secured weapons and support from many nations including the U.S. while Israel is entirely dependent on uncertain, not-always-reliable American support. Israeli society is already battered and bruised from years of war and hostility extending from the 1920’s. Many of her people now suffer emotional trauma with 20% already in poverty. Israel’s tiny size makes her increasingly vulnerable to more lethal and longer range weapons constantly being acquired by her ever-determined Arab enemies. Even her 1.2 million Arab citizens are being incited to become an internal fifth column. Another vulnerability is the ever-present threat of surprise attack as demonstrated as far back as the 1973 Yom Kippur War and despite Israel’s high quality intelligence service.

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Jewish experience and collective memories must be taken into account in any viable settlement. The Jewish people have twice built and lost their nation in ancient times. They subsequently endured two thousand years of exile and unspeakable persecution. In WWII they were targeted victims of a Holocaust resulting in the murder of six million Jews. Even after that the Arabs and the world could still not agree to let them live in peace on a small fraction of their ancient homeland. The Arabs launched multiple wars and, in nearly every case,

Israel was abandoned by her ‘friends’ to sink or swim.

No amount of soothing words from so-called friends can erase the memory of Israel’s long and bitter history. If Arab hostility and outside world hostility or indifference persist, Israelis may at some point decide that they have had enough and conclude that harsh pre-emptive action must be taken to end the ever-ongoing state of siege. Thus, at a minimum, Israel needs defensible borders and an adequate territorial buffer to help overcome her understandable fear of surprise attack and/or endless wars of attrition.

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The need for collective security against weapons of mass destruction in the hands of fanatical regimes must be part of any Middle East peace settlement. Israelis passionately and desperately want peace. But, being realistic, they created a powerful nuclear deterrence, just as did the U.S. and other countries. They have also built a defensive missile shield to lessen the temptation of an aerial first strike from her enemies.

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Deterrence may not work in this case. During the Cold War MAD, or Mutually Assured destruction, was the sword of Damocles held over the heads of two nuclear powers, America and the soviet Union. It worked for fifty years and continues today. But the Ayatollahs of Iran already announced repeatedly their intentions to go nuclear and to exterminate Israel regardless of and Israeli counterstrike. They calculate that with almost 300 million Arabs plus 60 million Iranians they can afford to sacrifice millions in their holy jihad to finally eliminate the Jewish presence in their midst. One key member of Iran’s ruling Islamist-fundamentalist elite has expressed their collective intentions [link to www.worldthreats.com/middle_east/iran_nuclear.htm] this way:

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"If one day, the world of Islam comes to possess the weapons currently in Israel’s possession- on that day this method of global arrogance would come to an end. This is because the use of a nuclear bomb in Israel will leave nothing on the ground, whereas it will only damage the world of Islam" --- Former Iranian President Rafsanjani, December 14, 2001.

The end game. The Iranian regime is currently racing to acquire the nuclear warheads and the missiles to deliver them. Israel’s military and political leadership may at some point conclude that they have no choice but to take action to end this threat. If the U.S. and Europe do not disarm Iran in time (and we can’t be certain how close Iran is to operational nuclear capability) then Israel will have to make an agonizing decision. The west may pressure Israel not to pre-empt, while also offering her no protection from Iran. For Israel the prospects will become very bleak. Sensing the specter of another Holocaust, feeling abandoned and betrayed, Israel may be driven by desperation to invoke their very real ‘Samson option’ that would promptly turn the Middle East, including the oil fields, into a radioactive wasteland.

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A lasting, stable peace therefore requires that the Western powers, including the United States, firmly commit themselves to taking joint action with Israel to remove the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of fanatical Islamist-fundamentalist regimes. Such a firm commitment to Israel’s security is needed not only to protect Israel, but to protect the Western world and the Muslim countries as well. It is also a prerequisite to a meaningful peace between Israel and the Arabs.

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The essence of the entire P.A.I.R. initiative is simple. It is the orderly resettlement of Palestinian Arabs into a large new state of their own, inside Arabia. However, current thinking is so solidified in favor of confiscating Israeli land for that state, that many strong objections will arise to this new approach. Therefore, it is still necessary to address this simple concept from many sides, and in some detail, in order to answer likely objections and demonstrate its feasibility and desirability.

II I - But won’t the Palestinian Arabs reject this idea?

II M - The future choices can be visualized by presenting three maps.

II A – Four primary points: This proposal to solve the Arab - Israeli conflict includes four primary points. These four can be achieved, but only with the inclusion of point 5 below

1. Achieve a ‘two-state’ solution.

2. Exchange ‘land for peace’.

3. Solve the Palestinian Arab refugee problem.

4. End the ‘occupation’.

5. A genuine peace, based on historic truth, enabling both sides to safeguard their vital interests and with ample room to grow and to thrive.

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The first four points are essentially what the U.S. administration claims they are already trying to achieve.

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The PAIR plan will achieve a two-state solution with a Jewish Israel and a separate Palestinian Arab state, with both states of viable size to accommodate future growth for at least the next century. It will bring about an exchange of land for peace - with land-rich Saudi Arabia providing the land for peace. And it will solve the Palestinian Arab refugee problem though resettlement of refugees and other Palestinian Arabs into decent homes of their own, on land of the their own and in their own sovereign state. This process will also end the ‘occupation’ however such may be defined.

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This proposal may appear bold and audacious but judgment should be reserved until after thoughtful consideration of the entire plan. A just and lasting peace with honor requires the courage to be bold and audacious and not bound by the limitations of the past. The constituent elements of the P.A.I.R. initiative, as defined below, comprise an integrated whole.

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People speak about the ‘roots’ of the current Arab-Israeli conflict. These ‘roots’ are neither Arab nor Israeli but British. In 1919 the Arabs and the Jews were poised to embark on a peaceful and bright future as friends and neighbors in the Middle East. But it was the British government itself which instigated the Arabs to oppose the Jewish presence, which led to anti-Jewish riots. This direct British incitement against the Jews continued until 1948 when they finally withdrew their troops from Palestine. After that withdrawal they continued their war against the Jews, but in more covert ways.

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At the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 His Royal Highness Emir Feisal Ibn Hussein, head of the Arab delegation and acting on behalf of the Arab Kingdom of Hejaz and all Arab peoples, warmly supported the Jewish return from exile in his letters to Jewish leaders Dr. Chaim Weizmann and Felix Frankfurter. After WWI there was an amicable agreement [link] between Jews and Arabs, based on the Balfour Declaration of 1917. this declaration called for a Jewish National Home in Palestine comprising 45,000 square miles. Noteworthy is the fact that this 45,000 square miles extended both east and west of the Jordan river in what are now Jordan and Israel! That agreement was formalized and ratified by the League of Nations and should be viewed as part of international law.

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The noble spirit exemplified by Feisal and Weizmann needs to be publicized and rekindled as the basis for a just and lasting peace. British duplicity needs to be exposed to its principle victims among both Jews and Arabs, and to the entire world, including the American and British peoples. Let responsibility be placed where it properly belongs in order to press for a full accounting and for policy reform. Too many peoples have suffered from the legacy of British imperialism in various parts of the world.

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Size requirements: There has never been either a Palestinian Arab state or a Palestinian Arab people. However, in recent years, such a national consciousness, having been deliberately manufactured, now exists and it must be dealt with. For the sake of peace their aspirations should be, and can be, accommodated but only as long as that accommodation does not infringe upon Jewish national territory, sovereignty, rights and Israeli national security. As shown earlier the 2,300 square miles of Judea and Samaria (a.k.a. the "West Bank") plus the Gaza Strip is hopelessly short of what is needed for a long-term solution. A more adequate space would be at least 30,000 square miles for a long-term permanent solution. This area would be sufficient to absorb all Palestinian Arabs in the Middle East (now estimated at about 7-8 million) should they all chose to migrate to one place. It would also to allow ample space for natural population growth over the next century.

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In 1922 Trans Jordan (today called Jordan) was carved out of 76% of "Palestine" and became the first "Palestinian Arab" state. Although this British action was in violation of the League of Nation’s own directives, the end result was that "Palestine" was reduced to territory west of the Jordan river.

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Although most of Jordan’s current population is Palestinian Arab, its ability to absorb millions more Palestinian Arabs is likely limited. This would not only strain their economy but would further radicalize their population and possibly topple the ‘moderate’ King Abdullah. It could result in Jordan becoming a radical PLO/PA state next to Israel. It is better to bypass Jordan and enable the Palestinians to build their own homeland in a more suitable location.

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A far better choice would be Saudi Arabia with its vast area populated by only 25 million people plus its immense oil wealth. This would also place sufficient distance between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs to reduce that proximity which leads to confrontation. Saudi Arabia is the largest Arab country with 856,350 square miles and a Palestinian Arab state of 30,000 square miles would require only 3.5% of Saudi territory.

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Saudi Arabia, in particular, has a huge moral obligation to extend itself for peace. They have benefited lavishly from their western-developed oil wealth and from continued western support and protection. At the same time they have been the main instigators of hatred toward Israel and the West and have funded terror and the teaching of radical Islamic beliefs in many countries. Recent revelations have exposed Saudi support of terrorism. They must now make genuine efforts to undo some of the worldwide tension they helped to create. A good start would be an improvement of their original "Saudi Plan" whereby they donate a tiny corner of their enormous territory for a fair and just solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict which they, in no small measure, helped perpetrate.

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History provides for a direct Jewish claim against Saudi Arabia that strengthens demands upon the latter for their cooperation in solving the Palestinian Arab problem.

* "Arabs in History" - Bernard Lewis: Prior to Mohammed Jewish tribes were scattered across Arabia and Medina was a major Jewish city. [however]"...as soon as the Arabs achieved unity through the agency of Mohammed, they attacked and ultimately eliminated the Jews."

* "The Traditions of Islam" - Alfred Guillaume: "Teh early Arab Muslims pillaged Jewish wealth and land, carried out mass expulsions, enslavement, extortion, forced conversion, and the mass execution fo the Jews in Medina, Khaibar and Qurayza. these actions of early Muslim rulers eliminated the entire Jewish population of northern Arabia. Jewish survivors of these violent and repressive measures wee considered dhimmi, i.e. second class citizens, and forced to pay a 50 percent annual tribute un exchange for their lives."

Some may argue that the PAIR initiative entails an imposition plus political risks to the Saudi regime. Be that as it may, it is long overdue for this regime to take risks for peace. and to ‘sacrifice for peace.’ In the long run, new, progressive, peace-oriented policy by Saudi Arabia would do a great deal to stabilize and strengthen the country, and to defeat the Islamic extremists and terrorists who threaten the Saudi regime itself.

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Size requirement: The size of Israel should reflect both future needs and historic justice. As shown earlier the Jewish population of Israel could reach at least 12 million in 50 years and at least 28 million in a century as shown in Part I-D [link]. Those numbers reflect only conservative demographic projections for future needs. But the requirements of historic justice must also be respected. Jews have a right to extra growth to compensate for the tens of millions never born because of earlier slaughter. Instead of 28 million there could be a target of at least 50 million Jews in 100 years.

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There must also be additional territory in which to actively encourage replacement of the millions of slaughtered Jews with state social policy. European anti-Semitism over the centuries cost the lives of an estimated 7-10 million Jews (Father Edward Flannery’s book, The Anguish of the Jews) plus the Holocaust which added another 6 million victims. In WWII the Arabs strongly opposed allowing European Jews any refuge in the Land of Israel which places yet another direct moral obligation upon them for land compensation. Following WWII many Jews from Arab lands were evicted, losing both homes and property and with no compensation for those loses.

The prior existence of two Jewish commonwealths in ancient times in the land of Israel constitutes still another compelling claim to the land. Even after WWI the League of Nations recognized the connection of the Jewish People to its historic homeland. Jews must be accorded their "right of return" to their full territory promised in the original League of Nations Mandate. That would still leave the Arabs with 111 times more land than Israel..

New boundaries: Arbitrary boundaries, drawn by outside imperialist nations for selfish purposes, without historical, legal or moral justification cannot be considered sacred, legitimate, or permanent. Good boundaries, like good fences, make good neighbors. Any change in boundaries can generate ill feelings from those who must cede territory. Therefore it is better to ‘bite the bullet’ now and recognize the need for full boundary adjustments all at once, in the interest of a permanent long term peace, instead of suffering periodic wars over untenable boundaries. For more details go to "boundaries" in the Appendix

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Twice, the Jews had their country with the holy temples in Jerusalem and twice it was taken away by alien forces. Yet for the next two thousand years the Jews maintained both a physical presence and emotional attachment to that land. Even today Jews are still returning to the land promised to them in the Bible.

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One thousand four hundred years ago the Arab peoples dwelled throughout the Arabian Peninsula until they were converted to Islam by its founder, Mohammed. During the next hundred years the Arabs conquered vast areas of North Africa and Asia. The results of that conquest can be seen today with the twenty-two Arab Muslim countries and in the additional dozens of non-Arab Muslim countries. Since the time of Mohammed, these Arab Muslims have conquered and occupied much of the continent of North Africa and large tracts of Asia and Eastern Europe, displacing many native tribes and carrying out forced conversions.

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Today Arab Muslims number about 270 million and control 5 million square miles of territory. Over one billion more non-Arab Muslims control another 5 million square miles. A mere five million Jews in the single Jewish nation have but 7,992 square miles. Jews have a country that is less than 0.2% of the Arab lands and barely 0.1% of the combined Muslim lands.

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This brief perspective shows the contrast between the immense inheritance of the Arab peoples and that of the Jews. Today any fair settlement between Arabs and Jews must recognize this significant disproportionality

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Arab hostility toward Israel and Jews runs deep. That hostility is intensified by vile propaganda and a poisonous education system that the West has failed to challenge. That hostility is part of an intractable and uncompromising mind set that can both order and deliver unimaginable violence. This complex hostility must be vigorously confronted and defused on all levels and re-directed toward more constructive ends.

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There are moderate Muslim clerics and theologians who have challenged the theology of extremist Islamists. Religious Jews and moderate Muslim clerics must provide a stronger public image of respectful dialogue. In 1919 Emir Feisal addressed the Jews as "cousins" of the Arabs, both having suffered at the hands of great powers. He welcomed the Jews to come home and to live in peace and beneficial cooperation with their Arab neighbors. That wise and generous spirit must be encouraged and promoted.

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The Arab tradition of seeking honor and dignity have found destructive expression in their pursuit of a jihad that seeks victory over Israel, with Palestinian Arabs spearheading the charge. That energy must be redirected towards a different jihad involving constructive nation-building of a new, peaceful, prosperous, democratic Palestinian Arab state on the Arabian peninsula. Moderate Muslim clerics must be enlisted to convince Palestinian Arabs that this relocation would be in their best interests. The far greater glory and dignity must be seen as peaceful nation-building rather than the national destruction of Israel.

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Although some Palestinian Arabs may ultimately choose other countries for emigration and permanent residence, this plan envisions the vast number of them migrating to a designated 35,000 square miles (only 4%) of Saudi Arabia for the sole purpose of establishing a second Palestinian Arab state.

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This would offer a superb opportunity to attempt a new initiative for peace and create a bright new beginning. Located well away from Israel, it would eliminate direct contact between the two sides and the associated suffering it has engendered. It would truly be a win-win situation. The Palestinian Arabs would be gainfully employed and creatively involved for a century in directly building their own new country. Vast oil and other mineral resources in this area would provide a strong initial basis for the Palestinian economy. Both sides would also experience a huge reduction in the economic costs associated with their conflict. Many years of hateful indoctrination against Jews could finally begin to dissipate, given enough time and proper conditions. There would be no more ‘occupation’ and Palestinian Arabs would have ample room for future population growth. They could exist peacefully within the Arabian Peninsula. they would even be near the holy sites of Mecca and Medina, the foci of their ancestral/religious roots.

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The bulk of the 6-7 million Palestinian Arabs would relocate as new homes and infrastructure are built. Financing would come from multiple sources including sale of their current homes, a peace dividend, international loans and grants, etc. The billions in PLO/PA assets that were under Arafat’s control should be exposed, confiscated, placed under international administration and used to compensate Palestinian Arabs for their land claims instead of funding terror. Far larger and more difficult relocations of various populations have occurred during the last century. (It is reported that well over 100 million people in the world are currently crossing borders in search of a better life.) The cost might run $500 billion for the entire program assuming 7 million Palestinian Arabs and $70,000 allocated per each family member including children. Spread over ten years it is $50 billion per year. Arab oil wealth plus bloated Arab military budgets should be tapped to cover half the cost with the rich nations coming up with the balance. This is a one time investment in peace which is always cheaper than war. Note that the present failed situation is very costly with no end in sight.

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Note that recent studies estimate that the 900,000 Jews who fled Arab countries between the 1930’s and 1960’s left behind property worth about $100 billion which is rightfully owed to them. Just as the PAIR initiative advocates fair compensation to Palestinian Arabs who are resettled to better conditions elsewhere, there remains a just claim by Jews from Arab lands to finally receive compensation for property left behind in their former countries of residence.

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This resettling program should also appeal to many of the 1.2 million Israeli Arabs. In future years their high birth rate will create an impossible internal situation, both for them and for Israel. In addition many of them do not identify with Israel but rather consider themselves part of the Palestinian Arab people. The Israeli Arabs would provide a very valuable leadership element in the new Palestinian Arab state because they have the valuable experience of having been exposed to a modern democratic society plus a good level of education. They could be motivated to become the generation of new leaders and managers replacing the hopelessly corrupt regime of the PLO/PA. They would also be needed to assist in the absorption of those low skilled Palestinian Arabs arriving from refugee camps and poor towns in the West Bank.

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Under the P.A.I.R. initiative some non-Jews, including Arabs, Christians, Muslims, Druze, Beduins, Bahai, and others would continue to live inside Israel. Arabs and Druze who have demonstrated their loyalty to the State of Israel by serving in the Israel Defense forces, fighting and often giving their lives in defense of the Jewish State, would of course remain, as would their families. So would those Arabs who have risked their lives in other ways to help protect Israel’s security and fight terrorism (the much-maligned and misnamed "collaborators") and their families. On the other hand, those Arabs who presently hold Israeli citizenship but who identify themselves as Palestinians and Arabs, not as Israelis, and who view the Jewish State as an enemy or a foreign entity, would join their Palestinian brethren in building the new Palestinian State, on its own territory.

Some critics will argue that Arabia is mostly uninhabited desert with only about 1% of the area being cultivatable land. At the time of the Balfour Declaration there were ‘experts’ who argued that Palestinian land was too barren to support a mass influx of refugees. The Jewish pioneers proved them wrong by making the desert bloom. The same can and must be done in the vast areas of Arabia with Palestinian Arabs leading the transformation. The world is losing arable land to desertification at a time of rising populations. The world needs the Middle East to again be a verdant garden as it was in ancient times. More details on creating this transformation and the benefits to the local population are provided in Part III and in the appendix.

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Any discussion of an Israeli-Palestinian Arab settlement usually begins with the assumption that, of all the peoples in the world, only Palestinian Arabs cannot be relocated elsewhere. We are told that ‘relocation’ can only mean more Palestinian Arabs moving from refugee camps in neighboring countries into Israel and of Jews being forcibly evicted out of Judea, Samaria (the "West Bank") and Gaza . This concept is inherently racist and cannot be justified under any circumstances.

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History is replete with example after example of mass population relocations. The creation of India and Pakistan involved bi-lateral relocations even in the midst of extreme violence which led to over one million deaths. Many Germans were forcibly relocated in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Fifteen million ethnic Germans were forcibly relocated from areas that had previously been part of Germany and Austria, but were awarded to Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and other countries by the victorious Allies after World War II. None of those Germans received financial compensation for their confiscated properties. And, over the last two thousand years, no other people has faced one expulsion after another --- or one mass slaughter after another, than have the Jews. For this reason alone, Jews take any forced transfer very seriously. They also take threats to their existence very seriously. Israel represents that final "red line" across which no Jew should be expected to cross. Israel is a very tiny country where every territorial line is a "red line." The Jews of Arab countries were virtually expelled en masse between the 1930's and 1960's. Their property was seized without any compensation. In most cases, the Arab Jews were just lucky to make it out alive. Now it is time to complete the population exchange. The Arab countries can take back their Arabs just as Israel took in its Jews. But, because Jew are not Arabs, they will pay fair compensation.

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Relocation of Palestinian Arabs under the P.A.I.R iitiative would be radically different from the numerous instances of forced, violent and unplanned expulsions and displacements of peoples that have occurred in the past. Resettlement would be conducted in an orderly and carefully planned way, with full compensation for any property left behind, the organized resettlement of all moveable property and with provision for new land, housing, employment, health and general infrastructure to enable the resettled communities to have a wholesome standard of living.

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It seems that just about everyone opposes resettling the Palestinian Arabs. All outside nations are opposed as are all Arab governments. The PLO/PA not only rejects any talk of resettlement but also demands the ‘right of return’ of millions of Arabs to places inside Israel itself. In addition, the present Israeli government and the American Jewish leadership is generally opposed to resettlement of Palestinian Arabs although they fail to confront the unworkability of a Palestinian Arab state inside Israel and they offer no credible plan for a win-win long range solution.

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It would seem that everyone has been heard from - everyone except the Palestinian Arabs themselves. But we are told by their corrupt leaders and various non-Palestinian Arab voices that they are unanimous in strongly rejecting any possibility of resettlement. These voices seem overly anxious to bury this idea in advance even before the Palestinian Arabs have had a fair chance to hear of this plan, to debate it freely and to give it full consideration.

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But suppose that some Palestinian Arabs began to look favorably upon a viable and generous resettlement plan. In that situation it would then become progressively more difficult for others to reject resettlement on their behalf. Is the zeal to reject resettlement in reality a sinister attempt to lock the Palestinian Arabs (and Israel) into a bad solution before they have had a chance to choose freely?

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Self-appointed Palestinian Arab spokespeople will naturally attempt to reject any idea of resettlement while claiming to represent all Palestinian Arabs. However, a poll conducted among the Palestinian Arabs by Bir Zeit University on the "West Bank" and published on September 7 and 8, 2001 showed that, if given the chance, 21.9% would choose to emigrate. In early 2004 another poll by the Palestinian Arab Center for Public Opinion shows 37% willing to emigrate in return for a home, a job and $250,000.

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The results of another survey by the Maagar Mohot Interdisciplinary Research and Consulting Institute Ltd., in collaboration with the Palestinian Arab Center for Public Opinion, were presented at the recent Jerusalem Summit conference in the fall of 2004. In it, they found that over 70% of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza could be induced to relocate. To the question: "What would induce you to emigrate permanently?", only 15% stated that nothing would induce them, while 71% specified one or more material factors that would induce them to emigrate permanently (such as substantial financial compensation, a guarantee of a good job abroad, or good level of housing).
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Notice that the trend is toward greater willingness to emigrate. And these encouraging numbers are prior to their receiving a credible offer which might be even more tempting. This shows the great potential of the PAIR initiative with its many attractive incentives. Even an initial response of 10% - 20% would be sufficient to start the process moving. The successful adjustment of those who resettled first would create confidence for others to follow.

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Yasser Arafat was a corrupt, ruthless terrorist who oppressed and exploited his own people and who was an obstacle to peace. The notion that his surviving cronies can still speak for the Palestinian Arabs is no longer acceptable as more and more Palestinian Arabs are risking speaking out against Arafat’s prior rule and of his surviving henchmen. Polls taken inside the territories show rising dissatisfaction with PLO/PA policies.

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The Palestinian Arabs deserve the opportunity to consider the PAIR initiative, to fully explore it, to extensively debate it, and to respond freely and without intimidation. The unseemly haste by the U.S. administration to ram their ‘Road Map’ down the throats of both Israelis and Palestinian Arabs is a violation of the right of these people to freely and democratically chart their own future. We have already had far too many imposed solutions by outside interests at the expense of peoples in the region. It is time for outside meddlers to cease interfering and give real peace a chance.

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The principle factors are: government corruption; oppression of their people; stagnant economies; burgeoning youth populations (in Syria, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia over half the population is under 25); high unemployment; no clear program for reform; increasing popular unrest. These regimes are facing a severe dilemma. They are too corrupt and inept to effect genuine reform. If they cannot reform voluntarily and soon, the radical Islamic extremists will attempt to topple these regimes and Taliban-type regimes may replace them.

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Palestinian Arab refugee camps in Arab countries and the PLO/PA-controlled areas also present an additional threat to these regimes. Yasser Arafat attempted to overthrow the Hashemite monarchy of Jordan in 1970, resulting in a bloodbath in which over 20,000 lives were lost. The Palestinian majority of Jordan’s population, much of it disaffected and restless, still poses a potential threat to the Jordanian royal family. Lebanon hosted Arafat and the PLO after 1970 following their expulsion from Jordan. Lebanon suffered over 100,000 deaths in the PLO-instigated civil war. In addition, ravaged Lebanon lost it independence to Syria, which took advantage of the situation to occupy its weaker neighbor.

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Nearly sixty years after the Palestinian refugees first arrived in 1948, Lebanon still keeps most of its Palestinian Arabs tightly confined in refugee camps and denies them citizenship and the most basic civil rights. Syria itself has an unpopular and repressive regime dominated by a minority religious sect, the Alawites. Here, too, the Palestinian population continues to live in refugee camps and to be denied citizenship. Kuwait expelled its Palestinian Arab population of over 400,000 people after the 1991 Gulf War because some of them supported Saddam Hussein’s invasion and occupation of Kuwait.

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None of the Arab states except Jordan has granted their Palestinian residents citizenship—with the result that over two million Palestinians are stateless persons with few civil rights. Many Arab states fear that an unresolved Arab-Israeli conflict could provoke a regional war that will draw them in, radicalize their populations and threaten their stability. Thus a real solution, as envisioned in the PAIR initiative, would bring long-denied human rights and dignity to the Palestinian people, while at the same time removing the Arab - Israeli issue as a threat to those Arab regimes which "host" Palestinian Arabs, as well as calming the region as a whole.

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Contrary to popular belief, Saudi Arabia is not an ancient kingdom with a homogeneous population even though Arabs, like Jews, are an ancient peoples. In reality, Saudi Arabia is a family business started less than a century ago, with British assistance, by patriarch Abdul Assiz ibn Saud. Ibn Saud conquered the Arabian Peninsula and took some 20 wives from the main tribes to solidify his hold on the peoples of the region. Ibn Saud visited President Roosevelt late during WWII and established a ‘special’ U.S.-Saudi relationship that was not made entirely public. Even today, the full extend of the U.S.-Saudi "connection" is not entirely known.

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Ibn Saud died in 1953 leaving some three dozen sons and many daughters. Since then four of his sons become kings. Saudi petrodollar wealth has been used to build many religious schools that promote the teaching of the Wahhabi message of anti-American and anti-Western hatred around the world. These teachings are poisoning the minds of many young Muslims and creating an army of potential terrorists. When viewed in this light, one can question the origins and actions of Saudi Arabia and its claims to national legitimacy. Its ruling class and even its boundaries cannot be considered sacrosanct especially when set against the interests of a more peaceful and stable Middle East.

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Today the Saudi leadership is aging, with senior members of the ruling royal family in their late 70’s. The government is corrupted by a 30,000 member royal family and 5,000 princes all enjoying lavish lifestyles. They are inept managers, having run up a national deficit in the hundreds of billions along with growing unemployment at about 25% per a C.I.A. estimate and per capita income at about $11.800 per year which is about half the peak reached in the early 1980’s. Their brand of fundamentalist Islam makes the U.S. military presence highly unpopular and this resentment was exploited by Osama bin Laden. Some analysts suggest that their recent ‘Saudi Peace Plan’ was really intended to deflect pressure for instituting internal reforms and to avoid having to join the U.S. coalition against Iraq. The U.S. dilemma is how to avoid the two bad choices of continued support for a corrupt regime or seeing a rebellion from within that could put the kingdom under radical Islamic control. Who would then control the vast U.S.-supplied military infrastructure and would continued oil supplies be assured?

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The dilemma for the Saudis, for other Arab regimes and for American policy makers is reduced to two equally bad choices. On the one hand, oppressive regimes are sitting atop social pressure cookers fueled by intense anti-American sentiment heightened by the U.S. war on terrorism. Maintaining an oppressive lid on the unrest, without improving conditions, assures an eventual explosion. On the other hand, a number of Arab regimes have responded to internal tensions with limited reforms designed to calm domestic unrest. But these reforms are far too little to assure stability, while they also open the door to possible takeover by the extremists. They appear both unable to manage peaceful reform and to significantly reduce the risk of violent takeovers by the militant fundamentalists. Meanwhile we are running out of time.

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What is needed now is another vision of the future for the oppressed Arab masses, namely a transition toward moderate, representative societies. The U.S. and Europe had not pushed for such a transition prior to 9/11. The Bush administration has now finally begun to press for increased democracy in the region in the hope that this will halt the trend towards Islamist extremism. Unfortunately, corrupt Arab regimes, the mullahs and the Islamic extremists [corrupt Arab regimes, mullahs Islamic extremists] are all opposing Bush’s vision.

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But the PAIR initiative could well fit within the Bush Administration’s announced effort to democratize the Arab nations and defuse the Arab-Israeli conflict. Perhaps the image of Palestinian Arabs building their own independent future inside Arabia might stoke some imaginations. It would represent Arabs successfully helping themselves in a peaceful and honorable manner and without the presence of foreign troops. This could be seen as a breath of fresh air in the Arab world where Arab youth could see a successful model of hope for a better future, free of the corrupt Arab dictatorships that still prevail, free of the Islamic extremists and their terror organizations and also free of direct Western influence and meddling. The West would also have a big stake in seeing a truly progressive Arab society emerge as an antidote to a militant and hostile Islam. For this reason the West might well assure that this bold experiment is quietly nurtured and well supported.

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Saudi rulers could also benefit. Their corrupt and inefficient regime has produced the likes of Osama bin Laden who threatens their monarchy as well by stirring justified resentment among the Saudi population. A successful Palestinian Arab state, supported by the Saudis, could begin to defuse the negative feelings among their own population who might become inspired by a better alternative than Osama bin Laden and, in the process, give new life to a reformed, constitutional monarchy.

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The oppressed, resentful public throughout the Arab and Muslim world could be inspired with pride in this bold, peaceful Palestinian Arab initiative taking place and with the Saudis acting as midwives to a new Palestinian Arab state. It could defuse much of the arguments and appeal of Arab dictators against Israel and the West. They could feel pride in supporting a unique social and political accomplishment on the world scene with their energies channeled towards peaceful development instead of war. The potential implications of peaceful change could extend far beyond just solving the Arab Israeli conflict.

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It may be possible to make the resettlement of Palestinian Arabs more palatable, more noble and more uplifting by urging, demanding and perhaps even shaming other nations to participate in first admitting, and then righting, their own historic wrongs in the spirit of the earlier ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commissions’ begun by Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa. Suffering minorities in many countries have long yearned for political, ethnic and religious justice. That includes the Basques in northern Spain and southwest France; The Corsicans of France; The Chechens in Russia; The slaughter of millions of Africans by Belgians in the former Belgian Congo; The Tibetans in China; The Quebecois in Canada; The Northern Irish under English domination; The Native Americans in the U.S.; the Mexicans in the American southwest, the Copts in Egypt; the 20 million Kurds in Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq, etc, etc. Europe has a special obligation to respond because of their long history of imperialism, colonialism, exploitation, slavery, racism, Inquisition, genocide, drawing arbitrary borders for other nationalities, etc. So far the Europeans have not been punished for their crimes and have paid no reparations to their victims.

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It is time to resolve and remedy injustices globally and with many nations taking part. This would make it easier for the Palestinian Arabs to take the initiative in a gesture of true historic nobility that would reduce tensions around the world. Let the Palestinian Arabs have the full credit, honor and respect for being the people who led the region into a new era of peace and stability. A people so concerned about their dignity, honor and self-respect may well respond favorably for a chance to make history.

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Israel would now have far more defensible borders. There would be no need for outside forces to monitor or to enforce any agreement with the Arabs. Israel would become militarily and economically stronger and thus present a less tempting target for enemies of peace.

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The resources for such a project can certainly be found because the benefits the benefits of both regional peace and world order are immense. Resettlement would be relatively easy because it involves less than ten million people. It could be done in an orderly fashion over time and the Palestinian Arabs would still maintain their ethnic and religious culture. As an extra incentive, those Palestinian Arabs who sign on early would naturally enjoy social and career advantages by being first on the new scene - a true ground floor opportunity. Their success and enthusiasm in living a better life will then attract others to follow. Those remaining, while awaiting their turn, will have less incentive to continue hostilities because they could all look forward to a far better life within a very few years. And those holdouts who remain intent on continuing the conflict will attract little sympathy or support from the international community.

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II M - The future choices can be visualized by presenting three maps. [Link]

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Map one, the IMPOSSIBLE map, which is currently on the table means returning approximately to the pre 1967 lines, i.e. the Road Map. That option is totally unacceptable and impossible for reasons given earlier in Part I.

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Map two, the WAR map, is the PLO/PA map in which Israel no longer exists. The world pretends not to notice it but the PLO/PA continues to use that map to define Palestine both past and future. Trying to implement that map leads directly to the nightmare scenario of all out war.

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Map three, the PEACE map of the PAIR initiative, means a new Palestinian Arab state inside the Arabian peninsula thus removing the main pretext for hostility against Israel by other Arab states. It shows suggested borders for the new state and proposed secure, defensible borders for Israel, consonant with the original League of Nations mandate for a Jewish National Home.

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II N - The opposition.

Extreme emotional opposition to this proposal will originate from enemies of Israel on all sides including Arabs and some European and American officials. Opponents will predictably, yet falsely, charge that this proposal is racist and anti-Palestinian Arab. This plan is actually very pro-Palestinian Arab and that point should be firmly emphasized. We should compare the results of this plan with the perpetuation of suffering and conflict for both sides if the current Road Map scheme is implemented. Proponents of the PAIR initiative would welcome open debate because all opposing arguments can be answered. The critics are most likely to attack this plan while avoiding open debate. Following are issues that are likely to be raised and some responses.

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Arab rejectionists will attempt to intimidate and silence any Palestinian Arab moderates willing to consider this plan. The opponents will ignore the fact that, during the last century, countless millions of people have resettled, often under far less favorable conditions than proposed here. They will have to argue that, of all the people in the world, the Palestinian Arabs alone cannot be resettled, even if it is to an infinitely better life. They will ignore the Arab regimes that have deliberately kept Palestinian Arabs rotting in refugee camps for decades as an open wound to be used as a political weapon against any settlement with Israel. They will have to argue in favor of continuing a zero sum game where both Arabs and Jews remain locked into a lose-lose situation. And they will have to ignore the millions of Jewish refugees, many expelled from Arab countries, that migrated to Israel to build a strong vibrant Israel and better lives for themselves.

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Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Secretary-General of the Italian Muslim Association was mentioned earlier. He not only believes that Jews have a right to their land and to all of Jerusalem but he has emphatically stated that Palestine, as a country, and Palestinian Arabs, as a separate people, are myths. Sheikh Palazzi and Sheikh Ali Hussein, President of the Italian Muslim Association were quoted by World Net Daily (www.wnd.com) of 4/13/02, in a joint communique as stating, "Arafat’s wickedness has reached the extreme limit of what humanity can bear, and ... it is time for that murderer of Jews, of Christians and of Muslims, for the man who has been spreading terror on the face of the earth, to pay the final bill for his crimes." And, "We ask Prime Minister Sharon not to move a step back - as already happened before - since [setting] that criminal free again could only have the consequence [of making] Israel appear unsafe and weak," the communiqué said. "Arafat is at least entrapped, and it is essential that the only alternative is between executing, imprisoning or expelling him. Whichever option is chosen, the world must be assured that ‘Arafat’ will not be able to shed blood anymore."

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Not only two brave Muslim clerics, with impeccable religious credentials, but many other Muslim clergymen and lay people are backing Israel and confronting, head on, the seemingly solid wall of international Muslim extremism. They must surely be expressing what many more Muslims in many countries feel but are too intimidated to express in public. What will happen when the intimidated become emboldened to speak out and when the misinformed realize their leaders have poisoned their minds? If even a limited number of grass roots Jews, Christians, Muslims and others can unite around this plan we can shake the foundations of the corrupt establishments in all the countries of the Arab and Muslim worlds. The Arab world needs to replace dictatorships and monarchies with responsible self-rule. Western governments need to shed their legacy of imperialism and end their long-standing policy of "divide and rule" and "maintaining the balance of power" in the Middle East so as to enable the indigenous people to be free to peacefully work out their own destinies free of foreign interference.

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Contrary to what millions of Muslims have been taught by the "political Islamists," fundamentalists, Wahhabis and other extremists who seek to use Islam as a tool to incite war and terror is the Middle East, a strong, viable Jewish State, living in peace with its Muslim neighbors, is not in conflict with the essential principles of Islam. Sheikh Palazzi explains the true Islamic perspective of Jewish-Arab cooperation:

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"God wanted to give Abraham a double blessing, through Ishmael and through Isaac, and ordered that Ishmael's descendents should live in the desert of Arabia and Isaac's in Canaan."

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"The Qur'an recognizes the Land of Israel as the heritage of the Jews and it explains that, before the Last Judgment, Jews will return to dwell there. This prophecy has already been fulfilled."

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"Viewing the Jewish return to Israel as a Western invasion and Zionists as recent colonizers is new. It has no basis in authentic Islamic faith. According to the Qur'an, no person, people or religious community can claim a permanent right of possession over any territory. The Earth belongs exclusively to God, and He is free to entrust sovereignty over land to whomever He likes for whatever time period that He chooses."

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There are other Muslim clerics and scholars like Sheikh Palazzi but their voices are not being given sufficient support in our media and by the American government. They are in the strongest position to best answer the Muslim extremists and to refute them on theological grounds in ways that non-Muslims cannot do. New Arab/Muslim publications and web sites are now coming on line that promote peace with Israel and these voices need encouragement.

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There is also debate and ferment in the Arab world over rethinking the teachings of the Koran and the use of violence. Muhammad Shahrour, a layman who writes extensively about Islam, argues that Muslims will untangle their faith from the increasingly gory violence committed in its name only by reappraising their sacred texts. Mr. Shahour and a dozen or so like-minded intellectuals from across the Arab and Islamic worlds provoked controversy when they presented their call for a reinterpretation of holy texts after a Cairo seminar entitled "Islam and Reform" earlier this fall. The long-simmering internal debate over political violence in Islamic cultures is swelling, with seminars like that one and a raft of newspaper columns breaking previous taboos by suggesting that the problem lies in the way Islam is being interpreted. Intellectuals are generally opposed by conservative clerics who resist change and insist on traditional, narrow interpretations (December 10, 2004 New York Times, "Muslim Scholars Increasingly Debate Unholy War," by Neil MacFarquhar).

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This process of rethinking Islam can help make true peace possible, including an Arab - Israeli reconciliation as envisioned in the PAIR initiative.

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II P - A letter to the Arab people

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This PAIR initiative is a public document to be read by anyone including, hopefully, Arab Muslims. This is also an opportunity to address Arabs about certain misconceptions and encourage constructive dialogue.

Arabs and Jews have both been victims of exploitation by outside powers

which supported totalitarian Arab rulers that oppressed their own populations. Those powers often instigated Arab-Jewish conflict to divert attention away from their own exploitation of oil resources. They would then 'recoop' much of their money spent on oil by selling the Arabs massive amounts of weapons. They are reluctant to press for political and social reforms among the monarchies and dictatorships lest the people learn to govern themselves and shake off the foreign-sponsored oppression by their own governments.

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The Arab peoples have stagnated socially, politically and economically but it is not the fault of Israel. The reasons are multiple and include certain negative and defeatist attitudes among Arabs themselves. This view comes from Arab intellectuals who seek better lives for their peoples.

There are also the sharp emotional/temporal/cultural differences, including some negative aspects between Jews and Arabs. Arabs feel humiliated and inconsolable because they have been defeated in war by Israel. Many of them feel that only defeating, i.e. destroying, Israel, regardless of the cost or time required, will erase their humiliation and restore self-respect. Jews, in contrast, with too little Jewish self-respect, are too ready to accept humiliation and disastrous compromises to avoid war at almost any cost. This attitudinal imbalance operates to perpetuate the conflict because Arabs insist on victory and Jews insist only on survival, which results in repeated wars that are inconclusive.

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Both sides need an attitude change. Ending Arab humiliation must be achieved not through war, but by Arabs finally reconciling with their Jewish neighbors, to generate a new alliance for progress that brings achievement and a healthy self-respect. Jews need to garner greater self-respect and appreciation for their ancient religious and cultural heritage

and, in doing so, would become less offensive to the more conservative, religiously oriented Arab culture. Jews will then more readily ‘belong’ and integrate into the more conservative Middle East. There needs to be more equality in attitude so that the term ‘A peace of the brave’ can justly apply, enabling both sides to feel victorious as the conflict is peacefully resolved.

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II Q - On the world scene.

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This is not just a local dispute between Arabs and Jews. Arafat had succeeded in internationalizing the conflict to an extreme degree. He drew support from the Islamic countries, from the intractable terrorist organizations, from the rogue Arab regimes, from the ‘moderate’ Arab regimes, from the European Union, from China, Russia, North Korea, the totalitarian left and the anti-Semitic right wing extremists. In short, all of the reactionary and nihilistic forces on the planet had lined up to support Arafat and the Palestinian Arab cause as he defined it. These forces also include an alliance of convenience among anti-Christian, anti-American, anti-democratic and anti peace forces.

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Normally the European Union would be threatened by the aggressive posture of radical Arab regimes. Many European governments, however, still harbor latent anti-Semitism, are jealous of American power and success and would not mind meddling in the Middle East at Israel’s and America’s expense. Many also have vocal and growing Arab minorities that threaten social harmony by their aggressive actions. And all wish to protect their sources of Arab oil and their Arab markets. Betrayal of Israel and irritating America seems a trivial price to pay. Sadly, these are the same kind of politicians that underestimated Hitler, thought that he only threatened the Jews and decided to appease Hitler by betraying Czechoslovakia.

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Today, as then, the Europeans calculate that they can purchase their security at Israel’s expense and assume a moral posture in the process. Today, as then, they are in denial as to the true danger to themselves. Militant Islam is infecting more and more of the 1.3 billion Muslims in the world. Militant Islam is quite open about its plans for Christians and is already persecuting Christians in various countries. Militant Islam is very conscious that two thirds of the world’s oil reserves are located inside Islamic countries and this translates into a potent political, economic and military weapon. China, North Korea and Russia have all been earning money by massively arming the Arabs with weapons of increasingly destructive force. Even America and the West are fueling this insane arms race.

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The prime rationalization for this fanatic arming is to help the Palestinian Arabs gain their own country. But the Arab people and many Muslims as well are themselves captives of a brutal Islamic fanaticism. Many have had their minds poisoned by years of systemic indoctrination in hatred and others, who know better, remain oppressed and intimidated by regimes that tolerate no dissent. The totalitarian Arab regimes and their foreign supporters display a uniform hate towards Israel. The forces of intolerance and reactionism reveal their inherent brittleness by their obsessive need to present a unanimous front without any dissent. And that is their vulnerability. If our side can demonstrate that in all of these countries, including Arab countries and among the Palestinian Arabs, there are dissenting voices, we can start to tip the balance in favor of moderation and conciliation.

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If we can spark open debate on all the issues addressed in this plan, then many people will begin to see that this is not just about Arabs and Israelis but about totalitarian forces that threaten all of humanity. In this global battle for humanity’s future it is Israel that is on the front line for all of us. G-d forbid, if Israel should lose, all the reactionary forces will feel emboldened to redouble their efforts to stamp out democracy and freedom all over the world.

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The converse of this process can also hold true. If we can visualize even small numbers of people in various countries coalescing around this PAIR initiative, it will give encouragement to the forces of democracy and decency everywhere. When the first few courageous Palestinian Arabs speak out and are heard, it will be the first crack in the ideological and rhetorical ‘Berlin Wall’ of hatred. It will remove the false excuse used by Arab dictators to arm massively and to suppress their own people. A democratic Palestinian Arab country emerging within the Arab world can be politically infectious. It could start to defuse Middle East tensions and undermine the iron grip of Arab dictators. The PAIR initiative could spark a genuine movement towards peace that could benefit the entire region and beyond.

Today the Arab peoples number about 270 million and control countries comprising about 5 million square miles. The non-Arab Muslims number about a billion people and control nearly another 5 million square miles.

In contrast to the Arab/Muslim population and their 10 million square miles, Jews number about 14 million in the world with 5 million in Israel. Jews have a country that is less than 0.2% (1/500th) of the Arab lands and barely 0.1% (1/1000th) of the combined Muslim lands.

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This brief perspective shows the stark contrast between the immense inheritance of the Arab peoples and that of the Jews. Today any fair settlement between Arabs and Jews must begin with this unequivocal recognition and a sincere and irrevocable commitment towards rectification. That can only mean that Jews must have an adequate amount of land. That would translate into an enlarged Jewish state that could still be less than 1% of the Arab lands.

( Revised Jan 23, 2005)

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III A - This would offer an attractive opportunity to establish democracy and the rule of law inside the heart of the Arab world.

III B - This would create a political breakthrough for the whole Arab world and a radical departure from traditional non-acceptance of Jews and other non-Moslems.

III C - The peoples of the region could finally become free of foreign domination.

III D - This would redirect resources from weapons to regional development including greening of the region.

III E - The Jewish People would finally achieve their just place among the nations and be able to contribute even more of their unique talents to the advancement of human society.

III F - The American People along with the people of the Middle East will benefit by having a more stable and peaceful region that does not require military intervention.

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The PAIR initiative has the potential to do much more than resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, difficult as that may be. It will also help to bring peace, stability, and economic, social and environmental progress, not only to the entire Middle East but to the entire world as well.

Beyond resolving this local conflict the Jewish People and the State of Israel are also entitled to address the world as full equals politically, intellectually and morally. It goes beyond just seeking peace and security and on to being a full participant in formulating regional policies. .

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.III A - This would offer an attractive opportunity to establish democracy, human rights and the rule of law inside the heart of the Arab world.

Stated American policy is to introduce freedom and democracy into Arab societies. Their dilemma is illustrated with countries like Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. If free elections were held there the outcome is not certain. What if the people freely chose a government of Islamic fundamentalists? What then?

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It is difficult to establish democracy inside an existing Arab country with long established authoritarian rule, strict Islamic culture and with no prior history of democracy. There are also risks if the effort fails. Iraq is a high stakes undertaking with American prestige on the line. A failure there would undermine other potential efforts throughout the Arab world. What is required is another venue where the chances for success are much better.

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The PAIR initiative offers an additional possibility to establish democracy where the conditions for success are much more favorable and that would be in the proposed Palestinian Arab state to be established inside the Arabian Peninsula. Some of the favorable factors include:

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Building a new society engenders idealistic expectations and the excitement of new beginnings for a better future.

When people relocate it shuffles the cultural/social deck loosening old family ties and old ways of thinking.

The Arabs who have the most experience with democracy are the Israeli Arabs who are the freest and the most educated. Their skills and energies make them obvious candidates for leadership in their new country where their beneficial influence can be brought to bear.

Palestinian Arabs from the territories of Judea, Samaria and Gaza also have a potentially positive perspective. Many who were previously employed in Israel subsequently suffered deprivations caused by Arafat’s intifada. They learned what life could be like in a free society and how much they had to lose. Many might welcome the chance to live in a democratic Arab state free of PLO/PA corruption and violence.

Even better, if a free and thriving Palestinian Arab state were located in Arabia, the very heart of Islam, it would legitimate democracy, human rights and the rule of law throughout the Arab and Islamic world. A blow would be struck against the Muslim fundamentalist militants by demonstrating that a democratic and humane way of life can indeed be integrated into a Muslim society.

Arab regimes, for their own cynical purposes, have long betrayed and exploited the Palestinians who are understandably bitter. Here is a golden opportunity for Palestinian Arabs to finally break free and take charge of their future and, as they say, ‘living well is the best revenge’.

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Arab political thought is largely brittle and under great stress as the Arab peoples struggle to cope with their many internal conflicts, and to respond to the challenges created for them by Western civilization, modernization and globalization. The longstanding and sterile hatred of Israel and Jews would receive a shattering blow if Palestinian Arabs themselves began the process of resolving their conflict with Israel. All of the objections, denials and falsehoods of Arab hardliners relative to the conflict would now seem absurd. Witnessing the experience of Palestinian Arabs finally and freely shaping their own future, free of direct conflict with Israel, would surely dominate the attention of millions in the Arab world.

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The Arab peoples would now have to grapple with this new reality in their midst. Some may still attempt to deny it. Others will be watching quietly to see if there are benefits and if so how they can then share in those benefits.

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III C - The peoples of the region could finally become free of foreign domination.

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The long history of the Middle East is one of countless conquests by foreign powers. WWI also brought an end to some 400 years of domination by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. No sooner did that domination end than the British and French began carving up their spheres of influence with America later following suit. Following WWII the cold war turned the Middle East into a battleground between the Soviet Union and the West with Jews and Arabs exploited as cannon fodder.

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Arab oil revenues were recycled in the form of huge arms sales by the merchants of death in nations both East and West. It was convenient for the powers to see Arabs hating Jews because it diverted attention away from their own outside exploitation.

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Israel and the Arabs would have an easier time in developing relations free of outside interference. Arabs will have the opportunity to advance themselves by cooperating with Israel, while reducing their dependence on the West. Some Gulf states may already be receptive to exploring this line of thinking.

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Despite huge oil revenues most Arabs in the region are poor with high unemployment, stagnant economies and high birth rates. Egypt with 70 million people depends on imports for well over half of its food supply. Problems include vast deserts and shortage of affordable clean water. What is needed is a vast, long term, stable development plan offering easy entry employment for millions of workers.

A logical project would be to undertake greening the region from North Africa to Arabia to Jordan and beyond. It could be called ‘Restoring the ‘Fertile Crescent’ or ‘Regaining the Garden of Eden’. The desert must be made to bloom as the Israelis have done. Vast irrigation projects are needed to water the deserts and support agriculture and reforestation. This, to provide both food and employment for present and future generations. When the deserts bloom the climate too will change and become less harsh as the greening process improves the natural hydrological cycle to bring more rain.

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There is an excellent opportunity to incorporate natural farming methods with a fresh start for the region. They can avoid western farming methods which rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and genetically modified seeds making them dependent on western technology and influence for their food supply - a serious disadvantage. Western type agriculture tends to wear out the soil over time and makes farmers dependent on agribusiness for supplies of chemicals and genetically modified seeds. The new ‘terminator seeds’ are even more pernicious because they do not produce the next generation and farmers must buy new seeds each year. Natural farming would be a move away from dependence on multinational agribusiness and their controlling influence which would be a constant source of political irritation.

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Instead, the Arabs could avail themselves of Israeli agricultural technologies which are among the best in the world and thus strengthen local ties between Arabs and Israelis. There are also two powerful natural technologies that can be used to produce competitive organic crops without chemical farming. These technologies can produce high yields, rapid growth, high nutritive value, long shelf life, resistance to both disease and to climate extremes. And all this would be achieved using natural heirloom seeds and with economical production costs.

The full implications of this project are both global and profound because progress here could serve as a model for other areas. Emerging global issues include spreading desertification, scarcity of clean water, local sufficiency in food production, restoring soil fertility, avoiding the downside of agribusiness and chemical farming, wholesome employment, reducing dependencies on imports for vital essentials, etc. As these problems intensify they also cause international conflicts. The Middle East needs progress on these issues but so does the world and success here can be replicated elsewhere. Everything is possible provided that there is a positive shift in attitudes. Instead of stagnating in refugee camps and wallowing in hatred and self pity let the Palestinian Arabs become free to emerge into freedom and independence with a noble project to heal their emotional wounds and to become productive citizens of their region.

Additional technical information is found in Appendix III-D

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The Jewish people would be freed from the necessity of being preoccupied with the need to defend themselves from aggression and terror, and be able at last to take their place among the family of nations. Once liberated from a war that they never sought or desired, the Jewish people, drawing on their rich tradition of three thousand years of civilization, will be able to return to those peaceful pursuits in which they have made such decisive contributions to the welfare of the entire world throughout the millennia--religion, ethics, philosophy, science, technology, medicine, the arts and literature. The entire world will benefit enormously from the restoration of the freedom and dignity of the Jewish people, and their long-sought-after return, in freedom, dignity, and peace, to their Promised Land. Israel would also be freed from its excessive and unnatural dependence on the United States, and become a truly independent nation at last. This will go a long way towards reducing Arab fears of American and Western domination in the region.

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America has had to respond militarily, politically and economically to conflicts that emanate from the Middle East. The Cold War required our response to stem Soviet penetration in that region which took advantage of the Arab - Israel conflict to gain influence and stir up trouble. America had to mount a major military effort to expel Saddam Hussein from Kuwait. We are again in a military effort, this time involving Iraq and Afghanistan with potential trouble from Iran and Syria. In addition to direct military intervention the U.S. has had to maintain substantial military forces in the region in case of trouble and to protect the oil shipping lanes.. Any progress in resolving the Arab - Israeli conflict with a win-win solution would obviously serve, by bringing peace and stability to the entire Middle East, to free the United States from these onerous responsibilities, and save the lives of thousands of brave young American men and women who have been forced to put themselves in harm's way in order to protect the interests of the United States and the entire Free World. The danger of a world war, which would inevitably involve the United States because of its role as the world's superpower and guarantor of world security, would also be greatly reduced by a lasting, genuine Arab-Israeli peace.

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