By Albert A. Feldmann , , Seattle
Thanks for the excellent article by Noah S. Friedland (“The demise of land for peace,” Nov. 28). He has pointed out what others, whose descriptions are often colored by wishful thinking, generally omit. Turning over the entire Sinai to Egypt, which actually had no legal claim to it since it only administered it for the defunct Ottoman Empire, produced only a cold peace. Only Israel’s military might and billions of American aid money manage to restrain Egypt from more serious anti-Israel actions than allowing the massive smuggling of arms into Gaza across a border it controls since the withdrawal of the Israeli army.
Friedland rightly points to the far closer cooperation of Hashemite Jordan with Israel, but preferred to omit the probable reason. Without Israel’s military shield, Jordan would have been taken over by one or all of its neighbors, i.e., Syria, Egypt, Iraq, long ago. The benefit is mutual in that Jordan protects Israel’s long border with it.
Most importantly, Dr. Friedland points to the vital role played by hydrocarbons in the world economy and its influence on Israel’s very existence. It is in Israel’s and the worldwide Jewish community’s vital interest to invest in the development of alternate energy sources. A significant reduction in the use of oil by the world’s economies will be accompanied by a similar loss of political influence by oil-rich countries. The impending economic recession would seem to represent a God sent opportunity to deal with the perennial Middle East problem.