By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews
Approximately 1,500 people gathered in downtown Seattle last week for the community Israel rally with a variety of different ideas about how to make peace in the Middle East.
To gather a cross-section of these opinions, I talked to as many people as I could before and during the rally. What follows are the results of my unscientific poll. Each person was asked the following questions:
1. What would you do to bring peace to the Middle East?
2. What should the U.S. government’s role be in the process?
3. Do you think Israel will exist as a Jewish state in another 50 years?
Shirlene Skahan, 54, of Redmond
1. I don’t think peace is ever going to come to the Middle East, but we just can’t [put up with] terrorism.
2. I think their only role should be to support what the Israeli government feels is right for their country.
3. Yes, I believe what the Bible says. It will outlast us all.
Mark Gershovich, over 50, of Bellevue, but originally from Russia
1. It’s a very complicated question. One thing I know for sure is: The hatred against Israel has got to stop and that will bring the peace.
2. The U.S. government, in my opinion, is doing a good job, but they need to take a stronger position in supporting Israel and supporting its moral situation. I would also like to see them take a stronger position against rising anti-Semitism in Europe.
3. As long as the Jewish people are around, I’m sure Israel is going to survive.
Michael Spektor, 53, of Mercer Island
1. The thing that I’m thinking about is we need to stop the terrorism, find a partner who is willing to negotiate and wind up with a two-state solution. … It’s not easy.
2. I think that they have to be supportive of Israel. It the only democracy in the Middle East. They need to really work on the Arab world [so that they understand the United States] will never walk away from the state of Israel, and they should support their Palestinian brothers with money and help them become a real country with a government.
3. Absolutely, no question.
Ianthan Sidell, 54, of Mercer Island
1. We have to start building walls.
2. A major role. If the United States didn’t have Israel, we’d be threatened even more than we are now.
3. Absolutely.
Gilah Kletenik, 14, of Seattle
1. I would begin with destroying all terrorist infrastructure and doing it in a full and complete way and not stopping in the middle and ignoring diplomatic pressure. Then I would start looking for an appropriate leader who could represent the Palestinian people — someone who outwardly condemns terrorism. Then we would begin to negotiate. The result would be that no land under Israeli control would be given up and a Palestinian state would not be established. They could live in Israel, but there certainly would be no right of return.
2. Supporting Israel and helping raise European support for Israel and most of all standing with Israel.
3. Yes, because the Jewish people are ardent in their beliefs…. and the majority of people are good people and would arrive at the understanding that the Jewish people deserve their own land after 2,000 years of persecution.
Michael Medved, 53, of the Seattle area
1. I think that the unity government is doing the right thing and the only possible thing, which is before you make peace you have to show you are serious about self-defense. Part of our problem is the unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon, which encouraged the other side to believe: If you push hard enough and long enough, we’ll quit. We’re now sending the opposite message.
2. To facilitate negotiation but not to impose a settlement and to make clear that Israel’s war against terror is ultimately inseparable from our war against terror.
3. Absolutely. There’s no alternative.
Britta Deeds, 16, of Seattle
1. There are so many things. I don’t have a definite answer.
2. Be as understanding as possible of what Israel is trying to accomplish.
3. Yes, I think Israel is going to be strong.
Anne Noris, 53, of Bellevue
1. I would pull the settlements back. Just give them what they want. Keep what we need to be safe and give them the rest.
2. I think that the U.S. government should call Arafat on his lies. They should make him act on his commitments.… This should be his last chance.
3. Not unless we’re a Jewish state next year. I don’t think we’ll be a Jewish state next year if we don’t do something.
Alan Witterberg, 49, of Shoreline
1. I would separate the forces with an international force that is objective, [then] calm things down and get the negotiating going with the United State being a major force in the negotiations.
2. They would have to play the role of objective mediator and they would be the go-between with the other countries selected to be part of the negotiations.
3. Yes, because the Jewish people have existed for thousands of years as a people and they’re not going to go away. The state of Israel is more than just a geographic location: It symbolizes a place in the hearts of Christians and Jews. I’m optimistic the international community will make sure it doesn’t implode or get destroyed by outside forces. The U.S. needs Israel in that part of the world for not only political reasons but for military reasons.
Miriam Myerson, 52, of Seattle
1. I want the Arab world to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state and I want Israel to acknowledge the right of the Palestinians to a homeland.
2. To be outspoken about its support for the existence of the state of Israel and to pin the Arab countries down to that fact. They need to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist so that Israel can do the right thing.
3. God willing.