The Sovereignty Movement expresses sorrow on the passing of Ariel University Chancellor Yigal Cohen-Orgad, obm and speak of the vision of sovereignty that he wrote about, promising to realize the vision
The sovereignty Movement mourns the passing of former minister Yigal Cohen-Orgad, obm, chancellor of Ariel University and one of the leading voices calling for the application of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria.
The movement mentions that Cohen-Orgad, obm, was one of the first to examine carefully the challenges of sovereignty and realistically drew the first outlines of a political plan by the national camp.
The main points of the plan that Cohen-Orgad outlined, viewed as a guiding principle, the regulation of Israeli sovereignty over Judea and Samaria along with the practical mechanism for independent civil responsibility for the Arabs in Judea and Samaria.
Even as he began formulating his plan, Cohen-Orgad dealt with the challenge of parliamentary elections, which many see as one of the most complex challenges in developing a plan for sovereignty. Regarding the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, he wrote that these “will be able to vote for and be elected to the Jordanian-Palestinian parliament as well as to vote for and be candidates for institutions of the PA’s independent management, which are already in place in Judea and Samaria”.
He also wrote that Israel’s security on one hand will be assured by security control of the territories of Judea and Samaria, specifically and in the buffer areas such as the Jordan Valley and areas of observation and supervision. On the other hand, the need and desire to allow the Jordanian-Palestinian population to establish and develop reasonably requires the following policy: Israel will establish the security responsibility including the areas west of the Jordan River. This responsibility will include the prevention of a foreign military presence, terror organizations, etc. and to act in the territories of Judea and Samaria… however, ongoing maintenance of security will be managed as part of a law enforcement oversight mechanism, executed by the Jordanian-Palestinian federation … all policing and security functions in the Palestinian communities will be carried out by security forces under the direct control of the Jordanian-Palestinian sovereignty in close cooperation with Israel”.
Further in his plan, Cohen-Orgad deals with the matter of Jerusalem, transportation continuity, economic cooperation, water and sewage systems and other matters. On the complex matter of refugees, Cohen-Orgad states that the answer must emerge from creative thinking, and as an example of this, he notes the proposal of General Giora Eiland, of allocating territory in the northeast part of the Sinai Peninsula for the refugee population, which would be annexed to the Gaza Strip. Cohen-Orgad notes that this would be a regional challenge that would require the cooperation of groups of states seeking regional stability.
The late Cohen-Orgad added the words ‘unedited draft, far from completion’ to the title, and even if this were so regarding his plan, the effort to confront the challenge of sovereignty by giving an answer to the all of the complex issues is a task and goal for Israeli statesmen and the Israeli public, especially in the national camp but not only for that sector.
The Sovereignty Movement views its long years of activity as internalizing the vision of sovereignty within Israeli society and provide a platform for various political plans in the spirit of this vision as the implementation of the political will of Cohen-Orgad, as well as other key figures of the national camp.
“This generation’s mission is the mission of sovereignty. This is a complex and challenging mission, but people of vision and action such as Yigal Cohen-Orgad, obm, have outlined the way for us and left us a goal that we will meet. The vision of sovereignty will be implemented not only because of its benefits and not only because of the disaster entailed in the two-states alternative, but first and foremost because it is the most ethical and just vision. This is the vision of Zionism”, say Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, the co-chairwomen of the Sovereignty Movement.