Netanyahu has never disavowed the Bar Ilan speech. It seems that this is his concept of policy. A comparison with the Trump plan reveals: It is almost the same plan, except that there is no turbulent opposition from the Right.
In recent years we have had the opportunity to hear many of the Prime Minister’s close associates claim vigorously that the well-known (and notorious) Bar Ilan Speech was not given with pleasure or free will, but out of necessity.
Netanyahu, so they tell us, did not really want to say what was said. He does not believe in what was said. He had to say it because of Obama. He was sure that in this way he would be able to save us from sanctions imposed by the man in the Oval Office.
For some reason, we heard these enlightened explanations only from commentators or his close associates, but not from Netanyahu himself. Obama has not been around for some time and the four years of this president’s (first?) term, the most sympathetic, especially toward Netanyahu, but to Israel in general, are almost at an end, and for some reason Netanyahu still has not found it necessary to clarify those statements in his own voice. Why?
In recent days, I am feeling more and more that I understand why. He simply does not believe in those weak explanations. Those explanations are merely intended to cool the rising spirit of rebellion against him from the Right, but the truth is that he actually very much believes in the things expressed in that speech. From his point of view, this speech is still a working plan, waiting for the moment when he will be able to execute it.
Think for a moment about what is included in the Trump plan, which many believe was formulated, in large part, by Netanyahu himself, and even if not, we have seen how joyfully and enthusiastically Netanyahu accepted this plan. What actually, is in this plan? Talk of the right of the Jewish People to its Land, sovereignty over the territory of the Jewish communities and the Jordan Valley, a Palestinian state over the great majority of the territory and conditions that would restrict the military capabilities of that state. Tell me, doesn’t all of this remind you of the principles stated in the Bar Ilan speech? Here are a few reminders for you:
“Our right to establish our state here, in the Land of Israel stems from one simple fact: this is the homeland of the Jewish People”, Netanyahu said then, in words that are truly reminiscent of the remarks by Trump/Friedman/Pompeo on the historic right of the Jewish People in its Land. But then comes the other part of the Bar Ilan speech: “In any peace agreement, the territory held by the Palestinians must be demilitarized, with solid security arrangements with Israel… It is impossible to expect us to agree in advance to the principle of a Palestinian state without an assurance of this state’s demilitarization. In an issue so fateful for Israel’s existence, we must have an answer beforehand for our security needs”, and in simple Trumpese: a Palestinian state, but after assuring that it will not pose a security danger to Israel (and for now we will not address the important discussion on which unrealistic fantasy this faith would be based upon).
Continuing: “The territory held by the Palestinians will be demilitarized: i.e., without an army and with no control over the airspace, with effective oversight to prevent weapons from entering into their territory”, said Netanyahu at that time, which can be translated in the Trump plan to control over the border crossings and the airspace and sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, which will prevent the flow of problematic weapons into said state.
“If we can have this assurance of demilitarization and the security arrangements required by Israel, and if the Palestinians will recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish People, we will be willing, in a future peace agreement, to arrive at the solution of a demilitarization Palestinian state alongside the Jewish state”, Netanyahu said at the time, and it seems that even this sentence was taken straight from Donald Trump’s Deal of the Century.
And here is one more important detail. The Trump plan includes a freeze on the expansion of settlements for four years, and this brilliant idea too, was hinted at in the Bar Ilan speech. There, it sounded like this: “The territorial issue will be discussed within the framework of the permanent agreement. Until then, we have no intention of building new communities or appropriating land to expand existing communities”.
In short, it did seem that the Bar Ilan speech was shelved for a few years, but what really happened was that Netanyahu saw the Right’s fury and put the Bar Ilan speech to sleep for a few years, but during those years the speech remained alive, breathing and waiting for agreement from the golden prince from Washington to kiss the speech and bring it back to life, but to prevent it from falling as a result of the Right’s fury, Netanyahu and Trump embroidered a new cape for the speech, which is the cape of sovereignty, and with this cape the Bar Ilan speech can march proudly, and even win applause from the dazzled and blinded Right.
(The article was first published by Arutz 7)