Peace in Israel

Now that I am officially an Israeli, I wanted to share some of my insights on the country from an insiders point of view. For the most part, my insights on the country have not changed since I have moved here. I always used to tell people back in the states that the news that people around the world hear about Israel, is not what the overwhelming majority of Israelis experience on a day-to-day basis. After living here for four months, I see how true that is.
The press coverage outside of Israel focuses almost exclusively on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Even within Israel, the Arab/Iranian-Israeli conflict receives most of the major headlines. As many of you know, last month the Government of Israel decided to place a 10 month moratorium on any "new" building with Judea and Samaria (West Bank). Supposedly, this was done to try and jump start the stalled Israeli-Palestinian "peace process". However, it seems quite apparent that this was done to try to gain favor with the American administration. Whether this was done in order to get some kind of agreement on how to proceed with the Iranian Nuclear threat is unknown. However, it appears that the diplomatic benefit to Israel for this settlement freeze is marginal at best. I do not want to go into detail as that is not the focus of this blog.
What is likely not reported or under-reported in the foreign press is how divisive the settlement freeze is becoming. An overwhelming majority of Israelis who live in Judea and Samaria have been forced to put their lives on hold for no apparent reason. More importantly, the move is creating a crisis of faith in the government and army for many of those Israelis who have been extremely loyal to these institutions. It is dividing the Jewish People, which I am inherently opposed to.
It is the unity of the Jewish People that should really be the focus of our peace process. I live across the street on two sides from Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Jews). As a friend of mine, who I greatly respect, recently said to me, it is like they are from another religion. This is coming from someone who would be labeled as a very religious person from a non-religious point of view. I had a heard time disagreeing with him, which is really a shame. 8-9% of Jewish Israelis are Haredim and their numbers are growing. This is a community that continues to set themselves apart from the rest of the Israeli population, and this problem will only get worse. If the other 90% of Jewish Israelis does not address this issue, it will become a major issue for the Israeli people int he not too distant future.
If our government can devote so much time and energy to our external adversaries, then surely it can begin to address the problem of our internal adversaries. The fate of the Jewish People just may depend on it.