The Blogs: It takes new ideas to solve old problems

Like any software developer, I know the frustration of sometimes writing code that doesn’t work as expected. When I am relentlessly trying to find the bug in my program, the building would have to be on fire before I will pry myself away, and most likely, I’d run out with my computer, debugging as I go.

Occasionally the problem is not just a bug, but a flawed design that warrants a new algorithm. In that case, stepping away from the computer while I think it through is the best action. As with any problem, one must first acknowledge that the current strategy won’t work, step back, and seek a new solution.

When it comes to the topic of the Middle East where failed ideas abound, all too often people lack the willingness to reassess their tactics.

John Maynard Keynes said, “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones.”

In 2020 Israel was able to normalize relationships with four countries, but only after flipping the conventional strength through peace narrative and embracing peace through strength instead.

Ignoring the fact that it has been tried unsuccessfully again and again for eight decades, many continue to tout the two-state solution. Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett bluntly said, “The truth is that a two-state solution is not possible if one side is pledged to kill you.”

Polls reveal that Palestinians overwhelmingly reject any plan that would provide them with a state alongside Israel. It has been said that the Palestinians don’t want a two-state solution with Jews; they want the Nazis’ final solution for Jews.

Former Ambassador David Friedman noted that leaving the West Bank would not work because whenever Israel cedes territory, it leaves a vacuum that is later filled by terrorists. He suggested an approach modeled after the US and Puerto Rico: Israel would claim sovereignty over the West Bank, giving local autonomy to the Palestinians who would not have voting rights. This solution would ensure that Israel remains both a Jewish and a Democratic state, while giving the Palestinians the opportunity to have better education, health care, and welfare services.

A fresh perspective on Gaza is sorely needed. We must change the narrative from: Israel has a right to defend itself, to: Israel has a right to win the war. Instead of saying: The war has to end, we should be saying: All of the hostages must be released, and Hamas must be eliminated.

Hamas, whose goal is to maximize civilian casualties, has been able to leverage the fact that Israel values life. This discrepancy has put Israel at a great disadvantage. Law professor Eugene Kontorovich suggested a plan that would get Hamas to free the hostages and end the war: “For every day Hamas does not give up the hostages, America will recognize 25 acres of Gaza as a permanent Israeli buffer zone. For every murdered hostage, 250 acres,” he wrote, adding that the war “would be over in days.”

Indeed, it takes innovative thinking and ingenuity to counter the unmitigated evil directed at Israel. The recent sabotage and explosion of Hezbollah’s pagers and walkie-talkies was a stunning and brilliant plan, enabling Israel to target terrorists while minimizing civilian casualties. Still, some politicians including Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, criticized the action.

Calling out Kamala Harris’ inadequate support for Israel, Alan Dershowitz proposed three criteria that she must meet in order to earn his vote, and the votes of many like-minded Jews:

Publicly repudiate the claim by some fellow Democrats that Israel is engaged in genocide in Gaza.
State unambiguously that she will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
Stop pandering to anti-Israel extremists.

Albert Einstein said, “If at first the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it.”

In the 19^th century, Theodor Herzl, deeply troubled by the perpetual persecution of Jews, initially suggested that Jews assimilate and convert. After realizing that even those actions would not be enough to keep Jews safe, he dramatically changed course, concluding that Jews needed to be a free people in their own land. He believed that it was possible for Jews to fulfill their 2,000-year-old hope of rebuilding a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland.

In his diary, Herzl recounted the First Zionist Congress that took place in Switzerland in 1897. “At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today, l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.”

In 1948 Ben-Gurion stood at a podium beneath a picture of Herzl and declared the establishment of Israel. In 2018 I visited that room in Tel Aviv, listened to the national anthem – a song about the 2,000-year-old hope, and heard Ben-Gurion’s recorded speech. “The state of Israel will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race, or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education, and culture. We extend our hand to all neighboring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighborliness. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East.”

The next day seven countries attacked Israel.

The Jewish New Year will soon be upon us, turning the page on the worst year for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. My hope is that every hostage will be freed, the injured will be healed, and the bereaved will find comfort. Let this be the year when Israel’s neighbors finally grasp the simple, irrefutable fact that peace is better than war, and reach for the hand Ben-Gurion extended so long ago. May the sound of the shofar awaken us to turn away from the old, failed ideas, and like Herzl, embrace innovative ones that will bring our hopes to fruition.