My Date with Ophir

I wrote this for the CIPAC (Cornell Israel Public Awareness Committee) Newsletter!

On Wednesday, November 17th, Ophir Pines-Paz braved the elements to come speak to us about environmental legislation in Israel. He is a former Labour Party Knesset Member and Minister of Internal Affairs, and one of his main focuses while in office was “green initiatives.” His lecture at the Law School discussed advancements Israel is making to help the environment (solar panels, reusing waste water, emission permits, electric car grid, sustainable buildings, etc), along with weak points in the Israeli system. He openly admitted that the army pollutes the soil, and that Israel is about 15 years behind America on environmental legislation.

Environmental legislation is great, but I thought his concluding marks were the most significant: Borders are nothing to the environment. Israel reducing pollution is all well and good, but if the countries around it are moving at a slower pace toward environmental justice, that affects everyone the same way. Not having peace is a barrier to protecting the environment, although Pines-Paz stressed the importance of working together on environmental legislation even before an agreement is reached. He said, “This is our war: we have to save our planet.”

The talk concluded and we had a very nice reception with very delicious and expensive cookies and veggie platters. But the best was yet to come! At 10:15am the next day, I set out for my day-long date with Ophir. It was unfortunately crashed by three other people, but we made do.

Adva Elkabetz, the Israeli Fellow at Hillel, drove me, Ophir, and two other students to Niagra Falls. The ride there was a prime opportunity for me to pick Ophey’s brain about the peace process and ask about controversies I saw during my time in Israel last year. The conversation was more candid than I would have expected, and there were definitely parts that classify as argument. We talked about the treatment of Arab Israelis, both by the state and by the people; specifically, that the state gives less money to strictly Arab cities in Israel because they have lower “Security Budgets” and that it is much harder for Arabs to join the army and the benefits that go along with the army, and the general prejudices in the minds and hearts of Jewish Israelis.

We also touched on the subject of the Security Barrier. It has twelve million other names that are politically correct depending on your political views, but what it comes down to is this: it is effective. The inconvenience of Palestinians at the gates is second to the lives of Israelis that are endangered by acts of terrorism coming from the West Bank. Its effectiveness is indisputable.

Because we are always trying to steer the focus surrounding Israel away from the conflict, it is rare that I feel comfortable enough to ask difficult questions about the peace process. Over the course of the day with Ophir, I feel I got some real answers. The first message is that it won’t be easy. The second message is that it is possible. The third message is that settlements are not going to be the deciding factor in achieving peace or not. Got that, New York Times?

A point that Ophir made in the lecture and expanded upon in Niagra Falls is that the Arab League (26 Arab Nations, does not include Iran) has made an offer. If Israel returns to the 1967 borders (virtually impossible, and what of Jerusalem?), and the problem of refugees is solved (by someone, somewhere) then there will be peace. So there is an offer on the table, and it is much more powerful to have the support of 26 Arab nations than just Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and the United States.

The main issue with just going through the Palestinian Authority is Hamas. The Palestinian Authority in the West Bank (or whatever you want to call it) is Fatah, while Gaza is ruled by Hamas, which is admittedly (by everyone) a terrorist group that wants to destroy the Jewish State. How can you have peace with a group that wants to destroy you? Well, you can, but only if you have the pressure of 26 more powerful Arab nations breathing down your neck.

Therein lies the solution to both Hamas and Iran, because Iran poses a threat to most of the nations in the League as well. And thinking about Iran makes me feel a little ill, so I will not expand on that point.

We had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and held a small fan club meeting for Tzipi and Hillary. Then we walked to the Observation Tower and Ophir put a quarter into the giant binocular things, which was quite cute. Then we took a trolley around the State Park and saw more water and estimated the height and speed and took many pictures. It was delightful. And romantic.

The ride home was mellow. Adva and Ophir were speaking mostly in Hebrew and the folk music CD put me to sleep a few times. I was mulling over so much information in my head and trying to sort it out: can Jerusalem function eternally as an International City? Will the Palestinians accept a territory exchange in order to return to something comparable to the 1967 borders? Will Iran stop trying to destroy the world? Will Hamas submit to the will of the Arab League or be defended by Iran? Will American newspapers ever stop publishing totally skewed articles about Israel? Is Ophir going to give me his digits?

The night ended when we dropped him at his hotel. He gave me his card, which was almost like getting his number. And not only did he fill me with the confidence that I will one day fulfill my dream of marrying a powerful Israeli politician (okay, so he’s already married, but he has a son in college!), he also made me confident that there are some very, very smart people working on this issue, and ultimately we will have peace. His attitude was essentially: Jews have been in deep shit before, what makes you think this pile of it is going to get us down for good?