What Is Gaza All About?

Way back in 1977, which is ancient history to many readers of this column, I was in Israel when rumors started floating around that Israel and Egypt were engaged in some kind of back-door discussions about peace.

At that time, the Jewish State was a true political pariah in the Near East, not being recognized or having an open border with any adjacent Arab state. If you wanted to go anywhere outside of Israel, you were taking an international trip.

It was the second week of November when the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, ran a public opinion poll in which Israelis were asked whether they would trade land for peace, meaning return the Sinai to Egypt in return for recognition and an open border between the two states.

Now you have to understand that Yedioth Ahronoth is kind of like The New York Times of Israel, i.e., an independent journal which doesn’t kowtow to any particular political party, ideology, or group. Hence, when they publish a public opinion poll, it’s usually regarded as reflecting the way Israelis really feel.

When the survey was published, Israelis rejected the ‘land for peace’ idea by two-to-one.

A week or so later, Prime Minister Begin stood up in the Knesset and announced he had invited Anwar Sadat to come to Israel and begin negotiations for a permanent peace. Sadat showed up…