Out of a global Jewish population of 14.3 million, the minority of the 6 million who currently live in Israel are, statistically, substantially at far greater risk of political or religious inspired violence than any Jew in America or Europe.
The primary cause of the now endemic violence is the inability of the indigenous population of the region to accept the imposition of a Jewish state in a Middle East that has been predominately Muslim for well over a thousand years.
It is now clear that, in view of the increasing enmity engendered in both Arab and Jewish populations since 1948, when the State of Israel was established by the then minority representative United Nations, there will now never be a settlement between the opposing factions. On the contrary, violence is currently increasing exponentially as positions harden.
That being the case, it would seem that any voluntary immigrant into Israel is placing themselves at personal risk of violence. Not, one might well conclude, an ideal place for retirement and many are coming to the inevitable conclusion that despite an element of occasional, mainly lowkey, anti-Semitism there is now a strong case to be made for dumping Israeli residence in favour of the obvious security of New York, Philadelphia, Paris, Toronto and London where Jewish communities have lived peacefully since before Mr Netanyahu was born, and still do.
As for the Holy City of Jerusalem: now is the time for the UN to take control of what has already been designated an ‘international city’ and to implement that control with a permanent contingent of UN troops whose remit must be to allow free access to all faiths, in perpetuity.
Notes:
UN General Assembly Resolution 181 (II), Palestine:
The resolution recommends that the United Kingdom (as mandatory power for Palestine) evacuate; armed forces should withdraw no later than August 1, 1948; independent Arab and Jewish States and the Special International Regime for the City of Jerusalem administered by the United Nations should come into existence; the City of Jerusalem should preserve the interests of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim faiths.
