Gone Batshit Crazy

Andrew Sullivan's (actually, his reader's) suggestion for Palestinians.

If Palestinians want to strike fear into the hearts of Israelis they should (a) give up on violence as a tool of persuasion; (b) give up on the current round of negotiations; and (c) start holding demonstrations in which they ask for only one thing: the right to vote. Their argument would be simple: They live under Israeli rule, and Israel is a democracy, so why aren’t they part of it?

A truly peaceful movement with such elemental aspirations — think of Martin Luther King or Gandhi — would gain immediate international support. In Europe and the United States, leftists would agitate in growing numbers for economic and political pressure on Israel.

On what planet is this guy? What evidence is there to suggest Palestinians want to give up violence? What evidence is there they merely want the right to vote or live in peaceful coexistence with the Israelis? This option has been on the table since the beginning of the Israeli state - but the Palestinians are DEFINED by their opposition to it. They are defined as by their rejection of Israel's right to exist. Can he possibly think this idea hasn't been around before? This is a beyond dumb suggestion - not because the idea is bad - but because he treats it as if it hasn't been out there already. This is like someone coming along and saying - "you know, what the movie studios ought to do is adapt a comic book franchise into a really good movie."