Q&A: Contradiction or a Logical Position
Contradiction or a Logical Position
Question
In his 1968 article “Territories,” Yeshayahu Leibowitz argues that anyone who imagines that if we withdraw from the territories we will get peace or security is mistaken, because history proves it (the mentality of the Maginot Line, as he puts it) — that no border fortification helps at all. And there cannot be real peace at any stage, because the conflict is unsolvable, etc. On the other hand, in the same breath he says that ruling over a foreign population is a bad thing (“occupation corrupts,” in his words), and therefore Israel must withdraw from the territories. What I find difficult about this, and what makes me think it is a contradiction, is the fact that in the disengagement or Oslo, the supporters explained that this would bring peace, etc. That is, nobody imagined saying that this is something that would necessarily bring less security, would not bring peace, and still should be done. The idea was to bring peace closer. By contrast, Leibowitz is aware that there will be serious security consequences and still supports withdrawal. Is that a sane position?
Answer
A completely sane and coherent position, and certainly there is no contradiction here. First of all, what you wrote — that nobody said we should withdraw even without peace — is not correct. There are many who say that. And even if nobody had said it, Leibowitz is allowed to say things in his own name. Why would a contradiction between what he says and what others say be a contradiction? Strange logic.
The question of whether he is right is a different question.
Discussion on Answer
It is a sane position, although I personally do not agree with it. The claim is that the occupation too is a constant threat and exacts prices from us, and not only moral prices.
I mistakenly wrote that it was a contradiction; it indeed is not a contradiction. The question is whether it is a sane position — that is, whether it is reasonable for a person to prefer living under constant threat, as long as he does not rule over Judea and Samaria.