The piece was very important, and certainly controversial. My friends at +972 Magazine published a critique of it here, from a guest blogger named Rafael Frankel. With all due respect to +972, that critique was a very poor one. They graciously agreed to publish my own rebuttal to Frankel’s piece, and you can read that here.

Since Perry’s piece is, as I said, both important and controversial, it certainly should be critiqued. Hopefully it will get the serious treatment it deserves, not the poor and biased examination Frankel gave it.

First, I think it’s clear that the RNC absolutely has no idea what they actually said. They do not understand the implications of their resolution and that it would mean either the end of Israel as a Jewish state or would necessitate the mass expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank.

Second, several readers, at this site and in other places, have raised the issue of whether one of the “whereas” clauses mitigates the call for a single state. That clause reads:

“WHEREAS, the Nation of Israel declared its independent control and governance of said lands on May 14, 1948, with the goal of re-establishing their God-given lands as a homeland for the Jewish people; “

The clause refers to Israel’s declaration of independence and sovereignty, but it bears no relation to any piece of land. On that date, there were no lines drawn. What would become the Green Line was not in existence in any sense–the Green Line is the line drawn by the armistice declared in 1949 (various agreements were signed with neighboring countries from February to July of that year to end the fighting).

On May 14, 1948, the Yishuv (which would become Israel the next day) did not have control of the Upper Galilee, or large portions of the Negev, but did have control of areas of the West bank which it would soon lose.

In short, that date is meaningless in terms of limiting the amount of land being referred to. The Yishuv/Israeli leadership was still seeking ways to maximize the territory under its control, as is well documented, and certainly cannot be argued to refer to anything that remotely corresponds to Israel’s recognized borders today.

Moreover, the enormous flood of biblical references belies any such limits. One of the things that fuels the extremism of religious Zionism today is the fact that the real cradle of Jewish history, as viewed through a biblical lens, is the West Bank. It’s not Haifa or Tel Aviv; it’s Khevron (Hebron), Shechem (Nablus), Jericho and East Jerusalem.

And the RNC itself makes it clear that the “whereas” clause in question does not limit Israel to the Green Line. The “resolved” clause that is so controversial states:

“… recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.”

Israel is not occupying Palestinian lands, according to the RNC and peace can only come with a united Israel. Well, there is no question of dis-uniting Israel within the Green Line, so what can they possibly be referring to?

No, try as one might, there is no question that this is a call for Israeli annexation of the West Bank. The text leaves no room for any other interpretation. Indeed, the particular passage from Leviticus that they cite in this context, and which was quoted by Mik Moore in comments on my post earlier, shows that they envision absorbing the Palestinians on the land, not realizing that this will mean Jews will become a minority in Israel as a result. It refers to laws governing non-Jews in Israel.

And, I’ll reiterate, the citing of Israel’s declaration of independence in no way limits the land being referred to. Israeli forces at that time were still reaching well into the West Bank, and important chunks of what would soon become Israel were still under Palestinian control on May 14, 1948.

Of course, the RNC does not understand what they are advocating. But they do understand that they are advocating Israeli control of the West Bank–they simply don’t realize what that implies. In reality, if they were actually able to pursue this as policy, they would not back off the Israeli control of the land; they would more likely advocate for the expulsion of the bulk of the Palestinians because God gave the land to the Jews.

There simply is no reasonable reading of this text that can come to any conclusion other than the RNC calling for Israel’s permanent and full control of the West Bank. A “united Israel” is meant to stand in contrast with dividing the holy land between Israel and the Palestinians.

ONE MORE UPDATE: It should be noted that this resolution, which was brought by South Carolina’s representative to the RNC’s national meeting, is a virtual clone of one that South Carolina’s GOP passed last year. You can see a report on that here. The SC resolution can be seen here.

This news came to me via a very trusted source, but both I and my source were puzzled by the fact that we could find nothing in the media confirming this. I called the RNC, but they would neither confirm nor deny.

Cindy Costa, RNC Committeewoman from South Carolina, who brought the resolution

So, I contacted Cindy Costa, the RNC’s National Committeewoman from South Carolina who was listed as the sponsor of the resolution. Here’s our e-mail exchange:

Me: Dear Ms. Costa,
I am a correspondent for several web-based news outlets, including Inter Press Service. I received the resolution below today, and would like to write an article about it. I just wanted to check with you that this was in fact an officially adopted RNC resolution. Can you please let me know? Thanks.

Costa: Yes it was adopted unanimously by the RNC last Friday at our winter meeting in New Orleans.  Cindy

So, that seems pretty clear. I reprint the entire text of the resolution below (and I sent it fully to Ms. Costa so she could confirm the full text), but the key passage is this one:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the members of this body support Israel in their natural and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.

I don’t see how anyone could read that as anything but a statement in support of a one-state solution. The RNC officially supports not only continued Israeli possession of all the land it currently controls, but advocates “one law for all people,” which does not exist now.

Israelis behind the Green Line live under Israeli law. So do settlers. But Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem are subject to a conglomeration of laws based on previous Jordanian law from before 1967, Israeli emergency laws and military regulations mostly adopted after 1967, and even some measure of old Ottoman laws, these particularly applied in East Jerusalem.

So, there is no interpretation possible other than that the RNC is also advocating complete Israeli annexation of the West Bank, including granting citizenship to the Palestinians living there.

I rather doubt that’s what they intended, but that is what the resolution states. No doubt, the assembled delegates had no idea what they were advocating because they have no idea about the realities on the ground.

But one state for all, Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs, is now the official Republican stance. I’ll assume that committed one-staters who base their stance on Palestinian rights, rather than Israel’s “God-given privileges” are not suddenly going to support the GOP.

But it’s worth spreading this news around. While Republicans, and far too many clueless Democrats, berate Barack Obama for an imagined “lack of support” for Israel, we should see what they are actually advocating.

The RNC is obviously concerned about how this will look. Otherwise, why have they gone out of their way to keep this resolution under wraps? It certainly seems to me that if the New York Times had heard about it, they would have reported it.

So, here is the full text of the resolution adopted last week by the RNC. There’s plenty more that rational people will find disturbing in it, whatever your views on Israel-Palestine:

AN RNC RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE NATION OF ISRAEL FOR ITS RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

WHEREAS, Israel has been granted her lands under and through the oldest recorded deed as reported in the Old Testament, a tome of scripture held sacred and reverenced by Jew and Christian, alike, as the acts and words of God; and

WHEREAS, as the Grantor of said lands, God stated to the Jewish people in the Old Testament; in Leviticus, Chapter 20, Verse 24:  “Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey”; and

WHEREAS, God has never rescinded his grant of said lands; and

WHEREAS, along with the grant of said lands to the Jewish people, God provided for the non-Jewish residents of the land in commanding that governance must be in one law for all without drawing distinction between Jewish and non-Jewish citizens, as contained in Leviticus 24:22, and

WHEREAS, the Nation of Israel declared its independent control and governance of said lands on May 14, 1948, with the goal of re-establishing their God-given lands as a homeland for the Jewish people; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America, having been the first country to recognize Israel as an independent nation and as Israel’s principal Mideast ally, has enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship with Israel and her people; and

WHEREAS, indeed, Israel is the United States of America’s greatest friend in the Mideast; and

WHEREAS, the roots of Israel and the roots of the United States of America are so intertwined that it is difficult to separate one from the other under the word and protection of almighty God; and

WHEREAS, there are those in the Middle East who have sought to destroy Israel from its inception as anation; and

WHEREAS, those same enemies of Israel also seek to destroy the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America and the nation of Israel have enjoyed cordial and mutually beneficial relations since 1948, a friendship that should continues to strengthen with each passing year.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Republican Nation Committee that the committee by this resolution commends the nation of Israel for its relations with the United States of America.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the members of this body support Israel in their natural and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate Leadership and each of the legislatures of the states within the United States of America with the request and recommendation of this body that a similar resolution to that stated herein be proposed within their respective bodies.

Sponsor–Cindy Costa National Committeewoman South Carolina