To the editor:
In his May 31 op-ed,"Israel's Charade of Democracy," Hagai El-Ad talks about "clarity" but muddies the waters with his own omissions, obfuscations and misrepresentations.
Most notably, at the San Remo Conference following the first World War, the area then called Palestine was designated for the Jewish national homeland. This designation was confirmed by the League of Nations and in 1945 by the United Nations and has never been abrogated. Hence, despite widespread misconceptions, there is no Israeli "occupation" under international law.
Bowing to demographic realities, Israel has repeatedly offered to give away to the Palestinian Arabs the bulk of what today would be most accurately described as disputed territories, if only the Arabs would agree to peace, but has been met by constant rejection and, since 2008, a general refusal by the Arab leadership to even pretend to negotiate.
Rather than being under Israeli control, almost all the Arabs in the disputed territories have lived under their own, admittedly repressive and corrupt elected government, the Palestinian Authority, for two decades.
El-Ad's article actually had nothing to do with its title. Israel has been a true democracy since its re-establishment in 1948.
Sincerely,
Alan Stein