Dr. Einat Wilf has joined the list of parties and party fragments that claim to represent those undecided between the blocs and effectively maintain Netanyahu’s coalition in power. Wilf chose to join her colleagues, Yoaz Hendel and Yaron Zelekha, despite little public support.

I am writing about her, not the others, because I have a personal perspective as someone who knew and appreciated Dr. Wilf in the past and, like her, was a foreign policy advisor to the late Shimon Peres. Therefore, it is difficult for me to understand what led her worldview to extreme nationalism. There is no problem with changing positions, but I want to clarify that Dr. Wilf is currently on the far right, for anyone who might be confused by her liberal appearance.

Wilf has built a career on the argument that a permanent settlement with the Palestinians is impossible because they supposedly refuse to accept the Zionist narrative. This position is clearly anti-Zionist. She accuses the Palestinians of passivity and lack of responsibility, but that’s precisely what she preaches. She evades taking responsibility for our fate, leaving the initiative in the hands of others, and leads to the dismantling of Zionism, as the illusion of the status quo and the approach to managing the conflict lead to a bi-national state without a solid Jewish majority, and thus to the loss of the democratic national home for the Jewish people.

Wilf’s main argument, that the Palestinians will never give up on the right of return and that they are intent on flooding Israel with millions of refugees, is contrary to reality. While the evasion of an agreement and the rush to annexation, which Dr. Wilf partially shares, indeed guarantee the loss of the Jewish majority, it is precisely the Palestinian side in the various rounds of negotiations that has demonstrated an understanding and acceptance that the right of return will not be fully realized within the borders of Israel. 

The........

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