E1, Not Some Poisonous Food Additive

A 2006 art installation by Liz Hickok in
San Francisco featured Jell-O. As a food,
 Jell-O could be affected by the review.
Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Too many people from all over the world, many who should really know better, have condemned Israel for its plans to build in what's known as "E1."  Maybe there's something in their subconscious that connects that "E" to the category of controversial food additives.

To make it clear to all, E1 has nothing to do with those possibly poisonous chemicals.  The only relation may be that just like the E food additives have been shown to make some children hyperactive, talk of E1 creates a hyperactive anti-Israel response by many...

A Third Avenue El train passes Cooper Square

 in the 1950s, with the Empire State Building

 in the background.

 

I consider Arlene Kushner's explanation of E1 to be the best and clearest, especially for those in need of a "Dummies Guide to E1," no offense to those who wouldn't know E1 from the noisy El train on NY's Third Avenue.

 

 

 

 

E1 is something else entirely, and those who aren't really familiar with Israel and its geography and security needs should not butt in. The whole controversy is another knee-jerk anti-Israel reaction by those who, no matter what their pro-Israel sounding mantra says, really don't care about Israel's long-term security and survival.  The most popular oxymoron heard in diplomatic and media circles is:

"...two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security." United State President Barack Hussein Obama
"...two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect." Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu
and other similar statements,  more can be found on Pro-Con.org

The truth must be faced.  The raison d'être of the so-called Palestinian sic Arabs is the destruction of the State of Israel and the banishment of Jews from the Land of Israel.

As Arlene Kushner explains:

This caused a furor among the Arabs and their supporters because, went the claim, building in E1 would prevent a contiguous Palestinian state from being established.
This is simply not the case, and I want to review the situation once again before proceeding.
Here you see a map of the E1 area and Ma'aleh Adumim. Note the arrows saying "To Ramallah" to the north, and "To Bethlehem" to the south. What the Arabs want is continuity of Ramallah and Bethlehem via a tract of land that is directly adjacent to eastern Jerusalem. That is because they still covet eastern Jerusalem (at a bare minimum, and all of Jerusalem, more honestly) as the capital of their state some day. That requires that state to be up against eastern Jerusalem.
Once there is contiguity between Ma'aleh Adumim -- which is itself only seven kilometers (just over four miles) to the east of Jerusalem -- and Jerusalem, via E1, a swath of Arab land that runs along all of Jerusalem's eastern border is no longer possible. This does not mean, it should be noted, that a theoretical Palestinian State could not abut Jerusalem at some eastern points. There just wouldn't be contiguity along the whole eastern border of the city.

Credit: Israel Hayom

Honestly, what normal, self-respecting country would ever give up its land to create an enemy state in its midst?  I've been a Zionist, kept up with Israeli news and history ever since the middle of the 1960's, prior to the 1967 Six Days War, and I have never understood this enthusiasm some Israelis have for self-destruction.  Maybe someone can explain it to me.