# Jewish citizens of Palestine **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 6, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047 "2009-07-06T04:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/1 "2009-07-06T04:04:22Z")
Palestinian Prime Minister [assures](http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1097932.html) that Jews in a future Palestinan state will be fully equal citizens. > [@](#): > > Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Saturday said that Jews would enjoy freedom and full civil rights in a future Palestinian state, according to a report in the Aspen Daily News. > > “Jews, to the extent they choose to stay and live in the state of Palestine, will enjoy those rights and certainly will not enjoy any less rights than Israeli Arabs enjoy now in the state of Israel,” While I’d also like to see assurances regarding their security from hate attacks, I see this as a strong positive move that offers an alternative to removing settlers by force. Put it together with [Netanyahu’s first explicit endorsement of a two-state solution](http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-07-05-voa12.cfm) and one might almost start to get a bit optimistic! > [@](#): > > He told the weekly Cabinet meeting that Israel supports the concept of “two states for two peoples.” … It is a major about-face for a man who has long opposed a Palestinian state and supported Jewish settlement in all the biblical Land of Israel Oh, no doubt about it. The positions are still far away from each other as Netanyahu’s expressed vision of what a Palestinian state might look like and what PA representatives say they’d accept are still far off, but hey, that’s what negotiations are for. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/2 "2009-07-06T04:21:46Z")
Well, we should remember the the Palestinian Prime Minister doesn’t really set policy and that the executive authority is vested in the President. Still… if true it is, at least, one hurdle (potentially) out of the way when dealing with the towns/villages/cities/what-have-you outside of the Green Line. As for optimism, I’d have to start drinking, soon (and hard) to work up a bit of optimism tonight. 😉 I will say that this looks less bad than events of late. Although Fayyad’s statement also seems to be a dig at Israeli treatment of its Arab citizens and could be read as something of a veiled threat that unless any Jews who are still in Palestine want to be hassled, then all of the hassles that Israel’s Arab citizens face should be done away with, too. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/3 "2009-07-06T04:37:49Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Well, we should remember the the Palestinian Prime Minister doesn’t really set policy and that the executive authority is vested in the President. Still… if true it is, at least, one hurdle (potentially) out of the way when dealing with the towns/villages/cities/what-have-you outside of the Green Line. > > As for optimism, I’d have to start drinking, soon (and hard) to work up a bit of optimism tonight. 😉 I’ve had a few, and default to a hope that the Jews, Muslims, and Christians (yeah, we still have some over there) will find a common ground is something for which I have prayed for decades, I look forward to any statements that are seen as proposals and not threats. From ALL sides. This gives me hope and, because I’ve waited most of my life, during decades without it, a little hope goes a long way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/4 "2009-07-06T04:40:58Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > As for optimism, I’d have to start drinking, soon (and hard) to work up a bit of optimism tonight. 😉 Do so! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/5 "2009-07-06T04:51:03Z")
Hey, I did say “might almost” so let’s not get carried away! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/6 "2009-07-06T04:58:08Z")
Yeah, but I’m grumpy and oversensitive, Doc! Especially since the rebels took over OUR Church of the Nativity a few years back. As I said then, Jews and Muslims could screw themselves as they wish, but stay the fuck OUT of OUR stuff! ☹ As it is, the Palestinian Christians are bailing as fast as they can. It’s sad. I wish everyone who wanted to could find a home in The Holy Land. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/7 "2009-07-06T05:28:59Z")
These aren’t really meaningful steps. They are more along the lines of agreeing to what is blatantly obvious to everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2009, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jewish-citizens-of-palestine/502047/8 "2009-07-06T05:33:00Z")
Which really are “meaningful steps” to the participants.