Bayit Yehudi candidate calls to censor Koran, re-educate Palestinians

Only after the country is cleansed of weapons will we begin a stage of building a relationship of mutual trust and respect with the Arabs of Judea and Samaria.

By GIL HOFFMAN
Updated: APRIL 14, 2017 00:49
Palestinian girls read the Koran as they attend a Koran memorization lesson during summer vacation inside a mosque in Gaza City (photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian girls read the Koran as they attend a Koran memorization lesson during summer vacation inside a mosque in Gaza City
(photo credit: REUTERS)
In order to obtain citizenship, West Bank Arabs would have to go through a lengthy process to prove their loyalty to Israel that includes studying only censored versions of the Koran, according to an English diplomatic plan released on Thursday by Rabbi Yitzhak Zagha. He is running against Bayit Yehudi chairman Naftali Bennett in the party’s April 27 leadership race.
Called “Israel Ascends to New Heights,” the plan calls for “a broad, just solution to the wider Arab problem.” It was written by Zagha, who besides being a rabbi is a corporate lawyer, economist, and has served as a consultant for several top Israeli companies.
“It should be made crystal clear to the Arabs and to the people of Israel that the Land of Israel will be under Israeli control forever,” Zagha wrote.
“This change will be carried out in stages, with wisdom and sensitivity, but also firmly and decisively.”
Zagha’s plan’s first stage is confiscating all illegal weapons.
During this stage, the Arabs of Judea and Samaria would not be given any right to residency or citizenship.
Only after the country is cleansed of weapons and the pathological hope to see the destruction of the State of Israel is quashed, the stage would begin of building a relationship of mutual trust and respect with the Arabs of Judea and Samaria. During this stage, the laws of Israel would be applied throughout the West Bank.
To build that trust, Israel would take full responsibility for Arab towns and villages, urban and environmental planning, treatment of water, sewage disposal, electricity and roads, without discrimination.
Israel would also work to create jobs and promote Arab education with a new Arab education department in the Education Ministry.
“We must eliminate incitement, and reinvest in education,” Zagha wrote. “Arab students will of course continue to study the Koran, but without the modern fabricated distortions that are full of hatred toward the Jewish state. This will of course be a lengthy process, but animosity toward Jews would eventually cease. Only then can we prepare the Arab population for loyalty to the State of Israel.
It will take time, but there are no shortcuts.”
During the phase of mutual trust building, every Arab who proves his loyalty to the State of Israel as a Jewish state, would receive a certificate of residency, a “Green Card” for Israel. This certificate would give him the right to free movement and social benefits, as if he were an Israeli citizen, but not the right to vote for the Knesset.
“Such a move will encourage the population to direct their spiritual and emotional resources in the right direction,” Zagha wrote. “On the other hand, all those who act in accordance with the previous code and try to harm the State of Israel and continue their incitement will be expelled from the country without delay. No country would allow those who live in it to encourage rebellion against it.”
In the plan’s last stage, which is called “The End of Days,” Israel would consider the possibility of granting West Bank Arabs the right to full citizenship, including the right to vote for the Knesset.
“Peace will finally come to this country,” Zagha concluded.