Jack Engelhard

Some time ago, speaking at a university in New Jersey, I asked an Egyptian if he'd be willing to give up land for peace.

"Never!" he said. "Land is holy." I put the same question to an Israeli and, though he did not say land is holy, he also said, "Never."

But he was kind enough to offer up even Jerusalem "under the right circumstances." He continued: "We must keep Jerusalem as a bargaining chip."

There it is. To the Arab, land is holy. To the Israeli, land is a bargaining chip.

Is it any wonder that Israel did so badly in this war with Hezbollah? How can you fight, how can you win, when you're fighting for bargaining chips?

I'm reading where an Israeli named Otniel Shneller told The New York Sun that -- as a member of Ehud Olmert's cabinet — he is no longer willing to gift-wrap Judea and Samaria for the Palestinian Arabs "until the government can guarantee long-term safety in the north." Shneller is described as a settler, a religious Jew, and also as one of the architects of "Convergence," which to the rest of us means, "Hey, invite a terrorist into your home."

Shneller is now against "Convergence". Absolutely. Well, not quite.

"We have to wait," he says. Wait for what? "We need to be sure first that Hezbollah will never fire a rocket against our citizens again."

As for me, I am still playing the lottery and waiting to win the million-dollar jackpot.

Anyway, strong words from this man Shneller, until we realize that, to this Israeli (most Israelis?) Judea and Samaria is not land, not holy, but bargaining chips.

As Shneller is prepared to give away the West Bank (when the chicken crosses the road), Avi Dichter is in a hurry to give away the Golan. (Is this something in our genes?) Dichter is a high-ranking member of Kadima — the ruling party that sent out soldiers to fight a war sometimes without food and sometimes even without guns, but never mind such small details.

Dichter is minister of internal security and this is what he says: "Israel can withdraw from the Golan for true peace with Syria."

Yes, the Golan Heights -- another bargaining chip. ("Peace" and "Syria" -- isn't there an oxymoron some place in this mix?)

We all remember Prime Minister Olmert himself saying that winning the war against Hezbollah will make it easier for Israel to forfeit Judea and Samaria. Please don't ask me to explain why a prime minister would speak of capitulation in the middle of a war -- which Israel did not win anyway.

Why not? Why did Israel not win this war, and why (God forbid) is Israel at risk of losing future wars?

Because it is not fighting for land, it is not fighting for holiness; it is fighting for bargaining chips.

Jack Engelhard's latest novel The Bathsheba Deadline is being serialized by Amazon.com.