Peace and Palestine are Antonyms
Gary Cooperberg
June 27, 2002
Prime Minister Sharon had promised to bring us peace. He warned us that it would take time and patience, but he had a plan that would work. Few people could accept his assurances as we watched the steady increase in the murder of hundreds of our citizens. How could such a man, with his nickname "bulldozer", and reputation as a militant Zionist, sit with a man like Shimon Peres and openly call for the establishment of a PLO state next to Israel? Clearly Sharon is not a very religious man. Yet there can be no doubt that he loves his country and is an ardent Zionist who wants to keep Israel strong. Although I personally cannot say that I am pleased with the manner in which he conducted his policies, at this point in time I must admit that Sharon has shown himself to be a political genius. Had he not enlisted Peres as his foreign minister and had he declared Oslo null and void and began to undo the Oslo mistake militarily from the outset, chances are he would have been bounced out of office and the stage would have been set for a new leftist government which would have voluntarily destroyed the Jewish state.
Instead, painfully and slowly, just as he had warned us, he allowed our enemies to unite us in pain and bereavement to which even the most extreme leftist lemming could not help but react in a militant way. Today, with Peres still the foreign minister and his colleague and head of the Labor Party, Ben Eliezer, the defense minister, Sharon has taken back, by military force, nearly all of the lands given away by Oslo. What is more, he has enlisted the sympathy of the President of the United States who has backed up the right of Israel to take military steps to defend her civilian population against terror!
But the cherry on top of the cake is President Bush's new Middle East policy. While it is true that Bush has envisioned the birth of a PLO state living side by side in peace with Israel, Bush made it very clear that his vision is conditional. Anyone who honestly knows the goals of the PLO, also knows that none of Bush's demands can possibly be met. Thus, even if the President is sincere in his vision, his conditions make it impossible to ever happen. This fact may well be the reason why even Sharon has announced his willingness to see a PLO state.
All of this is well and good on a political level. Considering how well intrenched the lie of a legitimate palestinian people has become, where the nations of the world, and even a majority of the political leaders in this country, have accepted this lie as truth, it would seem that there is no other way to enlist support from our allies than to pretend to some degree to agree with this nonsense.
Sharon, as I said before, is not a very religious man. He is a good leader and is trying his best to fight for his country. He has made positive political strides that far surpass those attempted by any former prime minister since Ben Gurion. But, as a Jewish leader, unless he eventually makes it clear that Israel cannot and will not ever tolerate the establishment of a foreign sovereignty upon Jewish soil, he will fall short of the mark.
For this reason I am immensely disappointed with Rabbi Beni Alon, a former minister in the Sharon government, who is mounting his own campaign, geared to the political leadership in the United States, calling for recognition of this concept of a legitimate "palestinian" people. Of course Alon is suggesting that by so doing we can nullify both Oslo and the threat of those Arabs who presently reside in Judea and Samaria from becoming citizens of Israel by making them citizens of "palestine". He is also calling for a recognition of Jordan as a legitimate homeland for the so-called "palestinians".
Were this plan suggested by a Sharon, it would not bother me so much. But for a so called right wing radical rabbi to make such a suggestion is more than disappointing. First of all he does not address the ever growing problem of those Arabs living inside Israel proper who enjoy Israeli citizenship yet identify themselves as "palestinians". Secondly he is ignoring the fact that the entire state of Jordan is sitting upon Jewish soil. It is one thing to accept a painful reality that we do not have control of that part of our homeland yet. But it is an entirely different concept for any Jew to suggest that we agree to build a foreign state even upon Jewish soil which is presently not under our control. If such a thing happens under circumstances beyond our control it is one thing. But for us to endorse such a concept and actually assist in accomplishing it is an outright sin... a violation of our obligation to liberate and settle our homeland.
If we are to have a right wing political movement which functions under genuine Jewish ideology, then the leaders of such a movement must never fall into the trap of setting aside Jewish ideology for political convenience, no matter how well intentioned their goals may be. Redemption will not come from political geniuses. It will come only when Jews act like proud and self-respecting Jews. Only when we demonstrate our unswerving faith in our Creator, by defying the odds and throwing our enemies out in spite of threats made by world powers, will we see an end to the horrors which presently plague us. We are destined to become "the light unto the nations". This a not a prize, rather an obligation. We are meant to bring true peace to all of the nations of the world by our actions. Only when our actions are in pure service of our Creator will we be able to fulfill our destined role. Any attempt to find another way to peace is futile. Peace will not be achieved by running to Washington. World peace will be established in Jerusalem, and the nations of the world will come here to find it.
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