FORGETTING RABIN ternational conference was arranged, to the jubilation that greeted Mr. Netanyahu upon his return from the recent "Clinton Summit." Israelis were given a shot of self-confi- dence in the absence of Israel's standard capitulation to PLO terror and violence, which is the intended effect of the PLO's tactics. Time will tell if Mr. Netanyahu has the will to withstand continuing the ap- peasement policy of his predecessors. Another obstacle to Israel implement- ing a consistent foreign policy is due to the nature of Israel's hybrid political system, where Knesset members are not elected directly. Thus, Shimon Peres and Ezer Weizman, who are not accountable to a di- rect constituency, are conducting self-ap- pointed diplomatic talks with Mr. Arafat. Surprisingly, the tunnel opening sparked a "blood-libel" like universal condemna- tion. Thus Israel was castigated for open- ing a second exit to a 12-year-old Hasmonean-era tunnel in sovereign Jerusalem 250 yards from the Mosque of Omar. In the aftermath of the tunnel open- ing, Mr. Peres' and Mr. Weizman's actions are undermining Mr. Netanyahu's elec- toral mandate and his ability to demand Mr. Arafat's accountability. In fact, Mr. Peres and Ze'ev Chafetz (Jerusalem Report) allowed themselves to be paraded on "Nightline" and National Public Radio to bolster the PLO's libel that killing 14 Israeli solders was a credible re- sponse to the tunnel opening. As a result, the Israelis themselves are adding validity to the PLO revisionist claim to Jerusalem. Combined with Mr. Arafat's opposition to the "Judaization" of Jerusalem, the Palestinians have recast themselves as (imagined) descendants of ancient Canaan- ites in order to predate the Jewish biblical claim to Jerusalem. The Arab sensitivity to authentic Jewish biblical archeological, evidence, which predates the 7th-century rise of Islam, is the reason Egypt de- manded Israel turn over all archeologi- cal finds from the Sinai and why Oslo requires the same from Judea and Samaria. Since the tunnel undermines any PLO claim to Jerusalem and interferes with its current propaganda campaign by ground- ing Jewish rights in hard archeological facts, it is no wonder Arafat made the tun- nel into such a cause celebre. The Pales- tinians are constructing a convincing case that they have as much, if not more, of a right than the Israelis to Jerusalem. This is being orchestrated right under the noses of Israel from their supposedly illegal Orient House headquarters in east Jerusalem. This propaganda campaign was carried out by Mr. Arafat's loyalists, such as Hanan Ashwari. She perpetu- ated myths on CNN alleging that "Israel was undermining the foundation of the Mosque of Omar and the entire Oslo Ac- cords", when clearly the opposite was true. These CNN soundbites successfully complemented the fighting in the street. Together, these actions provide a rare glimpse at the sophistication of the PLO propaganda machine which has succeed- ed in ensuring that the PLO will have a veto on any future activities in Jewish Jerusalem. Ironically, in- stead of promoting goodwill toward Is- rael, as Oslo's ar- chitects envisioned, what Israel has done is heighten ex- pectations of future withdrawals and undermined the Israeli right to a united Jerusalem. Israel's handling of the Accords has also undermined Israel's right to any future land the Arabs demand, of which there is no end in sight. This situation has also succeeded in weakening Israel's case for defending her northern border. The State Department's consistent whitewashing of flagrant PLO violations in order that Mr. Clinton can continue the $500-million funding of Mr. Arafat, and Clinton's recent refusal to sup- port Israel's tunnel opening and condemn the PLO violence at the UN all contribute to seemingly insurmountable hurdles for Mr. Netanyahu. The result of Israel's actions is that now, not only does the Labor Party ignore PLO violations, but so to does the inter- national media. After relinquishing strategic territory and financing and arm- ing the PLO, Israel is amazingly singled out for hesitating to withdraw from He- bron. Few, Jew or gentile, protest these inconsistencies. Therefore, Mr. Netanyahu would be wise to expose the Clinton refusal to hold Mr. Arafat accountable, since a Republi- can administration would be far less like- ly to pressure Israel to further emasculate herself. My father, Morris Baker z"1, warned all who would listen that the goal of Oslo since its inception was the parti- tion of Jerusalem; his prophetic warning may still materialize if Mr. Netanyahu fails to defend Israel's rights more force- fully. Although Mr. Netanyahu has withstood the type of pressure that Mr. Begin could not withstand at Camp David, he has not educated the media as aggressively as he should regarding PLO violations, leav- ing it up to Mort Klein and the ZOA to do so. After all, if Israel does not expect or de- mand PLO compliance, one cannot fault the United States for ignoring its viola- tions either. In fact, Mr. Netanyahu has hinted that he would consider withdraw- ing from Hebron as long as "unspecified" security arrangements were made, which would contradict his pledge not to reward PLO violence and intimidation. As an antidote to Israeli demoralization, Israel must stop acting powerless and face the fact that she is responsible for her ac- tions. Israel must also realize that the United States and Mr. Arafat can only pressure her if she allows herself to be bul- lied into agreements which Israel knows are recipes for disaster. In the final analy- sis, Mr. Netanyahu must reassert Israeli sovereignty, in order that Israel's longevi- ty and security, for individuals and the na- tion as a whole, will be assured.0 Leah Rabin and family weep at the funeral. Widow Of Fury Leah Rabin has not tempered her tongue in the year. INA FRIEDMAN ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT everal days after her husband's assassination, mourners spent the night in front of Tel Aviv home lighting candles, laying flowers and singing songs. "It's a pity you weren't here when they were demonstrating across the street, calling him a traitor and a murderer," she told them. Then, soften- ing her voice, she added, "But you are here now, and I apreciate this and love you in his name." The widow of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin has spent much of the past year abroad, attending memorial cere- monies and other public commemorations, accepting posthumously awarded peace prizes, cultivating her husband's memory, and advocating the continuation of the peace process in which he featured so prominently. The world over, she is seen as a strong, courageous and articulate woman who has risen above her bereavement to take up her husband's banner as an emissary of peace. But in her divided homeland she is some- times viewed as a woman consumed by bit- terness — sometimes to the point of purveying divisiveness. At the state funeral ceremony, she re- frained from shaking the hand of then-op- position leader Binyamin Netanyahu, S whom she blamed for cultivating the vi- cious pliblic climate that inspired the as- sassination. Afterward she told ABC's "Nightline," which held a special Town Meeting broadcast live from Jerusalem, that she preferred to shake Palestinian Au- thority head Yassir Arafat's hand. (Suha Arafat was the first spouse of an Arab leader to phone her, on the very night of the assassination. Mr. Arafat paid a con- dolence call to Tel Aviv.) Mrs. Rabin has also openly vented at President Ezer Weizman for the irrever- ent tone of his eulogy and for failing to men- tion Rabin in his Knesset opening address last June. Accusing Mr. Weizman of con- tinuing "to settle old scores," she charged in a televised interview last August: "He didn't forget Yitzhak ... But he decided he wasn't worthy of mention, and I can never forgive him for that." Mrs. Rabin's resentment toward Mr. Ne- tanyahu and Mr. Weizman remains so strong that she requested they not take part in the official graveside ceremony marking a year since his death. The two leaders have held their tongue and remained above the fray. But other Likud leaders have been as un- gracious to the prime minister's widow, and to his memory, as she has been crit- ical of them.