SPECIAL COMMENTARY

Trying To Stay On The Road To Peace

known politician [Yitzhak Levy, leader
of the hawkish National Religious
here is a different feeling
Party]. In a country or family of a few
here, a different vibe. While
million people, no one is untouched
you are out in the streets, in
by the daily events.
the cafes and riding on the
I am constantly asked,
buses, there is a tendency for
"What do you think, what
the eyes to take in a little
do you feel?" Well, the vast
more than normal as you
range of differing opinions
walk through town. There's a
and emotions usually
slight jumpiness, and the
expressed by the Israeli pop-
extra-deep sigh, when one
ulace, I would venture to
reads the newspaper.
say,
is shrinking rapidly. We
The conflict does seem to
are all either in the army,
be getting closer and closer to
such as myself, or have close
home. When a bomb went
friends or family who are.
off in central Jerusalem two
DARREN
We know the govern-
weeks ago, the cellular phone
SPILMAN
ment's policy of restraint
lines went dead in the coun-
firsthand. There are numer-
Special to
try. Overuse. These were not
ous clashes every day in
the Jewish News
gossip calls, but calls from
which
the Israeli Defense
everybody to everybody to
Forces, at very high risk, do
see that things were all right.
not return fire. We are being fired at
Unfortunately for two young people,
from everywhere. From behind the
their families' calls went unanswered.
backs of young children, from residen-
One of these people was the daughter
tial centers, and, yes, the IDF
[Ayelet Hashahar Levy] of a very well-
spokesperson has confirmed even from
Darren Spilman of Farmington Hills
Red Crescent Palestinian ambulances
(IDF did not return fire).
graduated from the University of Michi-

Jerusalem

T

gan in 1996 He then went to Israel
with Project Otzma, a Jewish Federa-
tion of Metropolitan Detroit-sponsored
program. He made altyah to Israel in
January and is a soldier with the Israeli
Defense Forces. Spilman's letters from
Israel appear periodically in the Jewish
News.

Moral Focus
Each day, this conflict descends one
rung on the moral ladder. I have seen
films and read footage that would
make your head spin. And amidst all
of this, Israel is trying desperately to
maintain the moral high ground, to

only initiate shooting when absolutely
necessary.
Palestinian TV is telling their peo-
ple to go make Molotov cocktails and
put them next to their clothing and
food in their closets. And Israel is
making overtures of peace.
Many of you saw the gruesome

We must
continue to rally
for peace.

lynching of two of our soldiers that
mistakenly reached a Palestinian bor-
der crossing that was broadcast
throughout the world. This is the
Palestinian Television response on
Oct. 10, 11:50 a.m.:
"Enraged residents are still in the
streets following the uncovering of the
undercover soldiers who entered the
city with bombs and rifles. They were
planning to massacre our heroes and
our women and elderly. The weapons
discovered and the confessions taken
from them before they were killed
clearly point to the plans of these sol-
diers against the residents, women and
children. This could have been a hor-
rible massacre. We thank Allah for
what happened."

World Model

And Israel is making overtures of
peace. Leaving the door open to
negotiations. Expressing hope that a
return to the peace process can
begin.
All the while the killing continues,
and the shrapnel gets closer and closer
to home.
We are tired of taking the moral
high ground, yet we continue. We
understand why we keep telling our-
selves: We are an example to the
world, an example to ourselves. We
see ourselves portrayed in the media as
killing innocent children, as aggres-
sors, as the bad guy. We don't under-
stand it. We are here. We know the
truth. The thread of our restraint
wants to fray, yet we are holding it
together.
We continue to make overtures for
peace.
They continue to shoot us, and use
their babies as shields.
Write letters or e-mails to your gov-
ernment representatives demanding a
strong U.S. voice in the United
Nations Security Council. Write let-
ters or e-mails to the major media
broadcasting and newspaper compa-
nies demanding fairness in reporting.
Read everything you can so that you
are knowledgeable.
Please pray. Not later or tomorrow.
Pray now for real peace.

LETTERS

women and children are continually
being inculcated with hatred, admon-
ished by their leaders to "kill the
Zionist enemy." The opinion of some
political analysts is that Israel is on the
brink of a major war.
In light of the events unfolding, it
appears that Rabin's "peace of the
brave" is hardly "a vision for the future
that still stirs hearts." In actuality, it
has been transformed into a nightmare
for the present, a tragic and costly
error.
As far as legacies go, you praise
Rabin's example of making peace with
our enemies as something he gave to
the nation that will instill "hope and
pride." It is widely accepted that one
of the foundations of Judaism, and
indeed of civilization, is the notion
that crime does not pay. If there is any
lesson we need to impart to future

11/17
2000

40

generations, it is that nothing benefi-
cial will ever result from any wrongdo-
ing — least of all from the actions
that are the trademarks of the PLO:
murder, mayhem and terror of inno-
cent victims.
Ironically, what General Yitzhak
Rabin bravely gained on the battle-
field, at the cost of considerable Jew-
ish blood, he later yielded at the
negotiating table when he faced the
same enemy. The pragmatism that
you allude to in referring to the late
prime minister as "ever the realist" is
fatally flawed by one essential fact:
that the "peace you do with enemies,
sometimes bitter enemies that you
despise," can never be fulfilled as
true peace if these enemies are
unwilling to respond in a reciprocal
fashion — in this instance, by relin-
quishing their unrelenting mission

to destroy the Jewish state.
True and lasting legacies are
established by those great individuals
who are unwilling, under any cir-
cumstances, to capitulate to terror.
Sadly, when Prime Minister Rabin
shook the hand dripping with Jewish
blood that fateful day on the White
House lawn, he did strengthen a
legacy — that of an unrepentant ter-
ror that continues to haunt and tor-
ment the people of Israel. That
physical handshake has, in fact,
become a symbolic handshake with
all the continuing perpetrators of
Arab terror, whose ambitions were
emboldened that day.
No, Rabin's legacy is not a legacy of
honor.
Avraham Dovid and Nacha Sara
Leaf

Oak Park

'
Don t Doom
Jewish Israel

Let the Palestinian Arabs live in their
own state: the kingdom of Jordan ("Get-
ting Worse," Nov. 3, page 26).
For Israel to survive, it must remain
at least 40 miles wide, with its border
at the Jordan River. If the local Arabs
don't like it, they can settle in Arab
Palestine — Jordan — or any of the
other 21 Arab states. Because the Jews
in Israel have to lose just one war and
that will be the end of Israel.
Without imaginative new thinking
and help from a world that seeks
something other than Israel's dismem-
berment, Jewish Israel is doomed, and
so are millions of non-Jews.
Michael Ellias Dallen

Detroit

