They Still Don't Get It

0

ne wonders if it is ever pos-
sible to change anyone's
mind about politically
entrenched positions fre-
quently the result of a lifetime of
indoctrination.
What will it take for some people
ro admit that more than 100 years of
attempting to come to genuiri,.' terms
of peace with Palestinian Arabs, and
particularly the last 7 1 /2 years of fruit-
less land concessions, has attained vir-
tually nothing? In fact, relinquishing
the Israeli land regained in the 1967
Six-Day War has caused exactly the
opposite effect.
These areas, and the Arab towns
contained within them, have become
havens for terrorists and launching
pads for their incursions into the heart
of Israel. The vaunted Green Line,
within which naive Israelis believed
they were safe, is a proven mirage.
The heart of Israel is just five minutes
away from the territories that the left
could not give away fast enough.
More important, the territorial con-
cessions have empowered Israel's ene-
mies and rekindled their hopes of
entirely eliminating the hated Jew
from their midst.
The left avoids stating that it was
this benighted policy that turned a
band of disorganized kids throwing
rocks in 1993 into a virtual army of
nearly 50,000 men just seven years
later! This army is heavily armed with
rifles (supplied by the Israelis), mor-
tars, anti-tank weapons, Katyusha
rockets, anti-aircraft weapons, and
whatever else they can either manufac-
ture or smuggle into Palestinian
Authority areas.
More than 600 Israelis, mostly
innocent civilians, have died and
thousands have been maimed since
the premature White House hand-
shake of September 1993. The very
existence of the State of Israel is sud-
denly on the line as a result of this
"land for peace" policy.
Yet, I have not heard even one mea
culpa; not one leader of the various
Jewish organizations, synagogues, fed-
erations and Jewish councils that so
vigorously promoted this terrible poli-
cy has resigned in guilt and contri-
tion. Not one has fallen on his sword.
They just quietly switch gears, contin-
ue to collect their salaries and go on
their merry way.

Jerome S. Kaufman is a Bloomfield
Hills resident and an ardent Mideast
observer.

.111=111■

Lessons
Learned?

Even worse,
many of them
still don't get it
Leonard Fein, a
board member of
Americans for
Peace Now and a
syndicated
JEROME S.
columnist,
KAU F MAN
despite
finally
Special
admitting
that
Commentary
the land for peace
process failed,
still opines that the disastrous offer of
former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak — giving up 97 percent of
and Samaria, all of Gaza, half of
Jerusalem, the Jordan Valley, greater
sovereignty over the Temple Mount,
the import of 150,000 Arabs (for
starters) within the Green Line — will
some day be the basis for agreement
between Israel and the Palestinians!
Thomas Friedman, self-styled Middle
East expert, in his timely conversion
from dedicated peacenik, said essen-
tially the same thing! So what have
they learned — nothing.

.

They have yet to understand that it
is exactly those policies that have
caused the present awful situation.
More than 70 Israelis have been mur-
dered in the latest intifida [Palestinian
uprising] alone. Israelis can no longer
safely leave their homes or send their
children to school without fearing that
they may not return.
Terrorists fire directly into Israel
with mortar shells and cannon from
less than five minutes away. Yet, the
government has yet to have the
courage to ignore world opinion and
take these killers completely out.
Can you imagine that being tolerat-
ed in the United States of America
or any other country in the whole
world? Only the Jews have this priv-
ilege.

Stand By Sharon

Israel's last hope may very well be
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. But the
Israelis must finally face the reality of
their plight and have the courage to
stand with him.
Ariel Sharon was born in Israel. He
has fought with great valor in all of its
wars. He has lived among Arabs all his

life arid he respects and understands
them.
He wants no part of the conces-
sions offered by Barak and former
President Bill Clinton. He wants Israel
to hold on to its land, honor its reli-
gion and maintain its holy sites,
preach patriotism and Zionism in its
textbooks, keep its defensive borders
and mountaintops against all present
and future enemies, make peace with
Israel's neighbors if they are capable of
genuine peace, establish mutually ben-
eficial economic ties, etc., etc.
But Prime Minister Sharon has one
basic principle that drives his every
decision. He recently stated it very
clearly:
"The Jews have one small state. It is
a state truly blessed with skills. But
this is the only place in the world
where Jews have the right and the
ability and the strength to defend
themselves by themselves. And that is
a gift from God. That is what we
must defend. Therefore, we must all
know that we can never place our fate
in the hands of anyone else, not even
in the hands of those who are our best
friends. Never."

❑

What Israel Means To Me • • •

Dr. Andrew Sloan

Chief of Neuro-Oncology, Karmanos Cancer Institute

Israel is the historical and spiritual center of the
Jewish people. It is a land promised to the
descendants of Avraham in the Old Testament,
and perhaps the only place where Jews will
always be accepted. Praying at the Western Wall
shortly after my Bar Mitzvah was one of the most
moving experiences in my life as I realized that
many of my own relatives had sacrificed their
lives in the effort to protect my right to do so.
We must always remember that while at times
we may not agree with all of Israel's actions or
policies, it is the people of Israel who face most
directly the harsh political realities of this
strife-torn region, and try to be as supportive and
understanding as we can.

A message brought to you by the

American Jewish Committee

Metropolitan Detroit Chapter

In Celebration of Israel

Visit our website www.ajc.org
For membership information, call
248-646-7686

5/4

2001

