OTHER VIEWS

The Morality Of Results

hey call it a road map and it
was to be used by two parties.
The problem is that for a
road map to be useful when
more than one party is involved, both
need to have the same destination.
Otherwise, it is worthless.
In proposing its plan for peace, the
Bush administration has failed to
understand this principle. No outside
force can dictate peace when one party
is committed to war, a destination not
envisioned by President Bush or Israel.
The Islamic Jihad and Hamas are
dedicated to the destruction of Israel,
and one has good reason to suspect that
Palestinian Authority President Yasser
Arafat has the same motivation and is
still in control of the so-called extrem-
ists.
It appears that Palestinian Prime
Minister Mahmoud Abbas is not in
total control and needs Arafat's approval
on many issues. Further, Arafat under-
mines Abbas whenever he can.
Indeed, one might also conclude that
a significant Segment of the Palestinian
people seek Israel's destruction given the
celebrations held with Fourth-of-July-
type fireworks after the Aug. 19 terrorist
attack that killed at least 21 Jews.
Moreover, while official Palestinian
voices "condemned" the attack, they did._
so not because they found the terrorist
attack barbaric and vile, but because
they feared the consequences the
Palestinian people might suffer when

T

Bed Falbaum is a Farmington Hills pub-

lic relations executive and former political
reporter who teaches journalism part time
at Wayne State University in Detroit.

and if Israel retaliates. Some condemna-
tion. And how many condemnations
have we heard from Arafat over the
years?
Those who still support the road map
are engaging in some intellectual gym-
nastics in defense of their position.
Consider the venerable New York
Times that editorialized:
"It is true that Mr. Abbas and Mr.
[Mohammed] Dahlan (Palestinian secu-
rity chief) have been weak-kneed in
keeping commitments under the peace
plan known as the road map.
"But the Israelis have also failed to
carry out their commitments on ending
settlement activity."
Assuming Israel is in violation of
peace plan conditions — and a good
case can be made that it is not — given
moral equivalency to settlement viola-
tions and the slaughter of innocent chil-
dren is almost grotesque. No, it is
grotesque.

he was credited with saving
Researching history back to
lives in ending the war quickly.
the days of Sparta and Athens
Israel can do the same and
and examining the philosophy
save lives — Israeli lives and,
of some of the world's greatest
one must add, Palestinian lives
thinkers —including Aristotle,
because Jews reap no joy from
Thucydides, Machiavelli,
seeing Palestinian parents on
Tiberius, Hobbes, Churchill
newscasts grieving from the loss
and others — Kaplan makes
BERL
of their children when Israel
the point that sometimes there
FALBAUM
retaliates.
is no alternative to violence.
Community
It was former Israeli Prime
"It takes a shallow grasp of
Views
Minister Golda Meir who said
history to believe that solutions
the tragedy is not only that
exist to most international
problems. Often, there are no solutions, Jews kill Arabs, but also that Arabs force
Jews to kill Arabs.
only confusion and unsatisfactory
Citing the writings of great world
choices," writes Kaplan in his book that
philosophers, Kaplan writes that these
does not address any specific pending
thinkers believed in the morality of
world issue.
results rather than good intentions.
He adds elsewhere: "... the willingness
to confront evil with force at propitious
moments is the mark of a great states-
man."
And he observes: "For in human
affairs, moral questions are often linked
to questions of power."

Let Israel Loose

So what now? That's a question that has
been asked all too frequently in the last
few years.
The answer seems evident: Israel
needs to use its military might to once
and for all put an end to the slaughter
of its citizens. Unfortunately, there
seems to be no other choice.
Those who oppose an all-out military
objective might read the brilliant analy-
sis of war as a strategic political weapon
written by Robert D. Kaplan (he calls it
an essay) in his book Warrior Politics:

"Why Leadership Demands a Pagan
Ethos."

Fury Of Power

Thus, it appears Israel must end a moral
dilemma with its power. Who can ques-
tion, to use Kaplan's words, that this is
not a "propitious moment" or admit-
tedly "an unsatisfactory choice"?
The ultimate violence in human histo-
ry undoubtedly occurred after President
Truman's decision to use the atomic
bomb in World War II, killing about
100,000 in Hiroshima. When Japan still
balked at ending the war, Truman
bombed Nagasaki, killing a similar num-
ber. Of the total, most were civilians.
While Truman had his critics, overall

Israel needs to
use its military
might to once and
for all put an end
to the slaughter
of its citizens.

It is time for the morality of
results. Some may argue that it is
long overdue.
Would the world chastise Israel? Of
course. But that only prompts the
rhetorical question: So, what else would
be new? ❑

Landing On Their Feet

Jerusalem

t the end of their first day far
from home, Illil Aroch,
Nofar Katzav, Shai Gal and
Eitan Magen could be forgiv-
en for thinking they were hallucinat-
ing. There was, after all, something
unreal about their mid-summer adven-
ture.
Hours earlier, they had been in the
tense, hardboiled reality of Israel. Now,

A

Robert Sarner is a senior reporter/editor

on Israel's only English-language daily
TV show. Before moving to Israel in
1990, he was a writer and magazine
editor in Paris and Toronto. His e-mail
address is rsarner@netvision.net.il

8/29
2003

26

they were a world away in a wilderness
paradise. One moment they were with
their families in the Tel Aviv blue collar
suburb of Or Yehuda; the next they,
were at Camp Tamakwa in Canada's
enchanted Algonquin Park with 450
people they had never seen before, half
of whom were from Michigan.
For Illil, Nofar, Shai and Eitan, the
first 24 hours were mesmerizing, unlike
anything they'd ever experienced. Jet-
lagged, culture-shocked, emotionally
drained, linguistically challenged, sens-
es overloaded, they went to sleep over-
whelmed by their sudden new reality.
One made possible by Tamakwa's two
owners and alumni with help from the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan

to camp. For all except one, it
was their first trip in an air-
plane and first time leaving
Israel.
After the three-hour drive
north from the airport, they
boarded a boat for the 5-
minute ride to Tamakwa,
which is only accessible by
R OBERT
water. Little could they antici-
S ARNER
Helping Hands
pate what awaited them. As
Special
As Tamakwa only staff mem-
Corn mentary the boat approached the
camp's main dock, several
bers from Israel, my wife,
hundred campers and staff
Galya, and I were delighted to
broke into a rousing cheer to welcome
help with the project. In late July, we
the newcomers. Some held banners in
drove to Toronto with Tamakwa co-
Hebrew and a huge Israeli flag.
owner David Bale to greet the Israelis
The Israeli kids were stunned when
at Pearson Airport and to bring them

Detroit. They wanted to show
their solidarity with Israel by
offering a month-long stay at
camp to kids who otherwise
could not even dream of such an
experience. The first beneficiaries
were two boys and two girls
between the ages of 12 and 14.

