OTHER VIEWS

Continuation Of A Dangerous Lie

Settlements Hinder Peace

overwhelming force to finally
onfusion and con-
destroy the enemy and stop
flict continue to
the killing?
reign supreme over
Suppose declared friends and
the existence,
allies
discourage you from
extent, route and composi-
using this power. But what
tion of the "fence" that Israel
about these "friends" and
is now constructing in an
"allies"? Did the Americans or
attempt at protecting itself
JEROME S.
Europeans
use Marquis of
against the lethal, painfully
KAUFMAN Queensberry rules in World
effective terrorist destruction
Community
War II in destroying Cologne,
and demoralization of its
Views
leveling Berlin or dropping
own people.
atomic bombs upon Hiroshima
Why the confusion and
and
Nagasaki?
conflict? The reason is quite simple —
Do the Arabs use Marquis of
Israelis and their supporters around
Queensberry
rules in their endless
the world live in a state of self-
internecine
warfare?
Was that the for-
induced misinformation and delusion
mat
in
Iraq
vs.
Iran
or
Iraq vs. Kuwait
as to the entire scenario.
or
Jordan
vs.
the
Palestinian
Arabs or
What is the fence for? Is it to pro-
Hafez Assad vs. his own citizens in
tect Israeli citizens? Yes, but will it be
Hama or Saddam Hussein vs. his own
effective? Has there ever been a fence
Kurds or his own Shiites in Iraq or his
of any great length effective against a
own sons-in-law for that matter?
marauding enemy or an enemy truly
In any case, does Israel need an
dedicated to circumventing or
excuse
or a dispensation from the rest
destroying it?
of
the
world
to protect its own citi-
Was the Maginot Line of the
zens? What does the rabbi say? Is he
French effective against the invading
going to repeat his sermon about
German blitzkrieg of World War II?
tikkun olam (repair of the world)
Was the Great Wall of China effective
when
your wives, children and land
against hoards of Mongul invaders?
are
bleeding
to death and another
Are the Rio Grande, the border patrol
Holocaust
of
Jews, but this time in
and their fences effective against
their
own
land,
transpires before our
migrants dedicated to entering the
very eyes?
United States?
But, in fact, that all begs the ques-
Does a fence make any military
tion.
The real question always
sense? If one has an enemy dedicated
remains:
Whose land is it? Is 5764
to his destruction, does one hide in
years
of
Jewish
history a lie?
the cellar like the Jews of the shtetls of
Because
the
rest
of the world,
Poland and Russia? Was that effective
besmirched
in
its
centuries
of anti-
against the Cossacks pounding on the
Semitism, continues to blame the
cellar door?
Jews for every hangnail that surfaces
Does one build a ghetto along a
and delights in accepting the gross lie
slender Mediterranean corridor
of Arab pre-possession and Israeli
packed with more Jews per square
"occupation," does that make it true?
inch than any other place in the
Should
many Jews and many Israelis
world, in order to isolate these Jews
continue
to be so uninformed as to
from their enemies? Yes, the Germans
buy
into
this
gross lie?
did that to the Jews of Warsaw and
Does
any
knowledgeable
person not
that ghetto wall was very effective.
know
that
the
"settlements"
are on
The only problem was that ghetto
Israeli
land
and-
it
is
the
Arabs
that are
wall was effective in killing Jews
the
"occupiers."
And
does
anyone
rather than saving them.
really care if it is a lie or not?
And, what if one has the great
What only matters in practice is the
advantage of overwhelming force and
fact
that Jesus was misinformed. The
power? Does one follow the rules of
weak do not inherit the earth — at
engagement that cater to the weak-
least not in our lifetime. Perhaps the
nesses of one's enemy? Does one cre-
Israelis should use their full power to
ate another Lebanese security zone
protect their people right now
within Israel itself? How effective was
Forget creating another ghetto for
that?
Jews.
Forget the ridiculous hypocrisy
Does one allow his own power to be
of
a
fence
that is itself destructive and
neutralized and allow one's enemy to
ineffective and instead continues to
continue to wreak havoc upon his
promote and delineate the lethal
greater forces or does one use one's
abomination of a "Palestinian state"
invented for a previously non-existent
Jerome S. Kaufman is a Bloomfield
"Palestinian people." ❑
Hills resident.

Minneapolis
can make peace, but from
ver the past two
experience, we know that
years, Palestinian
progress is impossible with-
forces have con-
out America's leadership. We
tinued their
hope and pray, therefore,
relentless campaign of ter-
that our government will not
ror against Israeli civilians.
lose heart and walk away.
While Israel's army asks
how it can limit the loss of RABBI ERIC
H. YOFFIE
Curtail Settlements
civilian life, Palestinian ter-
Special
rorists ask how they can
But we must also ask some-
Commentary thing of the government of
kill as many innocents as
possible.
Israel. Israel must dismantle
We watch in dismay the parades
illegal outposts and freeze all other
in Gaza that celebrate the murder
settlement activity.
of Jewish children; not since the
The ultimate fate of the settle-
horrors of Nazi Germany have we
ments will be determined in negoti-
seen a people publicly lion-
ations, but as the Bush
izing the killers of Jews. Yet,
administration has noted,
the hope for peace cannot
the growth of settlements
be lost, especially within
prejudges the outcome of
our community.
peace talks.
Palestinian Authority
Even those who continu-
President Yasser Arafat has
ally argue the case for Israel
shown himself incapable of
in their American commu-
making peace. We remem-
nities are deeply troubled by
Bush
ber his rejection of the
the settlement issue. The
Barak-Clinton peace initia-
settlements pose a serious
tive and his constant
threat to Israel's sovereign
encouragement of so-called
survival.
martyrdom. And we
In 1980, there were 5,000
remember, too, that the
settlers in the West Bank
words "Jewish people" and
and Gaza. In 1993, the
"Jewish state" never pass his
number grew to 115,000
lips.
settlers, and today there are
At this terrible time, we
230,000 settlers. If settle-
are deeply grateful to the
ment growth continues, in a
Bush administration for its
very short time the Jewish
support of Israel. With its
and Palestinian populations
weight behind pushing a
will be so intertwined that
peace process, it has reject-
separation will be impossi-
ed the vile falsehood that
ble.
Palestinian murder is
As a result, some
somehow Israel's fault.
Palestinian leaders have
While much of the
begun to promote a one-
Sharon
world tolerates Palestinian
state solution as the only way
attacks on civilians,
to end the conflict.
President Bush does not. He refuses "Settlements are expanding," they
to rationalize terror and he tells the say, "and a state of our own is no
Palestinians that they cannot bomb
longer feasible.
their way to respectability. For this
"So let there be a single state
president, one man's terrorist is
from the Mediterranean Sea to the
another man's terrorist.
Jordan River in which every person,
The Jewish community must ask
Arab and Jew, will have one vote
the administration to stay involved
and equal rights."
in peacemaking. America's vision of
They make this proposal knowing
a two-state solution, with security
that this territory will soon have an
for Israel and independence for the
Arab majority and that a single
Palestinians, is the only course that
state will mean the end of Israel.
offers hope.
Only the Israelis and Palestinians

C

11/14
2003

38

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Israel's Leverage

Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie is the president of
the North American-based Union for
Reform Judaism. This was adapted from
his speech at the Reform movement's
biennial convention in Minneapolis.

This is not a doomsday scenario for
the distant future. Americans see
little reason to oppose a single state
for Palestinians and Israelis that
offers equal rights for all.