Editorials are posted and archived
on JN Online:
www.detroitjewishnews.com

Dry Bones

.

A Theory Of Chaos

hat we are seeing is the disintegration of
Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority.
It's been a long time in coming, and the
process may still take months or even years — but the
process is no longer reversible.
When both the Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed
Qurei and the United Nations special envoy to the
Mideast Terje Roed-Larsen agree on one word —
"chaos" — to describe the mess that the Palestinians
are in, they aren't talking theoretically.
Who and what may take the place of Arafat and the
P.A. are not predictable. It seems pretty certain that
Hamas will have a broader role in the Gaza Strip but
not necessarily in the West Bank where "young guard"
reformers such as the former P.A. Security
Minister Muhammad Dahlan are likely to
gain more power. It is even possible that the
two areas that would have formed the new
Palestinian nation may become effectively two
enclaves, each dependent on the Arab neighbors,
Egypt to the south and Jordan to the east, who have
made it clear that they don't want to have to deal with
these shattered populations.
Polls say the majority of Palestinians are sick of the
corruption and tyranny that defines Arafat's rule and
perhaps are ready to trade their intifada, which has cost
them more than three times as many deaths as the
nearly 1,000 they have inflicted on Israelis, for a period
of peace. But that does not ensure that they will get
what they want. The Arab nations have an unmatched
record of ignoring the subdued center in favor of
extremist ideologies.
Despite getting more aid per capita, $310, than any
other nation on earth, the Palestinians are in desperate
straits. Much of the aid money goes into the pockets of

Less Is Moore

But let's take a guess.
During a speech given earlier this year in Liverpool,
England, he said: "It's all part of the same ball of wax,
right? The oil companies, Israel, Halliburton."
In his book Stupid White Men, Moore advocated cut-
ting off all U.S. aid to Israel within 30 days unless it
agrees to a Palestinian state. He then suggested dou-
bling that amount in foreign aid to the newly formed
Arafatland.
He stipulated that the Palestinian state would have to
include "constitutional guarantees" of Israel's security.
From what I know of Palestinian guarantees, they
would be written in invisible ink, but at least Moore
isn't entirely unmindful of Israel's real security needs.
Let's give him the benefit of the doubt and say he's just
a trifle naive.
I really can't understand how anyone who professes
support for Israel can continue to ignore the position of
Moore and his pals on the hard left when it comes to
the American relationship with that country.
They believe that if only Israel would consent to serv-
ing itself up to the Palestinians a la carte, all would be -
well in the world. Just ask the collection of dolts on the
International Court of Justice.
They refuse to acknowledge that what Israel and
America face is a largely dysfunctional,Arab world, driv-

W

EDIT O 11,1AL

T

here are many in our commu-
nity who detest George Bush.
The bungled war in Iraq leads
them to doubt both the ability and
veracity of his administration. And
deservedly so.
They are especially gleeful at
Michael Moore's ferocious attack on
the president in his film Fahrenheit
GEORGE
9/11.
CANTOR
But best be careful who your friends
Reality
are.
Check
Moore has made it clear that, in his
view, America had it coming. It was
Bush's foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, that
made us a targ et.
What foreign policy would that be?
Well, his support for the Saudi regime and other oil-
producing despotisms, much of it based on personal
ties.
And what else?
Here Moore becomes uncharacteristically reticent.

George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor@thejewishnews.com

WHEN
TRAGEDY AND
MISFORTUNE

ACCORDING TO
TRADITION,
TISNA BE'AV IS
THE DAY

Arafat's cronies, leaving the intended
recipients to struggle with mounting
unemployment, crumbling schools
and roads, and hovels instead of
homes. The top brass reject criticism
— the P.A. response to Roed-Larsen's
remarks was to ban him from the area
— sealing themselves off from any
meaningful effort to reform and guar-
anteeing the collapse that is so clearly
now under way.
The disintegration may or may not
prove a benefit to Israel, which is why
Ariel Sharon and other Israeli leaders
need to continue on a
steady and effective course.
Continued construction of
the West Bank security bar-
rier and the planned withdrawal of the
7,200 settlers from Gaza are necessary
actions that the country should take
whether the Palestinians want them to
or not.
A new structure of power on the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip is likely
to require an international presence,
meaning Sharon needs to work effec-
tively with the quartet of powers —
the United States, Russia, the United
Nations and the European Union —
to salvage those parts of the road map
that still make some sense. Israel will
likely need an effective multinational force to make
sure that the Palestinians shut down their efforts at
cross-border terror.

r

STRIKE THE
JEWISH
PEOPLE.

r

ON OTHER
DAYS IT'S A
BONUS?

But the world should shed no tears for the coming
end of Arafat. He promised his people a nation but he
gave them the misery that will prove his undoing.F1

en by a socio-political environment that fosters envy,
poverty and religious extremism.
Israel is not a perfect state run by flawless leaders. But
does any harm done to the Palestinians come close to
what Arab militias in Sudan are doing to blacks in that
country? The massive state-sponsored campaign of rape
and murder has been going on for months, but only in
recent weeks has there been even a minimal outcry.
Gee, I wonder how come.
Is the plight of the Palestinians any different from
that of the Kurds? Here is an oppressed Muslim minor-
ity scattered over three different countries, massacred by
the peace-loving Saddam Hussein? Don't the Kurds also
deserve a nation on territory taken away from them by
•
stronger powers?
Moore does not pretend to be a journalist. But there
are some minimal standards:If you set out to accuse a
man of being a liar, for example, you should try to have
a decent regard for the truth. Moore, instead, throws
everything at Bush but dancing ostriches and last year's
sweat socks. Whatever truth there may be gets lost in
the pile.
As for me, I find it more than a bit offensive to watch
someone use the outward form of my profession to
grind out agitprop. And it leaves me with a strong urge
to wash my hands. P1

T

7/23
2004

33