editor's Notebook
The Fallout Of Disengagement
Arab from 35 percent to 24 percent. That will reinforce the
here we sat, in my Southfield office, talking
Jewish
majority in a democratic Israel. The number of
about Israel removing its Jewish presence first
Arabs
under
Israel control will drop even more once the
from the Gaza Strip and soon after from
Jewish
state
pulls
back from Samaria. And Gaza-mounted
Samaria in the West Bank. I listened as the new deputy
terror strikes will continue to be minimal because the terri-
consul general of Israel to the 11-state Midwest sought to
tory is fenced. But David argues that once Israel loosens its
validate the coming settler and soldier pullout.
grip on the border between Gaza and Egypt in a few
That validation never came although I knew that the
months, and Israel clears the way for Gaza to develop a sea-
Jewish occupation of Gaza following the Six-Day War in
port and airport, Israel won't have to fear the newly mobile
1967, when Arab armies massed at Israel's borders, wasn't
and better armed Gazans, who will focus on their needs.
meant to be permanent.
Should I believe they won't resume attempted attacks
Andy David, 37, is a Romanian native
through
tunneling, rockets, gunfire and other brazen ways
whose family made aliyah when he was 2.
in resumed pursuit of routing their Zionist enemy from the
He's thoughtful, upfront and articulate. I
Middle East? Israel will, however, be positioned to hit back
left our Aug. 3 conversation better
informed about the bedrock of Palestinian harder since it won't have to worry about Jews in Gaza.
David is right that the Palestinians won't have the occupa-
deception, but David didn't convince me
tion defense to trot out so will have to contend
that disengagement would
with
all the daily turmoil Arafat never wanted
bring a safer, more secure
to be bothered with and Hamas ignores. They
ROBERT A. Israel. I don't think
SKLAR
Palestinian Authority
"It's time for the Palestinians to
. Editor
President Mahmoud Abbas
has an ounce of real power
get their act together. Its time for
against Hamas and is desperately trying to
Gaza to be a normal place."
avoid a civil war. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon is determined to begin withdrawal on
— Deputy Consul General
Aug. 15, after Tisha b'Av, which marks the
darkest times in Jewish history. Is Sharon look-
Andy David
ing for the holiday to help heal the wounds of
discontent opened by his handover of land
will be accountable for their misery.
where Jewish roots extend deep?
"It's time for the Palestinians to get their act
To the Arab world, the pullout may appear
together,"
David said. "It's time for Gx72 to be
to be a Palestinian triumph over "the Zionist devil." The
a
normal
place."
irony is that Israel has essentially won its nearly five-year
But Gaza can't be normal: The schools have poisoned the
war against terror: El Al flights are full, Jerusalem and Tel
next
generation to hate Jews and even blow up as "martyrs"
Aviv hotel rooms are mostly filled, and Israel's stock market
for
Allah
if they can take out Jews in the process.
is on the upswing.'
Israel is trying to help the Palestinians build a civilized and
David said Israel would get "a lot in return" for disen-
stable government through military restraint and covert assis-
gagement. He recounted the four-point strategy of Yasser
tance. But agreements with the Palestinians are worthless.
Arafat, the Palestinian leader crowned a Nobel peacemaker
"We're trying to say with the disengagement that it's no
but who was a terrorist till the day he died last November:
longer
our problem," David said. "It's time for us to look
• Reject a two-state solution. Indeed, Arafat believed his
inside,
to gather ourselves, to create a defensible border and
best weapons were Palestinian wombs. He believed that in 20
let
the
Arab
world help the Palestinians."
years, Muslims would outnumber Jews between the Jordan
But the AralS world has had 57 years to help the
River and the Mediterranean Sea, making Jews the minority.
Palestinians. Gaza, with a puppet president who once ques-
• Rely on terrorism. Arafat strove to dial
tioned the Holocaust and which is
up Israel's demise by injecting fear, which, •
under the hard-line spell of the terrorist
in turn, would disrupt tourism, hurt the
group Hamas, won't suddenly emerge as
economy, stifle aliyah and drive Jews away.
a democracy.
• Create a narrative. The Palestinians
The Jews will leave; the Israeli govern-
color Israel an aggressor and occupier
Should
Ariel
Sharon
have
ment
has decided that. But Gaza will
on the canvas of world opinion to de-
sought wider Israeli
remain a high alert on Israel's radar.
legitimize its right to exist.
approval, and extracted
Palestinian terrorists will aim to re-stoke
• Deny accountability. It's not our
more "in return" from the
their revolution against Israel, invigorat-
fault the sewage is backed up, hospitals
Palestinians,
before
ed by their claim to Gaza.
are ill equipped and textbooks lie about
seeking
disengagement?
Andy David helped me understand
Jews; all of our ills derive from Israel's
Ariel
Sharon's thinking. But I still ques-
occupation, Palestinian leaders tell the
Will
the
Jewish
state
be
tion
if
disengagement will mute the
gullible and distressed masses.
anti-Zionist
drumbeat in Gaza.
safer
from
terrorist
strikes?
Disengagement answers all four
Meanwhile, I wonder. how Israel will
points, says David. For me, it paints a
absorb the disillusioned settlers, once
picture of red flags.
Will Israeli discord cause
hailed as Israeli pioneers. The most fer-
Yes, leaving Gaza and its 1.5 million
serious domestic problems?
vent
are now represented by their gov-
Muslims will slash the percentage of
ernment
as obstructionists.
people under Israel control who are
T
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