Opinion
Editorials are posted and archved on JNOnline. corn.
Greenberg's View
Editorial
A Man Of Action
T
he name of Ariel
Sharon's new political
party Kadima said it all.
The Israeli prime minister was a
man who moved forward (kadi-
ma in Hebrew).
What will happen to Kadima?
Under Sharon's leadership,
Kadima was a centrist party
drawing support from both right
and left. It was poised to win big
in the March 28 elections. But it
was also Sharon's party and he
could get away with being vague
on details. His successors won't
be able to do the same.
Whether it was in the military
or political realms, and they
often overlapped, Sharon always
seemed to have a plan:
• move across the Suez Canal
to defeat the Egyptian army;
• invade Lebanon to clear out
the PLO;
• build a security barrier to
stop terrorists;
• define Israel's borders by
building settlements or, later, by
unilaterally dismantling them;
• create a centrist political
party.
Even after decades of service,
it was clear that Sharon felt that
his greatest contributions to his
nation and his people were still
ahead of him, and his nation felt
so, too.
The Israeli desire to live their
lives in security and certainty at
peace has never been stronger.
Sharon provided hope that the
dream was attainable and that he
could, and would, make it hap-
pen. While his answers were not
always popular, or always right,
his willingness to act was
admired by both friend and foe.
The Israeli people were ready to
follow him because even though
they weren't sure where he was
headed, they were sure he knew.
All of that is gone. Arik Sharon
is moving forward no more. And
without Sharon the questions
seem larger, the answers more
distant, and the dearth of Israeli
leadership more apparent. And
scary.
But we do not doubt the Israeli
people will handle this challenge
with courage and strength, as
they have so many others. Israel's
democracy has also been tested
before and shown itself to be
strong enough to handle difficult
political transitions.
•
THE VOID
We need to keep an eye on
how Israel's enemies might seek
to exploit the situation as there is
no doubt that Hezbollah and
Palestinian terrorist groups, as
well as Iran and maybe Syria,
will try to seek some advantage
from the situation.
And even Israel's friends
might be tempted to weigh in a
bit too strongly while Israel
aeveggreenberg-art.corn
43006,
searches for sound political foot-
ing. We must stand strong as
public advocates for Israel dur-
ing this trying time.
But at the same time, we know
that Israel is not defined by a
conflict or a "peace process" but
by a people and an ideal. Now is
the time to reach out to our
Israeli brothers and sisters on a
personal level to console them
and build with them. At this dif-
ficult time, we would do well to
carry on the most important
legacy that Ariel Sharon has left
us: we must look and move for-
ward with pride, strength and
purpose.
with that.
Palestinians are
I don't think it
desirous or capable
smeared Israel, nor
of making peace? Or
did it glorify
that they are playing
Palestinian terrorists.
by the same rules
If it depicted acts of
sane nations apply? If
simple Vengednce, the
so, I can only thank
title of the book on
God that Israel is not
which it was based,
George Cantor held captive to wish-
that's fine with me,
Colu mnist
ful thinking.
too.
The Palestinians
Those who shed Jewish blood have been given every chance,
should never believe they are
and it is never enough. Israel
immune from swift and sure
can withdraw from all of the
retaliation. It's no longer such a West Bank, tear down its fence,
cheap commodity.
hand over East Jerusalem and
What Spielberg and other
beat its tanks into pruning
hand-wringers of his political
hooks.
persuasion never address, how-
And that would convince
ever, is what options Israel has
Hamas to simmer down and
in the matter.
stop sending bombers into
Is it possible they still grasp
malls and cafes? They could
the delusion that the
hardly wait to start lobbing
shells at Ashkelon from their
newly acquired base in Gaza.
Despite the misgivings of
Spielberg, Jews all over the
world are better off for the
existence of a tough-minded
and vigilant Israel that is pre-
pared to answer terror with
death.
Munich runs about the same
length as King Kong and it is
about as closely connected to
reality.
Of course,.if you believe in
ice-skating giant gorillas, you
might also believe that
Spielberg has something new
and exceptional to say. But I
prefer my politics with the
angst on the side.
❑
E-mail letters to the editor of
no more than 150 words to:
lettersc thejewishnews.com.
Reality Check
Spielberg In Wonderland
rom the commentaries
I had read about Steven
Spielberg's new film
Munich, I walked into the the-
ater prepared to be outraged.
Instead, I saw a fairly decent
political thriller that told us
several rather unremarkable
truths about the nature of the
Israeli-terrorist conflict.
Truth One: People who kill
even in the best of causes
become desensitized to killing
over time.
Truth Two: People who order
the death of innocents can be
scholars, loving husbands and
parents and believe sincerely
that they are doing justice.
Truth Three: The first
responsibility of any nation is
to secure the safety of its citi-
zens. That's why nations build
F
40
January 12 • 2006
fences, eavesdrop on telephone
conversations and kill the peo-
ple who are trying to kill them.
We really don't need a movie
to tell us such things. They are
rather self-evident.
The film's implication, how-
ever, is that a nation that
engages in such actions is in
danger of losing its soul. This,
of course, is the position of a
classic Hollywood liberal and
can be safely dismissed as silly.
Spielberg was not making a
documentary; although even
purported documentaries can't
be trusted as factual anymore,
as witness the mind-numbing
garbage of Michael Moore.
Much of what was shown on
the screen was fictionalized,
"based on real events" as the
disclaimer advises us. I'll go
❑
George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aol.com .