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October 6, 2000/7 Tishri 5761, Vol. 53, No.2
Too many pay price for Sharon's folly
JOSEPH AARON
Chicago Jewish News
On one of Judaism's holiest days in Judaism's holiest place in Judaism's holiest city, what was most evident was the sound of hate, the sight of blood, the smell of death.
All because a right-wing Jew named Ariel Sharon decided to put symbolism above sechel (intelligence), showmanship above statesmanship.
Showing once again, and all too sickeningly, that the right is so very wrong.
Sharon, a man who already had much blood on his hands, now has even more, including that of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy shot by soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.
A great way to start the new Jewish year.
He had to know that by provocatively visiting the Temple Mount that what happened would happen. Which means he did it knowing that violence would result and that people would die.
And so they have. And, if I may interject a religious point, the Ten Commandments say Thou Shalt Not Murder. Period. It doesn't say that applies only to Jews, but to every human being. It is a sin to murder a Palestinian as much as it is to murder a Jew.
And for those right-wing Jews who somehow conveniently pretend that isn't so, please note that Jews have died as a result of Sharon's game. Died in vain. Died for nothing.
Tell their mothers how important it was that Sharon do the incredibly selfish, stupid thing he did. He knows very well what a sensitive place that is, especially now that its future and the future of Jerusalem are at the very core of the peace negotiations.
At Camp David, the issue of Jerusalem was actually discussed for the very first time. Camp David didn't succeed because the issue is so heartfelt for both sides.
But at least they started talking, thinking, figuring. Which is why it is so imperative that nothing, nothing be done to in any way disrupt things.
And then here comes bull in a china shop; Sharon lighting the match, and then once the fire starts burning, looking all innocent and saying, "who, me?"
It's fine to oppose the peace process and Sharon, as leader of the opposition, should be forcefully making the case against it. But making the case is one thing, acting irresponsibly is another.
What the last week has all too vividly shown is if they would get their way, if they would scuttle the peace process as they so fervently wish to do, then what has been going on in the days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur would be happening every single day of the year.
The right will use this week as proof that they are right, that the Palestinians can't be trusted, aren't truly interested in peace. Having provoked them by bullying into what is also one of their holiest sites, they watch the inevitable, understandable result and say, "we told you so."
The question is do we do the smart thing, the thing that will allow Israelis to live in peace, build their country, enjoy their lives, or do we doom them to endless violence and bloodshed and fear and hate.
When a people have nothing to lose, feel they have no hope, they act as the Palestinians have this week.
If Israel follows the path of Sharon, if Israel does not find the way for both Israelis and Palestinians to live in dignity alongside each other, the price Israel will pay is to live a hellish existence, one in which Israelis never feel at home, always feel threatened. By depriving the Palestinians of their honor and their legitimate needs, we do the same to ourselves.
It's time we grew up and time we accepted that. That is the Jewish thing to do. What the right wing somehow forgets is that Jewish law tells us that no piece of land, not even the Temple Mount, is more important than even one Jewish life. More than one Jewish life was lost this week. Many more will be lost Sharon's way.
Sharon did more than any of us who support the peace process to show just how needed the peace process is, just how much sense it makes for Israel, just how much it is the right and smart thing to do, just what kind of hell Israel would be doomed to if the right wing gets its way.
Helping make the case for peace is probably the only thing Sharon didn't expect his visit to the Temple Mount would accomplish.
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