|
|
December 7, 2001/Kislev 22, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 13
Our shared moral imperative
BARRY COHEN
Editor
When David Ben Gurion served as Israel's minister of defense in the mid-1950s, he had an ongoing argument with the head of the foreign ministry, Moshe Sharett, about the importance of world support for Israel.
Ben Gurion would say, "Our future depends not upon what the (non-Jews) say, but on what the Jews do."
Sharett would respond, "Correct, but it is also important what the (non-Jews) do."
What the Palestinian leadership says and what the Palestinian people do weigh into an argument as old as the state of Israel. But we can weigh in as well. They are willing to blow themselves up, not out of desperation, but as a tool to accomplish their aims. Their ultimate goal is not to get to the negotiating table but to destroy the enemy.
The enemy is the same - whether the perpetrator is Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine or the Tanzim - collectively, Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority, Israel and the United States.
The attacks in Jerusalem and Haifa, just days after U.S. envoy Anthony Zinni's arrival in Israel to foster peace, "are like spitting in the face of Arafat ... a direct act of prevarication against the PA chairman," said Ha'aretz Palestinian affairs commentator Danny Rubenstein.
"The Americans have come to the region with one goal - an Israeli goal - to liquidate the intifada and resistance," said Ramadan Abdulah Shallah, leader of Islamic Jihad. Palestinian terrorists view the United States not as an honest broker but as directing the Israelis to do their dirty work.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told the nation that the terrorists' goal is "to bring (Israelis) to total despair, a loss of hope, and a loss of the national vision which leads us."
Arafat is pinched between opposing forces. To remain in power, not only must he control Palestinian terrorist factions, he also must satisfy the reasonable demands made by Israel and the United States.
Arafat has repeatedly told the West he opposes terrorism. But what has he done to stop it?
He claims he is ensuring that only PA security carry arms and that the Palestinian people may not hold demonstrations without a license. While it is true the PA has arrested approximately 120 suspects, Israeli officials are suspicious. They say the arrests occurred too quickly, without resistance. In the past, when the PA attempted to arrest Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, they were turned back by gunfire.
What further makes Arafat's actions suspect is that Hamas supporters were recently observed firing guns into the air at a funeral, chanting, "Resistance and war will not stop."
We can do more than simply wait and see how Arafat's words and deeds and Israel's military maneuvers affect world. We can act to support Israel.
This means not leaving it to our president and other national leaders to continue their tacit acceptance of Israel's actions in defending itself.
We can inform the White House and our elected officials that Israel cannot successfully struggle against terror constrained, any more than the United States would half-heartedly oppose Al Quaeda. Terror is terror, whether in New York, Washington, D.C., Haifa or Jerusalem.
Israel's future depends upon our acting to ensure support for her on the world stage. Opposing terror is our moral imperative.
|
