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February 26, 1999/10 Adar 5759, Vol. 51, No. 22
Workers in Lebanon fear Israeli pullout
GIL SEDAN
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
METULLA, Israel - Every morning before sunrise, Ehud Neustadt, a farmer from this small town at one of Israel's northernmost points, travels to pick up eight workers at the Lebanese border. The workers, residents of southern Lebanon, are an indispensable part of the operations at Neustadt's apple orchard.
"I am very dependent on them," the 58-year-old Neustadt told JTA at the end of a recent day's work. "It will be difficult to replace them."
There is good reason why Neustadt has to consider the possibility of finding replacements: In the 14 years since Israel created the security zone in southern Lebanon, discussion within Israeli society about a possible withdrawal has reached a fever pitch.
The workers on Neustadt's farm, like so many of those who live within the security zone but who work in Israel, consider themselves proud citizens of Lebanon. Just the same, the last thing they want to see is an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon. These workers know full well that in the event of a withdrawal, they may have to pay a very painful price. Having linked their fate to the Israeli enemy, they are considered traitors by many of their fellow Lebanese. Indeed, the workers' views contrast strongly with the official view of the Lebanese government, which has called for an unconditional Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Some 2,500 Lebanese make their living in Israel, about 1,000 of them in Metulla and the neighboring Israeli settlements in the Upper Galilee. Without work in Israel, they say, they will starve. As a result, they ignore the warnings from Beirut not to cooperate with the Israelis.
Labor Knesset member Yossi Beilin, perhaps the most outspoken champion of a unilateral Israeli withdrawal, has suggested that Israel give safe haven to the members of the South Lebanon Army until a full peace is reached between the two countries. Beilin is aware that Israel will have to care for many in southern Lebanon's general population.
"The most moral thing I can say is to let them stay with us," said Beilin. "But it is certainly immoral for us to continue staying there because of them."
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