<< Thus, I worry about what might happen, if, as _The Economist_ proposes, this current crisis paradoxically provides the impetus for a "peace" agreement? What then? Well, almost certainly, Hamas, Hezbullah, and the Al Aqsa Martyr Brigades will immediately take credit for having forced Israel to make peace. And then, in that moment, the world will have a truly grave problem on its hands - as the entire world will receive the message: Terrorism Can Eventually Get You What You Want. >>
It has been said that you can accomplish almost anything if you don't care who gets the credit. Terrorism has been successful in the past and will be so in the future. The current state of affairs in the middle east is untenable and inexcusable. Arafat and Sharon are both butchers and murderers. The difference is, Sharon can be voted out; Arafat can't. Sharon was elected to his office, Arafat wasn't. On the one hand, that makes Sharon more respectable; on the other hand, it also means he has to *behave* more respectably. Without sounding too racist, I hope, what does anyone *expect* of a murdering corrupt scumbag like Arafat? One would like him to be Nelson Mandela, but I think we all realize by now that that is never going to happen. The Palestinian state Sharon supports would not be a true, viable state. Of course, the Israel Arafat would love to see wouldn't be either. If it were possible to wish them both away, I would gladly do so. But it isn't. As a Jew, I am very supportive of Israel. But, as a Jew, I am ashamed of and infuriated by what Ariel Sharon is doing. This is not how Jews are supposed to behave. We are not supposed to behave like everyone else; we are supposed to be better than everyone else. Israel has the power to crush the Palestinians into the dirt; but it ought not to do so. One, it's counter-productive. And two, it's just plain wrong. There's a very good article on this subject here: http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/04.17F.BW.Dummies.htm I don't think Weiner places enough blame on the Arabs for their loathesome policies and politics; but I don't want to be defensive here. I want to accept responsibility for what I, as a Jew and supporter of Israel, have some power over. And that's over Israel. Nothing that I or anyone else can do is going to change the murderous anti-Semitic hearts of the Jew-haters and suicide bombers and Nazis that are out there. That does not remove from Israel the responsibility to do the right thing, and that is to make peace. There is a prophetic tradition within Judaism of telling the people not what they want to hear but what they very much do not want to hear. I think all true friends of Israel, of peace, and of human rights need to be telling Israel right now to back off. Regardless of what the Palestinians do (and I do not expect them to do the right thing, certainly not now, maybe not ever). The best thing for Israel to do is give the Palestinians their goddamn state and let them fuck it up the way they've fucked up the Palestinian Authority and the way all the other Arab states have fucked things up. Israel should accept the Saudi peace proposal, dismantle the settlements, build a huge fucking fence to keep the Palestinians out, and get on with their lives. Tom Beck "I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I didn't realize I'd also see the last." - Jerry Pournelle
