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Vol. 1 #27 Jan 21, 1999 |
Honesty and Hope Ami Isseroff In the Israeli election campaign, none of the candidates for Prime Minister are telling the truth. Everyone knows this, but nobody cares. That is about what you would expect from an election campaign. PM Netanyahu is perpetuating the myth that Israel can keep all the territories it holds in the West Bank and Gaza and still have peace. This is the same ‘square the circle’ platform that he sold during the last elections. Benjamin Begin is perpetuating the myth that Israel had a real choice about giving back the territories. Ehud Barak and Amnon Shahak insist, though they know better, that peace is not the main issue, but rather ‘unity’ and the economic situation. Pollster Mina Tzemach found that they are wrong. A national survey indicated that over 60% of Israelis named the peace process as the most important issue in the elections, with social concerns, economy and unity getting about 10% each. No wonder Barak and Shahak are losing ground! They have not faced the issues. It is time for Barak and Shahak to tell the Israeli public the truth. Greater Israel is gone forever. We do not have a choice between giving back territories and keeping them, as Begin Jr. and Bibi tell us. We have a choice between engaging in a constructive peace process with world support or resisting any attempt to make peace and losing the support of the United States and Europe. PM Netanyahu’s election slogan is ‘The Likud will keep (the territories) Barak will give them up’. It is very catchy in Hebrew, but it isn’t true. It is already apparent where Bibi’s policy will lead. Though people tend to believe what is convenient, voters might see the truth if the issues were really raised and discussed. Does anyone think the United States will remain silent if Israel reneges on the Wye agreements? Does anyone think that the Palestinians will acquiesce in a solution that gives them forty percent of the land in isolated enclaves and no real self government? Does anyone believe that Jordan and Egypt will be able to maintain peace with Israel in these circumstances? If we do not give back most of the territories in return for peace, we shall eventually be forced to give back all of the territories in the face of isolation and pressure from the United States. For a few years we will waste our national energies and resources developing and defending the settlements. Then we shall be forced to abandon the settlements and divide Jerusalem. Instead of a Palestinian police force with a thousand illegal rifles, we will face a Palestinian army equipped by enterprising European arms merchants and funded by petrodollars. We will also face a hostile Arab world, and we cannot count on the support of the US in that event. As bad as it sounds, that is the best scenario, since it does not take into account Iraqi and Iranian non-conventional weapons. Ehud Barak’s campaign slogan is ‘Barak for everybody and not just for the extremists.’ In Hebrew it sounds even more awkward, and it is not really true either. Netanyahu’s usual good luck has given him a ready answer to this clumsy slogan, because the extremists, led by Benny Begin, have left the Likud to form a new party in vocal opposition to Netanyahu. Netanyahu is ‘not just for the extremists.’ He caters to every well meaning Israeli who wants to fool themselves into believing Israel can keep the territories and still have peace. This was Bibi’s message in 1996, and it is his message today. ‘Peace with Security’ means ‘Peace with Territories.’ It worked in 1996, because people wanted to believe it. It will work again if there is no effective answer. But in their hearts, Israelis really know that there is no hope for peace if we follow this path, and that there has been little hope in the Middle East since the assassination of PM Rabin. Hope, ‘Tikva,’ and optimism, have an important and honored place in human history, and have been most important to Jews in our two-thousand year history. Hope has illuminated our darkest hours. It is the title of the Israeli national anthem. It might be the great winning argument of the Labor and the peace camp. For Israeli Jews, the peace process is the only hope, in the long run, for a normal life, for prosperity, and for finding the resources to solve our economic and social problems. For Israeli Arabs, a Labor victory can mean hope for progress toward equality. For Palestinians, it can mean the hope of peace and dignity. If Netanyahu wins, there will be no hope. Rabin’s campaign slogan was ‘Labor - the only hope.’ It was good enough to win an election. Perhaps Barak’s should be ‘Bring back Hope,’ or in Hebrew, ‘L’hachzir et Hatikva.’ In Israel, hope has motivated many great achievements. But hope can only do its work when it is accompanied by an honest understanding of the situation. Honesty is the only real hope. Ami Isseroff Rehovot More Israeli election commentary: www.ariga.com Party Time Mirages |
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Copyright 1998 by the authors and the PEACE group. May be reproduced intact provided that credit is given to the
authors, and to the PEACE Mid-East Dialog Group, including addresses listed at the bottom.
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