I wrote:
> > But don’t expect any significant changes as long as Hamas and
> > Hizballah and PLO exist.
MeahevServi wrote:
> Are you saying the peace in Israel is in hands of Palestinian extremists
> who have to cease to exist in order to make place for those [Palestinians]
> who are ready for compromise?
I didn’t say peace, i said “significant change”.
> That sounds sound, to some extent, but how to achieve that?
> Because, if IDF tries to simply distroy them :
> a) they would have to do a lot of killing, which would seriously pissed
> of half of the world, especially the Arab world
We piss off the whole world with the fact the we exist. You’d be hard-pressed to find any other nation except the Jews that was hated by so much people for so much time. If we want to be independent, we should stop thinking who are we pissing off. USA bombed Belgrade and Kandahar and Baghdad, did they care who are they pissing off?
Now don’t get me wrong – killing anyone is bad. Putting the lives of Israeli soldiers in danger is also bad. (I’m against capital punishment, too). But nobody even considered making peace with Hitler, for example. In the Second World War there was one goal – victory. And victory, in case of Arab terrorists, means total destruction. Arabs never give up. I strongly respect it, but when it’s either them or me, i must fight and win.
> b) how much would be enough? I think that attempt would just make
> them stronger, resulting in more and more moderate Palestinians
> joining Hamas and other extremists groups. And thay can’t just
> kill them all.
Yes, to some point, but it’s not infinite. Killing more and more SS officers didn’t make more and more Germans join the Nazi party. A day will come and the simple good people on the street of Gaza, Jenin and Beirut will understand that they must stop supporting this leadership.
> Wouldn’t it be better to search for a way to put them in the position
> from which they just wouldn’t be able to do a lot of harm to Israel,
> while, on the other side, try to make a deal with those Palestinians who
> are closer to recognition of Israel’s right to exist?
That would be perfect, and it is easier than it seems, once we get over the psychological barrier of recognizing that the PLO/Fatah is just as bad as Hamas.
But even in that case i would oppose dismantling of Israeli settlements. The settlements are not the problem – the violence is the problem. I’m not saying “Arab violence” – Israel acts violently too. But once there’s no more violence, it doesn’t matter where do people live.
Of course it’s all theoretical and over-optimistic, but that’s the principle.
> one killed Nasralla or Ismail would be easily replaced with
> another Nasralla or whoever.
Not forever.
It took Hamas some time to recuperate after the killing of Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi. The PLO hasn’t yet recuperated from the death of Arafat – Abu-Mazen is nowhere near him in terms of leadership. When you think of it, Arafat was really an outstanding leader that was extremely successful in making the world – that includes many Israelis – believing his amazing lies. Actually Arabs themselves always hated him, because they knew that he steals their money and does nothing to bring actual peace, but everyone agrees that he was a wonderful diplomat.
> But, if Israeli government could somehow show to other Palestinians
> that extremists don’t do any good to Palestinian people…
Israeli governments doesn’t need to show them. They know it very well. They made a stupid mistake in the last elections and voted for Hamas. It’s really ironic, by the way – it was probably the most democratic and clean election ever in the Arab world. Well, we made a mistake too, by voting for Sharon (not me).
> > The Knesset passes a law to rebuild Gush-Katif.
> Heh….
> I understand you completely, I mean, I understand your feelings.
It’s not so much my own feelings, i didn’t live there. I admit that the thing that hurt me personally the most in that ridiculous Disengagement a year ago was the destruction of the homes with bulldozers – i hate seeing a nice thing going to waste. And those homes were nice.
But even though i didn’t live there, my heart is with the deported settlers. They really are the best and the most misunderstood people in Israel. They didn’t deserve this sad fate.
> I was forced to leave my house once, and that was the worst time of
> my life – the experience that changed me as a person.
Did the Serbian government drive you away from your home? Or did you just have to leave it because of war? There’s a difference. In case of Gush-Katif Israeli government made its own citizens leave their homes, which were (arguably) built lawfully, for a purely political reason.
> But, I would like you now, my dear Israeli correspondent, to ask
> yourself two questions:
> 1. Can you think of anyone, and I mean – anyone – amongst the Jews
> in Israel, who actually benefit, make profit – earn money – from the
> conflict with the Palestinians, and who would lose money if that
> conflict is terminated?
That’s a very clever and important question. I try to think about it all the time. The answer is hard. I’m not sure. The easy answer would be – IDF officers and arms dealers. And land dealers too.
> 2. If you find that there are such people in Israel, what do you
> think – what kind of profit is that about, a big money, or small bucks?
> And what is the real power and influence of such people in Israel’s
> society, big or small?
The families of high-ranking IDF officers are all interconnected with families of politicians and millionaires – the “elites”. But being a general doesn’t make you very big bucks by itself. It does boost your manliness, though.
Arms dealers – that’s huge bucks. But they can – and they do – sell arms to other countries. I’m quite ashamed of the fact that we sell guns to dictators in Africa, Turkmenistan and other unfortunate places. If it depended on me, i would stop all guns exports from Israel and convert the gun factories to … i don’t know … something else that doesn’t kill so much.
Land dealers – yes, there are shady land deals in the occupied territories, but there are even shadier deals in the middle of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and no-one seems to care.
> You see, Aharoni-man, I don’t think the Arabs are real problem
> in Israel, at least not the major problem in achieving peace.
> Sure, most of them hate Jews. Some of them will never recognize Israel,
> and there always will be groups who will chose violence to obtain
> their goals.
> So, what should Israeli Jews do in such horrible situation?
United we stand, divided we fall.
> They’ll NEVER get sense. And does the life under those conditions for
> a long period of time – thru generations – make sense? Is it healthy
> for Jewish nation?
> I don’t think so.
> I think Israeli Jews shouldn’t wait for Palestinians to make peace
> with them, together. I think they should make peace for themselves,
> by themselves alone. And they should use what ever it takes.
That’s the “ideology” of Sharon-Olmert-Kadima. I always said that it’s wrong and the last few days prove me right. That’s because it’s not an ideology, but a marketing ploy. Seriously – the whole Kadima platform was drafted not by experts in Middle Eastern diplomacy, but by experts in advertising. That’s a shame, but the Israelis are brainwashed by the TV.
> Some people in Israel, I call them “the Masters of Israel”, or
> “the Owners of Israel” – and their partners in the United States –
> don’t want the peace – because they’re outta business than. Out
> of business, out of money, out of power, out of ownership of Israel.
> And they wouldn’t like that.
> Trust me, Aharoni-man, if the mid-East conflict would be bad
> for business of Israel’s big bosses, they would unplug it. Because,
> NOTHING must step in the way of PROFIT, anywhere in the world.
All of it is makes perfect sense, but unfortunately i don’t have much to say about it, because i get my information from the same media outlets as you do, and they are controlled by the same billionaires who stay in the shadows.
> I know you won’t like this opinion. Jews responsible for not stopping
> the war… (Actually, I like to say – Arabs are quilty, but Jews
> are responsible.)
No, i like it, because you think for yourself, and because you make sense.
> But, that’s just my opinion. I don’t pretend to be an expert on the
> middle East crisis. I’ve just done some thinking about it…. That’s all.
I’m not an expert too. You don’t need to be. You describe the situation better than me and better than any of our experts. I’d make you our prime minister. We need someone neutral (someone neutral who likes us, that is).
Aharoni in Unicode 