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Grubble Grubble
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Tuesday, June 10, 2003 :::
rant
I am a Zionist. I am the son of Zionist parents. My paternal grandmother and one of my uncles grew up in Poland with Menachem Begin. Two of my uncles fought for an Israeli homeland. One went on to become Begin's personal attorney. Another uncle here in the U.S. smuggled arms to Israeli resistance fighters and did jail time. I am about to upset my family.
Fareed Zakaria said in a column that the only way to achieve peace in the Middle-East is to sideline Arafat. I agree, but I think Mr. Zakaria forgot someone. Along with Arafat, Sharon must be sidelined and minimalized. He does not want a true peace any more than Arafat. The only difference is he has more world support to back his own terrorist goals.
In the past two weeks, we have seen Arafat tie the hands of Prime Minister Abbas in a show of his continued power. Still, the summit between Abbas and Sharon occurred. A day or two late, but it still happened. I am not sure I could call it a successful meeting, but inroads were made.
It is a very safe assumption to say that not everyone is going to embrace the "road-map for peace" wholeheartedly from the beginning. I certainly never expected Israeli hard-liners, hawks, and settlers to jump on the bandwagon right away. Nor did I expect Hamas and other Islamic militant groups to suddenly throw down their arms and start chanting pro-Israeli slogans.
Hamas cut off talks with Abbas, saying he was too conciliatory with the Israelis. Was this a permanent walk-out? I cannot say for sure, but likely not. I remind you that Hamas is the organization where Arafat gained his powerbase. It is a safe assumption that this was just another ploy on his part to show that he still can assert power.
While it can be frustrating, sometimes politics require no response or, at least, a quiet response. Sharon does not seem understand this. Israel's apparent response to Hamas was to attempt to assassinate one of their leaders today.
Middle-Eastern politics have for so long been a show-of-force campaign that I think people have forgotten diplomacy. Yes, Hamas now knows Israel can attack with impunity. What did that garner for Israel? Promises of revenge. Instead of improving their security, Israel just made the task all that more daunting. If Hamas would have returned to the negotiating table with Abbas, Sharon just ended that chance.
Sharon is a hawk. For 20 years he has been a proponent of expansion in disputed territories. He may speak about concession, but in the end he and Arafat are just opposite sides of the same coin. Neither want peace and both know that the current key to its prevention is to undermine Abbas.
Good job, boys. How many mothers will now get the chance to bury their sons and daughters because you are more interested in your own power than a true and lasting peace?
/rant
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