Rabin's Dreams of Peace Become and Israeli Nightmare
An amusing story is found in Jewish lore. A lion had not eaten for an extended period of time and acquired a most distinctive odor from his mouth. When the lion, king of the beasts, traveled through the forest he met a simple yet honest donkey. "Does my breath smell badly?" inquired the lion of the donkey. "Yes, it certainly does," replied the donkey. "How dare you insult me," roared the lion and he devoured the poor donkey.
Traveling further, the lion met a bear. "Does my breath smell badly?" he inquired. "To tell the truth," said the bear, "your odor is sweeter than honey."
"Liar, yelled the king of the beasts, "flattery will get you nowhere." At once he devoured the bear. Soon he met a sly fox known for his cunning and intelligence. Once again he proceeded to ask, "Does my breath smell badly?" The fox knew well in advance as to what had occurred and answered very wisely, "Oh, pardon me, mighty king of all beasts. I cannot tell at all as I have an awful cold."
I, for one, have recovered from my cold. I must speak up.
I am concerned about the future of the state of Israel. I believe there is a great need for leadership to protest the recent Rabin visit and peace talks. Upon hearing statements from Rabin that speak of returning the Golan Heights in the name of peace, I wonder if he is not in touch with reality. While being appraised of the most recent brutal killing of innocent Jews, Rabin remarked, "Nothing should stop the peace talks." There was no great sympathy, no great concern that the acts are becoming more daring and brutal. Rabin's dream of peace has become the Israeli nation's nightmare. This week's retaliation of settlers and others has Rabin finally worried.
I believe that Rabin may still be suffering, albeit subconsciously, from his past humiliations. It happened a few years ago when Rabin was Prime Minister and considered Mr. Untouchable; he received a terrible setback. Mrs. Rabin was caught breaking Israeli law by having an undisclosed amount of money in an overseas account. Then he was branded by the press as a hypocrite. Subsequently, he was forced to resign in shame. Surely, he never recovered from the humbling experience.
In the recent elections for power the Israeli press reported that during the Israeli-Arab conflicts Rabin was accused of imbibing on alcohol and becoming an emotional wreck, not being able to cope with distress.
In the past the religious parties collectively never granted him a vote of confidence. The coalition that Rabin lost control of was due to the religious parties.
So, presently he is getting even with everybody. First, he appointed Shulamit Alony, a well-known Jewish atheist, to the Minister of Education, a move that insulted and infuriated all religious parties. Then he proceeded to ignore the right wing political partners by not giving them any important ministeries. Now, for the final blow, he will break the back of the former Likud party. He will do this by making peace and putting all the settlements in the West Bank in immediate danger. So what if 13,000 settlers were asked to live in the Golan Heights by the former Israeli government.
Those settlers didn't vote for him anyway, so that's just too bad. The very same people that caused him to resign and put him to shame now have to deal with a new prime minister and his plans. They have to bite the bullet and pay the price. Too bad that they will have now the anxieties and emotional problems that Rabin had when he was humiliated. Now there is talk that he will give Gaza to the PLO as a state in the name of peace.
Rabin's actions seem to defy reason. It has become a personal vendetta of getting even with the whole country. This came to public when Rabin told Clinton not to worry about what's taking place in the Golan Heights now or of the recent bloodshed of innocent people in the cities of Israel. As long as he, Rabin, can make peace, he is willing to do so at any cost. He will accept American and Arab promises. Regardless, some people will be killed or settlements will be in immediate danger. This is something Rabin doesn't care about. He dreams of going down in the annals of Israeli history as the next Begin peacemaker. It makes no difference to him that the Begin peace plan was the greatest and costliest deal for Israel. Prime Minister Menachem Begin regretted the deal to his last dying day! He said the concession was a political disaster.
Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, put it right this week when he said that Rabin's administration has it all wrong. They have lied all along. Before the election Rabin was telling the Israeli's that they may have to give up a few millimeters in the Golan Heights. And now Benjamin Netanyahu is accusing Rabin of just keeping a few millimeters in the Golan Heights.
Who knows what Rabin is really thinking! Maybe he really doesn't care. After all, he may still have some money overseas.
On the other hand, let's look at what's taking place here in the United States. There is a saying, "From every bad comes some good." With the World Trade Center (twin towers) still closed due to the terrorist bomb. Americans have picked up a sensitivity to Arab terror as never before. We have been rudely awakened to how much damage one or two Arabs can do. The America long lulled to sleep is awakening. The illusion of peaceful sleep and slumber has now been rudely stopped.
We have witnessed first-hand what can happen if the fundamental Arab doesn't get his way. As the Hamas-PLO fundamentalists believe, it is their way or there is no way.
Just recently, Egypt and other countries have also suffered from terrorist attacks. The world now realizes what the Hamas can and will do. This latest episode in the United States can be viewed as a strong indicator to the Israeli people. If you allow the Gaza to become owned by the PLO, it will become an armed camp. If you give back the Golan it will be a launching ground for terror. Look what three or four Hamas did in New York. Just imagine what damage they can, G‑d forbid, afflict on the country of Israel.
Remember, there is no such thing as peace at any cost. It's high time for Rabin to wake up and forget his personal grudges. The needs of a safer Israel takes precedence over all.
It's prudent to remember the wise words of Jeremiah deploring the false prophets, "Crying peace, peace when there is none."