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Acheinu Kol Beit Yisrael - November 2000 by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon I write this in the midst of the shocking outbreak of violence in Israel. Undoubtedly events will outstrip any column written three weeks before publication, but it is critical at this moment to reaffirm our connection and commitment to Israel. At a time when Arab mobs-and mobs in Paris and elsewhere-are chanting "death to the Jews", it is imperative that we publicly and privately demonstrate our unqualified support for our endangered coreligionists. May God protect our people, in Israel and everywhere they are being attacked by antisemites, from danger and harm. May they soon know security and peace, in place of the fear and anger they are experiencing. There is a great pessimism afoot now, a sense that all of the courageous efforts of the past seven years towards peace will end instead in a bloodbath. In spite of dramatic overtures and unprecedented concessions made by Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Yasser Arafat seems to have chosen to commit his people and its extensive police force to direct conflict with Israel. Most disturbingly, for the first time since 1948, Israeli Arabs have "risen" against their Jewish countrymen, protesting their second-class citizenship by acts of violence. Terrorist attacks, perpetrated by Israeli Arabs inflamed by Palestinian rhetoric and a sense of kinship with their fellow Moslems outside the Green Line, have occurred in the heart of Israel. Just weeks after a real, even final peace deal appeared imminent it has all exploded. There has long been a sense among realists that Arafat was a man who couldn't take yes for an answer. This has now been proven. Handed the greatest opportunity ever to forge a lasting peace with Israel, he instead chose hatred and war. He has more nakedly revealed his unmodified ambition to reach for the whole of "Palestine", including the entirety of the current State of Israel. This is not statesmanship, or peacemaking, or nation-building. It is delusional, monomaniacal stupidity and, sadly, it is apparent confirmation of what the right-wingers have constantly said: Arabs take negotiated concessions as a sign of weakness. As a strong supporter of the peace process, this comes as a profound disappointment, if not a complete shock. While we have long worried that peace would be a long and difficult road-there are painful and thorny issues to resolve-we have genuinely believed that even Arafat could be dragged to peace, against his own instincts and personality, for the good of his people. It seems clear this is no longer possible, and that any true peace will have to wait until he is gone from the scene. Perhaps then a more realistic, and less directly violent, leader will emerge to bring the Palestinians true peace. Often revolutionaries make terrible leaders. A new generation may do better for the Palestinian Arabs. Of course, Arafat has been known to change his tune suddenly when pressed; perhaps this is all just a horrible, cynical negotiating ploy. Even if this is true, what hope does this offer for any kind of normalized relations with such a leader? Of greater concern is the danger that our friends, family, and fellow Jews are experiencing now. Israel will survive this crisis without any true danger to its statehood or political integrity. But the horrible disappointment, the sense that a wonderful opportunity has been destroyed by stupidity and brutality, will be very hard to wash away. Yet there remains a profound, heartfelt, earnest desire for peace among the vast majority of Israelis, and this extended, complex peace process has allowed them to entertain the notion that it could actually happen in their lifetimes. That taste will not soon leave their mouths. Concessions on territory and sovereignty that seemed impossible a few years ago now seem acceptable. The framework for a reasonable peace settlement is still there. If the violence stops, and the political will is there, there remains a flicker of hope. In the meantime, we pray for peace, and for the welfare of Jews everywhere. May this month bring us reason for true Thanksgiving-for the restoration of shalom al Yisrael. From the November 2000 Temple Times |
