All Because of the Submissin to Violence

What purpose does it serve, for Heaven’s sake, to sacrifice so many bloody victims until we do what even Knesset Members of the right know must be done?

Ben-Dror Yemini, Maariv, 8 November 2000

During the past few weeks I have had off-the-record discussions with several Members of the Knesset from the religious and right-wing parties. They know that it is clear that we shall leave the Netzarim settlement, but they add, “If you quote me, then I shall deny everything.” Why so? Because they claim that in the current state of events, that would would be “a submission to violence”.

Indeed, if Israel should withdraw from Netzarim, let us say tomorrow morning, we would be submitting to violence. In that case, then the withdrawal from Lebanon was “a submission to violence”. Yet despite all the dire predictions has brought a relative calm to the northern border and has drastically decreased the number of fatal casualties.

In a calculation that stretches over the years, the fighters of the Hizbollah killed one soldier every few days. As a result of our “submission to violence” over there, perhaps they played us for a bit of a sucker, but at least we succeeded in preventing ahead of time the certain deaths of tens and even hundreds of soldiers.

The tale of Netzarim is no different from that of several other annoying settlements and enclaves such as Joseph’s Tomb in the occupied territories. It is clear to everyone that we shall move out. Everyone knows that the toll of holding onto Netzarim and Hebron will be very terrible – casualties, loss of life, and a defeat in public relations. These flash points are perfect examples for presenting Israel as a country of colonialism, racism and fascism. Indeed, what purpose does it serve, for Heaven’s sake, to sacrifice so many bloody victims until we do what even Knesset Members of the right know must be done?

Are the aroused libido and drum-beating of the nationalist camp worth the harm done to our national interests? In general, is there any political process, anywhere in the world, that is not an inevitable result of the so-called submission to violence?