Nothing More Than Politics - April 21, 2002
Last week was a week full of good news for Israel.  With Independence Day in the middle, a real celebratory atmosphere could finally be felt in the country for the first time in more than 18 months.  The week’s news included the IDF wrapping up their cleansing operation in Jenin and Nablus, the continuation of the drastic reduction in terrorism that has resulted from the IDF’s operations, and the arrest of Marwan Barghouti, easily one of the most wanted men in Israel.

Barghouti is the founder of the Tanzim militia and the al-Aksa Martyrs’ Brigades, the two organizations that have carried out the vast majority of terror attacks in the past 18 months. While Yasser Arafat sat in his office in Ramallah making decisions and signing checks, Marwan Barghouti was the top terrorist in the field.  If Arafat is Israel’s Mullah Omar, Barghouti is easily Israel’s Osama Bin-Laden.

Barghouti’s arrest gave rise to a whole new discussion among Israeli political gossip machines and pundits.  Would Israel put him on trial or simply kill him off?  Would the trial be in military or civil court?  Would the death penalty be applied?  The glee with which this news was received is something that has been unmatched in quite a long time.

But whenever Israelis are happy at some news, whenever it appears that the Jewish State is finally doing something right, we can always count on Yossi Beilin to spoil things.  Sure enough, he was not far behind last week.  He publicly called for Barghouti to be released.

Beilin went on Israel Radio’s morning program last Tuesday to explain that since Barghouti also had a “political” role, he should be immune from prosecution.  The radio host, Aryeh Golan, asked Beilin what should be done with such terrorists as Barghouti, since Beilin is on record as opposing operations that would kill them.  Beilin responded that Israel should negotiate with them.

There are some interesting points that can be made in response to Beilin.  Among the most salient, it is interesting to note that Beilin is now on record believing that terrorism and the wanton murder of hundreds of innocent civilians are political roles.  After all, look at Barghouti.

Barghouti is a member of the Palestinian legislature, it is true.  But that legislature is nothing more than a rubber stamp for Yasser Arafat’s machinations, and Yasser Arafat is the number one terrorist alive today.  Arafat has made a lifetime career out of killing Jews, and Barghouti is his chief henchman.  But in Beilin’s mind, the fact that Barghouti played a role in a sham legislature meant only to rubber stamp terrorist operations or political machinations meant to destroy another state (like Oslo) is enough to exonerate him from his many crimes.  For Beilin, killing Jews is politics.  Which leads to the second interesting point.

Beilin is himself a politician.  He has been for more than a decade.  And during all that time, there hasn’t been a single policy he has supported that has been good for the Jews he aspires to lead.  But the worst idea he ever had – one that even his own Labor Party cannot tolerate – is to release Marwan Barghouti.  Beilin would rather negotiate the end of the Jewish State and the imprisonment of its people with this terrorist than have him suffer the penalty he so richly deserves.

Beilin claims that it is all politics and so all is fair.  But I wonder whose politics it is?  Barghouti makes no attempt to hide his visceral hatred of Jews.  For him, it is not politics.  Barghouti believes his life’s mission is to kill as many Jews as he can.  For Barghouti, like Arafat, the aim is not an independent Palestinian State.  That would be politics.  For them, the aim is the destruction of Israel, killing as many Jews as possible along the way.  That is murder, genocide, annihilation, call it as you wish.

For Beilin, on the other hand, killing Jews is politics.  And while Beilin himself hasn’t fired a weapon at a Jew, he is a master politician.  He constantly supports those who make Jew-killing a career, while at the same time opposing any protective measures taken for the safety of his own people.

It is time that Yossi Beilin is removed from the Jew-killing business.  It is time he is removed from politics.  If Israel were a truly self-interested society, he would be given the sentence of watching Barghouti die for his crimes, and then given a warning that this is what happens to those who believe killing Jews is nothing more than politics.

Copyright 2002, all rights reserved.  Yehuda Poch is a journalist living in Israel.  Reproduction in electronic or print formats by permission only.