Some see this as a hopeful development. I see it as a non-event. The lack of such a declaration is as meaningful as all previous declarations to the contrary. There is no practical result that can be expected from it, just as there was none to be expected from previous declarations.
This is especially true when one examines the circumstances under which such a declaration was not made. Immediately after the Arab League met, the world's most prolific murderer made a fool out of Yitzchak Rabin when he refused to sign the Cairo agreements on implementing the Oslo Accord. As he has done so many times before, Arafat saw one detail he didn't like and threatened to walk away unless it was changed to his liking. And as he has done so often in response, Rabin conceded.
On May 10, during a trip to South Africa for the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as President, the same murderer Arafat spoke in English the words we expect to hear from the PLO. "The Jihad will continue.... You (Arabs) have to come and fight a jihad to liberate Jerusalem, your precious shrine.... It is not their capital. It is our capital. It is your capital."
Rabin made a few noises about violating the Cairo and Oslo agreements with this speech. Shimon Peres even flew to Oslo to meet with Arafat and discuss the matter. Arafat made some placating remarks about meaning only a political jihad, and Peres was satisfied.
Just what is Arafat's "political jihad"? Forget for the moment that such comments as he made in Johannesburg pre-determine the outcome of the final status negotiations, and are therefore in contravention of the existing agreements. Let us examine the practical, tangible evidence of the "political jihad" of the PLO.
Since the Oslo Accord was announced, 54 Israelis have been killed and over 600 injured by Palestinian terrorists. At least 39 of the attacks and 6 of the deaths have been positively attributed to Arafat's own faction of the PLO. The two latest victims, killed near Hebron were among the bravest of the victims. They had both recently immigrated to Israel from Holland -- a country known for its pacifism. Both had recently converted to Judaism. These were people who chose to identify with the real Israelis -- those who live on the edge and survive with daily murder and terrorism.
On May 17, the Yeshiva in Jericho, which has remained open to Jews since the takeover by the Palestinian Army, was desecrated. The curtain was torn from the Ark holding the Bible scrolls, and a mezuzah, a small scroll affixed to the door, was removed. Food and garbage were strewn around the room and left in the Ark of the Bible. Clothes were left in the room along with a picture of Arafat.
This is the "political jihad" of Yasser Arafat. He has not condemned or apologized for any of the violence that accompanies this chimeral peace. He has made no effort to halt its continuation. Instead, within one week of the implementation of the Cairo agreements, Arafat has turned up the assault. He has targeted the historic Jewish capital, he has seen new Jews and new immigrants killed for their beliefs and residency, and he has blatantly, physically assaulted the very foundation of Judaism itself -- the Torah.
This is indeed a Jihad. Jihad means holy war, and this is a war against Judaism fashioned in the image envisioned by Muhammad himself in his campaigns against infidel religions in the seventh century.
Rabin and Peres have acquiesced in this anti-Jewish war right from the first opportunity. And these are seen and ignored by would-be friends of Israel in the name of the "hopeful developments of peace" that are being offered. The Arab League did not need to libel Israel as the "common enemy", for Israel no longer fits that role in the Arab eye. After all, Israel, under the misguided and backward leadership of Yitzchak Rabin, is the best friend the Arabs could ever have. Israel, under Rabin, is giving the Arabs exactly what they have been fighting for over the last hundred years, and exactly what no one else in the world, including themselves, could ever give them: the Land of Israel and the Heart of Judaism.
The Arab League did not libel Israel this time. They are laughing too hard. True friends of Israel are in mourning.
Copyright 1994. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
