"It is time for reflection on where we, who so enthusiastically advocated for Oslo, were mistaken," says Fein. "Our mistake was to allow ourselves to be so carried away by the prospect of peace that we chose to close our eyes to the persistent Palestinian violations of the Oslo accords and to what those violations implied about Palestinian intentions. ?Whether Mr. Arafat ever was sincere in his endorsement of peace remains an open question. That in the end he has proven either stupid, evil or both scarcely can be thought debatable."
Indeed, following the last six-and-a-half months of Arab aggression against Israel, and following close to 400 Jewish deaths at the hands of our Oslo partners - 74 in the last half-year - it is commendable that Leonard Fein has finally, apparently, seen the light.
In the period since the Forward ran that story, Yasser Arafat's terrorist followers have begun lobbing mortar shells from the Gaza Strip into Jewish cities and villages in the Negev, and into Jewish neighbourhoods in the Gaza. Arafat's snipers have made a recent habit of targeting Jewish babies in Hevron (at least three times), and Israeli civilians now must think twice about venturing out to the neighbourhood store or playground in various parts of the country.
The original premise of the Oslo process was that it would eventually bring peace to Israel. Last time I checked, peace meant that adversaries do not consider the use of military force when dealing with conflicts but settle such conflicts at the negotiating table. The aim of negotiations is to maintain peaceful co-existence, while the use of force is the antithesis of such co-existence. Under this definition of peace, the idea of negotiations while under fire is simply hypocritical.
Enter Yossi Beilin and Meretz MK Mossy Raz. In the past week, Beilin has traveled to Ramallah, contravening a ban on Israelis traveling to PA-controlled areas, to meet with Yasser Arafat. He came away from the meeting singing Arafat's praises and calling on the Israeli government to negotiate with Arafat even under fire. And today, Raz is to meet with Gaza security chief Mohammed Dahlan, a man the CIA taped ordering the mortar attack on a school bus full of Jewish children in November.
What a shame that the State of Israel, which finally appears to be coming out from under the influence of mis-guided policies, must still be forced to listen to these two men. Even Leonard Fein, a leading example of how American Jewry can get it so totally wrong when they want to, has repented his error. The fact that Beilin and Raz cannot seem to do likewise indicates something sinister among the Israeli hard-left.
Beilin is so totally pro-Arab that he willingly endangers the lives of Israelis by meeting with Israel's number one enemy, granting Arafat legitimacy that is then used by international decision-makers to equate Arab aggression with Israeli defense. Raz is so totally anti-Zionist (which I equate with anti-Semitic) as to pose a danger to Israeli society from within by meeting with a mastermind of the murder of Jewish children.
Beilin and Raz should be arrested for the traitors they are. In defense of such an arrest, the courageous words of Leonard Fein can be presented, along with the mortar fragments that are being fired at the Negev. Without such arrests, Israel cannot fully return from the ideological abyss that is symbolized by Oslo.
Copyright 2001. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
