This is big news. You see, Shlomo Ben Ami was the foreign minister in the last half of the Barak government, and was one of the driving forces behind that administration's mad rush to divest Israel of as much territory as possible prior to the elections - despite some of the worst anti-Jewish terrorism in Israel's history. That this very same person is now calling for a reassessment of Israel's diplomatic posture is nothing short of incredible.
And it literally is incredible, as in unbelievable, as in you better not believe it. Because Ben Ami did not actually call for a positive reassessment of Israel's diplomatic posture. Rather, he called for a reassessment of Israel's unwillingness to go that extra step in divesting itself of yet more territory.
Ben Ami proposed that since the Palestinians are not able to reach an agreement with Israel, Israel should seek a settlement imposed by the international community that is based on the Clinton plan. This is the same Clinton plan that Barak said no longer applied following the elections in the US and Israel. It is the same Clinton plan that would have Israel withdraw from 97% of the Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, divide Jerusalem, and come up with an amorphous solution to the refugee issue.
Ben Ami has apparently come to the astonishing realization that the Arabs are not interested in peace, and that they are not prepared to negotiate with Israel. He has come to the realization that for Israelis who wish to negotiate peace, there is no one sitting opposite them with whom to negotiate.
What has caused this realization, apparently, is the ongoing violence in Israel, where 81 people have been killed and close to a thousand injured by Yasser Arafat and his followers. Since Arafat is involved in so much murder and mayhem, Ben Ami has realized that there is no point in negotiating peace with him.
However, rather that negotiate the wholesale surrender of Israeli territory to such murderers, Ben Ami is now prepared to unilaterally give it away for nothing. Since there are to be no negotiations, there will be nothing to commit Arafat to ending the conflict, stopping the violence, ceasing official anti-Israel incitement, arresting terrorists, turning over the murderers of Jews to Israeli authority, or any of the other commitments Arafat is apparently not prepared to fulfill.
If Arafat is not prepared to negotiate with us, Ben Ami figures, let's just give him what he wants anyway. This, of course, is certain to make Arafat come begging to return to the negotiating table if Ben Ami's supposition is correct.
Ben Ami is prepared to give Arafat all the land in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, which will then be used as a better launching ground for even harsher attacks against Israel. This intention was first voiced in 1974, was never made secret, and is coming to fruition now as Israel continues to suffer continued attacks against civilians.
Ben Ami's fire sale is one step removed from the logical outcome of Oslo: the removal of Jews from Israel and the conversion of Israel into a wholly Arab state. This logical outcome, one can be sure, would be the result should Ben Ami and his comrades ever return to power.
Shlomo Ben Ami is a clear danger to the State of Israel. Such incredible nonsense coming from a man with a doctorate in history is just mind-boggling. But the ramifications of Ben Ami's stated ideas are clearly an existential threat to the State. As such, Ben Ami should be driven from the political world with all due haste. At the same time, it might be an idea for him to re-educate himself in the history of war and peace.
Copyright 2001. Yehuda Poch is a writer living in Israel. Reproduction in electronic or print format by permission only.
