                  Hearty Appetite, Mr. Arafat
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
 May 1994                                           Iyar  5754

     The stunning defeat of the Jewish State to the alleged "palestinian" one defies logical
explanation.  Perhaps there were some, up until now, who actually believed that Peres really
had something going with his peace initiative.  Today, I cannot accept the assertion that even
Peres believes that anymore.
     The Rabin government, under the tutelage of Shimon Peres, has taken the attitude that
one would expect from a person faced with the choice of being eaten by cannibals or jumping
off a high cliff with the hope of safely landing in the river below.  (Although, in reality, Shimon
has opted for the hope not to be eaten, for the sake of this simile we'll look at the other
option).
     As Shimon is falling from the cliff and looking down at the rapidly approaching rocks
below he is approached by a dauntless reporter with microphone in hand:

     REPORTER: Mr. Peres aren't you concerned that you are likely to be dashed against
the rocks below?
     SHIMON: The issue isn't the rocks.  What is important to consider is the very real
possibility of landing safely in the river.
     REPORTER: But, Mr. Peres, there are only rocks below you.  The river is at least
another twenty meters out.  Surely you cannot believe that it is possible to land in the river.
     SHIMON: I am not prepared to limit myself to what is possible and what isn't possible. 
We shall see.  In any event, what is the alternative?  I certainly cannot go back now. 
SPLLLLAAAAAAAAAT!!!!
     After hearing Arafat call for a jihad to liberate Jerusalem, and his declaration that
"palestine" is permanent and Israel is only temporary, Shimon Peres, contrary to press reports,
did not accept the ridiculous allegation by Arafat that he wants a "peaceful jihad".  He
understands perfectly what Arafat wants.  
     The problem is that Shimon views himself as having already jumped off the cliff. 
Despite the fact that he knows he is about to be dashed against the rocks, he has decided that
there is no going backwards and no way out of the mess he himself created.  He would prefer
to continue emasculating the Jewish State while simultaneously helping to strengthen the
"palestinian" one in the futile hope that Arafat will not try to destroy us when he thinks he is
strong enough to do so.
     One needn't be a scholar, historian or political scientist to understand that the sole
reason for the existence of the PLO is to destroy the Jewish State.  The only way for Israel to
make peace with such an organization is to agree to disappear.  Shimon actually thinks that he
can compromise by agreeing to disappear in stages and, hopefully, not completely.       Arafat is willing to accept the concept of disappearing in stages and leave the second
proposal, the incompleteness of the process, open for discussion at a later date.   This is Israeli
foreign policy because, as Shimon asks, "What is the alternative?"
     To Shimon, the alternative is a never ending intifada which will destroy us in any event. 
The question that comes to mind to any normal thinker is, "If you have a powerful army and you
are attacked by women and children throwing rocks, does than mean you should surrender to the
rock throwers for peace?"
     Any one with an ounce of self respect will make an announcement.  "He who throws rocks
will be shot".  After the announcement you enforce it.  One simply does not live with insurrection. 
He crushes it before it crushes him.  This is a lesson that Shamir never understood.  Peres
certainly does not accept it.  But, to quote the foreign minister, "What is the alternative?"  In a
war you really only have two choices.  To win or to lose.  It might not be pleasant to fight a war
in which many people are killed and injured.  But, I can assure you, it is far less pleasant to lose. 
Further, if we win, we will treat the losers with dignity as we remove them from our presence. 
Should we have the misfortune to lose, however, we can be certain that our enemies will destroy
every last one of us.  How then can any normal human being choose to lose from a position of
strength to such an enemy?
     Yet this is exactly what the government of the State of Israel has opted to do.  Rather than
go to war we have decided to take a chance for peace by surrendering to an enemy which swears
to destroy us.  The fact is, if we refer to the fictitious option offered at the beginning of this
article, we have elected to hope that the cannibals don't eat us.  Had we chosen the cliff, at least
there would have been hope to land in the river.  The cannibals, however, have a ravenous
appetite which cannot be negotiated, reasoned or even bribed away.  Hearty appetite Mr. Arafat.