The Sickness of Self-deception  
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                        October 3, 1994
                                
     Back in 1980, after the brutal attack upon Jewish civilians by Arab terrorists just
outside of Bet Hadassah in Hebron, which left six Jews dead, the Israeli Minister of Police
suggested that the attack could have been avoided had Jews not been living in Hebron.
     Perplexed with the dilemma of continued terrorism in Israel, and the unpleasant
thought of bloody confrontation and destruction of our enemies, our present government has
come up with the innovative concept of preemptive surrender.   Using the same reasoning as
the former police minister, our present government feels that if we make territorial concessions
to terrorists and remove Jews from certain parts of our country, that the problem will go
away.  It is assumed that by avoiding confrontation now our enemies will learn to love us in
the future.  It is a policy of self deception which is doomed to force upon us a far more violent
confrontation in the future.
     The sickness of self deception is contagious as people really want to believe that there
is an easy way to end the continuous acts of terror against Jewish civilians.  Just recently, after
the ambush murder of Sarit Prigal, a teenage girl, right near the entrance to Kiryat Arba, a
radio talk show in Israel gave its listeners the opportunity to express their views of the incident
on the air.  One caller was quite adamant in her opinion that the bereaved parents were guilty
of Sarit's murder!  She called for the arrest of the parents and suggested that they be tried and
imprisoned for criminal negligence in that they brought their children up in Kiryat Arba which
is a dangerous place.
     This woman, an Israeli citizen, has failed to grasp the implications of her own hysteria. 
What she is really saying is that if terrorists attack you in your own country in order that you
give it to them, it is a criminal act on your part to continue living in your country.  In this
respect there is no difference between Tel Aviv and Hebron.  The Arabs want it all and will kill
and maim Jews until they get it all (or until we destroy them).  As such this woman is guilty of
the same crime of which she wishes to convict Sarit's parents.  By living anywhere in the
Jewish State Jews are inviting Arab terror.  By existing, anywhere in the world, Jews are
inviting antisemitism.  Thus we have a logical case for all Jews to either give up on Judaism or
commit suicide.  Unfortunately there are a great many Jews giving these options serious
consideration.
     When Shimon Peres asked the rhetorical question, "Who needs Gaza?", he was
basically suggesting the same concept.  It is not Gaza which Peres "doesn't need", rather the
large number of Arabs who occupy Gaza.  He just hasn't the courage to say what he really
means for fear of being called a racist.  Rather than consider the more sensible, if more
difficult, option to remove our enemies, he decided to remove Jews and thus avoid
confrontation.  By so doing, it was Shimon's futile hope that it would appease our enemies
into refraining from further terror against Jews.
     It took a long time, but we have finally succeeded in training our most intractable
enemies in the use of the one weapon which has the most likelihood of destroying the Jewish
State.  If the Arabs can control their hatred for Jews for just long enough to permit us to
believe their lies about our favorite words, "peace"; "democracy"; and "love", then we are
prepared to do anything they want.  




We will build a giant gallows and they will prepare the rope which they will call the "rope of
peace".  We will be given the honor of being first to place our necks into the "noose of love".  
As a matter of fact this is exactly what is happening to the Jewish state right now!
     While the Israeli newscasters talk about "early empowerment" in terms of Arab control
of their own schools and hospitals, it is amazing how no one seems to notice the different
terminology used by Arab spokesmen.  While they too refer to Arab control of education and
health facilities, during their discourse they talk about democratic elections and peace, and
then they, matter-of- factly, happen to mention the need to establish Arab police stations in
Hebron and all of Judea and Samaria accompanied by the withdrawal of the IDF.  This
concept is just not mentioned by the Israeli side.  It is neither confirmed or denied... just
ignored in the hope that it will go away.
     Any school child can see this thinly veiled deception.  But the Israeli government
chooses to ignore it and to lull the Jewish population into a false sense of imminent "peace".
     Everyone is afraid to "rock the boat".  Don't talk about this terrorist attack; let's not
pay attention to what Arafat said yesterday; if the PLO police say they are chasing terrorist
murderers we should be happy for that much.  We perform the most incredible feats of
intellectual acrobatics in order to avoid the most painful of truths.  Not only do we not have
peace, we are racing down the path to our own self destruction!  Lying to others is a sin. 
Lying to ourselves is an unforgivable crime.
     The Jewish People is no longer a motley group of desperate refugees.  We are a
legitimate nation with our own country and with an army which many consider to be the best
in the world.  Our enemies, as always, still hate us and seek our destruction.  Today, more
than any time in recent history, we have the ability to defend ourselves and stand up for our
rights.  To cower in the face of danger; to surrender to any enemy, much less to puny
cowardly ones whom we can easily destroy, at this stage of Jewish history is nothing less than
national insanity.
     I don't know whether or not there is a cure for this illness.  But if there is, it can only
be via Jews openly, loudly, and repeatedly declaring truth in the face of deception.  Every
claim for "peace" must be challenged with hard questions.  Every effort to "explain" either an
act of terror or evil declaration by our enemies must meet with a strong and relentless
response.
     The Jewish people has had a long and bitter-sweet history.  We have faced obstacles
far more desperate than those we face today, yet we have withstood them all.  No matter how
bad things may appear today, it is all an illusion designed to test our true feelings.  We have no
need for political solutions, nor for political leaders.  Our salvation lies in the power of each
and every Jew.  Let us reject the insanity around us and recognize the One and Only source of
our salvation, the Living G-d of History.  
     Our time has arrived.  It is our own self-inflicted blindness which prevents us from
seeing it.  Forget Peres, Rabin, Arafat and the other fools masquerading as leaders.  Recognize
the reality of Jewish return and genuine Jewish strength... and rely upon that reality.  When
each Jew does that much, we will all witness the final redemption.  For over two thousand
years the Jewish People has been waiting for the Mashiach.  He has arrived.  Now He is
waiting for us.