                                                               
                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                         March 19, 1997
                                
                       Bibi's Last Chance
                                
     There is much debate currently going on in regards to the Har Homa issue.  At least
Netanyahu did, at long last, make a decision.  The bulldozers did arrive on the scene and break
ground.  At the same time, however, the government clearly expressed its fear of PLO violence by
accompanying the bulldozers with a full array of police and combat army forces.  In addition
civilians were removed from Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and Joseph's Tomb in Shechem.
     In spite of all of the elaborate explanations and declarations by our eloquent prime
minister, the obvious and elaborate efforts made to prepare for violent conflict only emphasize the
reality that, aside from the PLO, and self-hating leftist Jews in this country, the countries of the
world also view the decision by Jerusalem to build Jewish homes in the Jewish capital as being
harmful to the peace process.
     Prime Minister Netanyahu has been sending out so many mixed signals that neither friend
nor foe can begin to understand which way he is going.  The result is that no one trusts him.  It is
very likely that he really wants to be a good and strong leader.  He certainly does seem to have
the potential to be one.  But one quality he apparently lacks is the ability to make difficult
decisions and stick to them.
     This is reminiscent of the story in the talmud about a king who sent his servant out to buy
him a fish for dinner.  The servant was not careful and bought a fish that was rotten.  When the
king took one bite of the foul tasting fish he spit it out in disgust.  He called for the servant and
gave him the option to choose his punishment from three options.   He could eat the fish; get
whipped for the fish; or pay for it.
     Being a prudent fellow and knowing the high price of the fish, he decided to take the
easiest of the punishments and eat the fish.   But after the first bite of the foul tasting fish he
gagged and could not go on.  He begged the king to change the punishment to whipping.  After
the second lash he could no longer bear the pain and, once again begged the king to let him
change the punishment and he would pay for the fish.
     While the servant considered himself a prudent man, rather than taking the easiest way
out, he actually suffered all three punishments by his own choosing!   Had he the wisdom to pay
for the fish from the outset he would have avoided much suffering.
     This is exactly the predicament our prudent prime minister has placed himself into. He too
had three choices when he was elected into office.  He could continue the perfidious Oslo process
as it was; he could use it as a framework which he would readjust and make better; or he could
reject it outright.
     At first he went to the White House and assured the President that he would continue the
peace process.  He did, however, insist that the Hebron issue was a complicated one and could
not be fulfilled immediately.  He dazzled us all with fancy words like "reciprocity" and had
everyone really convinced that he was a strong and decisive leader.  But, after a short while, he
met with the arch terrorist Arafat and shook his hand. He failed to close the infamous Orient
House.  He failed to extradite even one Arab murderer who escaped to PLO land.  He never made
the re-writing of the Palestinian covenant a precondition to continue the peace process with
Arafat.  He then turned around and gave him Hebron, all the while declaring that his backing
down on principles was different and better than that of the government preceding him.
     He tentatively tested the waters of dispute by having his Justice Minister, Hanegbi,
publicly declare that should Arafat initiate new violence it would not merely interfere with the
peace process, rather bring a full fledged war which would see Arafat return to Tunis. This verbal
barrage brought a furious response from many in Israel, not to mention an outright condemnation
from the United States State Department!
     Now our silver tongued head of state has put himself into position from which it will be
even more difficult to extricate himself.  He has declared that no power on earth will stop him
from building in Jerusalem, and determined to make the Har Homa issue proof of that declaration.
Judging from the implacable position taken by the PLO, and backed by nearly every country in the
world, including the USA, it may well be that Netanyahu will, after all, have no choice but to pay
for the fish, that is to reject Oslo.  If the price to get back into the good graces of his peace
partners is to reject our exclusive right to the holy city of Jerusalem, one would expect that the
price to continue has just become too high.
     The tension resulting from this fiasco has become tangible.  Everyone is just waiting for an
explosion.  Netanyahu announced that he has intelligence reports that, in reaction to his building
on Har Homa,  Arafat has given the green light to launch new terrorist attacks against Israel.  Yet
the United States has declared that it has no such information, rather a confirmation by Arafat
himself that he rejects the use of terror.
     In reaction to threats of violent Arab mobs confronting the bulldozers, a veritable army of
police and soldiers was deployed on the site, yet no violence materialized.   Uzi Dayan, head of
central command, notified municipal councils throughout Judea and Samaria to expect a terrorist
attack.  He advised all civilians who own licensed weapons to carry them at all times.  Thus Arafat
can sit quietly and do nothing as Israel puts its security forces on full alert, an expensive and
intensely frustrating position.   If  there is no terror, Israel comes off looking like an oppressor and
spoiler of the peace process.  If there is another attack, all the world will blame Jerusalem for
causing it.  Either way we lose.
     It is high time for our prime minister to recognize his error in judgment.  It is still not too
late to pay for the fish.  Just as Tibi has stated that Arafat will not meet Bibi until Har Homa is
halted (thus playing the cards that Bibi originally threatened to play, "reciprocity"), the prime
minister now can begin to undo his mess by declaring a full stop to all agreements until all his
demands of the PLO are met, including the extradition of murderers and the amending of the
covenant.  This should be an ultimatum with a time table and clearly defined penalties if not met.
Hanegbi's threat can and should be implemented.  
     This is truly Bibi's last chance to prove himself a leader, or to become a total failure
whose political future is over. It is time to pay for the fish.