                                                                 A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
                      Bibi Has Betrayed Us
Bibi Must Go!        
 
     Treason is not just a bad word.  It is a criminal act.  One who spies on his country and
gives information to the enemy is a traitor.   Any time a citizen helps an enemy of the state to
weaken or destroy that state, there is no punishment harsh enough to administer.  In this area the
PLO has a higher morality than Israel.  When they catch a traitor, they kill him on the spot!  And
that is the way it should be.  The PLO recognizes Israel as the enemy.  And anyone who aids the
enemy is, himself, an enemy.
      The problem in this country is that we forget that we have enemies.  All we have is
"peace partners".  We close our eyes and make believe that Mubarak, Hussein, and Arafat really
want to live in peace with a Jewish State.  For a citizen to pretend and dupe himself into believing
in such an illusion is foolish and unwise.  For government leaders to do so is criminal. 
     While, admittedly, unbridled use of epithets can turn legitimate protest into libelous name-calling, that, in no way, justifies the muzzling of honest expressions of opinion. Errors in judgment
and emotional outbursts by individuals in the electorate must be tolerated and not exploited as
justification to silence opposition.  A good example is the heckling of Knesset Member Benny
Begin at a recent Likud convention.  Begin challenged the Prime Minister and some of
Netanyahu's supporters called Begin a traitor.  Now, if we are talking about unquestioned loyalty
to Netanyahu, perhaps Begin was a traitor.  But that is not the definition of the word. The
dictionary defines the meaning of the word "traitor" as one who betrays his country, or one who
betrays a trust.   Similarly, the word "treason" is defined as the betrayal of one's country or of a
trust. Begin was being loyal to his country.  Were Netanyahu a king, perhaps the definition would
still apply.  But he was not elected to be a king, rather a public servant.     
     These words, "treason" and "traitor" have, in effect, been banned from usage in Israel. 
The reason given is that use of such terminology resulted in the assassination of former Prime
Minister Rabin.  Not only is such a contention ridiculous, it is also dangerous.  It has resulted in
the veritable cessation by the citizens of Israel to voice their opposition to treasonous positions
taken by their government.
     The Rabin assassination, an act of a lone assailant, was used as justification to silence
opposition to government policies!  In spite of the effective muzzle it put upon the right wing in
this country, the people were still convinced that Labor was pursuing a treasonous policy, and
thus elected Netanyahu as prime minister.
     The fact is that a good case can be made to show that, our prime minister is, indeed, a
traitor to his country, as well as to his own former professed beliefs!  Netanyahu was elected as a
clear  rejection of both Arafat and Oslo.  Netanyahu was one of the primary individuals who
criticized the concept of giving Arafat "cities of refuges".  He declared that "autonomous" areas
under PLO control will become havens for terrorists; safe areas for them to escape pursuit,
capture and prosecution.  In spite of this fact, not only has he failed to remove those havens, he
has actually established additional ones!!  This is a clear breach of trust.
     And now, without as much as an inkling of a demand at, what he calls, "reciprocity", he
has unilaterally decided to cede more Jewish land to the PLO!  The worst part of this tragedy is
the apparent lack of interest on the part of the alleged "right wing" members of government.  
          
     It matters not that Bibi talks about his love for the Land, and professes his support for the
"settlement movement" and all Jews who live in YESHA.  When the talking stops and we look
around we find no new building; promises to our enemies not to build new Jewish communities in
YESHA; ceding of Jewish land to the PLO; abandonment of Jewish holy places; failure to
extradite and prosecute murderers of Jews held by the PLO; suggestion that the future of
Jerusalem is up for debate;  and a recognition of legitimacy of an enemy whose goal  is to create a
new Arab state on Jewish soil to replace the Jewish State.   I am sorry if it offends anyone, but
that certainly seems to me qualification enough to charge the Netanyahu government with
treason!
     If we had a genuine democracy in this country, and we don't, the judicial branch of the
government would have an obligation to bring this government to trial for treason.  But there
apparently is no legal definition of treason in this country.  It would seem that our Knesset could
enact legislation to change the name of the country from Israel to Palestine and then just hand it
over to Arafat, with no recourse by the electorate.  This seems to be exactly what we are doing,
only in stages.
     Anarchy, rebellion and even assassination are terrible things.  They come about only when
those who are ruled perceive themselves as being abused by those who rule,  and given no
legitimate outlet to protest and get redress for their perceived abuse.  The American system of
democracy has checks and balances whose function is to prevent any one of the three branches of
government from abusing its power and acting against the will of the governed.  The concept is
that the people, those who are "ruled", are really the true "rulers".  The people decide their own
fate.  The rulers are public servants who strive to serve the will of the electorate.  When they fail
in this purpose there exists machinery to remove them from office.  In such a system, anarchy and
rebellion are less likely to occur.
     In Israel, once the elections are over, the people have little or no say in what happens. 
Deals are made by politicians which are unrelated to the will of the governed.  This system has
always been dangerous and flawed.  But now we are beginning to see just how dangerous it can
become.  The new direct election of the prime minister, whose purpose was to give the people the
right to choose, failed to incorporate instruments to ensure that the prime minister adhere to his
stated platform.  The formula was "trust me".  Thus our vote was really a gamble on the integrity
of the candidate.  If he has none, we lose. 
     The government of Israel has set itself on a collision course which it refuses to recognize.
We need to find constitutional experts to redesign the entire system of government to properly
serve the people of Israel, and maintain the Jewish identity of a country which was established for
the purpose of being the Jewish State, a haven for the Jewish People, not an incubator for
Arafat's Palestine.
     There are those, including our Prime Minister, who claim that there exists no better choice
for leadership in Israel today.  Should the present government fall and be replaced with a Labor
government, the situation would become even worse.  What we all must remember is that no one
is a prophet.  We cannot know what a future government may or may not do.  But we can see
what the present government is doing and it is clearly suicidal. . . no matter how eloquent its
leadership. Its policies have placed our very existence, not to mention our security, under grave
threat. We cannot afford to be silent for fear of getting Peres back.  At the moment Bibi is a
greater danger. His government has already brought us to the brink of disaster.  Not to seek to
bring down such a government is itself an act of criminal negligence under these circumstances.  