                                                               
                      A Voice from Hebron
by Gary M. Cooperberg           
                   You cannot make Peace while
                    Your enemy is making War
                         July 15, 1997
                                
     The fact that we are debating with murderers is bad enough. Former Labor minister, Uzi
Baram, stated his opinion that we have no choice but to continue negotiations no matter what the
PLO does!  We have long passed all red lines just by giving Arafat the dignity of the impression
that his PLO is a legitimate body with which to negotiate.  Former Prime Minister, Menachem
Begin, opened the door to this insanity when he desisted from totally destroying the PLO and
executing Arafat in the Peace for Galilee operation.
     Netanyahu always maintained that he would not conduct negotiations along with terror. 
Yet the Arabs are throwing rocks, molotov cocktails, and bombs at our soldiers and we are still
talking rather than eradicating the enemy.  The PLO has orchestrated daily street battles with our
soldiers and has succeeded in making the IDF look like an impotent army.  Our flag is desecrated
daily before television crews of the world press with complete impunity.  And leaders of the PLO
publicly participate in such spectacles without the slightest concern that it might cause
repercussions.
     Achmud Tibi, Arafat's right hand henchman, justified the desecration of the Israeli flag by
stating that such demonstrations took place on "Palestinian" soil where such activities "do not
conflict with the law".  Such a statement is grounds, not only to stop the talks, but to declare all
agreements as invalid and to repossess all Jewish land taken by the enemy. 
     The Oslo agreement, as sick as it was, never ceded land to the PLO.  All it did was agree
to permit the PLO to rule over its own people on Israeli soil.  It was never agreed to give Arafat
sovereignty over any of the land.  This has become a defacto alteration of the original agreement
which remains virtually unchallenged by the Israeli government.  It is in contravention of the law
and requires an Israeli response.  Instead all we hear from our government is a deafening silence.
      Now we see how the efficient PLO police can instantly stop the violence.  While some
may point their fingers at this new attitude and express their delight that, at long last we are now
on the road to cooperation, nothing could be further from the truth.   All we can see from this is
further proof that the PLO approved of, if not openly instigated, the violence in Hebron.  The
minute they decide to stop it, it stops.  So why, you might ask, did they stop it?  Perhaps they
were afraid of the Prime Minister's warning to take strong measures.  Or, more likely, they felt
that by staging a public display of cooperation which restored order, they would be in a better
position to demand that Israel permit them to open their own airport and sea port in Gaza.   Such
actually seems to be the case.
     In spite of the fact that the PLO actually paid children to throw rocks and fire bombs at
our soldiers, the world media portrayed the Israeli side as the aggressors.  In the propaganda war
we are losing miserably.  Now that the PLO has proven its integrity by stopping the violence,
Israel would seem unfair, indeed, should she deny such a "peaceful" request as opening the Gaza
airport to international traffic (and a massive influx of weapons).
     My complaint is not with the PLO.  They are doing what an enemy is supposed to do. 
What disturbs me is the lack of leadership in Israel.  Today, Uzi Dayan, IDF commander for Judea
and Samaria, issued a warning to all the Jewish communities in YESHA to be on the alert for
terrorist attacks.  Perhaps this warning was meant to comfort us.  It doesn't.  Usually it is the
enemy who warns us that he is out to terrorize us.   Such a warning is, in and of itself, an act of
intimidation.  Now we have top Israeli generals doing the work of our enemies by warning us of
impending terrorist attacks.
     I had thought that Netanyahu had a policy of refusing to talk peace while enduring acts of
terror.  Instead he has fallen back on the old policy of accepting terror while continuing to talk
with our enemies and make concessions to them. 
     Why did we have to wait for the PLO to stop the rocks and bombs?   Why do I need to be
warned of impending terror?  Why is Oslo still a viable process?  We consistently close our eyes
to every violation of the letter, never mind the spirit, of agreements signed at Oslo on the part of
the PLO.  We lend credence to their lies about us by treating murderers as if they were reasonable
people.  
     Even now, when the PLO still is in a position where it has much to gain by participating in
negotiations where Israel continues to compromise on all of its principles, Arafat has taken a
stand which declares that all Jewish growth must stop before he will renew negotiations!  He has
succeeded in getting the issue of Har Homa on the agenda of the United Nations!  All this is a
direct result of the Israeli government yielding on the most basic principles of Jewish sovereignty
and self respect.
      The problem is not that Arafat wants us to commit national suicide.  It is not that Abu
Allah likes to dance on the ashes of the Israeli flag on international television.  And it is not that
fact that the head Moslem cleric in Jerusalem called Jews monkeys and pigs and called for our
mass murder.  The real problem is that Tatiana Susskind drew a picture of a pig and called it
Mohammed.  Tatiana is in jail while Arafat, the Mufti, Tibi, and Abu Allah are all treated as men
of stature.  They say that all is fair in love and war. . . but this is just ridiculous. If we are making
peace then, by all means let's make peace.   But, if our enemies are making war, then making
peace by ourselves is just stupid.