In his speech at the opening of the Knesset, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said, "For forty years we have been flagellating ourselves with a sense of guilt that we competently understood too late, that which we should have understood from the beginning." He was referring to Israel's victory in the Six Day War of 1967 and its "occupation" of Judea, Samaria (the "West Bank") and Gaza (YeShA).Olmert's words may be the key to understanding this current rush to disaster that would lead a lemming to scratch his head in disbelief:
What frightens the Left, reflected in Olmert's admission of guilt, is the possibility that Jews did "steal Arab lands," that Israel does discriminate against Arabs, that Israel is responsible for Palestinian terrorism, that Zionism is racism. So, they blame "the settlers." It's convenient and it diverts attention from more basic questions of national self-doubt and identity. This explains why the Left clings so desperately and tenaciously to a "peace process" even though it's a total fantasy - and everyone involved knows it.But making the state of Israel into a Korban Oleh in the process is not the answer.
For the Left, a Palestinian state would vindicate what happened in 1948. It would legitimize Israel's existence and free Israel from the burden of responsibility for Arab refugees. In fact, the Left undermines the integrity of the state itself. If the Left is correct, Zionism is wrong.
For the Left, abandoning YeShA means no longer having to say "I'm sorry"; no need to defend the Jews' moral, legal and historical rights to live in YeShA or anywhere else. If Palestinians can be convinced or forced to accept a state, then Israel is off the hook. To the Left, a Palestinian state is doing t'shuvah.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Olmert and Annapolis.
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