Whither, Ehud?

Michael L.

In a piece by Jerusalem Post Staff we learn:

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Thursday that Israel should consider unilateral moves to disengage from the Palestinians in the event that efforts to relaunch negotiations with PA President Mahmoud Abbas should fail.

Speaking in an interview with Army Radio on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, Barak said that such an effort to speak with Abbas must be made.

"I know Abu Mazen (Abbas) and his successors, and I say that we need to try to solve this with them, and if not - to seriously consider the unilateral steps required to create an irrevocable situation of disengagement from the Palestinians."

I honestly do not know what to make of people like Ehud Barak.

In fact, I am not all certain that I even appreciate the picture above which the Jerusalem Post is using on their story... and which apparently I am, as well.  It makes him look pugnacious and not likable.  I make a point of never using unflattering photos of politicians who I disagree with.  Whenever I see that it makes me think less of the editor, writer, or publisher, not the politician.

{And, yet, here I am doing precisely that.  Hopefully the photo is not too bad.}

Nonetheless, Barak knows as well as anyone that the Palestinian-Arab leadership has no more intention of making peace with the Jews than are the Arab peoples, more generally.  It was Barak, after all, who was left at the altar when Arafat ran from negotiations in 2000 lest they actually get somewhere and the old miserable terrorist would have to make peace.

Arafat fled like Katharine Ross in The Graduate, he could not get away fast enough.

If Arafat had not escaped, however, he probably would have died a number of years earlier than he did because his own people would have definitely killed him.  He raised a generation of Palestinian-Arab children to absolutely despise Jews, thus there was no way he could possibly make peace because he taught his own people that peace could only come through victory, not compromise and not normalization.

I take it, however, as a good sign that former PM Barak is willing to consider unilateral disengagement because the fact of the matter is that the only chance that the Jews in the Middle East have to be free from never-ending Arab harassment and bigotry must come from unilateral action.

If the history of the Arab-Israel conflict has taught us anything, it has taught us that there will be no negotiated conclusion of hostilities because the Arab peoples have made it very clear that their hatred for Jews is ongoing, Koranically-based, and entirely implacable.

When asked why the withdrawal from Lebanon which he orchestrated is seen in a more positive light than the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip, Barak said that, in another ten years, he believes the Gaza disengagement will also be seen in a more positive light.

I certainly hope this turns out to be the case, but in the mean time Israel must not allow the southern part of the country to be hounded by Hamas rocketeers.  The Israeli government owes it to the Israeli people - Jewish, Christian, Muslim - to stop the continual violence against them from the heinous morons in the Gaza Strip.

Barak, nonetheless, remains hopeful... although just why he remains hopeful seems rather weak, rather tenuous.

Barak issued veiled criticism of the Netanyahu government's policies in regard to the Palestinians, saying that it was not enough to merely pay lip service to the peace process.

"There is a deep, common interest, to us and to the moderate Arab world to reach an agreement. The crux of this common interest is the fight against radical Muslim terror and Iran's nuclear hegemonic intentions. 

The "moderate Arab world."

Where is this world, I wonder?  Can anyone produce a map?  I mean, I have heard of such creatures, but I do not know that I have ever seen one acting in a moderate manner in his native habitat.

There are rumors and legends, much like the Sasquatch of the Great American Northwest or the Yeti of the Himalayas.

It seems to me that Ehud Barak is on the hunt for a mythical creature that he believes may actually exist.  If he would come to the United States, I could introduce him to plenty of actual Arab moderates.  But, they're Americans.  The United States - despite our periodic spams of imperial violence and alleged fascism abroad - is actually quite a moderate place.

My guess is that capitalism may have something to do with this fact.

The Arab countries are, however, for the most part, not moderate.  Turkey, with its adjacency to Europe, tended to be among the more moderate Middle Eastern states, but Turkey is not Arab and it is looking at least as much toward Tehran as it is toward Brussels.

Egypt, under its current leadership, is ideologically akin to its predecessor, the former Hosni Mubarak regime.  The Sisi regime is likely to be oppressive at home but more or less dependable as a nominal US ally.  Sisi should be commended for crossing a very tough line, however.  He actually spoke in favor of Muslim reform in a public manner before the world.

That took guts.

Jordan remains relatively stable and maintains generally respectable relations with Israel.

But that is basically that.  The rest of the Arab governments and peoples are exceedingly hostile toward Jews, and toward Israel, and therefore there will be no resolution of tensions anytime soon.

Circumstances, it should be noted, are not quite so grim as they may sound.  For its size, Israel is an economic, scientific, and creative powerhouse with more connections to foreign businesses and governments than ever before in its history.  The pernicious talk suggesting that Israel is becoming isolated among the nations has very little validity.

It is, in fact, wishful thinking among the enemies of the Jewish people.

I almost hate to say it, but at the end of the day, Ehud Barak is a dinosaur of the Oslo past.

Israel needs fresh politicians who are neither befuddled by the false hope of Oslo, nor craven to outside powers.

We shall see what will be.