Letters to the Editor
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‘Ambivalent Mood’
Although I have much respect for Prof. Amnon Rubenstein, I was disappointed by his article “Ambivalent Mood” [OpEd, July 7, 2006] regarding the Israeli-Palestinian situation. The professor writes: “It could have been otherwise: the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza should have, and could have, ushered in a period of reconciliation between Israel and the future Palestinian state: Had the various Palestinian armed units held their fire, had they allowed the new border to calm down and enabled trade, aid and the passage of workers … But things did not work out this way.”
While coulda-woulda-shoulda musings are nice for daydreams and song lyrics, they have little meaning when it comes to confronting existential threats unless, one is able to extract and apply lessons learned from them. The Gaza withdrawal was not Israel’s first experiment with unilateral withdrawals. In May 2000, Israel hurriedly withdrew from the security zone in Southern Lebanon leaving not only its Lebanese Christian allies reeling from whiplash, but also terrorists-in-waiting everywhere emboldened and reenergized. The withdrawal was perceived as a victory for terrorism and indeed it was only a few months later that Arafat & friends embarked on their second Intifada against Israel.
Why did those who supported the Gaza withdrawal think that this time the results would be any better? Different time, place and circumstances? Has anything been learned from these latest coulda-woulda-shoulda post mortems? Although we will probably have a clearer idea after the current situation in Gaza quiets down a bit, it’s not looking promising given the continuing rumblings about “moderate” Abu Mazen being the “last hope for peace.” If nothing else, a “moderate” terrorist usually means weaker and more powerless than a “hardline” terrorist, so why even bother signing an agreement with a powerless terrorist who can’t deliver?
While I share in Professor Rubinstein’s ending sentiment that the one common link between Israel of 1948 and Israel of today is that “the Jewish state is still the one and only country whose very survival is at stake and it is still the task of civilized people everywhere to ensure that this island of democracy in the Middle East, this homeland of the Jews, be maintained and supported,” I would suggest that Israel not stake its survival on the “civilized” world, as the civilized world’s track record up till now has proven to be less than satisfactory.
RONNI SHALIT
New York, N.Y.
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