| Friday,
October 13, 2000 They have turned the ship around. It is
now headed, not for home, but back to the Persian Gulf. "On the
nation's business," as the skipper put it, and of course there can be
only one answer to that. Aye aye, sir.
I have received a number of letters that say, in essence, that the
Israelis "brought this on themselves." I have others
saying more or less the opposite. I don't suppose I will make many friends
by thinking about this situation, but I seem doomed to do it. The
following are thoughts. I have no authority in that area, and thank God
that is a burden I will never bear.
Regarding provocation. I can only recite what happened to us. We were
part of a pilgrimage of the Knights of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, an order
formed 800 years ago during the Crusades. The physical arrangements for
the tour were booked through a large Israeli travel agency. Most of the
private appointments were made by friends in the Vatican. The Order aids
in the maintenance of a number of schools and hospitals in the Jerusalem
area, all of which take in children of all faiths. One of the schools we
visited has about 60% Moslem children, the rest Christian; I do not think
there are any Jewish. It is a boarding school with some day students, and
about 3/4 of the children are on scholarships including room and board. It
was typical of those we visited. Most of those schools are run by the
Archdiocese of Jerusalem, and the Archbishop (Palestinian of course;
nearly all Christians including the priesthood are, and their families
have lived there since "before a sojourner named Abraham asked for
our help" as one put it.)
Much of our tour consisted of visits to schools and hospitals
maintained by the Order as well as, of course, visits to the various holy
places in Jerusalem and Nazareth. We also visited Cana where a
number of us were remarried under the ancient forms in which the wife
promises to obey; if my own case is typical that seems not to have
noticeable effect.
In any event, our last morning in Israel was made miserable by an
Israeli security agent. We were leaving, and thus not going to be spending
any more money so it was OK to roust the tourists. If that seems a harsh
judgment I can only say it seemed accurate. This young boor intended to be
rude and arrogant, and I cannot think he was acting without instructions.
Certainly any US agent would have been disciplined for far less; and
everyone I know say our experience was fairly typical. I don't have
pictures of him in his soiled white shirt and 24 hour stubble because
taking his picture was forbidden.
Our party consisted of a number of fairly prominent people including a Monsignor
and half a dozen priests, and we had been guests of the Archbishop and
Patriarch. It was pretty clear that we were no terrorists.
The security agent knew that; it was clear from some of the things he
said as he caused a 70 year old retired priest to be strip searched -- the
priest was a Palestinian, after all, even if assigned to Rome. This
arrogant young thug didn't bother to shave or put on a clean shirt to deal
with a tour group of Americans and Canadians. Why should he? He was secure
with the power to do anything he liked to us.
That arrogance of power is inexcusable. But if that young man by
mistake ended up in my neighborhood, I do not think I would be justified
in beating him to death, or storming the local police station to get at
him.
Macciavelli said it is better to be feared than loved. The Israelis
seem to want both. If they intend to leave the West Bank Territories to
Palestinian government, they cannot insist on maintaining settler
enclaves, and control of the roads to them. Surely any American Southerner
can understand that. The insistence on keeping Fort Sumter was a large
part of what precipitated the War Between The States, and that was an
isolated fortress. A hundred armed camps of volatile people quick to turn
out, not with stones but with guns, creates an impossible situation, and
anyone serious about a settlement in Judea and Samaria -- or the Occupied
Territories -- or The West Bank -- must know that. To insist that
"the peace process" include the absolute right to insert and
defend settlements on every strategic hill in Judea is to insist that
there be no "peace process."
As to whether there can be any Israeli security without those
settlements, I don't know. I used to teach International Security, and I
am as much an "expert" as any of those I hear blathering about
the subject, and I simply don't know. What I do know is that there is no
point to a "peace process" that doesn't concede that those
settlements have to go.
Note I do not refer to military strategic sites. Israel would have to
be governed by fools to let go control of the Golan Heights, and while I
think there must be better uses for the Israeli side of the Jordan Valley
than to be a mine-infested man-made desert -- which it is now, and I have
a hundred pictures to demonstrate that -- I also understand the strategic
importance of retaining military enclaves there. But that is not the same
as a Jewish settlement four miles into the Gaza Strip; that latter
settlement serves no purpose other than provocation.
I leave out "justice" regarding the settlements. I do point
out that the United States would save money if we could buy all those
non-military settlements and convert them into parks. Theme parks even.
Just from economics the US would be better off. The point of the
settlements is to assert Jewish sovereignty over those enclaves; and of
course that is precisely what the Palestinians cannot allow.
Regarding Jerusalem: while we were there a Jewish settlement group
occupied two houses and a construction site in the Christian part of the
city. An Israeli court ordered them out. They refused to go. Last I heard
they were still there, and I make no doubt they are there still. This is
not rule of law, and one can hardly blame Palestinians for insisting on
something other than the fairness of Israeli police enforcing the
judgments of Israeli courts. It used to be considered a fundamental
proposition, self-evident to anyone, that "no man be judge in his own
cause." Relying on partisan politics for enforcement is even less
realistic.
As to whether a Council of Bishops, Rabbis, and Mullahs, or The
Vatican, or the UN, can govern Jerusalem I don't know. (I speak here
of the Old City, not the mostly Jewish territories to the South and West
of the walled city, nor of the outlying areas like Bethany.) What I do
know is that no one, Christian or Muslim, has any good reason to trust the
soundness, fairness, and effectiveness of the Israeli courts and law
enforcement in that city.
One could wish it were otherwise: but the reality is that governing
through arrogant young men like the Shin Beth agent who conceived it part
of his duty to the State of Israel to be rude and unshaven and in a dirty
shirt as he harassed a group of American and Canadian tourists -- who two
days before had spent several hours with the President of Israel -- says
it all. Not that we deserved special treatment: what was clear is that if
we were treated that way, anyone could and would be.
Which still would not justify my hiring someone to kill that young man,
or incite a mob to beat him to death.
Putting up with that young man at the airport in Tel Aviv is merely
inconvenient. Having to put up with him as an armed neighbor able to call
on the Israeli Army once his provocations have incited is neighbors to
violence is another matter. He can remain at the airport, but he can't be
allowed to live in enclaves among the Palestinians. The Israelis must
understand that.
The alternative for Israel is ethnic cleansing. It might be called
'resettlement" or some such in Israel, but the world would see it as
ethnic cleansing. That is a step which would cost Israel dearly.
If there is a third alternative I do not know it. And yes, I thoroughly
understand that the Palestinians, most certainly including my Christian
friends, are likely to have better government under the Israelis than
under whatever regime they end up with if the Israelis simply pull out of
the Occupied Territories. But perhaps not. Perhaps they can find a way out
of the endless rounds of kleptocracies that have become so normal as to be
unremarkable in that part of the world. Perhaps, but most likely not. And
then what? I don't know.
Eliminate the enclaves and set up realistic borders; put the Old City
under some kind of International Authority; buy out the settlers and get
them out of the Palestinian areas.
Or, engage in massive ethnic cleansing of Judea and Samaria and the
Jordan Valley.
If there is a third alternative I do not know it.
The Navy has kindly sent me a Powerpoint presentation of 3 pictures of
the Cole. I don't know how to get that into Front Page although I suppose
I could figure it out if I had any time. It's about 250K so I would
want that to be a separate page.
Anyone have quick suggestions? I expect it is simple but I never tried
that before.
I need a slotket. Outpost doesn't know what one is. www.motherboard.com
does but I have to get past their arcane procedures. It seems to know I
exist, but I don't recall doing business with them before. Let's see
-- oh, here's a password. I did do business with them before. Now it wants
a credit card number--
OK, for $25 including shipping I am getting a slotket so I can build a
system for a Celeron 466 I have here. Good.
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