By Paula R. Stern
July 25, 2005
"An army of asses led by a lion is vastly superior to an army of lions led by an ass."
- George Washington
I was there for the beginning and the end of the anti-disengagement rally last week. At Netivot, I walked away with anger and sadness and at Kfar Maimon, I drove away with pride and determination. The Israel that came out of Kfar Maimon is very different than the one that went into Netivot. Today, we are stronger, more dedicated, more sure of the path we have chosen, and more determined than ever that we must and will succeed.
At Netivot, we listened in growing shame to what our government was doing to quiet the voice of the people. Our own government, army and police were desecrating and twisting laws in order to be able to claim smaller opposition. In the end, their deeds were broadcast across the country. This is a government that will stop at nothing to suppress the legitimate and peaceful voice of opposition.
They will illegally reroute or cancel buses, threaten bus drivers, harass and delay drivers and perhaps their greatest sin of all is that they would even let an elderly man, the great Rav Avraham Shapira, walk in the heat of the day. Despite their attempts, tens of thousands arrived at Netivot.
At Kfar Maimon, what developed was a most amazing event within the moshav, almost separate from what was happening outside. If you want a glimpse of the country Israel will one day become, take a look at our youth, how they behaved, and what they did during the siege of Kfar Maimon.
In a world where too many teens are involved in drugs and drink, our youth spent their time learning, talking, singing and dancing. There were organized events for children, older men learning with boys, mothers watching their children play in beautiful parks. Everywhere, there were cultivated lawns and gardens and almost all houses and yards were full at night with tents and sleeping bags. We went to sleep and woke to a sea of sleeping bags pressed at all sides.
It was a wonder to watch our children. We raise them and then wonder how they will behave when we aren't around to hand out the discipline, and now I know. They behaved with decorum, with propriety. It was silly, but I was so impressed with the little things. They brush their teeth at night and in the morning. The boys yielded to the girls, making sure they had privacy and separate areas were set up voluntarily. Though many of their parents weren't there, they made them proud.
Compare the behavior of those within Kfar Maimon to those who were outside. Compare the message delivered by the leaders. Within the fence, the Yesha Council controlled the crowds and constantly reminded them that this was a non-violent demonstration. We will achieve our goals, they told us again and again, without violence, without destruction.
And, at the same time on the edges of Kfar Maimon, ever present with nothing to do, were 20,000 police and army forces. As we were hearing messages of determination and non-violence, Negev Police Commander Brigadier-General Nisso Shaham was telling others, "Let them burn. Use the cannons and batons. Hit them on their lower body and work the way you know how."
At one point, I approached a group of soldiers, hoping to take a picture of them talking to a few girls. I was amused, at first, thinking that young people will be young people, regardless of whether the clothes they wore were green uniforms or orange (representing the color of anti-disengagement). It would have been a picture of seven young people, technically on opposite sides of the fence, who still found common ground.
But that plan evaporated as I got closer and saw that two of the girls were crying as they tried to talk to the soldiers. The soldiers looked bored and simply ignored the girls. Worse, it was clear that they were on the opposite side of a physical fence that had become an emotional divide as well.
This is what Sharon has done. He has taken an army that is supposed to protect the people of Israel, and used it to besiege an Israeli city. He has put "them" on one side and "us" on the other. It won't be civil war because we won't allow it, but it is a divide that may take generations to heal.
Since the beginning of the anti-disengagement movement, I have steadfastly rejected using Holocaust imagery because I believe the Holocaust holds a unique place in our history. While I can say nothing about the Holocaust survivor making analogies because they have more direct knowledge than I do, I have urged friends who are my age or younger to refrain from any comparisons.
For the first time, this became impossible for me as I watched soldiers unrolling barbed wire around Kfar Maimon. Tens of thousands of Jews were surrounded by barbed wire and armed forces. In this case, those who were besieging us were not Nazi soldiers, but our own Jewish army sworn to protect us.
Since the founding of Israel, barbed wire has been used to protect Jewish communities, now it was used to keep us locked in. How can the image of that happening bring back any memory other than those related to the Holocaust? Add in the words of Nisso Shacham and you have a sense of the anger and hatred that Sharon's government has generated and directing our way. How can a Jew, even the Prime Minister of the Jewish State, use barbed wire this way?
Sharon has much to answer for and ultimately he will. What came out of Kfar Maimon is a determined, united front that was disciplined, well-behaved and non-violent. What besieged the tiny moshav were 20,000 army and police forces who were bored, abused, misdirected and unnecessarily redundant. The protesters promised non-violence and delivered it. The government was elected democratically, and delivered authoritarianism and treachery.
Finally, what must come out of Kfar Maimon is a call to the people and army of Israel. Do not let this man, this government, pervert all that we have created in 57 years! Yesterday, Shimon Peres called for the division of Jerusalem. Now we know what the Labor party wants. Anyone who votes for Labor in the next election will now know this is what their plan includes. But Sharon never had the decency to be honest and tell his supporters of the betrayal he had planned. Only lies. Peace and security were his watchwords, not capitulation and surrender.
It's time for elections now. Let Sharon run on a platform of disengagement without peace or security. Let Peres run on a platform to divide Jerusalem and forsake Hebron. And in the end, I predict that Israel will kick out this old generation of tired and failed men and vote in a new, younger government. Let the old ones retire before they succeed in dividing the army and the people and surrendering all. Israel needs courageous leaders with power and strength. Israel needs the integrity that we saw within Kfar Maimon, the determination, the love of Israel. The unity, the kindness was there in the people. This is Israel, and this is what should be leading us to real peace and security.
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