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Ellen W. Horowitz and her family live on the Golan Heights. She is a
painter, columnist, and author of .
website: http://www.artfromzion.com
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By Ellen W. Horowitz
February 1, 2006
"Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and slavery out of the most extreme liberty." -- Plato
Please world, spare me the shocking reactions and earthshaking headline stuff. I don't think the average Israeli man or woman in the street was very surprised, nor was your average international diplomat. Surely, President George Bush and members of the US and Israeli governments should wipe that astonished look off of their faces.
After all, for more than a decade, Israeli prime ministers, US presidents, and members of the National Security Council, the US Department of State, the CIA and the Palestinian Authority have given their ears to celebrated political consultants like Professor Ian Lustick of the University of Pennsylvania, and his idea that "there must be elections including Hamas."
The popularity of Hamas and the Palestinian street's overwhelming approval of violent attacks against Israel was well known. This was no earthquake. But perhaps you felt the tremors resulting from the bursting of bloated myths of peace, which had been concocted by delusional politicians and perpetuated by a calculating media and deceptive pollsters.
Banner headlines at CNN.com may howl, "Hamas win clouds peace process", but in fact, it appears that the clouds were lifted temporarily so we could catch a glimpse of the truth. But not to worry, because as soon as the boys in green switch from their headbands and fiery displays to gray flannel and silk ties, all distress will be allayed and denial will be restored to its very improper place - until the next terrorist atrocity.
Not that it would have made any difference if Fatah would have won. The fine art of discerning the subtle differences between various terror groups in the Middle East may simply boil down to the question of who hates Jews, life and G-d more - the secular Arab terrorist or the Islamic fundamentalist one.
Former peanut farmer and US President Jimmy Carter professed that the elections were "completely honest, completely fair, completely safe and without violence."
True enough, but the results are completely evil.
Although Mustapha Barghouti, a candidate on the Independent Palestinian List, would beg to differ with me; he insisted that the voting was "pure and democratic" and that "Palestine was teaching the Middle East a lesson in democracy and elections."
How a fair and purely democratic process could result in something so sinister may cross the eyes of many modern champions of liberty, but I'm sure that the leaders of Hamas will waste no time in formulating the kind of democratic system that suits their blood-thirsty constituency.
Perhaps they'll take a hint from the18th century French philosopher and anti-Semite Voltaire, who said, "The ideal form of government is democracy tempered with assassination."
Meanwhile, Israel's very own distorted visionary, philosopher extraordinaire, and failed political leader, Shimon Peres, is already hinting that the Jewish State can play peace with Hamas.
It's interesting to note that last April, Newsweek asked Mr. Peres the following: Can you imagine a day when you're negotiating peace with Hamas?
Peres replied, "You know, if a tiger will become a cat, you should recognize that fact."
It seems that Voltaire had something to say about that too: "Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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