By Dr. Aaron Lerner
May 26, 2006
Years ago I attended a local panel discussion on the prospects for peace in the Middle East. The late Prof. Yeshayahu Leibowitz was one of the speakers, and he said something that both disappointed and angered me.
In the course of the discussion I cited the long history of conflict in our region, much of which has nothing to do with the Arab-Israeli conflict, and asked Leibowitz what he thought the long-term prospects were for peace in the Middle East. Leibowitz replied that it was clear that peace, any peace, would not last forever, and that the most one could expect was peace for a few years, possibly decades. He added, though, that Israel must make every sacrifice and take every risk in order to get a state of peace, no matter how fleeting.
There was no mystery about the difference in outlook between Leibowitz and myself: Being considerably closer to the grave than the cradle, the professor felt compelled to see peace in his time at any price, and for any period.
Today there are many who are willing to sacrifice our security in the desperate hope that we will enjoy a moment of quiet in return.
I say "moment" because it would be an insult to the intelligence of the people supporting these various schemes to assume that they are so incompetent in their analytical skills that they actually believe they are bringing long term peace and security via the programs they promote.
And in the case of Prime Minister Olmert's retreat idea, he isn't even claiming retreat will bring us peace -- just possibly a temporarily easier conflict (this despite the horrific results of the retreat from Gaza that indicate that retreat will only worsen the situation).
But is "peace for a moment" moral?
This attitude of sacrificing the welfare of future generations for the sake of short-term gain runs counter to Jewish tradition. The story is told (Ta'anit, 23a) of Honi Hame'agel, the Jewish Rip Van Winkle, who saw an old man planting a carob tree. He asked the man why he was working so hard, since the tree would bear fruit only in 70 years.
Replied the man: "I found a world with carobs because my forefathers planted them, and I say: I also plant a carob tree ... for my children after me."
We owe it to ourselves, to previous generations who sacrificed so much to get us here as well as to the unborn future generations, to resist the temptation to forfeit the future in return for what at best may be momentary relief.
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