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Aliza Karp supports the rights of Jews to live in the cities and lands of their patriarchs and matriarchs.
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By Aliza Karp
June 12, 2006
Government public relations departments come up with some pretty good ways of making foul things smell sweet. The Disengagement Plan sounded so much more innocent than "Deportation and Destruction Plan". The phrase "painful concessions" sounds so righteous and good-hearted, when the "painful" part should truthfully be called "abuse of settlers" and the "concessions" part called "rewarding terrorism".
The latest buzzword is "Convergence". How practical and efficient! The Convergence Plan; or should it really be called the "Ghetto Mentality Plan"?
The Jewish authorities have not known what to do about the Arab population since the territories were first liberated in 1967. At that time, we could have given the Arabs a dollar each and sent them to one of their own countries. The Arabs would have been thrilled to get away with their lives. But the open-minded, good-will-towards-all-men government insisted the Arabs stay and play nice.
The problem then arose: if we are so open-minded, how are we going to keep all these people in our borders without making them full citizens? The notion of the Jews being the landlords and the Arabs being the serfs does not sit well with Jews. The fact that the Arabs would still be treated better in the Jewish country than in any Arab country was not enough justification to quell the anxiety associated with being a ruling class.
So, here we are, barely 60 years from the ghettos of Europe, and we are building a fence and moving into our self-imposed ghetto.
Prior to the Holocaust, the Jews endured such harassment that when they were told to move to the ghetto, they did so willingly. They knew it would be crowded and unsanitary, but at least they would be safe. The rest is history. The ghetto was a major facilitator for the extermination.
One could argue that hiding behind the security wall is different. Now, we have an army. But Hamas also has an army. The main difference between our army and that of Hamas is not the technology, it is the difference in the willingness to pull or to not pull the trigger.
The illusion that when we retreat the Arabs will calm down can no longer be comforting. The facts show that the Arabs who previously targeted the Gush Katif communities are now attacking cities inside the Green Line. The same can be expected following each retreat.
So, we can be pretty sure that when we are snuggled behind the security fence, we will still have deadly fireworks vaulting the wall. And if Hamasland becomes a legitimate state, they will be shooting more than Kassam rockets.
Behind the fence, the Jews will be the majority, but will the majority of Jews be alive?
The alternate plan would be to stay in the areas where the Jews are the minority. Give the Arabs the message that this is our land and we intend to live on it; show zero tolerance for Arab violence and treat the non-terrorist Arabs fairly without making them citizens.
The struggle would continue -- terror will not just disappear, it is something that is perpetual -- the quiet would have to be maintained, just as most things in this world need maintenance. But our chances for survival would be better than if we are cornered targets of Hamas. The Convergence Ghetto Mentality Plan seems like a quick fix for an era of peace and quiet, but it may very well lead to a similar peace and quiet that now reigns in the ghettos of Europe.
Views expressed by the author do not
necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.
 
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