Israeli Versus Arab Leaders
Unlike many Israeli leaders, who never tire of expressing their desire for “peace,” Arab leaders profess a desire for “peace and justice.” To this extent, these Arabs seems to stand on a higher moral level than their Israeli counterparts.
Also, Arab spokesmen frequently invoke the name of G-d in their quest to gain control of “Palestine,” i.e. the Land of Israel. Even if these Arabs have murder in their hearts, their appeal to G-d sanctifies His name and thereby furthers the Arab cause vis-à-vis Israel whose current leaders are unabashed secularists, not to say atheists.
These words may disturb some readers, but they go to the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
No one can deny that the Arabs have made enormous gains since Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem in 1977. Recall his speech in the Knesset, a speech broadcast to countless millions of people around the world. In the first ten sentences of that speech Sadat intoned the name of G-d ten times!
The question of causality aside, the fact remains that Egypt recovered the Sinai with its Alma oil fields and sophisticated airbases—a $17 billion infrastructure developed by Jews. All this Egypt obtained in exchange for a peace treaty which Sadat subsequently and scornfully called “a piece of paper.”
Turn, now, to Yasser Arafat and Oslo. Remember the “Gaza first” slogan? When Arafat triumphantly marched into Gaza, he spoke of the ultimate aims of the “Palestinians” and invoked the name of G-d on behalf of the Arab cause. Well, the Arabs now have complete control of Gaza and are on the way to gaining control of Judea and Samaria as well.
Recall the late King Hussein of Jordan. Again and again he called for “peace and justice” and intoned the name of G-d, whether speaking in Amman or in Washington. And lo and behold, the Rabin government not only gratuitously bestowed 330 square kilometers of Judea on the Kingdom of Jordan. The same godless government endowed Jordan with custodial rights on the Temple Mount!
Arabs, inspired by Allah and confident in the justice of their cause, advance; Jews longing for peace retreat.
Because Jews clamor only for “peace,” they make no demands on Arabs. Indeed, Israel’s government is ever making gratuitous concessions. This can only arouse Arab contempt and encourage them to make more demands, however outrageous. But Arabs are predisposed to making demands if only because they seek “justice.” And since Israel’s judiciary has designated Judea, Samaria, and Gaza “occupied” land, “justice” requires the return of this land to the Arabs!
But if, as eminent professors of law have shown, Judea, Samaria, and Gaza do not constitute “occupied territory,” the question of justice remains open.
Justice involves a relation between persons and things. In the present context, the persons are Arabs and Jews, while the things consist of land. Arab leaders vow they will not be satisfied until they possess all the Land of Israel; the Jews are satisfied with a mere strip of this land. The asymmetry is striking.
The Arab attitude, parading in terms of justice, actually precludes justice. But so does the Israeli attitude, which is silent about justice. Israelis are also silent about divine justice, according to which the entire Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Israeli Jews want only peace, for which they are willing to give Arabs land. But peace, unlike land, is not a tangible thing. The two are incommensurable. Peace can be revoked; land, once relinquished, is lost.
Israelis are looking for a common ground with their Arab adversaries. The Israelis would like to believe that Arabs (or Muslims), like themselves, fear violent death, hence war. But Arab suicide-bombers tell a different story. Besides, the Qu’ran praises the Muslim who “slays and is slain” for Allah (Sura 9:111). The point is that Muslims believe in paradise. Secular Jews don’t, while religious Jews cling to life. Another asymmetry.
Finally, the most significant asymmetry: Appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, Arabs actually reject the Torah’s conception of man’s creation in the image of G-d! They reject the concept of humanity. They regard “infidels” as subhuman—and none more so than Jews whom they deem descended from apes.
Three conclusions: First, it’s futile for Jews to negotiate with Arabs. Second, it’s suicidal to do so. Third, no Israeli leader has the courage to say this.
