Gestures

Gestures
September 27, 1996

David  Makovsky's  headline article in today's  Jerusalem
Post  is  titled:  US WANTS ISRAEL TO MAKE A  GESTURE  TO
DEFUSE  TENSION.  The first paragraph states:  "Secretary
of  State  Warren Christopher has asked   Prime  Minister
Binyamin  Netanyahu to take "concrete steps,"  after  the
premier  meets  meeting  with Palestinian  leader  Yassir
Arafat,  that  would end  the fighting AND  LEAD  TO  THE
RENEWAL  OF  NEGOTIATIONS ON HEBRON AS SOON  AS   SUNDAY,
diplomatic sources said."

      Bill Clinton's Secretary of State is looking for  a
GESTURE  from  Israel.  In other words, he  is  demanding
that  we capitulate - cave in to palestinian bullets,  in
order  to  allow us to continue down suicide  lane.   The
American  position follows a certain logic - acquiescence
easily  results in further debacle.  This is,  it  seems,
America's goal.  And the theater of the absurd plays on.

      Our  dead  are  not yet buried, the  wounded  still
hospitalized - the country is in shock.  Even the Israeli
left,  best  represented by the news media,  keep  asking
their interviewees, over and over again, `how do we  deal
with the fact that WE GAVE THEM THE WEAPONS THAT THEY ARE
USING  AGAINST  OUR  OWN SOLDIERS?!'.   This  morning  11
funerals  are being conducted - 11 young men whose  names
have been repeated on the news since yesterday night, who
died, not because of a 15 meter tunnel in Jerusalem,  but
because  Arafat's terrorist soldiers are still  convinced
that  using  violence is the best way  to  achieve  their
aims:  a  Judenrein Gaza, Shechem and Beit Lechem.   They
fighting  in  Gaza  by Kfar Dram and Netzarim  was  based
around a desire to see these two communities uprooted and
annihilated.  As it was in Shechem.  And in Shechem  they
almost succeeded.  Today's newspaper accounts report that
a  final  decision  was made by DEFENSE MINISTER  YITZHAK
MORDECHAI  TO EVACUATE OUR SOLDIERS FROM KEVER YOSEF  AND
ABANDON  THE  SITE  TO  ARAFAT.  Why  didn't  it  happen?
According  to  these  reports, Central  Region  Commander
General  Uzi  Dayan  superseded these  orders  and  later
convinced  the cabinet, meeting in special session  after
Bibi's return from Europe, not to abandon the site.   His
reasoning:   if  we  abandon  Kever  Yosef   because   of
palestinian warfare, this will be used as a precedent  to
force us out of other areas.

      And  he  is right - one hundred percent.  And  that
decision,  not  to abandon Joseph's Tomb, may  have  been
instrumental in other decisions, and in the tone used  to
convey  the  decisions.  According to a radio  report  at
11:45 this morning on Kol Yisrael, correspondent Yoni ben
Menachem  revealed that the Arabs have been  warned  that
Israel  regards recapture of parts of Shechem, especially
the  areas  near  Kever Yosef, as  a  viable  option,  to
protect  our interests in the city. The Arabs begged  for
another  chance  to  prove  that  they  can  control  the
situation,  and have subsequently placed the  city  under
curfew.

      Back  to  Warren's plea for gestures.  Is this  man
sane? Does he really believe that, following such a  show
of  warfare against Israel, anyone would consider turning
Hebron  over to Arafat?  The thoughts of what might  have
transpired had the `redeployment' in Hebron already  been
concluded, is intolerable.  Had the hills surrounding the
Jewish    Community    been   occupied    by    terrorist
sharpshooters,  the results could very easily  have  been
catastrophic.   I  think  it is clear  to  everyone  that
Hebron is no longer a subject under discussion.

     The Israeli government, sitting in its capacity as a
`security  cabinet'  has placed all  the  blame  for  the
events of the past two days squarely on the shoulders  of
Yassir  Arafat personally and the palestinian  authority.

Thank  G-d, they are starting to see the light,  starting
to  understand  that  the  peace  process  is  a  `piece'
process, starting to understand that we are dealing,  not
with partners, but with the equivalent of wild animals.
It is only a matter of time until the "Oslo Accords" explode,
finally, and conclusively.

      In  the  meantime, in Hebron, we are preparing  for
this week's holiday festivities, celebrating the festival
of  Succot.   On  Sunday and Monday  the  entire  Ma'arat
HaMachpela  will  be  open to Jewish visitors,  including
`Ohel  Yitzhak.'   On Monday afternoon a special  program
will take place in the Ma'ara courtyard, starting at 3:00
PM.   Next  Saturday night, following the  conclusion  of
Simchat Torah, Hebron will host `hakafot shniot' - a huge
dancing  festivity,  at the Avraham  Avinu  neighborhood.
This  event  will  be attended by Jews  from  around  the
country, and will top off the week-long events.

      Just  as  Hebron  will remain under  total  Israeli
control,  so  will  Jerusalem,  all  of  Jerusalem.   The
decision  to leave the Jerusalem tunnel open is the  only
gesture  that  Israel  can  possibly  make,  except  for,
perhaps,  one,  which is, to the best of my recollection,
too vulgar to express in words.