Posted on 07/07/2006 8:26:54 AM PDT by Nachum
Nationalist camp leaders warn that the right-wing had better not make the same mistake twice. "This time," they declare, "we have to say, 'We told you so.'"
Nationalist camp commentator and journalist Haggai Segal and the Rabbi of Ofrah, Avi Gisser, are the first to send out the message.
Segal, broadcasting on his Knesset Channel TV show and writing in his weekly column in B'Sheva, says the right-wing must not be as modest as it was when the PA broke out the Oslo War in late 2000.
"The right-wing at the time," Segal writes in B'Sheva, "criminally decreed upon itself a form of modesty. It felt that it would be better to show 'gallantry of victors' (woe unto such victories), and let the new reality speak for itself. There was a naive belief that the Minister of History would assume responsibility for sweeping all the false peace prophets into his garbage bin. The right-wingers were innocent enough to believe that those false prophets would hide out in shame. That's why not one official or important source outside of Yesha said the little words, 'We told you so.' If someone ever tried to say this, he would immediately receive a kick under the table."
"This nobility cost the right-wing dearly," Segal continues. "After a few months of shock, the leftists again reared their heads. Instead of cowering apologetically in their corners in mourning and shame, they started pointing an accusatory finger at Yesha. Their publicists began brazenly rewriting history, formulating strange theories in which the Oslo War was actually Israel's fault. Just this past week, one of the main Oslo champions, Ben Caspit of Maariv, wrote, 'I'm not certain that Oslo would have been so catastrophic, had we not helped the agreement to collapse by building more settlements.'"
"Now, with another left-wing initiative, the insane Disengagement plan, going up in flames, we see again a left-wing trend to evade responsibility," Segal writes, noting a host of left-wing figures who have been saying that they always opposed a unilateral move and warned that it would strengthen Hamas, etc. "We're beginning to think that at least a third of the Kfar Maimon protestors [tens of thousands of people who came to protest and possibly even to physically stop the withdrawal from Gaza - ed.] were left-wingers..."
Segal, a resident of Ofrah, then continues, "In light of the danger that this chutzpah-like narrative will begin to attract attention, and mainly because of the danger that the lessons of the Disengagement might not prevent a further withdrawal from Judea and Samaria, Rabbi Avi Gisser of Ofrah declared this week the opening of the 'We Told You So' campaign. He is not one of the most vocal or raucous spokesmen in the right-wing, but he has reached the conclusion that there is no other choice. He feels that the right-wing must not again fall for the sweet illusion that the left-wingers will recognize their folly and not repeat it. He took out a large ad in Haaretz this week, declaring, 'We told you so - Whoever runs away from Gaza, Gaza will run after him. Whoever disengages and converges, terrorism will find a way to re-engage with him.'
"Part 2 of the ad will be published this coming Sunday. But it's not so clear why this is a one-man initiative. Instead of waiting for the last minute to protest and run to the streets, it would be better to actualize now the bitter fruits of the Disengagement and wage a strong attack on the intention to Realign or Converge or Withdraw any further. It is incumbent upon us now to scream out publicly wherever possible, 'We Told You So!' Only in this way can we arouse a genuine public debate over which camp is right - the right or the left, the orange or the blue."
"The scare-stories of the Likud are well-known," Rabin said in 1995 in the above recording. "Why, they also promised us Katyushas from Gaza. It's already a year that the Gaza Strip is mostly under the control of the Palestinian Authority - and there wasn't a Katyusha and there won't be any..."
Rabin's words:
"The scare-stories of the Likud are well-known," Rabin said in 1995 in the above recording. "Why, they also promised us Katyushas from Gaza. It's already a year that the Gaza Strip is mostly under the control of the Palestinian Authority - and there wasn't a Katyusha and there won't be any..."
Someone should explain something about cutting and running to the DemocRATs.
So far Israel has responded to this latest misconduct in a proper manner. Indeed, they would be justified in retaking control of the entire strip. The Palestinian electorate, having voted in Hamas, has only themselves to blame.
If Hamas doesn't wise up, it may be time to begin discussions with either Egypt or the Arab League...or both.
-Eric
Sharon gave the Palestinians the rope to hang themselves.
... and they did! (I love it when a plan comes together)
Is your spite over the Jews that made their homes in Gaza making you blind to see what was lost in moving them out of their homes?
Is your spite over the Jews that made their homes in Gaza making you blind to see what was lost in moving them out of their homes?They moved there to block the potential return of the land to Egypt or a Palestinian state. They never should have been there in the first place (though the IDF certainly did belong there, and obviously still does). That is the point, not the cost of their removal.
-Eric
We will have to agree to disagree. There were more reasons to move into Gaza than to merely block the Egyptians. As for the "cost", it can be measured in the dead and injured, ruined lives, and lost unity. That is the "point" my friend.
Hit the nail on the head - ping!
Why "should they have never been there in the first place"?
Your attempt at evenhandedness? Conceding that Israel has a right to fight back?
Is Israel to "fight back", to be "defensive", in perpetuity.
How many times are the Arabs allowed to attack Israel risk free?
Gaza had a Jewish presence prior to being forced to flee in the 1948 war. It should no more be Judenfrei then Tel Aviv.
I believe what you call settlers are pioneers.
If you don't like that, then consider the settlers punishment. For attacking Israel the Arabs get more and more settlers.
When Israel removed the punishment, the Arabs were not thankful and strove to do better, they saw it as Israel weakness.
They attacked. Again.
By your solution, the IDF is allowed to respond.....and then wait for the next and the next and the next....attack.
And the Arabs need never stop because they only need to win once while Israel can never win. A formula to endless war- what we have had for 58 years.
But why would you want to take control of that awful mess of poverty, corruption, and hatefulness?
I think the only solution may be to sweep the inhabitants of Gaza into Egypt.
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"The right-wing at the time," Segal writes in B'Sheva, "criminally decreed upon itself a form of modesty. It felt that it would be better to show 'gallantry of victors' (woe unto such victories), and let the new reality speak for itself. There was a naive belief that the Minister of History would assume responsibility for sweeping all the false peace prophets into his garbage bin. The right-wingers were innocent enough to believe that those false prophets would hide out in shame. That's why not one official or important source outside of Yesha said the little words, 'We told you so.' If someone ever tried to say this, he would immediately receive a kick under the table." ..."The scare-stories of the Likud are well-known," Rabin said in 1995 in the above recording. "Why, they also promised us Katyushas from Gaza. It's already a year that the Gaza Strip is mostly under the control of the Palestinian Authority - and there wasn't a Katyusha and there won't be any..."So, which was it? Were there right wing scare stories, or was the right wing silent? This is just op-ed historical revisionism.
I think the only solution may be to sweep the inhabitants of Gaza into Egypt.A million people? Leaving aside the fact that the world would (correctly) consider that "ethnic cleansing", wouldn't it make more sense, for both Egypt and Israel, for Egypt to simply reassume sovereignty over, and responsibility for, the Gaza Strip?
-Eric
That is never going to happen unless Israel makes it happen. Israel is already on the world's sh*-list, so what is one more 'sin'?
Well, I admit that my suggestion was on the extreme side.Fair enough, but some posters here propose exactly that.
My point was that for security reasons, Egypt would prefer taking over Gaza than having a million refugees dumped over the border. Keep in mind that Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt, and with Jordan, where some propose "transferring" the Palestinian residents of the West Bank.
At this point, an Arab Leage peacekeeping force may be more likely than any of those scenarios.
-Eric
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