Posted on 03/11/2002 4:00:52 PM PST by veronica
Under heavy security, a crowd estimated by organizers at more than 100,000 gathered in Tel Aviv's Kikar Rabin last night to call on Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, end the terror, and "rid the area of terrorists and [their] weapons."
Organized by the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip, the rally was intended to express a national consensus against terror and concessions to the PA. More than 1,600 police protected the protesters, whose rallying cry was "A strong people can defeat terror." The demonstration was the first of its kind in several months and the first to be held in Tel Aviv since July.
The rally came a day after the seven-man National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu Knesset faction unanimously decided to leave the government to protest Sharon's decision to discard the demand for seven days of quiet before the implementation of the Tenet plan and to permit PA Chairman Yasser Arafat to leave Ramallah.
Right-wing leaders, rabbis, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Shmuel Arad, and singer Ariel Zilber spoke before a sea of Israeli flags and pro-settlement banners.
The most highly anticipated speech of the night came from Brig.-Gen. (res.) Effie Eitam, who called the Jews an "eternal people" undeterred by the threat of suicide bombers or terror. Eitam, who is organizing a new religious Zionist political movement, called on Sharon to remember his roots and his desire to "hold the Temple Mount."
Only when Israel vanquishes the Palestinians, he said, "will we be able to extend our hand in peace, and they can sit with us as residents."
After heavy traffic delayed the start of the rally and after a brief scuffle between Herut activists and settlement supporters, the promised thousands filled the square.
"We are here because we have no choice but to go to war with the Palestinians, and the prime minister must know that. Either they kill us or we kill them," said protester Yisrael Harag, of Ramat Gan.
Some signs bobbing up and down around him called for redoubled strength to fight terror, while others read: "Arafat, our neighbor from hell," or "End Arab fascist occupation of Israel."
Rally organizers emphasized that the demonstration was apolitical in nature. Kikar Rabin - around which dozens of blocks were closed off to traffic - was chosen to facilitate the largest possible crowd, organizers said. The locale was also chosen to cater to the "cross-section of Israeli society that believes the only way to be strong is by defeating terror militarily and that we must make every effort to contain and destroy terror and the PA," said Adi Mintz, chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip.
That may seem like a big deal, but remember between 100 and 250 (depending on the forgery rate) reservists disagree. Aren't they more important, they get the same headlines (and almost as many threads as the teenage Mossad agents)? Don't forget to ping that Phil guy.
Now if this could be covered in the press outside Israel...or does the wailing & gnashing over a house being demolished by a few Rent-A-Palestinians (like they a few months back) warrant more press?
But it isn't fun for Israel and it isn't the way the West fights best. As Victor Davis Hanson has said, western armies are made up of citizens who have other things to do, not serfs and slaves for whom killing and maiming brighten up a diminished life under tyranny. So western armies tend to want to get it over with quickly; they tend to use overwhelming force and smash the threat till it can't get back up.
The perfect image is Indiana Jones staring for a moment at the fearsome-looking Arab warrior theatrically brandishing his sword, then just pulling out his gun and shooting the b*st*rd.
I wonder if problem holding up that kind of response is bewilderment over final goals. Go in, reoccupy the territories, exterminate terrorists vigorously - not hard for the IDF. What to do with the Palestinians next - real hard.
Israel doesn't want to govern them, it won't exterminate them even if it wants to, and the wall idea won't work. It would just mean "unofficial" terror groups that the PA "can't control" shooting Iranian missiles over the wall, and Israel taking the heat internationally when it responds.
When the US & friends takes out Iraq, it will change the situation in the Middle East fundamentally. Not only by in hard military-diplomatic terms but in the psychological effect. New possibilities - with Jordan, for example - might open up. I've read speculation that that's what Sharon is waiting for. I hope somewhere someone has a plan because the present situation is horrible. Someone described what is happening in Israel today as as 9-11 stretched out over every day of the year, 10-20 victims at a time.
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