My Vote for "Persons of the Year"

Time Magazine the other day made its annual selection for “Persons of the Year”, conferring the honor on Bill and Melinda Gates and rocker Bono because of their philanthropic work on behalf of others.

With all due respect to the editors at the venerable news magazine, I think they overlooked the real heroes of 2005 – the Jews of Gush Katif and northern Samaria, who were expelled from their homes this past summer.

The noble example they set of faith, commitment and determination, continues to resonate throughout society. Despite being so callously thrown off their land, many have tapped deep inner resources of strength, marshalling the energy and fortitude to begin to rebuild their shattered lives and those of their destroyed communities.

Their government has abandoned them, the media overlooks them, but the Jews formerly of Gush Katif and northern Samaria continue to inspire and to motivate us all.

Writing checks and raising awareness for good causes is nice – but also fairly common. What is far less common is to espouse the pioneering spirit exemplified by Gush Katif’s Jews – and to continue to live by it even after enduring a major setback.

And for that alone, the men and women in Orange deserve our thanks, and our recognition.

Fence Fantasies

Barely 24 hours had passed since Monday’s Palestinian suicide attack murdered 5 Israelis in Netanya, but that didn’t stop a leading left-wing figure from calling for further surrender to the terrorists.

Speaking to a group of students, former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon, who is running in the Labor Party primaries, called for the uprooting of all Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria that lie beyond the security fence currently being constructed by Israel. Moreover, he asserted, it is “immoral” for Israeli soldiers to be defending these areas since they will be handed over to the Palestinians anyway.

It is hard to decide what is more troubling about these comments – their timing, their content or the person who said them.

Coming so soon after a lethal suicide attack, Ayalon’s remarks will only reinforce the terrorists’ belief that violence will break Israel’s spirit and result in further withdrawals.

In addition, they back up what so many observers have been saying for so long – that the left will inevitably try to transform the security fence into a political border, as a means of effectively transferring some 95% of the territories to the Palestinians.

Lastly, these remarks come from a man who until recently was charged with the task of defending all of Israel’s citizens – including those “settlers” who live beyond the fence. For him to suggest that it is “immoral” to protect them only confers legitimacy upon those who seek their demise.

The bottom line here is that anyone who thought the security fence would only be a “temporary” measure, and would not necessarily create political facts on the ground, should wake up and start smelling Ayalon’s coffee.

His remarks should serve to dash any fantasies people may have been entertaining about the true nature of the fence which, though it might be saving lives in the short-term, will only serve to create a Palestinian state that will threaten Israel’s existence in the long run.

On the Cease-Fire Front

Remember the much-hailed “cease-fire” declared by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen)?

Well, here is the latest from the cease-fire front:

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired a Kassam rocket at the Jewish community of Gadid in Gush Katif last night (Tuesday). Fortunately, the rocket landed in between two homes, so no one was injured in the assault, though there was some damage reportedly caused.

Ironically enough, the attack took place during a meeting between Abbas and Israel’s Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz aimed at finalizing the transfer of additional territory to Palestinian control.

Even more ironic, however, were Mofaz’ remarks at a press conference held after the meeting, in which he told reporters that, “It will be difficult to advance on the political plane if there is no security for Israeli citizens.”

As yesterday’s attack (which was preceded by numerous others, such as the shooting incident in Hebron on Monday which wounded two Israeli border policemen, or the recent suicide bombing in Tel Aviv) should make clear, we are a still very long way from being able to say that there is “security for Israeli citizens”.

Nonetheless, that doesn’t seem to deter the Government from pressing forward. In last night’s discussions, Mofaz reportedly agreed to turn Jericho over to the Palestinians as early as this evening, to be followed in the coming days by the city of Tulkarem.

So once again, the Palestinians see that there is no price to be paid for their ongoing resort to violence. This will likely lead them to conclude that it is precisely the bloodshed that is compelling Israel to retreat.

And as the events of the past decade have shown time and again, withdrawing under fire only invites still more aggression. It’s about time that Israel’s leadership finally grasped this most basic of lessons.

Raining on the Peace Parade

Welcome to Ceasefire-Land, where the Palestinians talk about peace even as they continue shooting at Jews.

Just hours after Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) yesterday declared an end to violence at the summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Palestinian terrorists opened fire at an Israeli army checkpoint in northern Samaria.

I guess they didn’t get the memo.

Then, late yesterday evening, the army announced the arrest of a Palestinian terrorist from Abu Mazen’s own Fatah faction who was planning to carry out a bomb attack against Israelis near Jenin.

Shortly thereafter, Palestinian gunmen fired at an IDF outpost near the Jewish village of Har Bracha, on the outskirts of Shechem (Nablus).

Earlier today, Palestinians opened fire on Israeli soldiers near the village of Kadim in northern Samaria, a Hamas terrorist near the Kissufim junction in Gaza was killed as he tried to fire a rocket at an Israeli vehicle, and an Israeli was injured by rock-throwing Palestinians northwest of Ramallah.

Call me a cynic, but I thought that a “ceasefire” meant that the terrorists would actually, well, cease to fire. Of course, that has yet to occur.

But don’t expect to read about the any of this in your friendly, neighborhood newspaper, as the last thing the mainstream media wants is to rain on the peace parade that began at yesterday’s summit.

But don’t be fooled by all the pageantry and handshakes. What counts is not what the Palestinians promise, but what they do. And thus far, they have continued to shoot. Stay tuned.

The Real Shimon Peres

After decades of artifice, Israelis and people around the world yesterday finally got to see the real Shimon Peres.

With a straight face and a dour demeanor, Peres intoned about the need “to put country before party”, thereby seeking to explain his dramatic decision to leave the Labor Party and back Ariel Sharon for Prime Minister.

But those words are merely an empty facade, a transparent ruse that no one can take seriously.

And here is why: it was just two weeks ago that Peres sought to be elected Chairman of Labor, and its candidate for Prime Minister, in the party’s primaries.

In other words – had Peres won that vote, rather than enduring an embarrassing defeat to Amir Peretz – he would now be running against Sharon in the upcoming election.

But because he lost, and Peretz refused to guarantee him a safe slot on Labor’s Knesset list, Peres was left with no choice but to cut and bolt, throwing his support behind Sharon in the hopes of salvaging his own political future.

So, you see, it has everything to do with power, and very little, in fact, to do with principle.

“Country before party”? Hardly. It was more like “Peres before party”.

And that, at the end of the day, is what the real Shimon Peres is truly all about.