First, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon speaks to the left-wing newspaper and tells them what they want to hear. Then, he clarifies his words for the right-wing media saying what they want to hear. Since then, journalists have had lots to discuss, giving all the different interpretations of what Sharon ?really? means.



The answer is simple and not speculative. While the discussion carries on about what actions Sharon will take in the future, the meaning to his words can be found in what he has done in the past, and what he continues to do.



Sharon is slowly turning the lights out. If he were to just flick the switch from on to off, everyone would scream, so he is using a dimmer.



Barely a month has passed since the destruction of Hilltop 26. Without proper cause, without proper procedures, without due warning, a special unit was dispatched to evict a widow and orphans from their home in a manner that was so evil, it defies categorization. And Sharon is watching. Except for the few, whom the public has been brainwashed into thinking are fanatics, no one has made a fuss. If the public can tolerate this, Sharon will go one step further and then one step further.



He made a temporary slip when he mentioned Shilo and Beit El and concessions in the same sentence, but the public calmed down when he said he only meant places ?like? the ones he mentioned. In other words: ?I didn?t mean half a dozen, I meant six.? And again the public is pacified.



It seems that Jews are not good at learning from past mistakes. In pre-war Germany, many Jews dropped everything and ran, because they could see what was coming. Others chose not to believe the warning signs, until it was too late. In hindsight, subsequent generations can say, how could they be so blind? But history is repeating itself. Not that we are faced with Nazi Germany, G-d forbid, but we are faced with great dangers and are not acknowledging them to the fullest extent. How can we be so blind?



We can be sure that PM Sharon supports a terrorist state in the midst of Eretz Yisroel. And we learn from his past actions that he will go after his goal with force and brutality. Meanwhile, everyone is happy. The left is happy because they hear the words ?painful concessions.? The right is happy, because they think the words are just political posturing, and the Arabs are happy, because they see they can up the ante.



Yes, the Arabs are also listening. The Lubavitcher Rebbe warned hundreds of times against the very talk of concessions. The Rebbe stated that talk of concessions, in and of itself, constitutes great danger, as it grants the terrorists hope and aspiration to continue their bloody work. The Rebbe?s many perceptions and predictions about the situation in Eretz Yisroel have been proven to be on target one hundred percent.



So, while politicians are hoping for and against what Sharon really means, the words spoken, regardless of the meaning, carry weight, deadly weight.



In 1973, as enemy troops amassed on the borders Eretz Yisroel, the Prime Minister chose to be diplomatic and not call up the reserves until after the fact, thereby causing unnecessary deaths. This very day, troops are amassing on our borders, albeit different kinds of troops, because the battlefield has changed. The enemies cannot beat us in conventional warfare, so they are amassing behind the front called the Road Map.



Would Sharon have ever gone into battle telling the enemy his battle plan? Would he ever tell the enemy where his troops are most vulnerable? Would he tell them that if they decide to proceed past a certain point, he would retreat?



The Road Map is the battlefield. It is very dangerous? especially for a country represented by a negotiator who begins by saying he is ready to make painful concessions.

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Aliza Karp writes about issues of concern to the Jewish world, including the Lubavitcher Rebbe?s perspective on defending Israel, with special focus on the Jewish community of Hebron.