Arafat and the Palestinian Arabs have a dream. They dream that all of the Arabs who ran away from Palestine (Israel) in 1947 and all of their descendents will return to occupy all of Palestine. The Arabs dream that all of the Jews will leave voluntarily or will be forced to leave Israel and that all of the land will be theirs.
To Arafat and his followers this dream is feasible; this dream can become a reality. All the dream needs for it to come true is time, patience and sacrifice. Arafat believes that Jews are weak and have no will to fight.
He believes that the world will eventually pressure the Jews to abandon Israel to the Arabs. He believes that the world will prevent Israel from responding forcefully to his aggression and random attacks. He is positive that he or his descendents will persevere and win. He has no doubts about his people's ability to wait and endure.
This dream of Arafat's is a powerful dream. It is all consuming and its progress to fruition becomes more evident with each passing day as the Israeli Jews abandon one outpost after another and cede control over one road after another to Arab dominion. The Israelis declare a road to be "too dangerous to travel on" and a community to be "too dangerous to visit".
Arafat sees the success of his planning and he feels his dream almost within his grasp. Israel reacts as he expects Israel to react. The world reacts as he expects the world to react. So, why should he abandon his dream?
It is against the backdrop of this terrorist dream that Israel is trying to negotiate a peace. The Israelis continue to misread Arafat's intentions; they misunderstand his goals; they are blind to his dream. Arafat and his fellow dreamers are not in a hurry. If they do not achieve their dream in this generation they will achieve it in the next generation or the generation following that. They have patience. It matters little if it takes another generation or two to achieve.
We must awaken Arafat and the Palestinians from their dream. We must get their attention and explain that their dream is a false dream. Their dream clashes with the reality of Israel's existence. It is an impossible dream, but they do not know it. We must not allow Arafat's dream to place us in a trance of ignorance and complacency. As long as we continue to ignore the existence of Arafat's dream, his dream will come, G-d forbid, ever closer to reality.
Our negotiators must keep this Arab dream in mind and must realize who they are negotiating with. Arafat will be satisfied to achieve his dream in little slices at each session. As long as Arafat and the Palestinian Arabs believe that their dream is possible, there can be no peace. Why should Arafat abandon a dream that his Israeli Leftist friends encourage him to believe possible? Why should he abandon a dream that he believes is almost within his grasp? Arafat also realizes that if he were to die, his fellow dreamers would keep his dream alive.
The Arabs have no reason to negotiate in good faith. Time, they believe, is on their side. Arafat believes that the Jews do not have the strength of character to withstand the tension of uncertainty. The Jews will eventually capitulate.
Many more will die on both sides unless Israel gets Arafat's attention and wakes him up with a mighty blow. Arafat has time and he has patience. He believes that the loss of Arab lives is an acceptable sacrifice for the common good. Jews do not have the luxury of being able to "accept" the loss of the lives of our children. To a Jew, every life is precious, even the lives of our enemies. To us, every life is an entire world and Arafat is aware of this Jewish "weakness". We must stop Arafat from sacrificing his children and our children on the altar of his false dream. We must force him to understand the reality that Israel will live on and has no intention of capitulating. Once he awakens, he may be able to realize what is realistic and what is not. Pray that Israel's leadership wakes up to the need to stop Arafat's dream from becoming a reality.
To Arafat and his followers this dream is feasible; this dream can become a reality. All the dream needs for it to come true is time, patience and sacrifice. Arafat believes that Jews are weak and have no will to fight.
He believes that the world will eventually pressure the Jews to abandon Israel to the Arabs. He believes that the world will prevent Israel from responding forcefully to his aggression and random attacks. He is positive that he or his descendents will persevere and win. He has no doubts about his people's ability to wait and endure.
This dream of Arafat's is a powerful dream. It is all consuming and its progress to fruition becomes more evident with each passing day as the Israeli Jews abandon one outpost after another and cede control over one road after another to Arab dominion. The Israelis declare a road to be "too dangerous to travel on" and a community to be "too dangerous to visit".
Arafat sees the success of his planning and he feels his dream almost within his grasp. Israel reacts as he expects Israel to react. The world reacts as he expects the world to react. So, why should he abandon his dream?
It is against the backdrop of this terrorist dream that Israel is trying to negotiate a peace. The Israelis continue to misread Arafat's intentions; they misunderstand his goals; they are blind to his dream. Arafat and his fellow dreamers are not in a hurry. If they do not achieve their dream in this generation they will achieve it in the next generation or the generation following that. They have patience. It matters little if it takes another generation or two to achieve.
We must awaken Arafat and the Palestinians from their dream. We must get their attention and explain that their dream is a false dream. Their dream clashes with the reality of Israel's existence. It is an impossible dream, but they do not know it. We must not allow Arafat's dream to place us in a trance of ignorance and complacency. As long as we continue to ignore the existence of Arafat's dream, his dream will come, G-d forbid, ever closer to reality.
Our negotiators must keep this Arab dream in mind and must realize who they are negotiating with. Arafat will be satisfied to achieve his dream in little slices at each session. As long as Arafat and the Palestinian Arabs believe that their dream is possible, there can be no peace. Why should Arafat abandon a dream that his Israeli Leftist friends encourage him to believe possible? Why should he abandon a dream that he believes is almost within his grasp? Arafat also realizes that if he were to die, his fellow dreamers would keep his dream alive.
The Arabs have no reason to negotiate in good faith. Time, they believe, is on their side. Arafat believes that the Jews do not have the strength of character to withstand the tension of uncertainty. The Jews will eventually capitulate.
Many more will die on both sides unless Israel gets Arafat's attention and wakes him up with a mighty blow. Arafat has time and he has patience. He believes that the loss of Arab lives is an acceptable sacrifice for the common good. Jews do not have the luxury of being able to "accept" the loss of the lives of our children. To a Jew, every life is precious, even the lives of our enemies. To us, every life is an entire world and Arafat is aware of this Jewish "weakness". We must stop Arafat from sacrificing his children and our children on the altar of his false dream. We must force him to understand the reality that Israel will live on and has no intention of capitulating. Once he awakens, he may be able to realize what is realistic and what is not. Pray that Israel's leadership wakes up to the need to stop Arafat's dream from becoming a reality.