Since common sense is apparently such a rare item, especially these days, perhaps it should be called uncommon sense. What used to pass for common sense was a combination of the hard reality facing us, an understanding of the consequences of speech and behavior and an ability to be moderate, circumspect and cautious. The reason that this type of common sense is now so uncommon is that the behavior of large sections of the Israeli public defies common sense. There is simply a refusal on the part of many here to face the reality of our problems. As in the past half-century, we will apparently survive and triumph, almost in spite of ourselves.
Common sense should tell us that Arafat is going to continue to be Arafat. He is not a partner to anyone but Yasser Arafat. The speech he delivered at the United Nations Assembly in New York this past week is the same speech that he delivered after the Yom Kippur War, when he placed his gun on the podium. We are left to our favorite political parlor game - negotiating with ourselves. Therefore we now have the Peres peace plan, the Peres-Sharon peace plan, the plan for "unilateral separation" by Barak, the Ramon-Ben-Ami plan for the security fence and the plans of yet other politicians waiting in the wings. Whatever happened to the Beilin-Abu Mazen plan? The problem is that we have yet to hear of an Arafat plan that does not demand the effective destruction of the State of Israel.
There will be a Colin Powell plan that will follow the Mitchell Plan that followed the Clinton plan that was preceded by the James Baker plan that was based on the Rogers plan. However, common sense tells us that all of these plans are nonsense as long as Arafat does not put away that gun. Until then, I have a novel suggestion for all of the potential peace planners. Just keep quiet and stop negotiating amongst yourselves. Every "painful concession" that you publicly propose in your own internal, but very public, negotiations is gobbled up by Arafat, and then by the world generally, as a given and negotiations then have to begin at an even higher plane. So, in the name of common sense, just keep quiet for awhile and let things sort themselves out somehow.
And where is the common sense of the Bnei Brak city fathers in renaming Herzl Street ?Harav Shach Street?? Would that have been the wishes of Rav Shach? In his will, the great rabbi asked only that Mishna be studied on behalf of his soul. There was no mention in it of renaming or naming any streets in his honor. Anyone who knew him, knows how foreign such an "honor" would be to his soul and personality. And what about the effect that such an action has upon the broad Israeli public? Will it make that public more respectful of Rav Shach and everything he stood for or will it have the opposite effect? Will more Jews be attracted to Torah learning and observance by such renaming behavior? Does removing Herzl's name in any way change the facts of history and the story of the Jewish people over the last century? Of course, political street-naming is part of the general malaise of the Israeli narrow-focused party patronage system. How did Beilinson Hospital all of a sudden become Rabin Medical Center or Yehuda HaLevi street in Jerusalem become Rechov Ussishkin? Yet, I have always hoped that those who claim to represent Torah in our political system would try to rise above the squalor of the process and be an example of leadership and wisdom, selflessness and love of Israel. I guess that by now common sense should tell me that we in the Torah camp still have a long way to go in that direction.
And what about our labor unions and leaders? Our economy is deep in the tank, hundreds of thousands of Israelis are unemployed, businesses are failing, tourism is dead - is this not the perfect time for the longshoremen, customs workers, social security employees and the exalted university senior professors all to go on strike? All the rest of us, the long-suffering public, the students at the universities, the passengers at the airport, the poor and defenseless who rely on the government offices for help and assistance, are left to be crippled and abused by the bullies of the labor unions. As the economy totters on the edge of a breakdown, is there no common sense left to say once and for all - "boys, enough is enough!"? That would require some common sense, but, as I mentioned above, it is a very rare commodity.
Let us not despair. Let us just demand a modicum of common sense in our public and private lives.
Shabbat Shalom.
--------------------------
Originally published in the Jerusalem Post. The article is posted with permission of the author.
Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com ).
Common sense should tell us that Arafat is going to continue to be Arafat. He is not a partner to anyone but Yasser Arafat. The speech he delivered at the United Nations Assembly in New York this past week is the same speech that he delivered after the Yom Kippur War, when he placed his gun on the podium. We are left to our favorite political parlor game - negotiating with ourselves. Therefore we now have the Peres peace plan, the Peres-Sharon peace plan, the plan for "unilateral separation" by Barak, the Ramon-Ben-Ami plan for the security fence and the plans of yet other politicians waiting in the wings. Whatever happened to the Beilin-Abu Mazen plan? The problem is that we have yet to hear of an Arafat plan that does not demand the effective destruction of the State of Israel.
There will be a Colin Powell plan that will follow the Mitchell Plan that followed the Clinton plan that was preceded by the James Baker plan that was based on the Rogers plan. However, common sense tells us that all of these plans are nonsense as long as Arafat does not put away that gun. Until then, I have a novel suggestion for all of the potential peace planners. Just keep quiet and stop negotiating amongst yourselves. Every "painful concession" that you publicly propose in your own internal, but very public, negotiations is gobbled up by Arafat, and then by the world generally, as a given and negotiations then have to begin at an even higher plane. So, in the name of common sense, just keep quiet for awhile and let things sort themselves out somehow.
And where is the common sense of the Bnei Brak city fathers in renaming Herzl Street ?Harav Shach Street?? Would that have been the wishes of Rav Shach? In his will, the great rabbi asked only that Mishna be studied on behalf of his soul. There was no mention in it of renaming or naming any streets in his honor. Anyone who knew him, knows how foreign such an "honor" would be to his soul and personality. And what about the effect that such an action has upon the broad Israeli public? Will it make that public more respectful of Rav Shach and everything he stood for or will it have the opposite effect? Will more Jews be attracted to Torah learning and observance by such renaming behavior? Does removing Herzl's name in any way change the facts of history and the story of the Jewish people over the last century? Of course, political street-naming is part of the general malaise of the Israeli narrow-focused party patronage system. How did Beilinson Hospital all of a sudden become Rabin Medical Center or Yehuda HaLevi street in Jerusalem become Rechov Ussishkin? Yet, I have always hoped that those who claim to represent Torah in our political system would try to rise above the squalor of the process and be an example of leadership and wisdom, selflessness and love of Israel. I guess that by now common sense should tell me that we in the Torah camp still have a long way to go in that direction.
And what about our labor unions and leaders? Our economy is deep in the tank, hundreds of thousands of Israelis are unemployed, businesses are failing, tourism is dead - is this not the perfect time for the longshoremen, customs workers, social security employees and the exalted university senior professors all to go on strike? All the rest of us, the long-suffering public, the students at the universities, the passengers at the airport, the poor and defenseless who rely on the government offices for help and assistance, are left to be crippled and abused by the bullies of the labor unions. As the economy totters on the edge of a breakdown, is there no common sense left to say once and for all - "boys, enough is enough!"? That would require some common sense, but, as I mentioned above, it is a very rare commodity.
Let us not despair. Let us just demand a modicum of common sense in our public and private lives.
Shabbat Shalom.
--------------------------
Originally published in the Jerusalem Post. The article is posted with permission of the author.
Rabbi Berel Wein, noted author and lecturer, is founder of the Destiny Foundation, dedicated to educating Jews about their historical and ethical heritage (JewishDestiny.com ).