I must admit that I seem to be developing a strange weakness in my later years: an unexplained belief that a tremendous crime or atrocity by the PLO is sufficient to persuade the Israeli public, and the Oslo Camp in particular, that Oslo is dead, that it was a huge mega-error to begin with and that the only choice for the country is to tear it up and impose R&D (Re-Occupation and Denazification) on the Palestinians. Each time Jews were mass murdered by PLO ?activists? or by the Hamas wing of the Meretz party, amidst the horror I would also breath a sigh of relief and think that at least now - at last - the Osloids will come to their senses and the country will return to sanity. After each bus bombing or similar atrocity, I would come onto the campus with eyes wide in expectation of all of the signs of an awakening. I would read Haaretz newspaper, expecting to see outpourings of columns about how wrong we have been all along.
All in vain.
It goes without saying that nothing of the kind would ever happen. Israeli Leftists would inevitably pour out their bleating in the press and the campus Left would reassert itself, all insisting that the Left had never been as correct as it is now. The only error, according to the assorted leftists, was in not going far enough down the Oslo road. In fact, every act of violence and nazism by the PLO proved how devoted the PLO and the Israeli Left are to peace. If only the settlements would be removed and the "occupation" ended once and for all, then the Middle East would turn into a gentle pool of pink lemonade.
Alas, I must confess that I did it again this week. When Israel captured the PLO's Ship of Death, carrying 80 tons of missiles, shells, mortars and other weapons, I was convinced that this time the nature of Oslo was undeniable, even for the most obstinate Oslo Believer. Here were the weapons spread out on the docks for all to see. Here was the proof that Arafat and the PLO itself were directing the terror, that they would never comply with any Oslo-like Accord, that the PLO was planning a huge escalation of violence. Here was the proof that Israeli niceness and offers of concessions and compromise were interpreted by the PLO as signs of weakness, to be exploited through escalating terror and violence. Here was the proof, if any were still needed, that the PLO had no interest in any state as a framework to pursue the welfare and well-being of the Palestinian people, but rather solely as a base from which to launch attacks on Israel. Here was the proof that any ?suffering? of Palestinians was hardly due to Israeli ?closures? or sanctions, but was due to the PLO using its funds to amass weapons of terror and aggression.
Yet, apparently, Israel's Left would pursue appeasing the PLO even after the PLO would put them in concentration camps. Within moments of the capture of the PLO's Ship of Death, the Oslo Love Boat, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and his henchmen were out in force to explain why nothing had changed. Israel was still seeking to hold ?talks? with the PLO to achieve new agreements, which no doubt the PLO would honor and with which it would comply. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon muttered some rhetoric, but did not toss Shimon Peres into prison, while the military brass were already issuing statements congratulating the PLO on the reduced level of atrocities, stating that a few more such days of tranquility and Israel can start to implement the Mitchell Commission appeasements (Haaretz January 9).
Haaretz's columnists then took up their usual role as the PLO's mouthpieces, repeating each and every lie of His Ugliness, Yasser Arafat. First of all, they reported, it was not certain that the PLO had organized the Ship of Death, maybe it was the Hizbullah. Maybe Arafat did not know about it and it was renegade PLO lower officials. Maybe Iran was not really involved, only some corrupt lower officials there who accepted some payoffs.
Then along comes author David Grossman, now the most radical of Israel's Literary Left. While even A.B. Yehoshua this past week suddenly ?hates Arafat? after decades of slavishly serving his interests and Amos Oz is keeping an embarrassed low profile, David Grossman wrote, in Haaretz, that of course it was understandable that the PLO should use its resources to import a Ship of Death, in violation of all Oslo Agreements and as an act of war, because, after all, the Palestinians were still under ?occupation,? that most heinous of all crimes. Therefore, according to Grossman, the only proper response to the Ship of Death is to ethnically cleanse the West Bank and Gaza of Jews and turn the ?territories? over to the PLO with no quid pro quo. Israel must respond to the PLO's Ship of Death through capitulation and self-annihilation, as usual. David Grossman says that he sees no difference whatsoever between the PLO bringing in its Ship of Death to massacre Jews and the Zionists smuggling in arms and illegal refugees to drive out the Brits before 1948 and to build their state. In fact, I suspect he sees no difference between the PLO's Ship of Death and those nice little boats at Small World in Disneyland.
Finally, Oslo faithful Yossi Beilin and the PLO's parliamentary contingent in the Knesset all agree that the Ship of Death just proves how correct they have been all along and how Israeli concessions to the PLO need to be accelerated.
I guess I am just getting old. Once again, I succumbed to the temptation to think that this time the Oslo Camp would collapse. Like Fukayama, who keeps predicting the ?End of History?, I keep expecting the ?End of Oslo,? but we both are wrong.
-----------------------------
Dr. Steven Plaut teaches at the Graduate School of Business, University of Haifa, Israel.
All in vain.
It goes without saying that nothing of the kind would ever happen. Israeli Leftists would inevitably pour out their bleating in the press and the campus Left would reassert itself, all insisting that the Left had never been as correct as it is now. The only error, according to the assorted leftists, was in not going far enough down the Oslo road. In fact, every act of violence and nazism by the PLO proved how devoted the PLO and the Israeli Left are to peace. If only the settlements would be removed and the "occupation" ended once and for all, then the Middle East would turn into a gentle pool of pink lemonade.
Alas, I must confess that I did it again this week. When Israel captured the PLO's Ship of Death, carrying 80 tons of missiles, shells, mortars and other weapons, I was convinced that this time the nature of Oslo was undeniable, even for the most obstinate Oslo Believer. Here were the weapons spread out on the docks for all to see. Here was the proof that Arafat and the PLO itself were directing the terror, that they would never comply with any Oslo-like Accord, that the PLO was planning a huge escalation of violence. Here was the proof that Israeli niceness and offers of concessions and compromise were interpreted by the PLO as signs of weakness, to be exploited through escalating terror and violence. Here was the proof, if any were still needed, that the PLO had no interest in any state as a framework to pursue the welfare and well-being of the Palestinian people, but rather solely as a base from which to launch attacks on Israel. Here was the proof that any ?suffering? of Palestinians was hardly due to Israeli ?closures? or sanctions, but was due to the PLO using its funds to amass weapons of terror and aggression.
Yet, apparently, Israel's Left would pursue appeasing the PLO even after the PLO would put them in concentration camps. Within moments of the capture of the PLO's Ship of Death, the Oslo Love Boat, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and his henchmen were out in force to explain why nothing had changed. Israel was still seeking to hold ?talks? with the PLO to achieve new agreements, which no doubt the PLO would honor and with which it would comply. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon muttered some rhetoric, but did not toss Shimon Peres into prison, while the military brass were already issuing statements congratulating the PLO on the reduced level of atrocities, stating that a few more such days of tranquility and Israel can start to implement the Mitchell Commission appeasements (Haaretz January 9).
Haaretz's columnists then took up their usual role as the PLO's mouthpieces, repeating each and every lie of His Ugliness, Yasser Arafat. First of all, they reported, it was not certain that the PLO had organized the Ship of Death, maybe it was the Hizbullah. Maybe Arafat did not know about it and it was renegade PLO lower officials. Maybe Iran was not really involved, only some corrupt lower officials there who accepted some payoffs.
Then along comes author David Grossman, now the most radical of Israel's Literary Left. While even A.B. Yehoshua this past week suddenly ?hates Arafat? after decades of slavishly serving his interests and Amos Oz is keeping an embarrassed low profile, David Grossman wrote, in Haaretz, that of course it was understandable that the PLO should use its resources to import a Ship of Death, in violation of all Oslo Agreements and as an act of war, because, after all, the Palestinians were still under ?occupation,? that most heinous of all crimes. Therefore, according to Grossman, the only proper response to the Ship of Death is to ethnically cleanse the West Bank and Gaza of Jews and turn the ?territories? over to the PLO with no quid pro quo. Israel must respond to the PLO's Ship of Death through capitulation and self-annihilation, as usual. David Grossman says that he sees no difference whatsoever between the PLO bringing in its Ship of Death to massacre Jews and the Zionists smuggling in arms and illegal refugees to drive out the Brits before 1948 and to build their state. In fact, I suspect he sees no difference between the PLO's Ship of Death and those nice little boats at Small World in Disneyland.
Finally, Oslo faithful Yossi Beilin and the PLO's parliamentary contingent in the Knesset all agree that the Ship of Death just proves how correct they have been all along and how Israeli concessions to the PLO need to be accelerated.
I guess I am just getting old. Once again, I succumbed to the temptation to think that this time the Oslo Camp would collapse. Like Fukayama, who keeps predicting the ?End of History?, I keep expecting the ?End of Oslo,? but we both are wrong.
-----------------------------
Dr. Steven Plaut teaches at the Graduate School of Business, University of Haifa, Israel.