A lot of people are still unclear as to whether I believe in the conspiracy theories floating around. Maybe I?ve been a bit esoteric or a little cryptic in my last two articles. So, I?m going to come clean and lay it on the line. At the same time, I hope to properly eulogize the late former congressman Wayne Owens - seeing as few among his friends in the peace camp saw fit to do so.
No, I do not believe there was ?foul play? involved in the death of the former congressman and Middle East peace negotiator. I believe he was overcome by the foul smell of Oslo - a far more powerful toxin than anything Saddam Hussein may have in his arsenal. And yes, like the few papers who bothered to report his death wrote, he succumbed to a massive coronary at the age of 64.
Perhaps he had a broken heart. The heartbreak that comes when dreams are shattered, when all of the immense efforts and years spent on what you thought was a meaningful endeavor get trampled into the dust. He had trusted in a peace process that was built on faulty foundations by incompetent architects. His colleagues, Yossi Ginosar and Mohammed Rashid, were caught in a money laundering scheme that had been exposed by Maariv newspaper. He must have felt betrayed by friends and feared that he was soon to be despised by investors who had trusted in him. A shame he didn?t trust in the Israeli and international media?s ability to bury the truth (at least until after the Israeli elections).
The reports differ as to the purpose of his last mission. Some say he was in Israel on behalf of Washington?s Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, an organization for which he served as president since 1993. Others say he had just finished touring the Arab states as part of a congressional fact finding mission. There are a lot of unanswered questions.
Why was there so little homage paid to a man who had made waves in America, Israel and the Arab world? A man who had served four terms in congress. A man who came to the personal defense and testified on behalf of President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. A man who was present on the White House lawn in 1993 to witness that notorious handshake. A man who rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous of corporate America (both Jew and Gentile alike). A man who had pictures of himself with Israeli Prime Ministers and a host of Arab leaders, including Hosni Mubarak and Yasser Arafat on his walls. Haaretz reported that ?The doors to the offices of Jordan?s King Hussein, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince were open to him.?
In that same circumspect article, Haaretz mentions that a few hours before his body was found on the beach, Owens had met with Avi Gil. Gil is the former Deputy Director of the Peres Center for Peace and former Media Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Finance. Were there words between them? Maybe it was a tense meeting. Wayne Owens, as a member of the board of the Peres Center for Peace, must have been concerned at the growing scandal involving his fellow board member, Yossi Ginosar. Maybe he was about to blow the whistle or maybe he just needed a breath of fresh air and decided to spend some time alone on the beach.
No, I don?t believe he was poisoned, as some conspiracy theorists have implied. That?s the easy way out. It?s so simple and convenient to write this all off as being evil. It?s much harder to believe in good and the basic good in people. And I believe that Wayne Owens was, basically, a good man, trying to do good for the world.
There is no better place than the beach at night for serious soul searching. The usual tranquil Mediterranean was probably unsettled that evening. Israel was preparing for a serious winter storm and I bet the waves were fierce. Yes, it was a strange time for the former law-maker to be alone on the beach, unless of course, he was having a cosmic confrontation. A sort of introspective showdown between right and wrong, and good and evil. This phenomena is not unheard of. Remember how the Patriarch ?Yaacov remained alone...? Yep, Yaacov did some mighty serious soul wrestling on the banks of a rather powerful river. Wayne Owens was a religious man, a Mormon, and he probably didn?t have the heart to continue the charade any longer. The truth can sometimes kill a person.
Wayne Owens didn?t have a heart of stone, but it seems that many Jewish politicians, businessmen and journalists do. Otherwise, how could they continue to live their lives oblivious to the terrible truth? Imagine having contributed greatly, worked hard for and believed in a process that would bring peace to your Jewish brethren and the world, only to find out that you?d been had. It was a scam and the headlines made, moneys raised, deals cut and legislation passed that were to be used to foster tranquility in the region have, in fact, been used to promote the purchase of weapons and explosives, which have ended up shattering the lives of the very people you had wanted to protect. That?s tough stuff to take to the grave.
Every Israeli and American Jew who was thrilled at the onset of peace talks with Arafat and continued to encourage the deadly process, long after it began to fail and cause unspeakable devastation, should consider the following:
Last Shabbat night, a young man named Noam Apter confronted terrorists who had entered through the back door of the Yeshiva kitchen. As his body was being riddled by bullets, he managed to bolt the kitchen door and prevent the terrorists from entering the dining area, where fifty of his fellow students were seated. The bullets that tore through him were made available via the Oslo peace process. Three thousand people dropped what they were doing after Shabbat and attended a mid-night funeral in the West Bank town of Shiloh. A young man who never had a chance to mingle with the rich and famous, cut deals, scheme and negotiate, made his mark in this world by courageously doing the right thing.
Last week, on the other side of the world, internationally renowned politician and diplomat, Wayne Owens, was buried before a few hundred people in the daylight hours. The monarchs, presidents, corporate executives, ambassadors and Shimon Peres - Wayne?s friends - were too busy to show up.
Taking a serious and honest look at one?s self and one?s actions is a risky business. Not everyone has the heart for it. But the option is to continue to ?live? a comfortable, but meaningless, physical existence bereft of a soul.
?There is nothing more whole than a broken heart.?
--------------------------------------------------------
Ellen Horowitz, a painter and writer, lives on the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She can be reached at ilan-acu@netvision.net.il.
No, I do not believe there was ?foul play? involved in the death of the former congressman and Middle East peace negotiator. I believe he was overcome by the foul smell of Oslo - a far more powerful toxin than anything Saddam Hussein may have in his arsenal. And yes, like the few papers who bothered to report his death wrote, he succumbed to a massive coronary at the age of 64.
Perhaps he had a broken heart. The heartbreak that comes when dreams are shattered, when all of the immense efforts and years spent on what you thought was a meaningful endeavor get trampled into the dust. He had trusted in a peace process that was built on faulty foundations by incompetent architects. His colleagues, Yossi Ginosar and Mohammed Rashid, were caught in a money laundering scheme that had been exposed by Maariv newspaper. He must have felt betrayed by friends and feared that he was soon to be despised by investors who had trusted in him. A shame he didn?t trust in the Israeli and international media?s ability to bury the truth (at least until after the Israeli elections).
The reports differ as to the purpose of his last mission. Some say he was in Israel on behalf of Washington?s Center for Middle East Peace and Economic Cooperation, an organization for which he served as president since 1993. Others say he had just finished touring the Arab states as part of a congressional fact finding mission. There are a lot of unanswered questions.
Why was there so little homage paid to a man who had made waves in America, Israel and the Arab world? A man who had served four terms in congress. A man who came to the personal defense and testified on behalf of President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. A man who was present on the White House lawn in 1993 to witness that notorious handshake. A man who rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous of corporate America (both Jew and Gentile alike). A man who had pictures of himself with Israeli Prime Ministers and a host of Arab leaders, including Hosni Mubarak and Yasser Arafat on his walls. Haaretz reported that ?The doors to the offices of Jordan?s King Hussein, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince were open to him.?
In that same circumspect article, Haaretz mentions that a few hours before his body was found on the beach, Owens had met with Avi Gil. Gil is the former Deputy Director of the Peres Center for Peace and former Media Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Finance. Were there words between them? Maybe it was a tense meeting. Wayne Owens, as a member of the board of the Peres Center for Peace, must have been concerned at the growing scandal involving his fellow board member, Yossi Ginosar. Maybe he was about to blow the whistle or maybe he just needed a breath of fresh air and decided to spend some time alone on the beach.
No, I don?t believe he was poisoned, as some conspiracy theorists have implied. That?s the easy way out. It?s so simple and convenient to write this all off as being evil. It?s much harder to believe in good and the basic good in people. And I believe that Wayne Owens was, basically, a good man, trying to do good for the world.
There is no better place than the beach at night for serious soul searching. The usual tranquil Mediterranean was probably unsettled that evening. Israel was preparing for a serious winter storm and I bet the waves were fierce. Yes, it was a strange time for the former law-maker to be alone on the beach, unless of course, he was having a cosmic confrontation. A sort of introspective showdown between right and wrong, and good and evil. This phenomena is not unheard of. Remember how the Patriarch ?Yaacov remained alone...? Yep, Yaacov did some mighty serious soul wrestling on the banks of a rather powerful river. Wayne Owens was a religious man, a Mormon, and he probably didn?t have the heart to continue the charade any longer. The truth can sometimes kill a person.
Wayne Owens didn?t have a heart of stone, but it seems that many Jewish politicians, businessmen and journalists do. Otherwise, how could they continue to live their lives oblivious to the terrible truth? Imagine having contributed greatly, worked hard for and believed in a process that would bring peace to your Jewish brethren and the world, only to find out that you?d been had. It was a scam and the headlines made, moneys raised, deals cut and legislation passed that were to be used to foster tranquility in the region have, in fact, been used to promote the purchase of weapons and explosives, which have ended up shattering the lives of the very people you had wanted to protect. That?s tough stuff to take to the grave.
Every Israeli and American Jew who was thrilled at the onset of peace talks with Arafat and continued to encourage the deadly process, long after it began to fail and cause unspeakable devastation, should consider the following:
Last Shabbat night, a young man named Noam Apter confronted terrorists who had entered through the back door of the Yeshiva kitchen. As his body was being riddled by bullets, he managed to bolt the kitchen door and prevent the terrorists from entering the dining area, where fifty of his fellow students were seated. The bullets that tore through him were made available via the Oslo peace process. Three thousand people dropped what they were doing after Shabbat and attended a mid-night funeral in the West Bank town of Shiloh. A young man who never had a chance to mingle with the rich and famous, cut deals, scheme and negotiate, made his mark in this world by courageously doing the right thing.
Last week, on the other side of the world, internationally renowned politician and diplomat, Wayne Owens, was buried before a few hundred people in the daylight hours. The monarchs, presidents, corporate executives, ambassadors and Shimon Peres - Wayne?s friends - were too busy to show up.
Taking a serious and honest look at one?s self and one?s actions is a risky business. Not everyone has the heart for it. But the option is to continue to ?live? a comfortable, but meaningless, physical existence bereft of a soul.
?There is nothing more whole than a broken heart.?
--------------------------------------------------------
Ellen Horowitz, a painter and writer, lives on the Golan Heights with her husband and six children. She can be reached at ilan-acu@netvision.net.il.