If Israel does not make it in the long run, one of the main reasons will be the obsession of Israelis with FMF, which stands for the Fast Magic Fix. Israelis are impatient people. They have repeatedly leaped unthinkingly onto the bandwagons of instant solutions to problems. All of ?Oslo? was a case of an attempt at the FMF. We know the results.
The latest FMF being touted is the ?Magic Fence?. Mitzna ran a campaign based on attacking Sharon for not building a Separation Fence fast enough, fencing in the Israelis and fencing out the Palestinians and the bad settlers. Sharon insists that he, too, sees the Separation Fence as an effective FMF. Almost the entire Israeli public is convinced that the Separation Fence will solve the problems of Palestinian Nazism.
The problem, of course, is that it will not solve anything. The Chinese Wall and the Roman Walls never stopped the barbarians from getting in. It is too easy to shoot over, lob mortars over, dig under, climb over, run around, blow holes in, and otherwise overcome, and it is an enormously expensive boondoggle that achieves nothing. The only solution to Palestinian Nazism is DeNazification.
There are other problems as well. The magical Separation Fence establishes a "focal point" for erecting borders for a Palestinian state. It also signals to the world that Israel regards the Jews living on the other side of the fence to be fair game, sitting ducks, people whose murder is okay. And it signals cowardice - hiding behind walls instead of attacking the enemy. We know what happens when Israel signals cowardice.
However, since the entire country seems set on having a Magic Wall, I would like to make a constructive suggestion. The Separation Fence should be scrapped for an alternative plan: the Separation Cage.
The Separation Fence and the Separation Cage are in some ways similar ideas - setting up high-tech electronic barriers to keep the savages from murdering Jews. The difference is that the Separation Fence is a way to fence in Israel, whereas the Separation Cage would be a way to fence in the Palestinians. The Separation Cage would be a series of fences erected around Palestinian towns and villages, to keep them inside. The rest of the territories would be unfenced. Like the Gene Autry cowboy song, "Don't Fence Me In."
A Separation Fence sends the signal that Israel is putting itself under siege. A Separation Cage sends the signal that the savages are under siege. A Separation Fence is a clear signal of the willingness to see the PLO have its own state. A Separation Cage sends the opposite signal. A Separation Fence punishes the Jews. A Separation Cage punishes the Palestinian Nazis. A Separation Fence creates a Jewish ghetto. A Separation Cage creates Palestinian ghettoes. A Separation Cage is cheaper and shorter and faster to build.
Neither barrier will really end the bloodbaths and probably will not even end the theft of tens of thousands of cars each year by the savages. And, yes, the world will bellyache that the bad Jews are putting the po' Palestinians into "ghettoes" and large prisons. But imprisoning the savages is exactly what they deserve and what needs to be done.
Will some break out and kill Jews? No doubt. As I say, even the Cage is no real substitute for DeNazification. But it is a heck of a lot better than the Separation Fence.
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Steven Plaut teaches at the University of Haifa and is author of The Scout (available from Gefen Publishing House: http://161.58.167.199/shop/indi_scout.htm).
The latest FMF being touted is the ?Magic Fence?. Mitzna ran a campaign based on attacking Sharon for not building a Separation Fence fast enough, fencing in the Israelis and fencing out the Palestinians and the bad settlers. Sharon insists that he, too, sees the Separation Fence as an effective FMF. Almost the entire Israeli public is convinced that the Separation Fence will solve the problems of Palestinian Nazism.
The problem, of course, is that it will not solve anything. The Chinese Wall and the Roman Walls never stopped the barbarians from getting in. It is too easy to shoot over, lob mortars over, dig under, climb over, run around, blow holes in, and otherwise overcome, and it is an enormously expensive boondoggle that achieves nothing. The only solution to Palestinian Nazism is DeNazification.
There are other problems as well. The magical Separation Fence establishes a "focal point" for erecting borders for a Palestinian state. It also signals to the world that Israel regards the Jews living on the other side of the fence to be fair game, sitting ducks, people whose murder is okay. And it signals cowardice - hiding behind walls instead of attacking the enemy. We know what happens when Israel signals cowardice.
However, since the entire country seems set on having a Magic Wall, I would like to make a constructive suggestion. The Separation Fence should be scrapped for an alternative plan: the Separation Cage.
The Separation Fence and the Separation Cage are in some ways similar ideas - setting up high-tech electronic barriers to keep the savages from murdering Jews. The difference is that the Separation Fence is a way to fence in Israel, whereas the Separation Cage would be a way to fence in the Palestinians. The Separation Cage would be a series of fences erected around Palestinian towns and villages, to keep them inside. The rest of the territories would be unfenced. Like the Gene Autry cowboy song, "Don't Fence Me In."
A Separation Fence sends the signal that Israel is putting itself under siege. A Separation Cage sends the signal that the savages are under siege. A Separation Fence is a clear signal of the willingness to see the PLO have its own state. A Separation Cage sends the opposite signal. A Separation Fence punishes the Jews. A Separation Cage punishes the Palestinian Nazis. A Separation Fence creates a Jewish ghetto. A Separation Cage creates Palestinian ghettoes. A Separation Cage is cheaper and shorter and faster to build.
Neither barrier will really end the bloodbaths and probably will not even end the theft of tens of thousands of cars each year by the savages. And, yes, the world will bellyache that the bad Jews are putting the po' Palestinians into "ghettoes" and large prisons. But imprisoning the savages is exactly what they deserve and what needs to be done.
Will some break out and kill Jews? No doubt. As I say, even the Cage is no real substitute for DeNazification. But it is a heck of a lot better than the Separation Fence.
--------------------------------------------------------
Steven Plaut teaches at the University of Haifa and is author of The Scout (available from Gefen Publishing House: http://161.58.167.199/shop/indi_scout.htm).