After the actions of the last two days, first approving and then retracting permits to hold the mass rally in Netivot, and then finally giving illegal orders to the police and army to prevent protesters from arriving, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, Chief of Police Moshe Karadi and Internal Security Minister Gidon Ezra should resign in shame.
Their jobs are to serve this country and its people, all its citizens and not just those who agree with government policy. Of fundamental importance is the fact that we live in a democracy. It is the government we have chosen and, if we assert our right to vote and to peacefully demonstrate when we oppose government policy, it is the government we deserve.
It seems incredibly hypocritical for these men to complain about settlers breaking laws when they themselves are guilty of far worse. They violated the basic human rights of tens of thousands of people, imprisoned people in their cities, deprived them of the right to assemble, to move around freely, and finally, have laid siege to an entire city. And all this they have done in order to prevent something that might or might not happen in another month.
They threatened bus drivers with losing their licenses if they fulfilled contracts signed by their employers to drive people to a city, from which the demonstrators planned to walk for three days. On the third day, if the protesters weren't stopped, one might consider that they were breaking the laws Ariel Sharon's government has created. So in order to prevent the possible breaking of laws some 72 hours after these drivers did their jobs, the police threatened individual drivers and forced them to leave tens of thousands of people stranded. To the nation's great shame, people were forced to walk 15 kilometers from Kiryat Shemona. They walked from Bet Shemesh and Beer Sheva, and even 80-year-old Rabbi Avraham Shapira began walking when buses were stopped from leaving Jerusalem. That a man of Rabbi Shapira's stature and age was forced to walk is a shame for the entire people, but most of all for Sharon, Ezra, Mofaz and Karadi.
The rally in Netivot was a huge success in many ways. It showed that masses of people were determined to have their voices heard and no matter how many times Sharon and his cohorts refuse to listen, they will come again and again, peacefully and without violence, to demand that the so-called Disengagement Plan be stopped. The rally was a success because our youth showed their love of Israel by coming and walking great distances, and moving all obstacles to achieve their goal of attending a peaceful prayer rally. Their discipline and ability to control justifiable anger and maintain polite conversations with police and soldiers proved again that the witch-hunt against them is largely without cause.
The people who attended showed their generosity in many ways. They were gracious, they were joyous, they were attentive. Teenager after teenager approached the lines of police and offered them drinks, cookies and candies. They stood for hours and listened. They prayed with fervor and devotion and then they calmly marched to their next destination. When the police arbitrarily stopped them, they sat down quietly and waited, determined enough that they were finally allowed to continue.
The rally in Netivot was a huge failure for the government. They betrayed laws they are charged with upholding. They betrayed promises and agreements they made, manipulated and lied to achieve their goals. By subterfuge and dishonesty, they threatened bus drivers and prevented them from arriving to fulfill contracted jobs.
Finally, once the rally was underway, the protesters were dealt more treachery and lies by the government. Told they could go to Kfar Maimon, they began their march, only to be stopped and made to wait for more than an hour. This may have been only a small indignity for some, but for others, this was an unfair hardship. When they finally got to Kfar Maimon, the protesters left their fate in the hands of the rally organizers while they went about their business.
They made themselves as comfortable as they could, found places to sleep. Most woke early and said their morning prayers knowing that the organizers had met until 3:00 a.m. and were assured nothing would happen until the next meeting set for later that morning. Again, the police and army lied. At 5:30 a.m., buses filled with soldiers began arriving and encircling the camp. The people rushed to enter the town of Kfar Maimon itself. The army and police stayed outside.
Again, assurances were issued. You can stay as long as you like, so long as you don't make a break for Gush Katif, and again the lies. A short while ago, the army attempted to enter and began clashing with the protesters. The violence the army so desperately wanted, the pictures they needed to cover their lies and treachery will now appear on the evening news in place of the pictures we should have seen. The rabbis sitting with their students and learning during the day, the children's activities that were organized, families preparing and serving food.
The first day was a day of shame for Israel's democracy. A day in which the police and government broke the law and violated the rights of thousands of citizens. And the next day was a day of perfidy, a day in which the army and its leaders turned and attacked their own people. The rally organizers promised no violence and delivered this promise for more than 24 hours.
There is no legitimate, logical reason to keep Jews away from other Jews one full month before the evacuation. What did they fear? That there would be massive protests? They have that now. Did they fear having to move 40,000 bodies blocking their paths? They have that now.
All the government had to do was allow the rally to proceed with cars. The anti-Disengagement protesters would have arrived in Gush Katif, rallied as they have done so often in the past and then gone back to their homes throughout Israel. The people in Gush Katif would have known that they have our love and support. Whether the battle against expulsion lasted one week or one month was the choice of the government, but thousands of Israelis are paying for the government making the wrong choice.
Perhaps some of the protesters would have stayed and the army would have had to deal with them, but again, they are dealing with even more now and unless they plan on putting 40,000 people (and another 40,000 who will come tomorrow and the next day and the next) into jail, they are attempting to move grains of sand with a spoon. The more you move, the more sand will shift and cover what little you accomplish. That is the nature of sand, and of the Jews who oppose Sharon's plan.
This was the great secret behind this rally that the organizers knew and the government was too stupid, insensitive and incompetent to figure out. Let us go peacefully to Gush Katif today and the battle over Disengagement can be postponed, only to last a short while once the actual plan begins to be implemented. Now, it will last a month or more beyond what it would have. The outcome will likely be the same, whatever it is, but the damage will be so much greater, the sense of betrayal so much deeper, the lies so much more entangled. And for this utter betrayal, for the lies and the twisting of law, for the shame of making an 80-year-old man walk, and tens of thousands stand for hours waiting for buses that were illegally diverted, Ezra, Karadi and Mofaz should resign now.
Their jobs are to serve this country and its people, all its citizens and not just those who agree with government policy. Of fundamental importance is the fact that we live in a democracy. It is the government we have chosen and, if we assert our right to vote and to peacefully demonstrate when we oppose government policy, it is the government we deserve.
It seems incredibly hypocritical for these men to complain about settlers breaking laws when they themselves are guilty of far worse. They violated the basic human rights of tens of thousands of people, imprisoned people in their cities, deprived them of the right to assemble, to move around freely, and finally, have laid siege to an entire city. And all this they have done in order to prevent something that might or might not happen in another month.
They threatened bus drivers with losing their licenses if they fulfilled contracts signed by their employers to drive people to a city, from which the demonstrators planned to walk for three days. On the third day, if the protesters weren't stopped, one might consider that they were breaking the laws Ariel Sharon's government has created. So in order to prevent the possible breaking of laws some 72 hours after these drivers did their jobs, the police threatened individual drivers and forced them to leave tens of thousands of people stranded. To the nation's great shame, people were forced to walk 15 kilometers from Kiryat Shemona. They walked from Bet Shemesh and Beer Sheva, and even 80-year-old Rabbi Avraham Shapira began walking when buses were stopped from leaving Jerusalem. That a man of Rabbi Shapira's stature and age was forced to walk is a shame for the entire people, but most of all for Sharon, Ezra, Mofaz and Karadi.
The rally in Netivot was a huge success in many ways. It showed that masses of people were determined to have their voices heard and no matter how many times Sharon and his cohorts refuse to listen, they will come again and again, peacefully and without violence, to demand that the so-called Disengagement Plan be stopped. The rally was a success because our youth showed their love of Israel by coming and walking great distances, and moving all obstacles to achieve their goal of attending a peaceful prayer rally. Their discipline and ability to control justifiable anger and maintain polite conversations with police and soldiers proved again that the witch-hunt against them is largely without cause.
The people who attended showed their generosity in many ways. They were gracious, they were joyous, they were attentive. Teenager after teenager approached the lines of police and offered them drinks, cookies and candies. They stood for hours and listened. They prayed with fervor and devotion and then they calmly marched to their next destination. When the police arbitrarily stopped them, they sat down quietly and waited, determined enough that they were finally allowed to continue.
The rally in Netivot was a huge failure for the government. They betrayed laws they are charged with upholding. They betrayed promises and agreements they made, manipulated and lied to achieve their goals. By subterfuge and dishonesty, they threatened bus drivers and prevented them from arriving to fulfill contracted jobs.
Finally, once the rally was underway, the protesters were dealt more treachery and lies by the government. Told they could go to Kfar Maimon, they began their march, only to be stopped and made to wait for more than an hour. This may have been only a small indignity for some, but for others, this was an unfair hardship. When they finally got to Kfar Maimon, the protesters left their fate in the hands of the rally organizers while they went about their business.
They made themselves as comfortable as they could, found places to sleep. Most woke early and said their morning prayers knowing that the organizers had met until 3:00 a.m. and were assured nothing would happen until the next meeting set for later that morning. Again, the police and army lied. At 5:30 a.m., buses filled with soldiers began arriving and encircling the camp. The people rushed to enter the town of Kfar Maimon itself. The army and police stayed outside.
Again, assurances were issued. You can stay as long as you like, so long as you don't make a break for Gush Katif, and again the lies. A short while ago, the army attempted to enter and began clashing with the protesters. The violence the army so desperately wanted, the pictures they needed to cover their lies and treachery will now appear on the evening news in place of the pictures we should have seen. The rabbis sitting with their students and learning during the day, the children's activities that were organized, families preparing and serving food.
The first day was a day of shame for Israel's democracy. A day in which the police and government broke the law and violated the rights of thousands of citizens. And the next day was a day of perfidy, a day in which the army and its leaders turned and attacked their own people. The rally organizers promised no violence and delivered this promise for more than 24 hours.
There is no legitimate, logical reason to keep Jews away from other Jews one full month before the evacuation. What did they fear? That there would be massive protests? They have that now. Did they fear having to move 40,000 bodies blocking their paths? They have that now.
All the government had to do was allow the rally to proceed with cars. The anti-Disengagement protesters would have arrived in Gush Katif, rallied as they have done so often in the past and then gone back to their homes throughout Israel. The people in Gush Katif would have known that they have our love and support. Whether the battle against expulsion lasted one week or one month was the choice of the government, but thousands of Israelis are paying for the government making the wrong choice.
Perhaps some of the protesters would have stayed and the army would have had to deal with them, but again, they are dealing with even more now and unless they plan on putting 40,000 people (and another 40,000 who will come tomorrow and the next day and the next) into jail, they are attempting to move grains of sand with a spoon. The more you move, the more sand will shift and cover what little you accomplish. That is the nature of sand, and of the Jews who oppose Sharon's plan.
This was the great secret behind this rally that the organizers knew and the government was too stupid, insensitive and incompetent to figure out. Let us go peacefully to Gush Katif today and the battle over Disengagement can be postponed, only to last a short while once the actual plan begins to be implemented. Now, it will last a month or more beyond what it would have. The outcome will likely be the same, whatever it is, but the damage will be so much greater, the sense of betrayal so much deeper, the lies so much more entangled. And for this utter betrayal, for the lies and the twisting of law, for the shame of making an 80-year-old man walk, and tens of thousands stand for hours waiting for buses that were illegally diverted, Ezra, Karadi and Mofaz should resign now.