The Zionist Conspiracy |
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A clandestine undertaking on behalf of Israel, the Jets and the Jews. 
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Thursday, December 04, 2003
Stupid Column of the Week Take a look of Yossi Beilin's website, and the website of the radical leftist Shahar Movement, which Beilin heads. Each offers detailed arguments in defense of Beilin's positions. It behooves those of us who oppose Beilin to offer a cogent response. Yet in this week's Jewish Press, Steve Plaut launches a 2150 word front-page tirade against the Israeli "Left," whose members he describes as "evil" and as "motivated by hostility to Israel, animosity toward Jews, and classic self-hatred." While this might apply to a few on the extreme left-wing fringe, it is absurd and offensive to refer to hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of Israelis in this manner. Is a typical Meretz or Labor voter - most of whom served in the IDF - really motivated by self-hatred of themselves and their country? Is it too difficult to understand why some Israelis, whether out of extreme naivete or desperation for peace, would support foolish policies that promise peace? Perhaps Plaut was only referring to a few hundred rabidly anti-Zionist Israeli professors and intellectuals who then influence many others, in which case he should have explained himself. The Israeli Left is winning the battle of ideas in large part because the Right has failed to engage in this battle. People like Yossi Beilin, Avrum Burg and Yossi Sarid, and their supporters, offer plenty of incitement against the Right (including their government), but also present a rationale for their positions. It's not enough to say that those positions are wrong. We also must counter them with our own. We must explain to those who consider support for dangerous ideas like the Geneva Accord why those ideas will not bring peace, but will assure disaster. Calling them evil traitors won't be a successful approach. To its credit, the Jewish Press also published a fine piece by Michael Oren and David Eisner praising Ariel Sharon and ridiculing the international community's condemnation of his government. Oren, incidentally, is the author of the fantastic book Six Days of War. | "
