Laying the Groundwork for Future Terrorism
By FRIMET ROTH
It was an odd choice.
In eulogizing the late prime minister
Yitzhak Shamir, Binyamin Netanyahu resurrected one of Shamir’s most incendiary
lines: "The Arabs are the same Arabs and the sea is the same sea," adding:
“Today people understand he [Shamir] saw fundamental truths.”
 | ||
| Yitzhak Shamir z"l [1915-2012], former prime minister of Israel, pictured at a session of the Madrid peace conference, October 31, 1991. Current prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu is seated behind him [Image Source: Getty] |
Haaretz columnist Sefi Rachlevsky termed the eulogy “a
blood-curdling, racist rant…” particularly by the “prime minister of a state in
which a fifth of the citizens are Arabs.”
When Shamir uttered those words,
the world knew that he was genuinely concerned about his people; that he feared
the threat of their being thrown into the sea by their enemies. Even Rachlevsky,
a leftist, conceded that the quote then "constituted
ultra-nationalist objection to any compromise. It was rooted in a need to
display firm rigidity.”
Yet emanating from Netanyahu, the
words ring hollow. Most of us realize by now that we have a prime minister who
is unmoved by the threats that his people face. Once a staunch enemy of
terrorism, his policies have metamorphosed. These
days, Netanyahu worries most about – Netanyahu.
Even the 80% of Israelis who
supported the Shalit “swap” presumed it was a one-off
exception. They understood that it had been implemented under the menace of
Shalit’s execution. After all, Netanyahu’s zero-tolerance of terrorists was
well documented. Wouldn’t he resume that same, sane attitude?
Instead, that surrender to Hamas – a
travesty of justice unprecedented in any other Western democracy - heralded a wide-reaching
policy switch.
While most still consider Israel a
staunch opponent of terrorism, the reality is a worrisome laissez faire
attitude largely ignored by the media. However we, as the parents of a fifteen year old terror victim,
are cognizant of the government’s treatment of terrorists.
Several manifestations of this 180
degree turnabout have appeared on our radar.
One month ago, Netanyahu permitted Nazir al-Tamimi, a murderer
freed in the Shalit deal, to leave the West Bank and enter Jordan. The original
terms of Al-Tamimi's release prohibited any attempt to leave the Palestinian
Authority's jurisdiction. His flouting of that prohibition -
reported prominently in the Arab media - entitled Israel to re-arrest and re-imprison
him.
Israel chose instead to reward him for it.
The revocation of Al-Tamimi's
confinement to the PA, almost unreported in the Israeli media, dealt our family
a painful blow. Al-Tamimi entered Jordan in order to marry his fiance and first cousin, Ahlam Tamimi.
His sweetheart is a convicted mass murderer
who slaughtered 15 men, women and children, including our daughter, Malki,
in the Jerusalem Sbarro restaurant terror bombing of August 2001.
Since her release in October 2011,
Tamimi has boasted of the massacre she committed on videos, in news interviews,
at mass rallies in four Arab countries, and on her weekly Hamas prime-time TV
program. She has smiled joyfully on video upon learning precisely how many of
her victims were children (eight).
An American journalist, Ben Cohen, found these events newsworthy. His quest
for an official explanation from the Prime Minister's Office produced what he
delicately termed "some initial reluctance". When Mark Regev,
Netanyahu's spokesman, finally did respond he told Cohen: "...the current
situation is a direct outcome of the Shalit deal. Everything flows from that.”
Regev’s inanities continued: “Israel
does not have a problem with terrorists leaving,” he said. “It’s easier for us
when hardcore terrorists actually leave. Their ability to hurt us in the future
is much more limited.”
In this era of globalization, Regev’s
assertion that a few kilometers and a border will shield us from terrorists is
antediluvian.
What he and Netanyahu do fervently
believe in is the convenience of sweeping terrorism-concerns under the carpet. They
know that the ramifications of their short-sightedness are not apparent to most
citizens. The growing arsenals of Hamas and Hizbullah do not feature on most
Israelis’ list of daily concerns.
Several days ago, this indulgence
toward terrorists resurfaced. Netanyahu, we learned, is primed to free another 123 prisoners
incarcerated in Israel since before the Oslo Accords. Most of them are Fatah
members who have been in imprisoned for 25 to 35 years after being convicted
of involvement in terrorist attacks in which Israelis were killed. The goal is to woo Mahmoud Abbas back to
the negotiating table.
In a recent interview with Haaretz,
Itamar Rabinovich, former Ambassador to the United States and
former chief negotiator with Syria in the mid 1990's, said he fears
Mahmoud Abbas is not ripe to end the conflict: “That is a function of his
personal ideology, his character and his historical location.”
Rabinovich added: “We have a weak
Palestinian side with question marks about its desire and ability to reach a
final-status agreement… In the background there is Hamas, which is capable of
sabotaging a settlement, if it were achieved.”
Is this the time then for Netanyahu
to again make a mockery of our judiciary? To discard, at his whim, well-reasoned
court convictions and sentences? To endanger civilians who will be the future
targets of these hardened terrorists? To embolden terror groups – for whatever
political gain Netanyahu hopes to reap?
“She is still a woman,” said Abbas,
“still a Palestinian, still a human being.” He continued: “And I meet her and
am concerned for her.”
Is this very different from the
decision of our leaders to enable Ahlam Tamimi to marry her fiancé and start
her family?
At this point is it reasonable to
wonder whether Netanyahu is friend or foe?
Frimet Roth is a freelance writer in Jerusalem. Her daughter
Malki was murdered at the age of 15 in the Sbarro restaurant bombing (2001).
With her husband Arnold. she founded the Malki Foundation (www.kerenmalki.org);
it provides concrete support for Israeli families of all faiths who care at
home for a special-needs child.
No comments:
Post a Comment