A generation away from Judaism

A generation away from Judaism

A generation away from Judaism

I read with great interest David Shaham's article, "Ten Years Away from the Front Line" ("Yediot Aharonot", November) and I believe that only the Arabs read it with greater interest - and at a greater age. Mr. Shaham's attack on Aliza Kashi for her treatment of the Arabs prompted him to draft an interesting law, which he called "The Law Concerning the Positive Anomaly of the Inverse Relationship Between Proximity to the Front and Hatred of the Enemy."

Mr. Shacham, editor of the Labor Party's newspaper, will not be convinced even by dozens of people like Yasser Arafat, by a thousand riots in 1911; a thousand Hebron incidents in 1919; and a thousand rejections of Israel - all of Israel (including that of 1974) - by the Arabs. It does not occur to him that the Arabs will not love us, if only he loves them enough. The sages said about him: "Anyone who becomes merciful instead of cruel will end up becoming cruel instead of merciful."

The intention of the "Shaham Law" is to convince us that the further the Jew is from the fighting line, the greater his heroism, and only those who do not take risks demand the total defeat of the enemy. Arik Sharon must have been astonished to read these words, since his views on the proper treatment of the enemy are quite extreme, and he did not spend his time in Tel Aviv during the war. All the front-line officers must have been astonished as well, and were bitterly glad that we were willing to immediately accept the ceasefire, when we were on the verge of destroying the enemy's war potential for many years. Even the thousands of soldiers, who do want to return home, will not accept the words of the formation, because they understand - much more than he does - that returning home, under certain conditions, only means returning to the front soon, to defend that same home in conditions far worse than those of Sinai.

In fact, those who know history and study its lessons remember that while the Etzel and Lehi members gave their lives and called for a struggle against the British, it was the members of the "National Kibbutz" and the "United Kibbutz" who demanded restraint. Dov Groner, on his way to the gallows, called for the destruction of the enemy, and not Mrs. Meyerson (Golda Meir) in the home front (who was busy calling for the "extremists" to be handed over to the British). What is particularly interesting is the psychological need that drives people like Mr. Shaham to demonstrate their love for their enemies, while hating, with a terrifying passion, their Jewish allies. Perhaps there is a lesson hidden in this too...

It is good that there are people, both at the front and in the rear, who have a better understanding than Mr. Shaham of the nature of the Arabs, and of the nature of their aspirations towards us, if they were given the opportunity. Mr. Shaham is not a new phenomenon, he is simply a very tragic phenomenon. After all, in view of the fate of similar types in recent generations, one could hope that a clever young man like him would learn something from their mistakes. But it seems that there are people who do not learn from history. We will have to deal with them, as we have dealt with them in every generation. Let us not allow them to frighten us with their false claims to "morality." They do not love peace any more than those who call for the defeat of the enemy.

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A generation away from Judaism

A generation away from Judaism

I read with great interest David Shaham's article, "Ten Years Away from the Front Line" ("Yediot Aharonot", November) and I believe that only the Arabs read it with greater interest - and at a greater age. Mr. Shaham's attack on Aliza Kashi for her treatment of the Arabs prompted him to draft an interesting law, which he called "The Law Concerning the Positive Anomaly of the Inverse Relationship Between Proximity to the Front and Hatred of the Enemy."

Mr. Shacham, editor of the Labor Party's newspaper, will not be convinced even by dozens of people like Yasser Arafat, by a thousand riots in 1911; a thousand Hebron incidents in 1919; and a thousand rejections of Israel - all of Israel (including that of 1974) - by the Arabs. It does not occur to him that the Arabs will not love us, if only he loves them enough. The sages said about him: "Anyone who becomes merciful instead of cruel will end up becoming cruel instead of merciful."

The intention of the "Shaham Law" is to convince us that the further the Jew is from the fighting line, the greater his heroism, and only those who do not take risks demand the total defeat of the enemy. Arik Sharon must have been astonished to read these words, since his views on the proper treatment of the enemy are quite extreme, and he did not spend his time in Tel Aviv during the war. All the front-line officers must have been astonished as well, and were bitterly glad that we were willing to immediately accept the ceasefire, when we were on the verge of destroying the enemy's war potential for many years. Even the thousands of soldiers, who do want to return home, will not accept the words of the formation, because they understand - much more than he does - that returning home, under certain conditions, only means returning to the front soon, to defend that same home in conditions far worse than those of Sinai.

In fact, those who know history and study its lessons remember that while the Etzel and Lehi members gave their lives and called for a struggle against the British, it was the members of the "National Kibbutz" and the "United Kibbutz" who demanded restraint. Dov Groner, on his way to the gallows, called for the destruction of the enemy, and not Mrs. Meyerson (Golda Meir) in the home front (who was busy calling for the "extremists" to be handed over to the British). What is particularly interesting is the psychological need that drives people like Mr. Shaham to demonstrate their love for their enemies, while hating, with a terrifying passion, their Jewish allies. Perhaps there is a lesson hidden in this too...

It is good that there are people, both at the front and in the rear, who have a better understanding than Mr. Shaham of the nature of the Arabs, and of the nature of their aspirations towards us, if they were given the opportunity. Mr. Shaham is not a new phenomenon, he is simply a very tragic phenomenon. After all, in view of the fate of similar types in recent generations, one could hope that a clever young man like him would learn something from their mistakes. But it seems that there are people who do not learn from history. We will have to deal with them, as we have dealt with them in every generation. Let us not allow them to frighten us with their false claims to "morality." They do not love peace any more than those who call for the defeat of the enemy.

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Kislev 3, 5774 (37.11.82). Published as a letter to the editor in "Yediot Aharonot"