Yossi Beilin wants Left to ignore right-wing provocations
צילום: ג'רמי פלדמן
Let the IDF win
Yossi Beilin wants left-wingers to ignore right-wing provocations
The days left until the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip takes place are likely to be the heyday of small-time copywriters.
This includes moving from road blocking protests to pouring oil on the road, “upgrading” orange ribbons to Orange Stars of David reminiscent of the Holocaust, and going from the death curse on Sharon to greeting soldiers in death camp uniforms. It also includes moving from the odd rally at Kfar Maimon to an even bigger rally next week.
These “media events” would completely fail if we stop expressing our displeasure and crying out over every act by some radical right-wing idiot. Peace Camp reactions serve as the fuel of this ship of fools, and the less excited we are about their ideas, the better.
Media outlets understand that only one subject can be placed on our agenda, and the subject of the day is the withdrawal from Gaza. This media project includes placing reporters at various strategic locations, including within both rival camps – some reporters were dispatched to the settlements, while others were sent to the tent city set up by the army about to evacuate the settlers. Indeed, all reporters are tasked with the holy duty of telling us the story.
The Right takes advantage of those moments, and produces ideas. It knows that holocaust-related subjects make us seethe with rage and “require a response. Meanwhile, the Peace Camp cannot ignore the matter, turns to the attorney general, calls on the police to act, expresses its shock, slams rabbis, and demands that the full force of the law be brought to bear on the offenders.
So perhaps we should learn something from the Right and let the IDF win? Yes, as simple as that. The regular and reserve army is deployed, by the tens of thousands, and faces off against the settlers, one camp versus the other, preparing for the moment of evacuation waiting just around the corner
The IDF will win
Terrorism can be overcome through the combination of diplomatic movements and measured military responses. When the IDF was “allowed to win,” that is, when restraints were removed, the last five years taught us it wasn’t enough.
Before Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas brought about a cease-fire, we didn’t even have relative quiet. Now, on the other hand, the IDF has everything is has in order to win. The army is trained, the objective is clear, and in a short while (shorter than expected,) it would free us from this delusional phenomenon called settlements in the Gaza Strip, the most crowded place in the world.
The IDF will win this battle. The police will win this battle. Settler attempts to bring masses in a bid to prevent the supposed “expulsion” would remain individual, depressing, and embarrassing.
Victory will go to those who believed all those years that we have nothing to seek in Gaza. The triumph would also go to the Israeli regime, which features a government and Knesset that take decisions by majority vote. The win will also go to our security forces, which operate in a democratic country.
When they asked me what I think about using death camp uniforms, after they asked me about the Orange Star of David and the death camp number on the arm, and the “Nazi” insults, and the utilization of the term “expulsion,” etc. etc., I asked that we let the IDF win and allow ourselves, serial responders, to rest a little. After all, without our reactions, those serial copywriters would not exist.
In two weeks they’ll come off their high horse, return home, and if they’d want to initiate dialogue they’ll always have us as a partner. Now, let’s take a break.
