Four Mothers: 2000 withdrawal did not cause 2006 war
Activist group responsible for pressuring government towards unilateral withdrawal after first war in Lebanon convinced this was right, in no way related to Second Lebanon War
Twenty-five years after the first war in Lebanon began, members of the 'Four Mothers' movement are still convinced that the 2000 withdrawal from Lebanon was the right move, with no causal relation to the Second Lebanon War.
"If we'd have stayed, (Hizbullah chief Hassan) Nasrallah still would have fired rockets at Haifa, but the Israeli death toll would have been much higher," they say.
Four Mothers was founded by four women from northern Israel – Zohara Antebi, Bruria Sharon, Miri Sela and Ronit Nahmias – 18 years after the IDF entered Lebanon. Originally in favor of ceasefire agreement, they later pushed towards a unilateral withdrawal.
In 2007, after a second war and amidst growing criticism of the 2000 Israeli withdrawal, Antebi still supports this move.
"I'm a person who believes in talking. True, we would have wanted an arrangement, but sometimes, in tough situations, there's nothing else to be done," she said.
'Leaving Lebanon was the right thing to do'
Bereaved mother Orna Shimoni, whose son Eyal was killed in 1997, concurred, "We had to take our fate in our hands. What were we supposed to do, wait another 18 years?"I'm sure that even if we'd have stayed in the security zone (in southern Lebanon), Hizbullah would have rearmed. Our presence in Lebanon would not have weakened them," she said, adding that the withdrawal brought support from the international community.
She further believes that the Second Lebanon War could have been prevented entirely, had Israel withdrawn from Lebanon sooner.
"If we would have left three years after entering Lebanon, the Second Lebanon War would not have taken place, because Hizbullah would not been formed. It is, after all, a group that was formed to resist Israeli presence in Lebanon," she said.
Although Antebi is careful not to delve into the realm of 'what if', she claims the present situation justifies her belief in rightness of the Four Mothers' cause.
"Leaving Lebanon was the right thing to do. We can see this by noticing that, a day after the Second Lebanon War ended, no one thought to remain on Lebanese soil.
"Often, we have difficulty distinguishing between method and essence," Antebi explained. "The method that should have been used to handle the situation is a question that should be posed to the generals.
