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Show Some Remorse |
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by ma'ariv via gehrig
(No verified email address) |
13 Feb 2004
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On the security fence and other issues, "[the Israeli] government needs to show remorse and contrition over the appalling way it has been treating its own citizenry." Also gives a little history on Sharon's ever-shifting stance on the fence. (The slightly spotty translation is Ma'ariv's own.) |
Remorse
Amnon Dankner
For many months, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, has heard arguments favoring the construction of an anti-terror barrier. For many months, he outright rejected them. Mister Defense, or better yet mister self-confident, has acted in a cynical and at times a degrading manner towards those who seemingly claim they do not know what they are talking about, while he, the man who promised peace and security, is tirelessly working to produce maximum quiet and serenity for the citizens of Israel who overwhelmingly elected him. Many of his subordinates have aligned themselves with his views, as it is most likely very inconvenient to voice opposition to such fixated opinions the PM holds.
Senior officials harmoniously made their opposition to the barrier known: The defense minister, Chief of Staff and top army brass as well as senior Cabinet ministers. Then came February 2004, and the same Sharon Cabinet is about to submit detailed and scholarly documents to The Hague International Court of Justice, proving with flare that only a barrier can defend the citizens of Israel from the Palestinian suicide bombers. They say there is no other way, that a reduced number of terror attacks would save many lives and prevent political and security complications. Does the Prime Minister ever consider turning to the citizens of Israel and ask but one question, “Was I wrong?”. God forbid. After all, if he had done that, he would have admitted that his initial refusal to build the barrier, as well as his foot dragging when he became convinced that maybe doing something is better off, directly led to hundreds of terror-related deaths, which had a crushing effect on the country’s economy.
When a decision finally came through to build the barrier, a non-realistic, long and winding path was created for it, which, in a grieve injustice, severely hurt a large Palestinian population. The path chosen was financially over-costly and baseless and many argued against it, especially the barrier’s traditional supporters, whose victorious views turned sour in the face of the distorted realization of their vision. However, the spectacle of the Prime Minister and the defense establishment had once again returned, when they forgot that they were, for so long, mistaken, and that the blood of many is their responsibility. We would have all been better off if our leaders were more attentive and modest, if they would have stopped acting like they had a monopoly on wisdom. But on the contrary, they behaved arrogantly and in contempt of all the criticizers, arguing it’s the only good, protective, reasonable route there is. Nothing was of help, not the pleading that the human rights of the Palestinians would be trampled, not the money-wasting talk, or the commotion it would cause around the world, nor the distress it would bring upon Israel. All of them, from Sharon downward, knew better. Now they are frightened from it all: the commotion, the international trouble, the money wasting. So they are changing the path.
I am not saying we are dealing with knuckleheads. If I would have dared said that, it would be rude and condescending of me. After all, these people have tremendous knowledge and vast experience. It is they who say it by themselves, by completely changing their position time and time again, in regard to a very practical, focused, and between us – simple matter. I am not the one saying they are should be held accountable for the murdered and injured victims of terror, it is they who are saying it when they explain how vital the barrier is. I am not the one charging they recklessly wasted huge sums of money of taxpayers and all those who are financially shrinking as the economy shrinks. They are saying it themselves.
Why do we need the barrier to formulate an unequivocal and critical stance on the government? Take, for instance, the continuing scandal of tens of thousands of employees who didn’t get paid for months. I am not saying it is an easy-to-fix problem. It is a difficult and complex problem. But the spectacle of an entire Cabinet sitting indifferently on their behinds while thousands of workers who committed no sin do not get their deserved wages and find themselves on the verge of destitution is a spectacle of a government that has lost its sense of responsibility towards its citizens. I am not talking about slackers, but hard-working and honest people who go to work every day without being paid. True, they are not, at least by definition, public sector employees, but they are workers of local authorities, whom the government is responsible for. The matter has been deliberated for several months now, but only now did they begin to somewhat seriously deal with it. Instead of implementing emergency measures as a lifeline for these people, the issue keeps on rolling, so far, with no solution in sight.
A government which behaves in such a fashion, when dealing with peoples’ lives and financial distress, isn’t truly governing, isn’t really attending to its citizens, isn’t worthy of a title of its own, and isn’t but a bunch of clerks irresponsibly and light-headedly dealing with public issues. It is appropriate to wish its head a fast recovery from the stone-removal treatment he underwent, but in the same breath hope that remorse would torment him on the actions of his government.
© 2004, Ma'ariv International
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http://www.maarivintl.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=2901
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