Jerusalem Post columnist Yehuda Avner has pointed out something that I for one am embarrassed to say I missed - the absurdity of seeking terrorists’ recognition of Israel’s right to exist. Avner quotes liberally from former prime minister Menachem Begin in showing how Israel’s current leadership should respond to international requests that Hamas accept the Jewish state. This one thunderous declaration from Begin as he addressed the Knesset following his electoral victory is particularly powerful:
“We were granted our right to exist by the God of our fathers at the glimmer of the dawn of human civilization four thousand years ago. Hence, the Jewish people have an historic, eternal and inalienable right to exist in this land, Eretz Yisrael, the land of our forefathers. We need nobody’s recognition in asserting this inalienable right. And for this inalienable right, which has been sanctified in Jewish blood from generation to generation, we have paid a price unexampled in the annals of nations.”
Begin, in his first meeting with former US president Jimmy Carter, even rejected the customary American practice of reaffirming Washington’s commitment to Israel’s right to exist.
“…our Jewish state needs no American affirmation of our right to exist. Our Hebrew bible established that right millennia ago. Never, throughout the centuries, did we ever abandon or forfeit that right. …the Jewish people - no one else - are responsible for our country’s right to exist.”
Israel needs a leader like Begin, a leader who, as Avner put it, has “a surfeit of both Jewish self-respect and … an all-encompassing grasp of Jewish history.”
Sadly, I don’t see any such potential leaders at this point.
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5 comments so far ↓
1 MARK // Jun 15, 2006 at 5:10 am
Yes Begin was a good leader of Israel,all the leaders since have looked to men for salvation
2 ezra // Jun 15, 2006 at 5:05 pm
yes begin was a good leader and so was Sharon although he like Olmert believed that giving away land to terrorists would sove anyhting. no land for terror since its our land and not for those terrorist scum.
3 Edward // Jun 16, 2006 at 7:18 am
One has to learn the hard way that man has a sin nature. Some are not so corrupt as others. Some just seek their own welfare. Those are the ones that need to be given a wide berth. I accepted the fact that man has a sin nature since I was a child. I do not like it, but I do whatever I can to live beyond it. The terrorists just seem dedicated to work with it.
4 MM // Jun 16, 2006 at 9:03 am
Well done Ryan - a valid point.
I’ve missed your, once regular, contributions to A7.
Unfortunately, we get the leaders we deserve; the Nation of the Exodus got Moshe Rabbainu - they were, by & large righteous; we get Olmert. This latter was not a bad mayor of Jerusalem; it shows what a paucity of talent there is in current Israel leadership. It’s also worrying that such a responsible job - PM & MPs - where the nation’s lives are at stake - are taken by people who, in the main, are self-seeking, devoid of talent and in some cases, of dubious integrity.
Olmert say that he’s got a mandate for his whatsit-plan; I think he’s building on Hs Master’s, Sharon’s precedent, where he also claimed a mandate for the Gaza expulsion / racial-cleansing, when in fact his mandate was to retain all the Territories.
All the Israel leaders, since Oslo, have an awful lot to answer for………
5 John // Jun 17, 2006 at 8:32 pm
The early leaders of Herut were man of strong well. However, even the best can be worn down over time. Let us not forget that PM Begin did give in to American pressure concerning the full withdrawal in the Sinai. PM Shamur was eventually forced out of leadership when he did play along with international will. Since then Israel hasn’t had a secure government.
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