Re: Why Killing Arafat is Good for Zionism

In a message dated 9/17/2003 4:53:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
ibnsubhi@yahoo.com writes:
> Uri Avnery makes an interesting argument below:
> Killing Arafat is good for the Zionist project.

This seems like an extremely tendentious interpretation of Avnery's argument.  
Avnery argues that Sharon does not care about the horrific consequences, and 
hopes the killing of Arafat will spur Jewish control of all of historic 
Palestine (see the quote I've copied below).  But to the extent that Zionism 
(i.e. some sort of Jewish state in some boundaries in the area) remains the 
aspiration of most of the global Jewish community, it seems dangerous and 
politicallly poorly advised to equate Zionism with Sharon, as this makes it 
virtually impossible to critique him within Jewish communities.  In any case, I 
don't think that's what Avnery was saying.

Steve



> Doesn't Sharon understand all this? Of course he does.
> The political nobodies who constitute the government
> may be unable to see beyond the end of their noses,
> just like blinkered generals, whose only solution
> is to kill and destroy. But Sharon knows what the
> consequences are likely to be--and he relishes them.
> 
> Sharon wants to conclude the historic clash between
> Zionism and the Palestinian people with a clear-cut
> decision: solid Israeli control over the entire
> country and a situation that will compel the
> Palestinians to get out. Yasser Arafat is indeed the
> "total obstacle", as defined in the government
> resolution, to the implementation of this design. And
> a period of anarchy and bloodshed would be good for
> its implementation.
> 
> And the people of Israel? The poor, brainwashed,
> despairing and apathetic people does not intervene.
> The silent, bleeding majority behaves as if all this
> does not concern them and their children. They are
> following Sharon as the children followed the pied
> piper, right into the river.
> 
> This thundering silence is disastrous. In order to
> prevent the disaster, it is our duty to break it.