lkk@mit-eddie.UUCP (Larry Kolodney) (06/18/84)
[I'm forwarding this to net.religion.jewish without comment. I'd love to hear yours, though. -larry] Date: Sun 17 Jun 84 14:14:46-EDT From: MDC.WAYNE@MIT-OZ Subject: Zionism Made Brutal To: Prog-D@MIT-OZ cc: MDC.WAYNE@MIT-OZ The following article, "Zionism made brutal" by Reuven Alberg, appeared in *The Jerusalem Post* for June 3-10, 1984 (p. 12): "What would you think of a 'Zionist theory' which said that if the Jews of the world refuse to settle in Israel, then they should be rounded up and forced to settle here? The idea that the Arabs of Israel should all be shipped to Iraq is part of this same 'theory.' "The ideas expressed here are those of Avraham Sharon (formerly Schwadron), a publicist who lived here a generation ago. He has returned to public notice because two very important ideologists of the movement for the annexation of the West Bank and Gaza have come out with declarations that Sharon-Schwadron is their spiritual mentor. "The two annexationist ideologists are Dr. Israel Eldad and Zvi Shiloah. "Eldad is perhaps the most eloquent theorist of the Greater Israel movement, while Shiloah, the new Tehiya Knesset member (filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hanan Porat), is also a very prolific publicist. "A book which summarizes Sharon's ideas was recently published in Hebrew by Moshe Yager. And Eldad cannot find words enough with which to praise it. "He says in *Yediot Aharonot*: 'In all my writings I have never said that any book is a "must"; but this book is certainly a "must."' "Why does Eldad praise Sharon so profusely? Because he was so 'clear-sighted and realistic.' He believed that Jewish life in the Diaspora is basically impossible, that it will end either in destruction or assimilation. "Of course, there is nothing novel in this pessimistic prognosis. But as a thesis it cannot be proved. It may happen in the forseeable or distant future; it may not. "But see what an anti-human conclusion Sharon draws from this possible danger, a conclusion with which Eldad agrees in principle: everything imaginable must be done to get the Jews out of the Diaspora, even bringing them here by force, i.e. making agreements with foreign countries to expel their Jews to Israel. "Sharon, and Eldad, feel that Zionists should be 'brutal.' As Sharon said, "If you love your nation you must be brutal to its sons.' "Certainly all Jews here would like to see a large number of Diaspora Jews come to live in Israel. But most of us, I would like to believe, are not among the people, of whom Sharon is the prototype, who want to see Jews come here because of anti-Semitism abroad, people who expect anti-Semitism, who actually hope for anti-Semitism. "Shiloah stresses Sharon's proposal that all the Israeli Arabs be shipped to Arab countries. He takes the demographic problem very seriously. Of course, he says, we should annex the West Bank, and the only way we can prevent being swamped by the huge Arab population is by 'transfer.' "How would we do this? Not by force, says Shiloah. Perhaps we could pay them all to leave. Perhaps we could let unpleasantnesses here accumulate until they prefer to leave. "To bolster his case for the 'transfer' of the Arabs, Shiloah cites in his book all the 'transfers' that occurred in Eastern Europe at the time of the Second World War. We learn from this in great detail that all of these removals were made against the will of the people concerned. But this does not bother Shiloah. "He has another vision. We will create a federation of Israel, Jordan and Kuwait, a great technological and military power, with Jews living all over the federation. "But Shiloah would expand Israel not only by a federation to the east. He would also have us expand northwards. We must immediately annex Southern Lebanon, he says. "We must go further. We must take over a large part of Syria. If you look at a map of Israel at the time of King David--and this is the only thing that matters for many people like Shiloah--you will see that it includes an extensive area in Syria." "But Shiloah treats us to a surprise. In his book he tells us that on this point he disagrees with his friend Israel Eldad. Eldad says he should absorb all Syria, but Shiloah would not take over Damascus, because the city is considered holy in the eyes of many Moslems. "I am sure the Arabs will now all feel relieved and duly appreciative." [Commentary by WM (yours truly) follows] Can anyone on Prog-D confirm whether in fact the party of which Shiloah is described as a member--Tehiya--is also the party of which Yuval Ne'eman is the intellectual and spiritual leader? Is it also true that Ne'eman, who is generally recognized as the chief figure who masterminded Israel's development of nuclear weapons, holds great power and influence behind the scenes in the Israeli government? It is disturbing to think that these kinds of attitudes might reach deeply into the Israeli leadership. One might legitimately begin to wonder whether highly activist, if covert, agencies like Mossad, with their extensive assets around the world (and particularly in the U.S., USSR, and Western Europe), might seek to incite anti-Semitism as a means to force that messianic in-gathering of the exiles which Eldad and Shiloah find so desirable. The policy of effecting the "transfer" of Arabs from the West Bank to other Arab regions by letting "unpleasantnesses here accumulate until they prefer to leave" sounds not unlike presently exercised Israeli methods. --Wayne McGuire ------- -------