: You don't abandon your own brother : By Akiva Eldar : Our hearts go out to the children of the : settlers. What nightmarish : thoughts must be passing through the mind : of a toddler who has been : told by Mommy that the entire family will : soon be removed from its : home? Can a six-year-old girl understand : the big words on the sign : that her father has placed in her tiny : hands: "You don't abandon your : own brother"?.If the peace treaty with : the Palestinians requires Israel : to dismantle settlements or to transfer : them to Palestinian jurisdiction, : these children will have to live with the : thought that Big Brother - : namely, their own country - has forsaken : them. When you hear the : parents of these children, and if you : have siblings, you suddenly find : yourself wanting to be an only child. : These parents are not satisfied with : Likud Member of Knesset Silvan : Shalom's proposed law that would : neutralize the Arab vote in a : national referendum. "It is of no : importance whatsoever if, within the : context of a plebiscite, the nation is : asked to decide on what are : blatantly immoral and illegal decisions," : declared the leaders of the : settlers at a press conference where they : "revealed details on the : agreements reached with the : Palestinians." The leaders have : announced that they have no intention of : accepting the results of the : referendum. In other words, in order to : continue ruling three million : Arabs until the end of time, they are : even prepared to abandon the : principles of democracy and to transform : Israel into the same kind of : regime as those with which these leaders : believe no peace is possible. : About siblings like these, Jacob the : Patriarch said in his final blessing : to his children: "Simon and Levi are : brothers whose weapons are : tools of injustice; may my soul never be : privy to their secrets and may : my good name never be associated with : their community" (Genesis : xlix:5-6). : Where do these settler leaders get the : gall to trouble the conscience : of the majority of Israelis (assuming : that most of this country's citizens : will vote "yes" in the referendum) with : the thought that they are : abandoning their own brother? For 33 : years, the settlers (in many : instances, admittedly, with the : encouragement of the Israeli : government) have been forsaking the vital : interests of the state. In the : name of a Greater Israel ideology - in : the best of cases - they have : been forsaking the most precious assets : of their own country: peace, : security, equality and social welfare. : Many, if not all, of them are : ready to turn Israel into a bi-national : apartheid state so that the : masses, consisting of their brothers and : sisters, will subsidize the : purchase of villas with four exposures on : behalf of the settlers' : grandchildren. : The slogan "You don't abandon your own : brother" reminds many of : us of the cry "But, you must have : compassion for me - I am an : orphan!" made by someone who has killed : his parents and who : pleads for the mercy of the court at the : murder trial. All we have to : do is take a quick look at the map of : Jewish settlements in the : territories to understand that most of : these settlements were dispersed : throughout the West Bank without any : thought to urban planning or : even without any thought to security. Who : is deserting the children of : the settlers in Hebron who are taunting : their Arab neighbors? The : people who allowed them to move into the : Beit Hadassah building or : those who are refusing to remove them : from those premises? How : many Israelis today think that Menahem : Begin and Ariel Sharon : "deserted" the settlers of Yamit for the : sake of peace with Egypt? : Let us imagine, for the sake of argument, : that Prime Minister Ehud : Barak decides that holding on to the : settlement of Netzarim and giving : up peace with the Palestinians is : preferable to peace with the : Palestinians but without Netzarim. Who : will then be sent to protect : the children of the Jewish minority in : the Gaza Strip when the Intifada : once more erupts in the territories? If : the settlers manage to call a halt : to the peace process, the young men in : the coffee shops on Tel Aviv's : Sheinkin Street, whom the settlers have : descended upon with the : message "You don't abandon brothers," : will be the ones who will : have to protect the children living in : Kfar Darom from terrorist : ambushes. : It would be a good idea if, on their next : trip to Tel Aviv, the leaders : of the West Bank and Gaza Strip settlers : would pay a visit to : Ben-Gurion Boulevard so that they can : drop by for a moment at the : Apropo coffee shop there. Perhaps a brief : visit to that place might : remind them what can happen when the : peace process is left in the : hands of fanatics. And here's another : recommendation: The settlers : should continue on to Hayarkon Street, : where the American embassy : is located. Martin Indyk, the American : ambassador to Israel, who is a : loyal Jew, would be happy to tell them a : thing or two about the vital : interests of the world's superpower once : the Middle East conflict : comes to an end. He can explain to his : guests from the West Bank : and the Gaza Strip what will happen to : their Israeli brothers and : sisters if his superiors in Washington, : and then their counterparts in the : capitals of Europe, decide to forsake : them and let the settlers have : the upper hand in the debate over the : future of the territories. : With just a little effort, they can : proceed to the Hakirya headquarters : of the Defense Ministry on Kaplan Street, : where the officials can : update them as to how much security could : have been purchased with : the hundreds of millions of shekels that : lie buried beneath the miles : and miles of highway constructed in the : territories in accordance with : the principle "You don't abandon your own : brother." : The time has come to say to the settlers : that they themselves must : adhere to the message of their slogan : "You don't abandon your own : brother" - even if they are not happy : with the decision made by their : own family <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. 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