Editor's Note: Today we present the views of two ordinary Israelis living in different parts of the country outside Gush Katif as they watch the dismantling of part of Israel.
In these extraordinary days we'll be sending more mail than usual totry to give you perspectives that might not be covered in themainstream media. I hope you'll find it worthwhile to take a few extra minutes out of your day to share the pain and sense of foreboding that's swamping us here in Israel.
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FROM: Dale Weiss, Herzliya: E-mail: daleb812@netvision.net.il
We are living through a sad and painful time. No matter where you livein the country, you feel a heaviness that just does not leave. Walking through the streets of Herzliya today, people are going about their routines, food shopping, buying the newspaper, picking up their dry cleaning, going to work and doing the other ordinary things that we do on most days in this country. But there is a big difference today. You see a look of sadness on the faces of the people in the streets. It does not matter what their personal politics are...we cannot get away from this shame that our government is physically forcing thousands of Jewish men, women and children from the homes and businesses that most of their families have had for 30+ years.
Even more pressing is what will happen after this nightmare is over and the evil decree is carried out. We hear that Al Kaida, Hamas and the other terror organizations are coming from Lebanon, Jordan andother places to fill the void in Gaza. We will have this collection ofworld terror crazies on our border...........no doubt, shooting rockets into our port cities of Ashdod and Askelon. Life will not beworth a nickel in these heavily populated Israeli cities. The terrorists don't even need an airplane to send us their deadly messages. These missiles are launched from trucks.
An attorney in my prior life in NY, I now teach business andprofessional English in major companies throughout Israel. One rule Ihave is that political opinions and events are never discussed in myclasses. Today, a group of my students begged me for permission todiscuss what was happening. These students are all young professionals under the age of 35. They all live in the Tel Aviv area. None dress in a manner indicating that they are religious. Quite the contrary, they dress in midriff shirts and often in pants. They expressed feelings of devastation that the Israeli government does not protect its Jewish citizens. They are completely bewildered and frustrated at a government which does not care what its citizens think and feel. My sentiments exactly.
We feel like this is the beginning of the end. The second step in theinfamous "Oslo" process.........the message is clear. The more terror the arabs send us, the more they will be rewarded. After Oslo, they got Jenin, Ramallah, and other parts of Judea and Samaria. These areas now serve as guerilla bases and safe havens for them to plan their murder against us..........they steal our cars and run back to their"territories..........our police have no jurisdiction to retrieve our property...........they send homocide bombers to blow up innocent people on buses and in cafes and no one investigates...........little by little they get another slice of the cake..............until it is all gone! Those of us who say "enough".......are told that we cannot retaliate because maybe women and children will be hurt and then the US and the UN will be angry with us..............are we totally nuts??
It is getting to be "too late". If the world doesn't wake up, thebeast will be upon all of us..........Israel is the appetizer. Wake up folks..........the free world is the main course. Dale Weiss, Herzliya. E-mail: daleb812@netvision.net.il
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EXCERPTED FROM AN ARTICLE by David Willner, Efrat: E-Mail:dwillner@isdn.net.il
Many would like to accept that the Arab and Muslim world today could not really be as bad, as corrupt, as enamored of blood, violence, death, and murderous martyrdom as the media would have you believe.That people are basically the same everywhere you go. They would be wrong. That mistaken belief has allowed for the destruction of the World Trade Center and other atrocities that are simply staggering intheir scope.
We now accept a world of security checks - because that is easier thanadmitting that there are a heckuva lot of Arabs and Muslims in this> world that simply do not value human life. These are people - well> funded beyond imagining - that spend their days dreaming up ways to kill innocent people. Innocents in NY, Rome, Madrid, Istanbul, London,and especially Israel.
The list is far longer, but the bottom line is that> Israel is the front line for these maniacs willing to plunge the world back into darkness. If Israel were to cease to exist tomorrow,the war would be empowered beyond imagining. No Christian, Buddhist,or non-believer in the world would be safe. If you think I'm kidding then you need to see a psychiatrist. I'm not saying it. It says it in the Koran, and there are a lot of Muslims on this planet who are not willing to adjust there weltanschauung to a pluralistic democratic norm.
And their number is growing. Just wander into any local mosque andlisten to what's being preached. Think about it - 25 years ago we'd all be hard pressed to identify a local mosque pretty much anywhere in the western world. If you live in London, Hamburg, Paris, Detroit, NewJersey, New York city you can't help but notice that Islam is now the fastest growing religion on the planet.>
So what are good people who just want to live quiet lives supposed to do. People who want to simply put food on the table, help their children to grow into good adults, maybe watch the evening news at the end of a tiring day, and take a vacation to Disneyland every decade or so?
I know it's been said, but it bears repeating. We have to wake up andit has to be now. The killing of one person is too much. The Arab and> Muslim world needs to be held to the same standards of morality,> decency, and justice as every other citizen of this planet. If yougo to bed at night thinking that the beheading of a journalist in Iraqor the lynching of a reservist in Ramallah is sad, but - what can oneexpect from an Arab or Moslem - you are a racist. You've justifiedmurder because the perpetrators are less than human because their religion or culture has produced this behavior and is doing its best to encourage more of the same.
Every security expert here in Israel is saying we should expect a newround of violence. Every Arab terrorist leader is saying that the front will move closer and that Jerusalem will soon be in their hands.
What madness drives the leaders of Israel and the western world toignore these purveyors of death and treat them as anything more than the mass murderers that they are? Have they reformed, have they apologized for their demonic deeds? Have they paid reparations to theorphaned children, the maimed and the crippled for life?
From where I sit, we cancontinue to put up barriers, impose security checks in airports, shopping malls, hotels, banks, amusement parks,sporting events, and places of worship. We can hope that our security forces can try and find the suicidal maniac just waiting for an opportunity to plunge a public bus off a cliff, to send a bomb in aletter, to get his or her hands on an atomic or nuclear device.>
Or we can say, loudly, clearly, and without shame, "We know the> difference between good and bad." We know the face of evil and we are prepared to rip it out of existence. To terminate this cancer -before it terminates us. For that to happen we need better leadership.We need leaders in the free world that are willing to fight thisbattle relentlessly, day and night, 24/7, everywhere that thesemonsters hide.>
It can't be done by attacking people that care about life, careabout freedom, and are eager to build a better world - like the people in Gush Katif. The Jewish people should know the difference between anenemy and a scapegoat, and the good people of Gush Katif should not have to pay the price for this governments folly. In the history ofthe world, no democratic country has ever forced its citizens out oftheir homes, destroyed their places of worship, and unearthed its deadfrom their cemeteries. It is a dark day for the Jewish people. If wedon't do everything we can to destroy terrorism, make no mistake itwill destroy us.
From: David Willner, Efrat
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