The “T” Word

The “T” Word

January 4, 2001

Barak is to be tossed out of office in just 32 days. Clinton’s Folly ends in half that time. Yet the two lame ducks are still quacking away, as if they have all the time in the world.  Perhaps William Safire sums it up best in today’s essay in the New York Times:

“Two weeks before leaving office, Bill Clinton is frantically scrambling to patch together his claim to a legacy by undermining Israel's security and dividing Jerusalem.

Four weeks before facing ejection from office by irate Israeli voters, a desperate Ehud Barak has turned himself into a diplomatic doormat, making hitherto inconceivable concessions so that he can get past Election Day on the pretext of having achieved a truce.

In negotiations that will probably resume now and conclude on the Friday before inaugural weekend, these two men in political extremis represent nobody but themselves.” (Read entire essay below.)

Yes and no. True, Clinton is trying desperately to divide Jerusalem. And without a doubt, he is undermining Israel’s security.  But, it is not true that that the responsibility lies with Clinton. He is an outsider. He is a political “has been.” He is, with 16 days left, a nobody.  He is not accountable for decisions taken concerning the future of the Jewish state.

Ehud Barak is, on the other hand, an Israeli, elected to uphold the best interests of his country, of his people. Even after his defeat, he can and will be held responsible for every single day of his premiership. And he is not so stupid as to not comprehend the significance of his every utterance, up to and including his last day in office. He is accountable for decisions considered and taken concerning the future of the Jewish state.

Ehud Barak has crossed so many red lines that it is difficult to summarize them. So the following items should not be considered inclusive.

Ehud Barak is singularly responsible for abandonment of the security of his people. Despite his responsibility as Prime Minister and Defense Minister, he has intentionally prevented the Israeli Defense Forces from fulfilling its primary mission  that of defending the citizens of the State of Israel. Senior military officers serving in Judea and Samaria were told specifically, “Do whatever you have to do, as long as you do not jeopardize the peace process.”  In other words, "don't take the handcuffs off, just loosen them a little."

Ehud Barak is singularly responsible for continued Arab terrorist attacks against Jews, resulting in the murder of men and women, resulting in the orphaning of dozens of Israeli children. The fact that Barak persists in negotiating with murderers as they continue to indiscriminately spill Israeli blood is tantamount to justification of the murders. How can a leader negotiate while his "partner" continues killing innocent fathers and mothers? The Palestinian press is calling Barak as he is: a lemon - The more you squeeze the more you get. And Barak is quite willing to be squeezed.

Ehud Barak is singularly responsible for initiating a “secular revolution,” aimed at deleting Judaism from the State of Israel. It is no secret: Israel was created as a “Jewish State.” One need not be religiously observant to recognize and appreciate the uniqueness of the first independent Jewish state in two thousand years. Barak’s plans call for a state with Jews residing in it, rather than a Jewish state. There is a great difference between the two. Jewish heritage, culture and tradition will take a back seat to the esthetics of modern culture, making us the Switzerland of the Middle East. The one element that united Jews around the world, the one element that kept Judaism alive and viable, the essence of our being during 2,000 years of exile and dispersion, namely, our Torah, is to be relegated to the dusty shelves of museums, while Amos Oz, Nachum Barnea and  Shelly Yechemovitch carry the torch of tomorrow.

Ehud Barak is singularly responsible for expressing Israeli willingness to relinquish Jerusalem. Ehud Barak will be remembered in the annuls of Jewish history as one of the few Jews of all times ready to divorce the Jewish people from the one and only Holy of Holies.

This is, of course, where the “T" word must be mentioned. Ehud Barak has betrayed his people, his land, and his heritage. Ehud Barak is a traitor.

Lest I be arrested and jailed for incitement, let me make things clear. Barak must not be physically assaulted or hurt, in any way, shape or form. He must be dethroned, disgraced, tossed out of office, not by a bullet, but rather by a ballot. Ehud Barak and all that he represents must be overwhelmingly voted down by the people of Israel, thereby rejecting his betrayal. The very act of casting Barak from office is an affirmation of all that he opposes, an affirmation of our right to our land, of the right of our people to live safely and securely, of the right to live our heritage and tradition as we see fit.

Barak will be as is his name, which in Hebrew means lightening. It strikes suddenly, flashes a blinding light, and just as abruptly, disappears.