By Matt Evans
Nothing but violence can come from Ariel Sharon. Shortly before being elected, Sharon illustrated this when he visited the Temple Mount- an area hotly contested- and set off a wave of violence. Those who do not forget the past will remember more horrid tales like the 1982 Lebanon massacres.
Sharon, then minister of defense, planned to crush the Palestinian Liberation Organization and force Lebanon into a peace treaty. Israeli forces pushed through Lebanon, bombarding refugee camps in the south before moving against PLO military forces in West Beruit. The Kahan Commission, an Israeli governmental commission, found Sharon to be “personally responsible.”
Now let us turn to Israel.
*Freedom of the press remains under assault. Israeli laws authorize the interior ministry to terminate a journal for any period of time based upon what might be unpleasant to hear for inhabitants or authorities.
* Religious freedom remains greatly under fire. A three-year prison sentence or a fine of NIS 50,000 ($13,700) can be issued for preaching with the intent of causing another person to change his religion.
* During the recent violence, many Palestinian health providers have died. Israeli forces have fired on ambulances in violation of international law. Israeli soldiers often delay or altogether refuse to allow patients to travel through the roadblocks.
* Despite its own court’s rulings, Israel continues to use torture for interrogation. Sleep deprivation, squatting on haunches, covering the head with filthy and malodorous sacks, painful handcuffing, violent shaking, and severe beatings are just some of the many methods employed by Shin Bet, Israel’s secret police.
* Despite advice to the contrary, Israel still attacks reporters of the international press corp.
* Many Arabs live within the borders of Israel as citizens (so many that it is thought they might eventually outnumber the Jewish Israelis). They face diminished schooling and health opportunities, as well as the threat of being removed from their property at any time.
* Offers made by Ehud Barak, Sharon’s predecessor, for peace with Palestinian Authority are quite ridiculous in their nature. As one observes these offers, one notices the dispelled, malformed towns these agreements create with poorly formed central authority. These peace attempts, as the Oslo Peace Accords, are merely post or neocolonial attempts to subside dissident movements in the Arab world, nothing more. The Arabs must accept nothing less than what has been granted to the First World, mainly the United States and its client states. They must be paid.
Rather than blame history or religious fundamentalism simply for the inability for the peace process to proceed, let us remind ourselves of another major reason. Neither Israel or the Palestinian Authority exist as functional democracies. That is why both sides must resort to violence; they have no other viable options.
Let us reconsider the framework of the conflict. Let us make it an economic, rather than a political issue. Let us remember Kant.
Let us try to bring a perpetual peace.
Matt Evans visited Israel over the 2000-2001 Winter Break. He has a degree in political science and communication. E-mail him at matthewevans@louisvillecardinal.com.
