Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas
At 10:21 AM -0800 25/3/04, Bryan Atinsky wrote:
>The Living, about the Dead
>
>/by B. Michael, The Israeli Daily Yedioth Achronot
>Translated from the Hebrew by Victoria Buch/
>
>The whole nation is huddled up in the corner, like a little dog that
>urinated on the carpet, waiting meekly for the cruel strike that
>will come. Nobody has any doubt that it will come. Only W-H-E-R-E
>will it come - that is not yet known. And who are the walking dead
>that meanwhile pace among us, that is not yet known either. They
>were not notified in advance, or asked for permission, prior to
>being volunteered as a sacrifice on the altar of the Sharon-Mofaz
>military games. Let us hope that their last days will be sweet,
>before the good earth will take them.
>
>Beyond that - a success: The coalition is united again, the PM will
>have it easier to fend off the no-confidence-vote, smiles of
>satisfaction are blooming again in the Likud Center, settlers smirk
>like cats after a large helping of cream, the "disengagement plan"
>is dying in embryo inside its father's belly, and there is also hope
>that the police and the state prosecutors will think twice before
>digging into the files of the Hero that single-handedly exterminated
>the Man in the Wheelchair.
>
>There is just one little snag - terror. This one was not really
>weakened. In fact it is quite clear that terror will gain in
>strength. This "terror prevention measure", more than any previous
>ones, is like spilling oil on fire. But this snag should not
>constitute a killjoy, or a reason for worry. To the contrary - a
>regular hefty portion of terror is necessary for regular functioning
>of Sharon's government. Terror gives it an opportunity to practice
>the only activity in which it is competent: spreading death and
>destruction. And terror deflects the public attention from the sad
>and pathetic reality of today's Israel. Hot air to inflate the
>balloon of its withering virility.
>
>It is pointless to argue with the people who are ruling us. They are
>beyond reason. Their basic nature propels them, stronger than any
>logical analysis. Ministerial ties and politesse will not hide it.
>Sharon is Sharon and Mofaz is Mofaz. An attempt to change their
>nature would be equivalent to trying to convince an alligator of the
>benefits of a vegetarian diet.
>
>But one may wonder what thoughts passed in the head of the sky gun-
>slinger when he sent a rocket towards the wheelchair. Did he have a
>thought to spare for all the good people whom he thus sentenced to
>death? Did he have any doubts before pulling the trigger and setting
>the area in flames? Or did he close his mind like a robot? Or
>perhaps he adopted, whole-heartedly, the official sophistry,
>justifying this idiotic act by empty promises to end terror? "In the
>short range, the terror will increase, but in the long run ... there
>will be peace in the land. Once upon a time I was young, then I grew
>old, and never ever did I experience that "long run", together with
>the "peace in the land". I only encountered the "short ranges". One
>after another.
>
>But the pinnacle of cynicism was that laconic message, accompanying
>the report on the assassination of Yassin: "Security was beefed up
>around the government ministers and public figures."
>
>We, all of us, shall proceed to walk the streets, sit in the cafes,
>ride the buses, shop in the markets and the supermarkets, but that
>bunch of people that put us in the bull's eye, will be fortified
>inside armored cars and in masking corridors, protected by the
>reinforced crowd of faithful gorillas, overflowing with dedication.
>Were Sharon a real leader, were Mofaz a real man (I am trying to
>talk his language) they would declare loudly, for all to hear, that
>during the forthcoming weeks they will only ride buses. They will
>eat only in restaurants, go for walks without protective vests, and
>drink daily coffee on sidewalks of large cities. Their blood is not
>redder than blood of any other citizen, their death will not be more
>tragic than the death of anybody else, and their body parts are not
>more precious than body parts of any other human. And there is no
>reason in the world why they should not share with the rest of
>Israelis the portion of danger and blood that they served us.
>
>There is a limit to arrogance, and to cowardice.
>
>
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