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By Saifedean
Ammous---
October 17, 1953: The elite Israeli Òanti-terrorÓ 101 brigade,
under the command of young Ariel Sharon, enters the Palestinian
village of Qibya. They demolish tens of houses and kill 99
civilians. The 101 Brigade was formed upon a request from
then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion, who handpicked the young
Ariel Sharon to lead it in its Ònon-ending fight against terror.Ó
The analogy to the events of today is a bit obvious, but we
wonÕt dwell a lot about that. It is just worth noting that
a certain Rachevam Zeevy was among the ranks of the 101. October
17, 2001: Thirty eight years after the day of the Qibya massacre,
Rachevam Zeevy is shot dead in his hotel room in Jerusalem
in a Palestinian version of ÒTargeted Killings.Ó Naturally,
the killing was branded with the worst adjectives from ÒbarbaricÓ
to ÒgrotesqueÓ to Òcriminal.Ó But when Israel assassinated
Palestinian leaders, it was, of course, a necessary step in
the fight against terror. If we want to be objective in assessing
who is a terrorist and who is not, let us take a closer look
at the life of the late Zeevy. Zeevy held several posts during
a long army and public ÒserviceÓ carrier. He served as an
advisor to late Prime Minister Yitshak Rabin on anti-terror
issues, as the Military Commander of the West Bank, as a member
of the Kenneset for the last 13 years, and as the head of
the Moledet Party. A bit of research into Moledet PartyÕs
electoral platform reveals a rhetoric centering around the
ÒTransfer of Palestinians out of Eretz Israel,Ó the ÒAnnexation
of the West Bank and Gaza,Ó and the ÒRejection of the Oslo
accords.Ó He has been Minister of Tourism since March, and
was often referred to as ÒKahane in a GeneralÕs uniform,Ó
in reference to the late extremist Meir Kahane, assassinated
in New York and whose racist Kach Party is outlawed even in
Israel itself! Zeevy, who is nicknamed Gandhi (yes, you read
it right, Gandhi!), has for long advocated the ÒTransferÓ
of Arabs from Palestine. By Arabs, he meant Arab Israeli citizens
as well as Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, who should
all leave to their forefathersÕ land, the Arab Peninsula,
to ÒcleanseÓ Israel. Another of his proposed creative solutions
is the sterilization of Arabs to ease IsraelÕs ÒDemographic
Ailment.Ó Among ZeevyÕs many ÒvirtuesÓ is the continued support
of the assassinations policy Israel deploys, which has so
far claimed 61 Palestinian lives, as well as unleashing attack
dogs on Palestinian civilian demonstrators. This ÒGandhiÓ
called Palestinians ÒliceÓ and a Òcancer spreading within
us.Ó He also wanted to expand Jerusalem to engulf Ramallah
and Bethlehem. His Public Relations activity was even worse
than his Human Rights track record. He once famously called
George Bush Sr. an Òanti-Semite liar.Ó To think that such
a prejudiced bigot can get a job is frightening, and the fact
that he was a member of the Kenneset and a minister, says
a lot about the Hebrew State. Imagine someone like him having
an official post in a democratic country. Jorg Haider, perhaps
EuropeÕs equivalent of Zeevy, triggered so much resentment
in the world and his rhetoric was not half as racist as that
of Zeevy. After all this, who do you think was more worthy
of being a victim of a ÒTargeted Killing?Ó Zeevy or someone
like Abu Ali Mustapha who calls for a democratic Palestine
open to Christians, Muslims and Jews alike?
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