This article, written from Israel, is devoted to one of the most heart wrenching dilemmas ever put before the Israeli Jewish public: Prime Minister (PM) Sharon's decision to unilaterally withdraw entire Jewish communities from Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, "The Disengagement Plan" as it is called. This plan is embroiling every Israeli in a colossally painful debate, the results of which have the potential of forever changing Israel, Israeli society, and the Jewish people wherever they are.

On February 16, 2005, the Knesset voted 59 to 40 in favor of the bizarre law to allow the eviction. Many Likud members, including the Speaker Reuven Rivlin, voted against it.

As in a true Kafka story, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is risking democratic and human rights principals, as he prepares to expel, against their will, thousands of Jews from their legally acquired properties and businesses.

A law to expel only Jews in any other country would be regarded as outrageous and against all international treaties and conventions.

I have a heavy feeling that Israel is moving towards a disaster much worse than Oslo. Will it actually happen? And if yes, what are the ramifications? Will Zionism survive? What conclusions will the Arabs draw from such a move?
 

The purpose of this article is not to present my personal position but rather help you determine yours through a series of questions.

By answering each of the following questions you will be better able to form your own position in this debate:

1. Israel's enemies refuse to concede even a tiny bit of their declared national positions - the extremists want to destroy Israel by continued terror tactics; the moderates will allow milder destruction by flooding Israel with Arabs and nibbling away at Israel's borders. Should Israel vacate even one Jewish community unilaterally, without insistence on reciprocity from the enemy?

2. Is the Israeli government endowed with the moral authority to abandon historical national assets?

3. Would such an act bring to a halt a centuries' long Jewish dream of returning and liberating the Land of Israel?

4. Is Israel committing a monumental historical mistake by supplying a precedent to further destruction of Jewish communities in the land of Israel, thus inviting even stronger international pressure?

5. Should such a fateful decision be made precipitously (some say dictatorially) without subjecting it to a national referendum?

6. Should the government obtain national consensus by first explaining and educating the public?

7. Prime Minister Sharon brought the Likud party to a landslide victory in an election campaign in which he ran against unilateral withdrawal proposed by his main opponent. Is it democratic to suddenly embrace and implement the very position he emphatically campaigned against without going back to the voters?

8. Should the Israel Defense Forces be employed to evict Jewish communities from their homes?

9. Can anybody expel a legal owner from his home against his will?

10. If the Palestinians achieve real freedom and democracy, why can't Jewish communities remain among them if they so choose, just as Arabs live in freedom and security among Israelis?

11. Should Jews be evicted because they are Jews, or only as one side of an agreed exchange of population treaty?

12. Does Israel need to follow a "Peace at all Costs" policy?

13. Assuming that the expulsion of Jews from their homes is interpreted by the Arabs as a victory, would the act invite even worse terror?

14. Should opposition to the Disengagement Plan be a matter of principal or only a concern over its practical implementation?

15. If the Disengagement Plan was conceived in order to minimize IDF casualties, can we guarantee that Israel will not be forced to even worse, Falujah-style urban battles, at a later date?

16. The presence of IDF among the Palestinians frustrates the implementation of their war plans. Would the evacuation allow them the liberty to arm, regroup and fortify?

17. Would the ultra extreme terror organizations such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hizballah and others get a boost by claiming victory over Israel?

18. Is the eviction of legal owners from their homes a violation of the UN Charter on Human Rights on which Israel is signed?

19. Is PM Sharon acting dictatorially by refusing a national referendum because he suspects he'd lose?

20. Even if PM Sharon's Disengagemenqt Policy is legal, is it legitimate?

21. Even if the plan is entirely legitimate, is it worth the price of ripping-apart an entire nation?

22. Does the Disengagement Plan have the potential of creating an irreconcilable divide between secular and religious Israelis? Is it not the government's prime responsibility to ensure national consensus and do all it can to achieve it?

23. Should the IDF, being the people's army, force its soldiers, many of whom come from the very communities condemned, to carry out eviction orders?

24. If they refuse, are they committing treason?

25. If 100,000 or more Israelis, in a massive peaceful sit-in, cordon off the condemned communities in an attempt to prevent the evacuation, how much force should the government, the IDF or the police employ?

26. Should the international and the Arab media be allowed to witness how Jews tear down Jewish homes and evict Jewish communities?

27. Should the entire Jewish world be involved in the decision and its long term effect on the nation?

28. Is Zionism dead? For what price should Zionism be risked or worse, sacrificed?

29. The Disengagement Plan, if fulfilled, is irreversible. Entire thriving communities and industries will be demolished. Is a move with such finality wise?

30. Should Israel make any move without first reaching a full peace treaty with its enemies, as was the case with Egypt in 1978?

And the final big question: As is clearly evident from the questions above, the Disengagement Plan deserves a lengthy, exhaustive, and profound examination. Was it done?

 
Yuval Zaliouk was born in Israel and has degrees both in music and law. He has conducted orchestras in England, Germany, Israel, France, Spain, Scandinavia, Australia, Canada, Russia and the USA. He and his family live in Toledo Ohio and Raanana, Israel. He writes and distributes a column called the Truth Provider; to subscribe, send an email to ynz@netvision.net.il

This article appeared in February 2005 in the Toledo Jewish News, where Zaliouk writes a monthly column.

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