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| December 2006 - Amir Peretz, Israel’s current Security (Defense) Minister | |
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Under what banner does a person ask for the right to lead?
Some ask for it in the name of brute force, in the name of “Shock and Awe”, in the name of “let me take care of things.”
Others ask for it in the name of “analytical thinking”, in the name of their bright minds, in the name of their ability to emerge unscathed from situations one should not have entered to begin with.
Amir Peretz solicited us in the name of an alternative. In the name of a new agenda, a different agenda. In the name of an altogether different spirit. He promised to speak on behalf of those whose voice is not heard, on behalf of the weak and downtrodden.
Six months have passed, and the blood of the downtrodden covers the earth.
Mr. Peretz: just as, while you were chairman of the trade unions, you had repeatedly deserted ordinary laborers – precisely in the same manner, now as Security Minister you have deserted ordinary soldiers. These are the soldiers who have needlessly died under your leadership. These are the soldiers who have turned, under your orders, into war criminals.
Just as, while you were mayor of Sederot, you had never bothered to find a path to your Palestinian neighbors across the fence in Gaza, those neighbors whose fate is intertwined with that of your townspeople - precisely in the same manner, now as Security Minister you demand that the IDF “find solutions to eradicate the terror problem.” This is how Beit Hanoun’s children are being eradicated, and with them the opportunity for dialogue and for normal life on both sides of the fence. Now, the Palestinians announce a cease-fire, but only you - like a new convert who’s eager to outdo the High Priests of war – still rattle the sabers.
What shall we do now with your support for the Geneva initiative, or for the B’tselem human-rights group, or for the welfare state – what is your word worth to us now? After all, from the moment you were elected, you have demonstrated how wide is the chasm between your words and deeds. Had you fought in order to receive the “minor” Welfare portfolio, and given up the “great” Security portfolio – perhaps you’d have caused the national priorities to change. Had you pressed for a political process instead of going to war, perhaps you could have changed the agenda. Had you [as Security minister] bravely declared that not every military action, no matter how criminal and deadly, can be justified as part of the “War on Terror” – perhaps new winds would have started to blow around here. But instead, you have chosen to serve as the current war’s collaborator and the next war’s architect.
Longtime right-wingers would say: yes, that’s the way it is. Once you reach a “decision-making role”, you see that there’s no choice. Yes. Whoever thinks otherwise just doesn’t understand / is irresponsible / is a traitor. Longtime left-wingers would say: yes, that’s the way it is. There is no real chance for change. Anyone who reaches a position with real leverage, immediately repents and gets swallowed within the brutal, corrupt System.
And what about us ordinary people? We have nothing left but to despair, to stop believing, to stop acting. Perhaps we should just keep our goodwill and our moral outrage to ourselves. Perhaps we should even conclude that as far as our political leaders are concerned, these might just as well not exist.
And for that, too, Mr. Peretz, you deserve the Page of Shame.
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Talli Silberstein
(voted for Mr. Peretz in the 2006 Elections) |
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