Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
 
      We strongly respect your important contribution to the creation of the State of Israel and to its defense since the very moment of her creation. Your struggle made you an archenemy of Israel's enemies and a national hero in the eyes of those who are Israeli patriots, both in and outside this country. You successfully fought terrorism long before the war of 1957. During the Six-day war you led one of the major campaigns that brought about the Israeli victory. Your role in the Yom Kippur war can hardly be overestimated: the fact that Israel exists now was determined to the very great extent by you and your unit.
       Your war against PLO in Lebanon was rather successful and only tremendous efforts of the leaders of the Avoda party managed to transform Israel's military victory in 1982 into a major international political defeat. Being deprived of a military position you did much to create settlements and constructed homes for new Israelis. You built up a really powerful opposition to the Avoda with its policy of capitulation to Arab pressure. It is literally impossible to enumerate all the positive contributions that you have made to the state of Israel.
       Of course, one should not forget you mistakes - the biggest of which was, as you later confirmed yourself, the destruction of Yamit in 1982. In spite of all the slander that was heaped on you, in 2001 you were elected and in 2003 by the overwhelming majority of Israelis re-elected Prime Minister. You did much to fight terrorism and hunt terrorists, thereby returning self-esteem to the Israeli people and respect for the power of Israeli army, both inside and outside of this country.
       Obviously, our expectations were much greater than the real achievements, but it is understandable, since politics is the inevitable acceptance of the reality. So, it is clear that at the helm one must made concessions that are not even discussed while leading the opposition. This is clear and does not mean for us that you violated the promises given during the election campaign. On the contrary, we remember that you always spoke about some inevitable painful concession from the Israeli side in order to achieve peace with the neighboring Arab countries.
       What bothers us, however, is that recently you made some statements that were both unnecessary and harmful to the state of Israel.
1. You spoke about "occupation". This was immediately and effectively used by all anti-Israeli mass media and confused Israel's friends. Indeed, what can be further from the truth and make less sense than occupation of Judea by Jews. Your next day explanation was, alas, unclear and useless.
2. You spoke in Aquaba about the fate of the "West Bank". This area has its name - Judea - for millennia. Even during the worst anti-Semitic years in Soviet history, this was the name of this area even in official state textbooks. By using "West Bank" you play into the hands of anti-Israeli forces, giving essential validation to anti-Israeli propaganda..
3. You spoke about "Palestinian people". It is well known that such an ethnic entity does not exist at all. These are local Arabs, a fact that you know better than we do. However, words are now not something of secondary importance. Since the Camp David accords in 1979, when Prime Minister M. Begin admitted the existence of "Palestinian people" and the "West bank", these words became valuable weapons in the propaganda war against Israel. During the last 20 years the role of propaganda war, already significant at that time, increased enormously.
4. At the press conference in Aquaba you spoke in English. Using Hebrew when discussing the "Road map" would have been more suitable, in spite of the fact that it that it would require translation. It is possible that Abu-Mazen spoke Arabic not by his own choice, but still the contrast with your English was not in favor of Israel.
5. There were reports that you spoke in front of a building that had no Israeli flag on it. If correct, it would be a painful reminiscence of that infamous visit of Prime Minister E. Barak to Sharm-al-Sheikh. Due to this national self-deprecation he lost much respect among the Israeli people.
       Compromises can happen, reality may force one to violate promises. Concessions can became vitally important and therefore inevitable. But there exist principles that are more important than political maneuvers. These are truth, dignity and self-respect. They are not your personal disposable property while you are the Prime Minister. Your dignity and self-respect manifest that of the all state of Israel. Such mistakes are remembered for a long time. It is very difficult, e.g. for E. Barak to erase in the public's memory the shameful moments when he was pushing Arafat ahead of himself into President's Clinton residence.
       Your "occupation", "West Bank", "Palestinian people" and English instead of Hebrew in Aquaba shocked us. It would be painful for Israelis to lose their respect for such a person as you. But, after all, leaders come and go. Israel endures in truth forever. As to your recent verbal mistakes, they could irreversibly overshadow all of your achievements - forever.
        You will lose, to a large extent due to currently used terminology, many of your former friends and supporters. You will acquire, of course, some new ones, particularly among the Autonomy's leadership and their Jewish supporters. But was it worthwhile to live such a life as you did in order to curry favor with them? Your "yes" would be quite unfortunate for all of us as well as for yourself.

Sincerely yours,

Miron Ya Amusia, Professor of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem;
Yakov Bekenstein, Professor of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Member of the Israeli
                               Academy of Sciences;
Israel Felner, Professor of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem;
William Glaberson, Professor of Physics, Hebrew University, Jerusalem;
David M. Kotliarevskii, Professor of Physics, Jerusalem;
Mark E. Perelman, Professor of Physics, Jerusalem;
Grigory Leviev, Ph.D, Hebrew University, Jerusalem;
Galina Rubinshtein, Ph.D, Jerusalem;
Menachem Tsindlekht, Ph.D, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Send to "Jerusalem Post" 18.06.03

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