From the Editor

Shimon Peres--Again!

While it may be appalling to find the architect of Oslo installed as Foreign Minister (will he brief Arafat on how to counter Israeli policies, a genuine possibility?), there is no doubt that the sage of Chelm, an endless source of pseudo-profound babble, will inject much humor into the proceedings of the new government. The Likud's pursuit of the ineffable Shimon, even before he has had the opportunity to say a single silly word, is humor enough. Haifa University professor Steven Plaut reports that the Likud was willing to do almost anything to get Peres to sign on, in the belief that Peres will give the Likud "legitimacy" in the eyes of the world press.

Peres does not disappoint. He promptly came up with this gem: "Socialism is civilization -- the world is more open today than ever before and countries are no longer linked by the land or sea but by air. In the air, there are no countries and no borders." (Quoted in Ha'aretz, March 6)

For those who have not yet enjoyed the full Peres repertoire, we recommend that you order from AFSI Shimon Says, 32 pages of the Master's most foolish utterances.

The Intifada: Planned

An enormous amount of ink has been wasted in papers around the world describing how Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount set off the intifada. Now Imad Faluji, head of communications for the Palestinian Authority, has set matters straight. Participating in a PLO rally in Sidon in southern Lebanon, Faluji declared that those who connect the intifada to Sharon's visit are in error. "The Intifada was planned at the moment Arafat returned from Camp David where he rejected the proposals of President Bill Clinton."

Bush & Sharon

Ariel Sharon once gave then-Governor George W. Bush a helicopter tour of the West Bank. It is reminiscent of an old Israeli joke about a visiting Texan who was given a jeep tour of the Negev by a very proud Israeli. After riding through the entire region in a few hours, the American boasted to the Israeli that back in Texas, it took him seven hours to tour his own ranch by Jeep. The Israeli responded: "Maybe you should get a new car."

There are ranches in Texas several times the size of the "West Bank." We hope this was not lost on President Bush, particularly when some of his advisers refer to an "independent" Arab state in that tiny area so close to Israel's very heart.

It took less than an hour to fly over the "West Bank." Maybe Israel and America should get a new policy.

The Media & Ariel Sharon

Guess who wrote the following:

"All we know is that for now, the Oslo test is over. That is what a majority of Israelis said in this election. So stop asking whether Mr. Sharon will become a De Gaulle. That is not why Israelis elected him. They elected him to be Patton. They elected Mr. Sharon because they know exactly who he is, and because seven years of Oslo have taught them exactly who Yasir Arafat is."

Sit down. Those are the words of Yasir Arafat's chief cheerleader in the American press, none other than Thomas L. Friedman, in an op-ed in the New York Times of February 8, 2001.

Before we offer Friedman a complimentary copy of Outpost, however, he returned to form only a short week later, writing that Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat need to continue negotiating with one another. Like all addicts of the peace process, Friedman is a recidivist.

A Tribute to Begin

Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld threw a bouquet at Israel on the Fox-TV news on Sunday, February 11. In discussing the lingering menace of Saddam Hussein, he mentioned U.S. gratitude to Israel's Menachem Begin for having bombed the nuclear reactor at Osiris, Iraq. It was good to hear, but it was a bit late.

It should be recalled that the United Nations, including the United States, roundly condemned Israel's "aggression." Menachem Begin just took the heat, and despite criticism, he asserted that future generations would appreciate Israel's daring and dazzling success in stalling Iraq's development of nuclear weapons. He was right.

Outpost               - 2 -               March 2001