TRAGEDY COMPOUNDED David A. Silverstein In the aftermath of any murder, public denouncements by the aggrieved against the guilty party are a natural expression of human pain. This is no less true in the aftermath of the assassination of Israel's Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. However, what is unnatural and wholly unexpected are the hysterical accusations directed not only at the agent of death and his immediate sympathizers but against more than half of a nation whose crime was political--they did not support Rabin, the man or his vision. Led by a distraught widow and well served by the media-savvy extreme leftwing of Israel's Labor Party and its fellow-travelers, the "peace camp" has finally reached its zenith in demonizing all who oppose it. These exponents of bolshevism, atheism, and anti-Zionism point their fingers and with new venom say: "You did it, you the rightists, all of you are guilty. The left is just, your time is over, for we have never been, and can never be responsible for producing extremist monsters of your ilk." In fact, so convincing are these diatribes that even some of the left's opponents have begun to repeat its mantra of slander, demanding a national "struggle session" reminiscent of Maoist China. To be sure, the game of politics is all about the demonization of one's opponent. What is new is the shameless exploitation of a murder for political ends whose dangers are only too well known, even by those who support them. In his current incarnation, Yitzhak Rabin and his crusade are beyond ordinary holiness. He is depicted as a figure of such towering stature and resolute goodness that he, his efforts at compromise with the PLO, and his legacy now defined by his replacement, Shimon Peres, are beyond reproach. Indeed, as his martyrology is written, one can hear daily testimonials to his steady leadership, thoughtfulness and kind demeanor. "He was a grandfather to us all," declared one Israeli teenager after another in a skillful set-piece radio dialogue broadcast by National Public Radio. "He gave us a purpose," such interviewees declared, "a new future where Israelis would no longer face any danger from within or without." Complementing such broadcasts, other reporters took photos of children lighting mourning candles at the site of the attack, now a shrine replete with larger than life paintings of Rabin and calls, by the left, for the "peace process" to continue. Closely tied to this celebration of Rabin and the assault on the right is the notion that he was cut short in fulfilling his mission of national salvation: removing the stain of Israel's collective "guilt" for deigning to rule over the "Palestinians" or the Golan Heights. To make amends,

the left's formula remains the surrender of Israel's strategically critical mountains and plateaus and emasculation of her religious heritage by giving up her most sacred ground. Using Rabin's murder as a rhetorical bludgeon, this political line has been angrily reinforced as if, were full "peace" already in place, the nation would not be in its current position, polarized, mourning, and above all, guilty. To those who follow what passes for political discourse in Israel, the machinations of the left do not come as a surprise. Rather, the characterization of the murder by the Israeli left as the work of more than half a nation that would not accept the shared vision of Messrs. Rabin and Peres is simply the culmination of a long process of national self-loathing on the part of the Israeli intelligentsia. Now, however, the left has been reinvigorated, somehow finding new purpose in castigating those who opposed Rabin, especially the supporters of conservative Labor politicians and the Likud and National Religious parties. In their epithet-strewn tirades, the left hopes to bury the stubborn memories of Arabs in Israel and the territories cheering Scud missile attacks on Tel Aviv five The "peace camp" has finally reached its zenith in demonizing all who oppose it. years ago and terrorist bus bombings in past months, as well as Syrian support for Hezbollah. To ensure that none will oppose them, the state attorney general has hinted that he will prosecute anyone who publishes "rightwing ideas," while the police carry out a witch hunt for men in skullcaps. More dangerously, with Rabin's death, the left actively promotes the once quietly-spoken idea of the creation of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Now, instead of relying on an occasionally hesitant Rabin to attend international signing ceremonies and peace rallies, the left skillfully manipulates his loss to say that Rabin's memory deserves no less. Indeed, acting Prime Minister Peres's promise to speed up the "peace process" only hours after the murder is only the first evidence of this plan in action. But what of the man who was so totally committed to peace that his last moments were spent at a peace rally organized exclusively by and for his beleaguered party and the leftist fringe? More importantly, what can be said of his "peace process" that has killed over 150 Israelis since the first Oslo accords were signed and the fact that these murders had the tacit if not outright support of the PLO? The truth is that neither Rabin nor the "peace process" have proven popular among the Israeli electorate. In recent months, political polls consistently showed Rabin's opponents poised to sweep him out of (Continued on p.4)

December 1995               - 3 -               Outpost