Initiatives
Sources
Dealing with the Enemy Within
Mithal Al-Alusi, an Iraqi politician, attended an anti-terrorism conference in Israel and openly called for Iraqi-Israeli cooperation. He did the same last year and after returning to Iraq his life was attempted on and his two sons were assassinated. Yet he bravely insists on enhancing this highly unpopular track at great personal cost.
Israeli Prime Minister Sharon delivered a defining speech at the UN. He offered a rather appeasing peaceful hand to the Palestinians who reciprocated with an obstinate refrain to even applaud his peaceful overtures. This, more than anything else, is indicative that the Palestinians have peace with Israel as lowest on their priority list while eliminating Israel – using all means possible – remains their top priority.
Examine how they implement this priority in all fronts. Their brethren in England are working hard at eliminating the British Holocaust Memorial Day by replacing it with a “genocide day” to symbolize the “genocide” that Palestinians “suffer.” This Soviet-style re-writing (and inventing) of history aims to undermine Israel’s legitimacy (as well as that of the Jewish people) in the world. While the Iraqi politician was promoting new alliances, they focused on issuing charges of war crimes against Israeli generals thus successfully managing to prevent entrance into England of Major General (Ret.) Almog who did not want to risk arrest.
Sharon who met Blair at the UN and was invited by him to visit London, quipped with Blair that he too might risk being arrested. This is not funny anymore. Those who fight terrorism risk becoming treated by democratic legal systems as war criminals. The sad part? Some Israelis do not trust the Palestinian capability to wreak havoc and do all they can to lend them a helping hand. The attorney who filed the suit in England is Daniel Machover an Israeli (with dual citizenship) in London. And he is not the only one. The group Yesh Gvul (“there is a limit” which apparently applies to everyone but them) is behind this initiative. Avigdor Feldman, a prominent Israeli lawyer (who is a member of this group), announced at the same anti-terrorism conference that the Supreme Court in Israel is “the source of all evil in the country.”
One can disagree with Supreme Court decisions, one could even argue that it has tremendous power in Israeli society, but for a jurist to suggest that a key foundation of democratic societies such as the Supreme Court is “the source of all evil” points to the absolute moral bankruptcy that such so-called advocates of human rights have sunk into. They are no longer concerned with universalistic human rights but rather with selective human rights. Instead of harnessing their skills in jurisprudence to defend all human beings they falsely and disingenuously defend the rights of perpetrators – not of victims.
The Commissioner of the London (City) Police has also attended the anti-terrorism conference in Herzliya and was hosted by the Commissioner of the Israel Police. He found it useful to learn and benefit from the Israeli experience in fighting terrorism. Perhaps the professional civil servants who serve their citizens understand better than the politicians the need for international cooperation in the fight against terrorism. If democracies will not wake up to fight the enemy from within they will realize (perhaps too late) that the external threat of terrorism has a storing fifth column in two forms: A justice system that has gone off the deep end as well as groups that are so concerned with human rights for some that they forget (or ignore) that the ultimate human right is the right to live. Perhaps it is time to see law enforcement agencies in the forefront of the fight for real human rights.