COLUMN: It's our country, too

From Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96 From Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96American Jews should be concerned aboutFrom Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96American Jews should be concerned aboutthe repression of personal freedoms Israel'sFrom Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96American Jews should be concerned aboutthe repression of personal freedoms Israel'sruling Labor party is propagating. From Dave Crystal's "Crystal Clear," Fall '96American Jews should be concerned aboutthe repression of personal freedoms Israel'sruling Labor party is propagating. About two months ago, Haim Ramon -- Israel's minister of the interior -- told a congregation of American Jews to mind their own business after some of them questioned and challenged the legitimacy of Israel's prospects for peace with its Arab neighbors. Similar statements have been made in the past by Minister Without Portfolio Yossi Beilin. In the hysteria that has followed the November 4, 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Labor has been using his death as a justifiable excuse to eliminate freedom of speech -- or at least freedom of "right-wing" speech. So confident of their stranglehold on power are these fearless crusaders for "peace" that they now feel justified in blasting American Jews who criticize them. Labor has even gone so far as to deny three "right-wing" American Jews the right to visit their homeland. "Give us your money, but mind your own business," is the economic advice of the day for the American Jew. To Ramon, I say that the political situation in Israel is my business, both as an American and as a Jew. As a Jew, it is my business that fellow Jews are being incarcerated under British Mandate martial law for expressing their political opinions (while simultaneously, hundreds of Arab terrorists are being released to appease Yasser Arafat). As a Jew, it is my business that historically Jewish land is being handed over to a terrorist organization without any tangible signs of peace in return. As a Jew, it is my business that the Jewish government of the Jewish state conducts secret negotiations with our enemies -- without filling us in on the details until after accords are signed and hands are shaken. So too, as an American, it is my business that 600 million taxpayers' dollars are going to the PLO with more to be promised in the future. As an American, it is my business that Warren Christopher is wasting his valuable time and our valuable money courting Syrian President Hafez Assad, who has never made -- and I believe never will make -- a candid gesture of peace toward Israel, or toward the United States, for that matter. Also, as an American, it is certainly my business that American troops may be stationed in the Golan Heights in the event that this land is surrendered to Syria for "peace." It is clear that Labor's leaders have not learned the moral of this sad story: There is no true peace without freedom of speech. Even extremists like Yigal Amir should feel free to overtly express their true feelings, although these feelings are sometimes hard for the rest of us to hear. That is the price of democracy -- if you want freedom of speech, you have to be willing to let others have it. Any notion that Israel is a democracy is false. It certainly isn't democratic for those Israelis incarcerated without due process. A quintessential example is that of Shmuel Cytron, an American Israeli who emigrated to Israel in the late '70s. Originally put in military detention by Rabin, and subsequently kept there by Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Cytron was recently released from prison after six months in solitary confinement. While in prison, he was denied sunshine, periodically refused the kosher food he requested and mysteriously suffered a broken leg. Worst of all, however, is the fact that Cytron has no clue what he was imprisoned for -- and neither do his family or his lawyers. It is only because of the pressure put on Labor by American civil rights organizations and American politicians such as Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) (with whom, ironically, I don't usually agree) that the Labor government was compelled to release Cytron. Unfortunately, Cytron is the lucky one. There are presently more than 100 other Jews incarcerated without due process and without being charged with a crime. I am insulted and abashed that Jew-on-Jew dehumanization has reached this all-time high. I am further appalled that the perpetrators of such dehumanizing tactics are the leaders of the State of Israel. It is true indeed that Yigal Amir was a member of a genuine, lunatic, right-wing fringe, but to associate him with all critics of the government is a grave injustice. Furthermore, if any faction in Israeli politics is responsible for creating the climate that lead to Rabin's assassination, it is the Labor-Meretz coalition, not the Likud party. Time and time again, Likud leader Bibi Netanyahu has reprimanded his own supporters for calling Rabin a "traitor." Not once did Shimon Peres or any of his cronies condemn their political followers for calling Netanyahu an "enemy of peace." The only way Israel will regain its self-respect, quality of life and sense of security is either a Likud majority in the Knesset, or the ascension of Benjamin Netanyahu to the office of prime minister. These outcomes can only be accomplished if both Israeli and American Jews speak up against the deceit and malevolence of the Labor government, and come to the realization that Israel's security risks exist whether Rabin is dead or alive.