Do a De Gaulle or do an Abu Mazen?
Do a De Gaulle or do an Abu Mazen?
In a JPost article entitled, "Do a De Gaulle", Evelyn Gordon suggests that to cloak Sharon's expulsion and resettlement with acceptability, he should hold a referendum. This is what De Gaulle did when he decided to abandon Algeria, even though he came to power under the promise of Algerie francaise.
Evelyn Gordon adds that De Gaulle
did not need a referendum to get the pullout through the French legislature. But he understood that withdrawal opponents would accept the move more readily if they understood that it was truly the public's will rather than his personal whim.
Gordon then reminds us that Sharon
campaigned against unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, but after being elected, he made unilateral withdrawal his key policy initiative, without seeking a new public mandate.
He did seek approval from his party, via a members' referendum, but when he lost by a 60-40 majority, he immediately reneged on his promise to honor the results.
Thus pullout opponents are not merely unhappy over the disengagement; they feel cheated and betrayed – and that is a recipe for disaster.
Of course, General Sharon Bonaparte will not listen. Israel is headed for another disaster that will make Oslo pale by comparison, with the danger of civil divisiveness hanging over the state like a Damocles sword.
Perhaps, then, General Sharon would be well advised to "do an Abu Mazan":
'I won't turn guns on my own people'
In his first official campaign speech, PLO chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) said on Saturday that he would not employ force against any Palestinian group and called for an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 borders as a prerequisite for achieving peace.
"I will not use weapons against any Palestinian," he stressed. "Israel calls them [the armed groups] murderers, but we call them strugglers. The Palestinians have political pluralism just like Israel."
Quoted from
JPost, 25 Dec 2004.
Posted by Joseph Alexander Norland at December 28, 2004 11:13 AM
1
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BobW
said:
A decent analogy but still tangental to the ultimate issue. Gaza is a sideshow-still important, but a sideshow. The ultimate issue is whether Israel will establish a modern Parliamentary government. Time is limited to do this.
The Evalyn Gordon analogy is decent but not accurate - other than in pro forma terms. DeGaulle did indeed need more than a Chamber vote of approval. France was on the verge of a civil war. The much better example is how France established its withdrawal from Indochina. Don't believe the popular historical literature. I'll add to this; look how the Dutch left the East Indies as late as 1963.
An Israeli referendum would be an indicator that a modern government is enroute. Don't plan on it.
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on December 28, 2004 01:30 PM
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said:
Do a De Gaulle or do an Abu Mazen?
In a JPost article entitled, "Do a De Gaulle", Evelyn Gordon suggests that to cloak Sharon's expulsion and resettlement with acceptability, he should hold a referendum. This is what De Gaulle did when he decided to abandon Algeria, even though he came to power under the promise of Algerie francaise.
Evelyn Gordon adds that De Gaulle
Gordon then reminds us that Sharon
Of course, General Sharon Bonaparte will not listen. Israel is headed for another disaster that will make Oslo pale by comparison, with the danger of civil divisiveness hanging over the state like a Damocles sword.Perhaps, then, General Sharon would be well advised to "do an Abu Mazan":
Quoted from JPost, 25 Dec 2004.Posted by Joseph Alexander Norland at December 28, 2004 11:13 AM