Editorial, November 5, 2010
Reassessing Rabin
FIFTEEN years ago this week, Israeli prime minister Yitzchak Rabin was assassinated while leaving a peace rally in Tel Aviv. It was criminal. It was tragic.
His murder tore the tapestry of Israeli society and left a leadership vacuum that many commentators would say has never been completely filled since.
But life went on, and so did the unique challenges that Israel faces. Along with the Jewish State’s many milestones, achievements and accomplishments over the next decade-and-a-half, the trials it endured included a plethora of fatal bus bombings, a couple of low-level wars, disappointing peace talks and an intifada — to name but a few.
How would Rabin have responded to the challenges had he lived, and what would he advise Israel to do now? That is a question that has been asked countless times over the years.
There is no easy answer to those questions, due in part to Rabin’s complex role in Israel’s history. As a leader who was part hawk and part dove, he is often claimed by both Israel’s left and right as one of their own.
It’s not every leader whose words can be drawn upon as inspiration for both Likud’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and activists of the National Left Movement within the same fortnight. Yet what may seem at first like a contradiction is actually a testament to the depth of his character. Rabin was a pursuer of peace, but never at the risk of putting Israel’s existence in mortal danger. From this perspective, “Peace with security” — a key campaign promise for all Israeli leaders that followed Rabin — actually began with Rabin, and only an assassin’s bullet prevented us from ever knowing for certain whether it could have been achieved by him as well.
While Rabin’s legacy will continue to be a matter of debate, it was his tireless determination to bring that vision to fruition that may come the closest to the mark. Rabin understood that for the sake of Israel’s future, it is a goal that must not merely be hoped and prayed for, but worked towards daily.
This was a recurring theme he impressed upon his people on many occasions in his final years, including during the signing ceremony for Israel’s peace treaty with Jordan 16 years ago last month — his words then as poignant during his life as they are today: “The time has now come not merely to dream of a better future — but to realise it.”
Be alert but not alarmed
IT was more than nine years ago that al-Qaeda first exploded into our consciousness in a defining moment of our times: the September 11 attacks on the United States. This week, vigilant intelligence agents ensured that another tragedy was avoided after al-Qaeda operatives, this time operating out of the Gulf state of Yemen, posted sophisticated explosives to Chicago shuls.
While our troops, and others, continue to try to rid Afghanistan and Pakistan of their al-Qaeda cells, last weekend’s attack shows that the terrorist group is still alive and well far beyond Central Asia — in the Arab Gulf, in Saharan Africa, and even in Europe.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) annual report, released publicly last month, highlights the continued threat posed by al-Qaeda.
This threat is intensified when it comes to the Jewish community — a fact plainly visible through the CCTV cameras, security guards and high wire fences outside our schools, synagogues and communal facilities.
ASIO reported that “al-Qaeda affiliated groups and others inspired by similar ideology are likely to be the primary source of terrorism threat to western lives and interests for years to come”.
It cited the publication of al-Qaeda’s professional-looking, online English magazine Inspire as “a reminder not only that terrorist organisations are actively seeking western recruits, but that they can do so most effectively using a tool [the internet] that epitomises the globalised world”.
While The AJN is not in the business of fear mongering, Sunday’s almost-attack in the US shows that Jewish communities, and all citizens of liberal democracies, continue to be the target of fatal hatred. However, we can remain secure in the thought that the Australian Government and Opposition have shown they continue to take terrorism seriously.
Reassuring is across-the-board support for the war against Afghan extremists, and the bipartisan desire for stronger legislation to impose even harsher sanctions on the world’s most dangerous states, including Iran — the rogue regime bolstering proscribed terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. So too is the establishment of a new counter-terrorism centre in Canberra and ASIO’s continued work with local communities to stamp out home-grown terrorism.
This week’s thwarted attack is a timely reminder that the threats of a decade ago are still ever-present. But the old mantra, be alert but not alarmed, still rings true.
comments