And again: “The Arab is tied intimately to the Arab world br

that surrounds him—in language, culture, religion, family, na- br

tion, and politics. Does this minority identify with Israel? br

Absolutely not! And we dare not expect him to.”

Finally. Finally, one hears plain, honest truth. Finally, one br

expects to hear plain, honest solutions. Sharon continues: br

“Once and for all we must begin a serious, deep, and ongoing br

approach to solving the cardinal problems of the Israeli Arabs.” br

Dare we hope?

“The objective is to educate an Arab citizen who is law- br

abiding, proud of his culture, and able to be absorbed into Is- br

raeli society. We must teach the Arab youngster more Hebrew br

so as to be absorbed into a position. We must develop in br

him a positive attitude toward creative work. . . .”

One hardly knows whether to laugh or to cry.

There is hardly any difference between Labor and Likud. br

Begin’s new deputy prime minister, Simha Erlich, set off on Jan- br

uary 4, 1980, to meet the Arabs of the Jewish state. In Nazareth, br

heart of the Arab Rakah (Communist Party) and PLO forces in br

Israel, he told his audience: “I promise you that the government br

sees in you a dear, loyal, and important community for the State br

of Israel.” He proved this at a symposium in Tel Aviv on March br

20, 1980, on the subject of the “developing Arab village,” proud- br

ly boasting: “Within one and a half years all the Arab villages br

in Israel will be connected to the electric grid.”

Perhaps the most depressing statement of all was the one br

made by the chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and De- br

fense Committee, Moshe Arens, a staunch member of Begin’s br

Herut Party, who told a seminar (June 5, 1980) of his views on br

Jewish-Arab coexistence. “We must,” he said, “develop a prop- br

erly pluralistic society where Jew and Arab are equal in every re- br

spect, including career opportunities. Life in Israel’s democracy br

should be made sufficiently attractive to deter the Arabs from br

wanting to secede.” It seemed that the madness of blindness had br

struck down even one of the brighter Israeli figures. Labor, br

Likud; there is little difference.

If whom G-d would destroy He first makes mad, the br

Almighty must be exceedingly angry with His people. The fran- br

tic and frenetic search for a “solution” to a problem that is in- br

deed a cancer in our body politic leads to suggestions and com- br