Editorial roundup for Sunday — January 09, 2005

• Jerusalem Post, on the possibility of violence in dismantling Israeli settlements

Jerusalem Post, on the possibility of violence in dismantling Israeli settlements

On Monday, during the scuffle over the demolition of an illegal outpost near Yitzhar, a soldier felt the need to fire shots in the air when a settler tried to take away his rifle. An off-duty soldier who lives in Yitzhar joined the resisting settlers and was arrested.

Stones were thrown at soldiers, military vehicles were vandalized, and soldiers were called “Nazis.” The writing is on the wall. But what does it say, and in whose interest is it to put it there?

The settlers involved in this muddy fracas are among the most radical, and they probably do not reflect the mindset of most residents of communities slated to be dismantled. But their behavior was clearly meant as both a signal and a call to arms. And the fact that it was meant to scare us does not mean that it shouldn’t, even though the government must remain undeterred by violent intimidation.

Our democracy is facing a supreme test. We can see as well as anyone the tortuous and, in some sense, troubling path by which the disengagement plan has reached its current stage, but it cannot be argued that decisions approved by the cabinet and the Knesset are illegal. …

The irony is that, as the prospect of violent resistance grows, the settler leaders and the radicals they won’t stand up to are driving all of us, the people of Israel, into a corner. They are forcing a choice between anarchy and democracy. And they are drowning out legitimate questions about disengagement, such as Dichter’s warning this week that Samaria could become like Gaza in the wake of a withdrawal.

Even if democracy ultimately wins out, the result of such a terrible choice could be that we will all lose.