A brave step

Recently, I accepted an invitation from Guy Feldman, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel to touch base on developments in his country. I had to take a long drive from Alabang to Fort Bonifacio but I wanted to convey to him personally how interested I was in the Palestinian conflict. The Israelis have taken a brave step by leaving Gaza. It puts the onus of support on the restof the world if this latest gambit for peace in this unhappy land can succeed.

Having lived in London as political exile and journalist, I made friends with both prominent Israelis and Jews. My friend, Baria Alammudin, the foreign editor of London-based Al-Hayat introduced me to the former Saudi ambassador to the Court of St. James Ghazi Algosaibi. He wrote an ‘Ode to a Suicide Bomber ‘which caused a furor and he had to leave his post in London. The next I heard about him he was Minister of Water in Riyadh and now he is the powerful minister of Labor. He was said to have been very close to the late King.

Among long time Jewish residents in London I met Flora Solomon one of the stalwarts of Marks and Spencer who figured prominently in the Zionist movement in its early days. She was a friend of the Pauls who were among our dearest friends. We often had dinners with them in Flora’s Mayfair flat.

Will peace follow now that the Israelis have given up on Gaza? I asked Feldman. His answer was to lend me a book he was carrying in his valise, Haim Harari’s A View from the Eye of the Storm. The book developed from a speech of the same title that he gave to a group of major multinational corporations. His insights have been so well received in academic circles, he wanted to reach the ‘proverbial taxi driver’, the man on the street whose wisdom outstrips that of experts.

I still have to read the book but my notion about peace in the Middle East has been influenced by those who think it will not come easily given the nature of the conflict. Israel seeks recognition for a homeland based on a Biblical claim and a symbolic end to Jewish persecution. The Arabs on the other hand, especially Palestinians, do not want it fulfilled at their expense. The need to annex more and more land hurts not only their cultural and religious patrimony but also their territorial integrity.

That may have been true before the evacuation of the Gaza. But with Israel suing for peace in exchange for land, compromise might just be possible. It really depends whether Arabs can live with a small Israel enclave within Arab land. Israel’s departure from Gaza is an important step because it symbolizes more than just giving up land. It means dropping its claim to all Biblical Jewish land that has so angered displaced Palestinians. For the first time, Israel seeks to trade land for peace. "The principle involved is so central to Israel’s raison d’etre that the Gaza withdrawal plan has turned Jew against Jew, mobilized the country’s largest ever civil protest movement and sparked murder by a Jewish terrorist," said London’s Daily Telegraph.

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WHY IS A RELIGIOUS CHARLATAN ADVISING OUR LEADERS? Mike Velarde may head El Shaddai, a Catholic lay movement, and have millions of followers but by what right does that make adviser to affairs of state? How can we allow the effrontery of the man, celebrating a birthday Mass at the Quirino grandstand as the stage to reconcile President GMA and Estrada and make them agree to ‘coalition’ government.

Have we sunk so low ?’I cannot see how the leader of a religious cult can be so bold as to be on center stage to solve our problems and modernize our nation? It is a fallback to the Middle Ages. It encapsulates all that is wrong with the present system based as it is in nationwide popularity contests. He has the crowds and makes money out of these crowds. Our leaders should know better than pander to him. He has become a rich man, reputedly owner of vast mansions in Alabang. Can’t we leave it at that? Can we now stop using his crowds as the measure of what is good for this country? I am at a loss to understand how he can stand for "healing and reconciliation" given his dubious credentials.

I agree with Senator Rodolfo Biazon and Miriam Santiago for telling him off to keep to his own ‘religious’territory instead of offering a ‘formula aimed at ending the political crisis". A coalition government maybe a compromise but it is based on principle. This foolishness has been going on for too long now. Since when has his crowds ended a political crisis? Diyos na mahabagin. Save us from this charlatan.

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LAST TWO MINUTES. It’s like a thrilling basketball game in the last two minutes. The thrill comes from the uncertainty of the final score. Egoism is almost palpable in the dribble and the rush to score points in the hardcourt. It is a war of nerves as the clock ticks. Except it isn’t a basketball game. It is Congress and what happens there in the last two minutes can unmake us all. Already I hear that if President GMA is impeached, all hell will break loose with the scramble for power . The Opposition may be together in wishing to oust President GMA but there are as many agendas as there are players.

If I were Senator Manny Villar and Rep. Cynithia Villar, I would not welcome the spotlight on them. It is insulting. They are made to look like typical predator politicians going for the kill for future and present rewards, not especially because they are individually among the richest members in both Houses of Congress. There is already talk on what they may be bargaining for. As one report said, it is higher than just votes for President GMA’s impeachment.

It gives us a preview of what to expect if ever the president is convicted in an impeachment. and Vice-President Noli de Castro takes over. Imagine the fighting for the spoils. In the event, the military will find its justification to take over. Where will all the dribbling and scoring members of Congress go when they lose their jobs?

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My e-mail is [email protected]