For the Israeli right, this is the moment of "We told you so." The fact that the kidnappings and missile attacks have come from southern Lebanon and Gaza — precisely the areas from which Israel has unilaterally withdrawn — is proof, for right-wingers, of the bankruptcy of unilateralism.
Yet the right has always misunderstood the meaning of unilateral withdrawal. Those of us who have supported unilateralism didn't expect a quiet border in return for our withdrawal but simply the creation of a border from which we could more vigorously defend ourselves, with greater domestic consensus and international understanding. The anticipated outcome, then, wasn't an illusory peace but a more effective way to fight the war. The question wasn't whether Hamas or Hezbollah would forswear aggression but whether Israel would act with appropriate vigor to their continued aggression.
So it wasn't the rocket attacks that were a blow to the unilateralist camp, but rather Israel's tepid responses to those attacks. If unilateralists made a mistake, it was in believing our political leaders — including Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert — when they promised a policy of zero tolerance against any attacks emanating from Gaza after Israel's withdrawal. That policy was not implemented — until two weeks ago. Now, belatedly, the Olmert government is trying to regain something of its lost credibility, and that is the real meaning of this initial phase of the war, both in Gaza and in Lebanon.
No, we never "misunderstood". What was misunderstood was this part: "The anticipated outcome, then, wasn't an illusory peace but a more effective way to fight the war".
No, Yossi, we of the Right were right when we said that terror would not subside, that peace would not result. Some of the politicians you perhaps were willing to support because of the jettisoning the Arabs simply lied to their electorate and never specifically said that terror would always be with us but that once the Arabs got what they wanted they would be satisfied.
That indeed was the message that was subliminated to the Jewish populace.
The peace was sold as illusory. From Rabin & Peres (with Beilin), through to Barak, Sharon and Olmert, they deliberating avoided that part of the peace-that-wasn't-to-be.
A New Middle East, yes, that was truly non-illusory, right?.
Even AB Yehoshua, who once said, as Yossi implies, that if the Pals. start in with us we can now feel free to bomb the hell out of them, backtracked and ended up blaming the Jews for antisemitism.
Our politicos never had it within them to achieve peace but just to get rid of the "settlers". They were not willing to accept the very pessimistic outlook that the Arabs aren't interested in a state, aren't interested in their own economic well-being, etc. but simply want (a) to kill Jews and (b) to destroy the state of Israel, and not necessarily in that order. They really don't care, actually, where we Jews live in Tel Aviv or Shiloh.
Tepid?
One doesn't have to be a rabid imperialist to recognize that we've never been more than lukewarm. In our actions and in our thinking.
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