Israel on road to ruin, warn former Shin Bet chiefs

Four former directors of Israel's Shin Bet security service have given unprecedented warnings that the prime minister, Ariel Sharon, is leading the country to catastrophe by failing to pursue peace with the Palestinians.

The criticisms, which follow a warning by the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Moshe Ya'alon, a fortnight ago that the government's harsh treatment of Palestinian civilians was "strengthening terrorist organisations", provide further evidence that confidence in Mr Sharon is crumbling in the security establishment.
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"We are heading downhill towards near-catastrophe," Mr Perry said. "If we go on living by the sword, we will continue to wallow in the mud and destroy ourselves."

Mr Shalom called the government's policies "contrary to the desire for peace".

The former intelligence chiefs said Mr Sharon's insistence on a complete halt to "terrorist attacks" before peace talks could begin in earnest was either misguided or a ploy to avoid negotiations and continue the policies of Israeli expansionism.

"[The government] is dealing solely with the question of how to prevent the next terrorist attack," Mr Gilon said. "It [ignores] the question of how we get out of the mess we find ourselves in today ... It is clear to me that we are heading toward a crash."
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The Foolish American Jewish Leaders Who Come to Israel for the General Assembly of the Federations
What the GA delegates won't see.

If I were a delegate to the United Jewish Communities General Assembly, which opens its deliberations today in Jerusalem, I would be deeply insulted—insulted by the fact that the organizers of this important assembly continue to treat me like a fool, who only has to be shown one side of Israel—the brightly lit and pretty side—and has to be kept away from its dark backyard, as if it were on fire. I would be insulted by the fact that the organizers think that I will continue to believe that Israel is only biotechnology, kibbutzim, immigrant absorption, Yad Vashem and the Supreme Court; that the Israel Defense Forces is truly just a defensive army; that Israel is "the only democracy in the Middle East," despite years of brutal occupation; and that any criticism of the government's policies is heresy.

I would be insulted by the fact that 55 years after its establishment, the State of Israel continues to treat the Jews of the United States as walking charity boxes, that cheap propaganda is all it takes to make them reach into their pockets, and that it does not have the courage to show its real face—both the beauty and the ugliness—to its brethren in the Diaspora. If the most senior representatives of U.S. Jewry agree to this division of labor—propaganda in return for handouts and automatic support—then the Jews of America shouldn't be surprised that some Israelis hold them in contempt.
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