Israel Matzav: Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Sorry seems to be the hardest word

I like this article a lot and I'm posting it even though it's a bit different from the standard fare for this blog. It was written by Rabbi Emanuel Feldman, who was the Rabbi in Atlanta, Georgia for more than forty years before retiring to Israel, and whose daughter and son-in-law are close friends of Mrs. Carl and me.

Rabbi Feldman talks about how Israeli politicians have taken a very non-Jewish attitude by refusing to ever admit that they are wrong. While politicians in other countries are forced to apologize - and sometimes even to resign - when they mess up, Israeli politicians are able to keep going their merry ways even when their poor judgment costs people their lives and their homes. Under Jewish law, one who sins must confess his sins and repent by - among other things - undertaking never to commit the same sin again. In the spirit of Maimonides' Laws of Repentance, Rabbi Feldman has written confessions for three Israeli politicians who really need to repent: Shimon Peres, Ehud K. Olmert and Ehud Barak.

Peres: "I ask forgiveness for the sin of Oslo. I sincerely thought that a new Middle East was upon us, but I was completely in error. Oslo was a disaster for us. The Arabs never wanted peace, they want only to eliminate us by any means - even by declaring peaceful intentions. I was too blinded to see this and I pushed hard for the Oslo agreements. This led to misery and to bloodshed, and I sincerely regret it. I am ashamed of my deeds and will never again repeat them. Nor will I ever again ask for the trust of public office."

Olmert: "I ask forgiveness for the sins of Gaza and the sin of the Second Lebanon War. I agreed with Sharon that by forcing the Jewish citizens of Gaza out of their homes, Israel would win the sympathy of the world and would convince the Arabs of our peaceful intentions. I was wrong on all counts. We achieved no sympathy, we hurt almost 10,000 of our most idealistic Israelis, and we only convinced the Arabs that we were in retreat. I was too blinded to see all this, and it has led to bloodshed and misery for all of us. The current nightmare situation in Gaza - which has become a Hamas and al-Qaida stronghold that bombs Israel daily - is a direct result of my miscalculation. I am ashamed of what I did, and I will never again ask for the trust of public office.

"The same holds true for my sins in the Second Lebanon war. Winograd was right: I made terrible errors in judgment that cost us dearly. The same holds true for all the ethical questions swirling about my financial dealings. I regret all this and apologize as I return to private life."

Barak: "I ask forgiveness for evacuating our soldiers from Lebanon when I was PM. I thought this would convince the world and the Arabs of our peaceful intentions. I was wrong on all counts. The Arabs want only our destruction, and their several intifadas prove this. I also ask forgiveness for trying to give most of the Old City to Arafat during the Wye talks. All we got in return was more killings and more intifada. I regret all this, and as an act of repentance I pledge never again to ask for the trust of public office."

I can think of some more confessions that ought to be said. For example, by Israel's media. In the meantime, read it all.