Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: A time to reflect

Friday, Oct. 3, 2003 | 4:25 a.m.

THE STATE OF ISRAEL is 55 years old.

For a very good and personal reason, that sounds like a very young age. For those of you who haven't yet passed the half-century mark in this experiment called life, think of those 55 years against over 5,000 years and you will understand the relative insignificance of that small number of years in the history of the Jewish people.

Last week Jews around the world celebrated Rosh Hashana, which is the New Year. There have been 5,764 of them. Tonight, as a part of what we call the High Holy Days, the Jewish community gathers together for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is the holiest day of our year.

Many will remember the name Yom Kippur for its association with a war in 1973 in which Israel's Arab neighbors sneak-attacked her while her people were praying in their synagogues. Israel came perilously close to dying for the pan-Arab dream, which at that time was to wipe Israel off the face of the map.

Whether it was a superior fighting force, divine intervention or both, Israel defeated the Arabs decisively as it has in every war since its existence in 1948. She has since signed peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan. Recent history has made it more than clear to those hostile Arab countries, which have not yet made peace with Israel, that military victory over the Jewish state is impossible.

What is less clear is the psychological toll that suicide bombers and the counterattacks demanded in return is taking on that young nation.

We have come to view Israel, besides being the only democratic nation in the Middle East and the only reliable ally of the United States in the entire region, as invincible. So much so that in some less-educated parts of the world she is seen as a bully and the Palestinian murderers as victims. Believe me, the Jewish conscience, which sprang forth from the land of Israel thousands of years ago, does not allow such a scenario.

What is allowed, of course, is the ability to defend oneself. But in this case, where it is not countries declaring war, overtly or covertly, but small groups of terrorists who look forward to their own deaths, the ability to stop them in their own villages and from house to house is problematic.

By design, the terrorists live and hide among normal people who are either too scared to make them leave or too brainwashed in their evil ways to understand why they must. As a result, young Israelis die needlessly in order to keep collateral damage as low as possible. And, yes, some Palestinian innocents die, too.

However Israel responds, though, the fact remains that this cannot go on forever or even for a few more years as some would suggest. There has to be another way. Mothers and fathers cannot continually accept the deaths of their children without demanding a different course of action.

My view may be a bit too dramatic but I am certain it will work. From what little I know about the people on both sides of the conflict, the overwhelming majority want peace. There is a small but very evil number of Palestinians who are trained, equipped, paid and abetted by governments outside of the West Bank and Gaza. Let's say Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia.

If Israel were to follow the lead of the United States, it would hold those three countries accountable. If, for example, another suicide bomber were to blow himself and a bunch of innocent Israeli children up, the Air Force would be well within its right to defend itself by retaliating against Damascus, Tehran or Riyadh. With destruction brought to their own doorsteps, how long would it take for the people in those capitals to demand that their governments cut off the money and the aid to the bombers? While such a solution may appear drastic it is not so far-fetched, especially in light of the fact that killing innocent Palestinians while trying to destroy the murderers in Hamas and Islamic Jihad takes a toll far greater than human life. It eats at the soul of the Jewish people.

The good news in all this, if there is any, is that the Jewish people have been around a very long time. The last 55 years of the state of Israel's existence is not even 1 percent of the calendar recording Jewish history. So in the grand scheme of things, what we are living and, unfortunately, dying through is but a blip.

That is not to say what is happening now is not important or of the greatest urgency in seeking a resolution, merely that there is much, much more to be written.

The choice really belongs to the Arabs, some of whom have made the commitment to peace and most who have not.

As the Jewish people are preparing for the fast as part of their atonement for their sins of the past year, they are also looking forward to a year, a decade and a millennium of peace that will nourish the souls of the entire world.

It is a big dream but it is not impossible. It has been coming true for almost 6,000 years -- with some obviously very ugly and tragic exceptions. And I suspect there will be a Yom Kippur a few thousand years from now in which this historical blip will be recounted.

Whether the story is told with a happy ending or not is up to those of us who live in the here and now. So, while we pray for forgiveness we should also pray to God that each of us, Jews and non-Jews, has the strength to be up to such a task.

Now that would make for a very happy new year.