Word: bisharat
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...always find it sad when seemingly intelligent people find themselves hopelessly lost in the thickets of a complex problem. This seems to be where George Bisharat has left himself after his thoroughly confused letter (3 17 83) which attempted to respond to the often overly vehement, but generally sensible critiques of his misguided editorial...
...Bisharat generously decided to further muddle only two of the contested points, and to these I will confine myself...
...Israelis have thus accepted their indirect responsibility for the massacre and have acted in a way which affirms the strength of their morality, a morality which is utterly tacking in her Arab neighbors, but expected of Israel by a demanding and perhaps hypocritical world. Mr. Bisharat wishes to go further, however, and seems to say that the Israelis foresaw the probability of a massacre and gave the Phalangists as much aid as possible in carrying it out. This interpretation, tempting though it may be for those with a blind hatred of Israel, simply does not make sense: after having proclaimed...
...Bisharat also seems confused on the subject of Israel's justification for the war in Lebanon last summer. His single valid point in a four paragraph tirade is that there were no terrorist attacks on Israel by the PLO cadres entrenched in Lebanon between July, 1981 and the beginning of the war. But does this necessarily make Israel's advance to Beirut an unjustifiable act of aggression? I think...
...Bisharat seems not to see this, for he argues that Israel, fearful of peace with the PLO, sought to wipe out this increasingly viable negotiating partner. It is clear that the Begin Government is not exactly enamored with the prospect of co-existing with a Palestinian state on the West Bank, but then, let us fairly note, the PLO is equally (if not more) hesitant about accepting Israel as a neighbor. Neither is ready to negotiate, but Israel loses little by delay. The PLO, on the other hand, in refusing to cease calling for Israel's destruction, demonstrates that...