Rabbi Leiken on the Hamas Victory

What Next?!?
By Student Rabbi Brian Leiken
Special to McPickles News

By now we all have heard about the near-landslide victory for Hamas in the most recent Palestinian elections. Needless to say, most Israelis are shocked. Their hopes for a true and lasting peace between Israel and a future Palestinian state seem forever lost. Hamas, an organization that has placed the destruction of Israel as a platform priority and has sponsored countless suicide attacks against innocent Israelis, now constitutes the Palestinian government.

This new situation plagues us with questions. How did this happen? How did the moderate Palestinian voices, of which we were told dominated Palestinian society, choose to elect an organization that has advocated, and in fact sponsored, terror and suicide?

Major developments are underway each day in Israel. In November Amir Peretz—a Moroccan-born Sephardic Jew—defeated Shimon Peres to become the leader of the historically Ashkenazic Labor Party. This political watershed was followed by Ariel Sharon’s departure from the Likud party that he helped build to form the centrist adima party. Shortly thereafter Shimon Peres left the Labor party to join his longtime opponent Sharon. Days later Sharon suffered a massive stroke. He has emained in a medicallyinduced coma. With former Jerusalem mayor Ehud Olmert taking over as the new Prime Minister and Israelis elections set for March, the Hamas victory is just one more of the flood of new developments in this small country.

With these historic and unsettling events happening in such rapid succession, the question is…What Next? Each day pundits and politicians both in Israel and abroad attempt to understand the situation at hand. Some have argued that Sharon and Peres’ move to the center represents a public nod to the unilateral disengagement that began last August. Others argue that the Hamas victory will force Israel to retain its settlements and stop the disengagement. Still others are hoping to utilize this unprecedented moment to spotlight the growing poverty roblem in Israel and want to seize this historic moment, and in particular the Hamas victory, as a reason to focus on important domestic socio-economic issues.

As an American living in Israel, it is difficult for me to understand fully and react to this ever-changing situation. I have been here for five months and have only begun to understand the complexity that is Israel. There are so many variables, so many different points of view, and so many different contexts that I sometimes feel as if I am drowning in a sea of ideas. As of now I believe it is impossible to negotiate with an organization bent on destroying Israel. Hamas will never be a partner in peace. For this reason, I think it is essential for Israel to continue its unilateral disengagement.

This means abandoning settlements and drawing the future borders of Israel. Of course, doing this means that the separation fence (the construction of which continues at an ever-increasing pace) will continue to harm Palestinian life. This pains me and raises a host of moral questions. I find myself living in conflict.

Living here has made me realize the importance of domestic issues in Israel, and more importantly the lack of attention accorded such issues. It is my hope that these issues are highlighted in the coming Israeli election. Although attention remains focused on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is my sense that Israelis are beginning to recognize that there exist conflicts and challenges beyond the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

My family and I will remain in Israel until June. I can say with absolute certainty that major news reports will continue to flood our televisions and newspapers in the coming months. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with you throughout our final months here.

In addition, I would love to hear your comments and questions. You can email me at brianleiken@yahoo.com. Finally, I am reading a book entitled, Company C: an American’s life as a citizen-soldier in Israel. The author, Haim Watzman, is the brother of a former colleague. His book is filled with engaging insights concerning the Israeli army, the Palestinian conflict, and life in Israel. Shara and Kaleb and I recently celebrated Shabbat in his home in Jerusalem and were truly impressed with his stories. You can find the book on the Amazon website.

All best from the other side of the world,
Student Rabbi Brian Leiken