The Show Must Go On

The law granting amnesty to anti-Expulsion protesters passed the Knesset this week with a large majority. 51 in favor and just 9 opposed. Barring the Arab parties, almost all the other MKs supported the law. And that means that something must be wrong.

The amnesty law is bad. What it actually says is that the show is over, and it is time for everyone to go home.
Those people who fought the battle for Gush Katif with the intention of winning are not included in the amnesty. The law does not include people who blocked roads or refused to obey army orders.

This does not mean that all the thousands of people who, with great self-sacrifice, spent days and nights at demonstrations, marches, Kfar Maimon and tent cities in Gush Katif do not deserve praise. They certainly do. But the bottom line is that there was never a real struggle for Gush Katif. There was never a real struggle because the settlers' rabbinical and political leadership prevented it and publicly deplored road-blocking, refusal of orders and any other potentially effective actions to save Gush Katif.

All that transpired in Gush Katif was one big show in which each side played its part and then left the stage. The goal of the army was to destroy. And the goal of the Orange Camp was to win points in public opinion. At the end of the show, Gush Katif was destroyed and the public was extremely sympathetic. Everybody got what they wanted and the curtain closed.

Now, the Knesset has legislated amnesty for the Orange actors in the show. Not for the people who really battled the Expulsion - just for those who kept to the script. That is why the Left is also in favor of this law. It assures us all that next time, everybody will continue to recite their lines.

For them, that is excellent, because the show must go on.