Beilin's True Colors

May 14, 1998 - Ruth and Nadia Matar - Women for Israel's Tomorrow (Women in Green)

Yossi Beilin has denounced the Netanyahu government's acknowledgment that Jonathan Pollard was an authorized Israeli agent. He termed the move "irresponsible" and evidence of the government's chaotic conduct of matters of state. Beilin, and his fellow Laborites, Rabin and Peres, had approved Pollard's spy mission, but when Pollard was discovered, disassociated themselves from any responsibility in the matter, adopting the strategy that Pollard was: "a volunteer in a rogue operation."

That is typical Beilin. However, instead of lying back and waiting for the damage to blow over from the admission that the Peres-Beilin-Rabin previous disclaimer had been an outright falsehood, Beilin decided to attack Netanyahu "for being honest." Honesty, loyalty, pride in one's country, respect for the democratic electoral process, all these have never been Beilin's forte. The whole Oslo Process, of which Beilin and Peres had been the chief architects and exponents, began and continued in deception and lies to the Israeli public. Moreover, its illegality in negotiating with the PLO at a time when the law forbade such contacts, proved to be no barrier for Beilin. He and Peres considered themselves above the law. And they have been proven right so far! They have never been prosecuted for the violations of the law they committed in initiating Oslo. Their involvement with Robin Cook, the British Foreign Minister, in the Har Homa fiasco, is another example of their perfidy.

Continuing his disloyalty to Pollard, an American Jew who provided Israel with vital information concerning, among other things, Iraq's nuclear intentions, is not unusual for Beilin. His record is barren of any loyalty whatsoever to this Jewish state, his Jewish heritage, pride in being Jewish, or any nationalistic feeling for a Jewish homeland. Rather, he ridiculed Americans, whom he thought showed by their actions a "Love of Country." Several years ago he wrote a mean-spirited attack on Ronald Reagan ("Jerusalem Post," August 20, 1996). In that article he depicted Reagan as "pathetic" "shallow" and virtually a lovable old fool. In effect, he called the American electorate naive, empty, and childish for having elected Reagan in two landslide victories. (In sharp contrast, Beilin and Peres have never been directly elected by anyone.)

Beilin has no love or pride in his country; he has no hesitation of immorally telling a falsehood to win a point; he actively practices deceit with regard to what he will disclose to the public, whose intelligence he does not hold in high regard; these then are some of the traits which characterize Beilin, Peres' poodle. Were he half the man that former President Reagan was, he would have long ago acknowledged Israel's obligation to Jonathan Pollard. That he now attacks Netanyahu for attempting to rectify the previous government's sordid behavior in the Pollard matter, is indeed revealing of Beilin's true colors!