The decision of the government to leave two synagogues in Gaza standing after the destruction of all other structures marked a new high for the cynicism of the prime minister.
Instead of leaving the homes and infrastructure intact, and turning them into compensation to the refugees (as agreed in the Geneva initiative), while taking apart the synagogues, Sharon did exactly the opposite, and washed his hands clean: He remained loyal to Jewish 'values,' and the Palestinians fulfilled their part in the script and burnt the synagogues.
Let's review the facts:
1. The Geneva initiative, while it may have been Beilin's personal pet project, was expressly rejected, both by the palestinians and the Israeli government (of which, by the way, Beilin was no longer a part when he "negotiated" it, having lost his Knesset seat in the January 2003 elections). It is authority for absolutely nothing.
2. It's a patent falsehood that, except for synagogues, "all other structures" in the Gaza Jewish communities were destroyed. Perhaps Dr. Beilin has forgotten the $14 million contribution that James Wolfensohn, Mort Zuckerman and others made to salvage the most useful "structures," the greenhouses, intact and operable, for the palestinians' use and economic betterment. Why? Because the PA refused to pay for them, refused, specifically, to pay Jews for them. (By the way, was the looting of those greenhouses also part of the "script?")
3. It was at the behest of the Palestinian Authority that the private homes were demolished. The palestinians, they said, had no use for such structures and would simply have to bear the burden of razing them themselves. For once, all parties (except perhaps Dr. Beilin and his friends) were in agreement.
4. As for the "cynicism" of the government in leaving the synagogues standing, well, the record speaks for itself. Whatever may have motivated the government (and the army) to reverse their position and reach that decision, "cynicism" appears to have played very little part. Unless, of course, you view the reluctant recognition of basic principles of Jewish law as expressed by Israel's chief rabbis "cynicism." I guess perhaps Dr. Beilin does.
