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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, MARCH 29, 1985
PAGE 9
"We must take into account, in the implementation of the rede
ployment, a perception of the future as well: How will we live
along the northern border with reasonable security for our set
tlements?"
So said the I-
sraeli minister of defense. In May,
1982? No, in March, 1985. Yitzhak Rabin uttered these unbear
ably sad words last week. They� nothing less than the final
admission of the futility of the Lebanon�-
"Operation Peace in Galilee" failed in many of its objectives:
Syria was not humbled, it was heightened, and the reconstruction
of .Lebanon that Ariel Sharon was supposed to produce in� busy
week looks now (as, to some, it looked then) like the most irre
sponsible of illusions.... [ Now ] the Shias of southern Lebanon
� aroused and ambushing Israelis•.••
For years the Shias were their allies, represented by Maj. Saad
Haddad; the invading Israeli battalions of June, 1982, were warm
ly welcomed•••• The warm welcome of 1982 was simply the sensible
and self-interested hospitality of the liberated for the libera
tors. The PLO had occupied southern Lebanon, and the Israelis
had put an end to the occupation. But an Israeli occupation is
another occupation, and nothing else••••
Something simple and staggering happened in the Shia world since
the good old days of the Christian Maj. Haddad and his friendly
Shia force. It was the Iranian revolution, and that is what Is
rael now faces. The most catastrophic consequence of the war in
Lebanon may well be that it has created� border between Israel
and Iran--a much more dangerous arrangement than the border be
tweenfirael and the PLO. The Palestinians had murderers who
wished to kill; the Shias have murderers who wish to die.••.
Nor is that all.
The PLO in Lebanon was a state within a
state•••• There could be a solution in expulsion. The Shias,
however, are at home; they cannot be expelled•••• At present, Is
raeli soldiers are in Lebanon, as the U.S. Marines were in Bei
rut, on the most abject mission of all: for the sole purpose of
defending themselves.... Once again the Israeli government is
worrying about the northern settlements. That is not much to
show for more than 600 dead.
Israel invaded Lebanon in May 1982 with a proud "high hand." Defense Minis
ter Sharon was confident his forces could do the job. Now the Israelis are
retreating albeit slowly and steadily so as not to give the impression of
being forced out. Meanwhile, Israeli families mourn the loss of over 600
dead soldiers.
All for what?, many Israelis ask. Judah has certainly
suffered a "wound." Whether it's the wound prophesied in Hosea 5:13 re
mains to be seen.
South Africa: Radicals Foment Violence
All last week (March 18-22) the late-night American news program on the ABC
network called "Nightline" reported directly from Johannesburg, South Af
rica.
It was a rather remarkable achievement both technologically and
politically. Despite a few glimpses of objective analysis here and there,
the tone of the week-long series was, as South Africa's State President