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I don't agree with many things that Dr. Auman says, because I think
that, in spite of his great wisdom he is biased by his religious approach
to the situation of Israel
and her Arab neighbors. It really goes to show how much one's opinion is
colored by his religious persuasion.
As long as we involve religious considerations in our dealings with
the Arabs we'll
but it's worth listening to him
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Professor Robert (Yisrael) Aumann, the
Israeli-American scholar who won the Nobel Prize for economics last year,
said this week that Israel
may not be capable of continuing to exist in the long-term.
"Too many Jews don't understand why they are here," said Aumann,
who moved from the United States
to Israel
in the 1950s and helped found the Center for Rationality at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, an interdisciplinary research body that focuses on
game theory.
"If we don't understand why we are here, and that we are not America or just a place in which to live, we
will not survive," he said in a speech at the College
of Judea and Samaria in Ariel on Sunday. "The
desire to live like all the nations will sustain us maybe another 50 years,
if we are still here."
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Aumann said one of the primary reasons for the
recent war in Lebanon
was national fatigue and quoted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as having said
that Israel
is tired of wars and sacrifices.
"Fatigue, in the State of Israel's situation, will lead to death, as
occurs with mountain climbing," said Aumann. "If a mountain
climber is caught on the side of a mountain and it starts to snow, if he
falls asleep, he will die. He must remain alert."
Aumann, who lost his son Shlomo in the first Lebanon war, accused Israelis
of being overly sensitive to casualties of war.
"We are too sensitive to our losses, and also to the losses of the
other side," he said. "In the Yom Kippur War, 3,000 soldiers were
killed. It sounds terrible, but that's small change."
In addition, said Aumann, last summer's disengagement from the Gaza Strip
was a "tactical and ethical mistake" that gave the Palestinians
the wrong message and was another factor leading to this summer's Lebanon
war.
"Looking at the other side is an important element of game
theory," he said. "The Arabs' understanding in the wake of the
expulsion was that they had succeeded, and that they have to continue on
the same path. The expulsion, therefore, brought about the launching of
Qassams on Israel
and the abduction of the soldiers. The expulsion transmitted the message
that we can be moved even from Tel Aviv, and not just from Gush
Katif."
"Last summer we set back peace and understanding with our neighbors by
at least 10 years," said Aumann. "After the expulsion, no words
will convince them that we intend to stay here forever."
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