The Crowd -- B.W. Cook

Ehud Barak, prime minister of Israel from 1999 to 2001, came to

Newport Beach this week at the invitation of Rabbi Mark Miller of Temple

Bat Yahm. Barak accepted the invitation to address the Newport-Mesa

community as part of the Norman Schiff Scholar Series sponsored by

Miller’s congregation in Newport Beach.

The 10th prime minister of Israel entered the Bat Yahm sanctuary as

the full house quieted. Secret Service agents in business suits,

earpieces visible, took strategic positions on the pulpit. Security

agents searched the purses of patrons, electronic wands scanned the

torsos of all who entered.

These are the times in which we live. The politics and the players in

the arena of Middle Eastern affairs are nothing less than the center of

the global vortex. As Americans, our destiny is inextricably tied, like

it or not, to the events that have shaped the life of Ehud Barak. He came

to share his story.

Standing 6’5” tall, and sporting a long gray beard resembling the

traditions of Jewish men of centuries past, the erudite Miller introduced

Barak. Miller, dressed in a dark charcoal-colored, three button designer

suit that firmly placed the host in the 21st Century, made remarks

pointed, with both humor and honor, at the privilege of welcoming a world

leader to his sanctuary and the community.

The soldier-statesman Barak, born February 12, 1942 on a kibbutz

founded by his immigrant parents near the Lebanese-Israeli border,

enlisted in the Israeli Army at age 17. By 1972, Barak was a member of an

elite commando unit and led the successful storming of a Belgian airliner

hijacked by Palestinian guerrillas at Tel Aviv airport. Then in 1973,

disguised as a woman carrying a purse loaded with explosives, Barak

retaliated against a Palestinian force responsible for murdering Israeli

athletes at the Munich Olympic games.

“If someone had told me as a young man that the world would still be

facing terror 37 years later, I would not have believed it,” said Barak,

whose Hebrew name is translated as “lightning.”

Israel’s most decorated soldier, with a master’s degree from Stanford

University, retired as army chief of staff in 1995 and joined the Labor

Party under then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The assassination of Rabin

in 1995 put Barak on the path of national leadership. At the apex of his

career, Barak joined former Pres. Bill Clinton at Camp David in an

attempt to reach a peaceful negotiation of differences with the

Palestinians led by Yassir Arafat. The failure of the negotiation

contributed to the violence that has escalated at an alarming rate over

the past 18 months.

Barak addressed the events of Sept. 11 in America, and their relation

to the continuing violence in his nation.

“The world has been changed forever,” he told his silent audience. “It

is reality. We must face it. Everything we hold dear; freedom, liberty,

the sanctity of human life, has been violated.”

Barak continued with alarming words, “The terrorists will use stolen

nuclear or biological arms if they can. After 9-11, nothing will be

regarded as not possible.”

The soldier-statesman shared his joy over becoming a first-time

grandfather of a male child born to one of his two grown daughters.

Stating his love for America, and fond memories of his youth spent in

Palo Alto as a young married student with infant children in tow, Barak

stated, “America is not hated because of her support for Israel, and

likewise, Israel is not hated for her relationship with America. Israel

is hated because she is an outpost of democracy surrounded by a backwater

of civilization that is predominately poor, uneducated, and unwilling to

come into life in the 21st Century.”

Praising President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the

cabinet, Barak drew applause from the assemblage.

“I’ve known Cheney and Rice for 10 years, Powell for 20 years, and I’m

here to tell you that America and the freedom-loving world are in the

best possible hands.”

Barak added that among other important military consequences, a

tighter control of international money must be put in place to stop the

money laundering that supports terror.

“Freedom-loving people must act not by the book, but out of the box.

To win the war on terror, our eyes must be open, our mind must be free

from dogma and conventional wisdom in order to put an end to terror,” he

said.

Barak’s nearly two-hour address followed a private dinner reception

hosted by community patrons supporting his appearances in Newport Beach.

The 59-year-old leader discussed the political ramifications of

involvement by Syria, Iraq, Iran, the Philippines and other nations with

ties to terror. In very pragmatic terms, Barak told the crowd that,

“There can be no stability in the world until terror is eliminated.”

His view concerning the future of Israel and Palestine was equally

pragmatic.

“There must be two states for two nations. Israel must have a secure

and protected border, and Israelis must free ourselves of the burden of

ruling the Palestinians. Jerusalem will not be sacrificed in the

process,” he stated unequivocally.

Following the address, Rabbi Miller questioned Barak on the

intransigence of Arab hatred for Israel.

“When Muslim children are taught to hate Israel, how will the cycle of

violence ever end?” asked Miller.

Barak waxed philosophical in response.

“There is much change that needs to occur. We are a patient people,”

Barak said. “We have waited thousands of years for peace.”

Guests and patrons of the event joined the former prime minister and

Rabbi Miller and wife Wendy, as hosts Jacob and Gina Rabinovich opened

their Italian villa on the Newport Coast for an after-event reception and

dessert. Some 100 Newport-Mesa activists, including honorary chairman of

the event Arthur Yelsey and his wife Karen, William and Michele Klein,

Ygal and Sheila Sonenshine, William and Carolyn Klein, Jim and Ellyne

Warsaw, Jeffrey and Debbie Margolis, Joel Rubenstein, Steve and Jill

Edwards, Edward and Leslea Miller, Jonathan and Sharyn Grant, Winnie Voss

and Elliot Mercer, shared comments and coffee over dessert catered and

underwritten by the Turnip Rose.

Impressive, powerful and poignant was Barak’s address to Newport

Beach. Yet in this columnist’s opinion, two elements were missing. First,

there were no discussions of possible solutions to Israel’s ongoing

struggle with the Palestinian people beyond the need for two nations and

secure borders. Second, there were only a handful of non-Jews in the

audience.

Peace in the Middle East and the end to world terror will never be

lasting without a resolution to Palestinian anger that has grown over

more than three generations resulting from the 1948 creation of Israel.

While strong borders and military might are essential, at least for

now, true and lasting peace only exists in a world of shared opportunity,

cultural exchange, economic and civic validity.

Lastly, here in America, in Newport Beach, in free and prosperous and

enlightened territory, what does it say about a community that does not

turn out in mass to witness an address by a world leader whose role can

and will effect all of our lives?

The failure of a free society of divergent views, backgrounds and

loyalties to come together in peaceful surrounding is an indication of

why mankind cannot or will not seek peace in the Middle East, the Far

East or East L.A.

* THE CROWD appears Thursdays and Saturdays.