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Last Sunday, former Israeli Minister (and former Russian political prisoner for ten years) Natan Sharansky spoke at a Temple in Los Angeles. He resigned from the Israeli government in 2005 due to Sharon's plan to pull Israeli citizens out of the Gaza strip. However, he began his remarks by praising Sharon for having brought Israel some of its greatest successes.
He said many fascinating things. From my handwritten notes (not verbatim):
GAZA
Sharon urged me to stay in office and to vote against him on Gaza. But I felt I could not be part of a government that was pursuing that policy.
...Many people apply to Israel a standard which is not applied to any other country in the world.
...Three years ago, Sharon said the world is unfair to us, pressing us to make concessions. We will never have a partner for peace and democracy in the Palestinians. We must do something dramatic to show the world we did all we could. It will give us ten years without pressure. And I said, 'No, we will not have ten years. We will not have ten days.'
...Hamas is getting all the political credit for the Gaza pullout. They are saying, 'We killed 1,000 Jews, we got Gaza. We kill 2,000 Jews, we will get the West Bank. We kill 3,000 Jews, we will get Jerusalem.'
AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES: CENTERS OF PROPAGANDA
...American universities are centers of anti-Israel propaganda. The Israeli narrative has been erased from lectures, from reading materials. It may become politically correct to seek a world without Israel. I've visited 40 campuses in the U.S. in he last 3 years, and I faced many demonstrations. Jewish students have told me they feel they may have more chances of success in future professional life, if they distance themselves from Israel. But if 30, 40, 50 people get together and take the pro-Israel side of the argument, that ends, because the truth is on our side.
LIBERAL BLINDNESS TO THE HORRORS OF PALESTINIAN CULTURE
...The punishment for the honor-killing of a Palestinian woman is 6 months. Do you know, no Palestinian has spent 6 months, or even 6 days in prison for an honor killing of a woman. And the only escape for the woman from an honor killing is to be a suicide bomber. How is it that people can overlook these things?
IRAN
...Recently the Defense Minister of Israel mentioned that Israel will have to take military action to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
...Ten years ago the Israeli secret service came to the conclusion that in ten years Iran would have the technology to make nuclear weapons and the rockets to deliver them to Israel and many other places in the world. On my first visit to Russia after my release from prison -- which had a great deal of publicity, since the former prisoner was returning as a government official -- I had a secret meeting with the Russian government. I told them we knew they were giving nuclear technology to Iran. The next day we met again, and they said all the right things. They said, you're right, we found out you were correct, and the people involved have been punished. We had many more meetings about this over the years, and they were taking only half-measures about it. On one occasion I met with Putin, who said, "When this all comes out publicly you will find -- and I know you will check me on this -- you will find that that the most advanced technology being used by Iran, is coming from the free world." Unfortunately he was right. Much technology came from Russia, but the most advanced came through Pakistan from Britain, from Holland, and from a number of other European countries. Iran is now very close -- maybe months away -- from having weapons of mass destruction.
Iran is doing very good PR for us. If we had said Iran had these intentions, it would not have been believed. But the President of Iran is saying Israel must be removed, at least from that part of the world. This must not be permitted.
One way to address this is military. But this will not be as easy as it was [for Israel to remove the nuclear weapons facilities] in Iraq. It is much more complicated. But we have no choice.
The only other way is a change of regime in Iran. In fear regimes, the population is in three groups: true believers, dissidents, and double-thinkers. The double-thinkers are those who disagree with the regime, but are afraid to say it. In one generation Iran went from true believers, to double-thinkers.
If only the free world will support the people of Iran, I believe things can change very quickly. In a few months either there will be regime change or the free world will have to act.
GWB, THE WAR IN IRAQ, AND SYRIA
A year ago, Syria seemed to be the world's most unshakable totalitarian regime. Today it looks like the Syrian regime's days are numbered. This is because of George W. Bush. He is not given sufficient credit here for all he has achieved.
In Iraq there is no civil war. There is no patriotic war. There are fighters from Iran and Syria who are there. If the problem of the insurgents is solved, things will continue to improve, and then there will be the first democracy in the Arab world.
