The truth the settlers deserve

[Violet_Crumble]

By Zvi Bar'el

One of the deceitful arguments the settlers are waving in the government's face is: "Tell us the truth. Look us in the eyes." Their meaning, although they do not say it in so many words, is that for several decades the looks that passed between the settlers and the governments were always accompanied by a wink.

They moved into settlements, and the government's eye was covered with a cataract. They broke laws and the governments acted as if they had lost a coin on the floor. No one dared to tell the truth to the settlers, thereby abandoning the public arena to their version of the truth.

The settlers used every device in the attempt to sell their truth, to make it penetrate into the heart of the consensus. At first, the settlements were portrayed as the state's frontline, as a security-defense line.

When it turned out there was not much to support this posture, new slogans were born that left no room for further reflection: "The nation is with the Golan," "Yesha is here," "Rabin has no mandate." This was the reality the public must accept unquestioningly, the settlers declared, trying to "settle in our hearts."

They are once again trying to impose this same reality on the public, with slogans about "expulsion." This time, they are right about one thing. Just as there was no connection between the settlements and security, there is no connection between the disengagement and security. This is the truth that should be disseminated. This time, it is not a case of deceit on the part of the settlers, but rather a sort of unwritten understanding, totally unsubstantiated, between the public and the government.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/589359.html