An Election Perspective

Ikvot ha'Mashiach
http://www.gracethrufaith.com/ikvot/an-election-perspective

Commentary by Jack Kelley

By now the whole world knows that Hamas way out performed expectations and came away with an absolute majority in the Palestinian elections. For the first time an avowed terrorist organization has achieved political control of a duly constituted government through democratic elections.

As troubling as this is, the claim, even by some from the evangelical community, that the Palestinian people have voted for terror over peace is more so. True, the people they elected are terrorists. But that doesn't mean that they've consciously chosen terror over peace.

Let's back up a little and gain some perspective. Who was the only other real choice? Fatah, the party of Yasser Arafat. Starting with Arafat, the leaders of Fatah have stolen tens of billions of dollars from the Palestinian people, reducing many of them to a sub-human existence that has to be felt to be understood.

With just the money that Arafat personally stole, the Palestinian Authority could have fed and housed all its citizens in a manner much more responsive to their needs for a long time. And where is this money now? No one seems to know, although Arafat's young widow Suha languishes away on a mere $1.8 million per month allowance in a palace in Paris. This on top of the $20 million lump sum she received upon Arafat's death, paid out of Palestinian funds. Add to that the money he helped others steal, and we're talking enough that, put to the right use, it would have assured Fatah's re-election for generations to come, if that's what they had really wanted.

And remember, this wasn't just money from Palestinian tax revenues. Much of it came in the form of humanitarian aid from the West, meant to ease the plight of the people. Somehow until recently the US and EU never caught on to the fact that while some of their money was going to support terror, more was filling the secret accounts of the Palestinian leaders and relatively little was going to the people.

As If That Wasn't Enough

Some of these thugs figured out that if they took the stolen funds and invested in businesses, they could milk the people again by overcharging and under performing on things like utilities, construction materials, and other necessities. Only Arafat had the personal clout to hold things together under these circumstances. When he died, the PA soon deteriorated into anarchy, the leaders in a final mad grab for the money.

As the history of popular revolutions has taught us, citizens will always choose repression over anarchy. So one thing the Palestinian people did was to finally vote to end this wholesale theft of their resources by putting the perpetrators out of office. You can't talk political philosophy with a frightened, starving man. When he finally figures out who's stealing from him, he'll choose anyone else who'll promise him food and security.

Hamas has done exactly that, having learned from the communists of the past generation. To win the hearts and minds of the people, feed and care for them and restore order to their lives. With a hungry and scared population it works every time, especially when you can blame the enemy next door for the problem.

But Wait, There's More

And that brings us to the other thing the Palestinians did. Believing the lies they've been fed about Israel being the cause of all their problems, they voted for someone who promised to be strong and resolute, someone who wouldn't become so distracted by their own greed and corruption as to appear weak. Someone who would promise not to negotiate with Israel. (This campaign promise has apparently already been broken with rumors of a Hamas offer of truce to Israel in return for land in the Negev and West Bank.)

This is a component of the Moslem psyche that the west has yet to understand. To a Moslem, negotiation is a sign of weakness, only undertaken sincerely by someone afraid of losing. Mohammed taught his followers that negotiation is only permissible as a delaying tactic, buying time to become stronger and make the eventual victory more certain, a strategy clearly evident in the Hamas truce offer.

There's no place in their thinking for permanent peaceful co-existence. Every time a nation stops short of responding with overwhelming force, and tries to negotiate its way to peace after a terrorist attack, it's telling the terrorists it's weak, and that it's OK for them to take advantage of its weakness. Notice how every effort at negotiation has resulted in Israel becoming smaller and weaker?

So, desperately poor, and sick of having the world see them as weaklings, they voted for the only available alternative to the intolerably corrupt status quo, and elected someone who appears strong and is feared, someone who seems to care about their well being.

Aren't the Palestinian people smart enough to see that they're being used, you ask? Sadly, no. Remember that the brand of Islam they practice calls for a return to a 7th century lifestyle. That means very little education for men, even less for women, and absolute submission (Islam means submission) to the faith as interpreted by the clergy, their only source of information. Keep the people in submission, keep them ignorant, keep them in poverty. No wonder the average Palestinian is so ill equipped to choose. It's religious serfdom, and that's why its leaders are so determined to maintain it.

The Bucks Stop Here

The other day I read a report that Iranian officials were moving their government's foreign currency reserves out of Europe in case of UN sanctions. Not surprising given the circumstances. But the same report said that the Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's spiritual leader, is moving in excess of $1 billion in personal funds as well. Where does a life long cleric get a billion dollar bank balance, and why does he need it? Well, he's a national religious leader, you say. So's Billy Graham, but you never hear talk of his billions, because he doesn't have them, and if he did he'd give them away.

Saddam Hussein still has billions hidden away. The Assad family has billions, Arafat had billions. Because of their belief in polygamy, the Saud family of Saudi Arabia has 10,000 princes, all on 6 and 7 figure annual allowances drawn from state oil revenues. All these Moslem leaders are heads of third world countries, many of whose citizens live in abject poverty, while they squander untold wealth. They make those old communists look like poor boys. By and large Islam pays well for a few at the top, but for most it's just another form of slavery.

As Hal Lindsey correctly observed, that's why no Moslem dictator in his right mind would willingly permit a free election. He knows he'd be voted out and replaced by the most radical elements of Islam. Once again, when the only alternative is corruption and anarchy, the people will always vote for repression.

Who Ya Gonna Blame?

Well, I've carried on long enough. But someone has to accept the responsibility for what happened in the Middle East this week, so whose it going to be? First of all, look to Yasser Arafat and his crooks in Fatah. They could easily have created a thriving state populated by prosperous, happy people. The world bent over backwards to help them do it. But no. The day before the election, the leaders of Fatah were still refusing demands by the rank and file to end the corruption and clean up their act.

But who gave them the money, and kept giving it even after it was obvious they were stealing it? The blame for that has to go to US and European politicians, who were either too incompetent or too blinded by their own anti-Israel bias to demand accountability. And don't forget the Nobel Foundation, who forever destroyed the credibility of the Peace Prize by handing one to Yasser Arafat. (Even while he's burning in hell, that one has to bring a smile to his face.) If they hadn't provided the money and the legitimacy, Arafat couldn't have stolen it.

Eventually, probably soon, the Palestinian people will pay dearly for their decision, made in ignorance though it was. Hamas will betray them by dragging them into the wrong side of a war the Lord Himself has promised to win in a classic display of overwhelming force, and they'll wind up food for the vultures. Tragically, the ultimate effect of this election will likely be to accelerate their demise. (Interestingly, their burial site will be in a place they call the Valley of the Shadow of Death, just outside of Jericho at the bottom of the Old Jericho Road.)

Then maybe the rest of the world will heed the Word of the Lord, spoken through Isaiah. Wail, O gate! Howl, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! A cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there is not a straggler in its ranks. What answer shall be given to the envoys of that nation? "The LORD has established Zion, and in her his afflicted people will find refuge." (Isaiah 14:31-32) If you listen closely you can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 01-29-06