Various personal commitments are vying for my attention. And my place of work could use some additional clue density.

"Peace Now" was once a formidable force in Israel. They believed that the policies of the rightist Israeli governments were counterproductive and that compromise with the Palestinians was the only viable option. Two years after the Oslo bubble has burst, "Peace now" is largely a spent force, and probably the most vocal leftist organization is Gush Shalom. Gush Shalom once again proves that they are a bunch of insane conspiracy-theorists by running the following large ad in today's Haaretz:

An Emergency call An Emergency call

THEY PLAY WITH OUR LIVES!

Sharon and Peres are urging the United States to attack Iraq.

Israel is the only country in the whole world that supports this war.

All European and Arab states oppose it. In the American political elite and Bush's own party, too, there are voices warning against this adventure - even while unanimously opposing Sadam [sic] Hussein's regime.

Almost certainly, with the outbreak of war, Sadam Hussein will throw at us everything he has got: poison gas, fatal diseases, even nuclear radiation.

Israel is as defenseless as last time. We have nothing but the "sealed rooms", adhesive paper and masks. Now there are tables against nuclear radiation!

Thousands and tens of thousands of Israeli citizens may be hurt.

If this is madness - there is method in it.

Sharon intends to exploit the ensuing chaos in the Middle East in order to realize his real plan: to drive out the Palestinian [sic] from all of the country ("Transfer"). To this end, he is ready to bring disaster on all of us.

A shocking fact: Until now, hardly any voice has been raised in Israel against this disastrous policy. Not a single politician, either in the coalition or opposition, not a single officer in the army has spoken out.

The silence of the lambs

Gush Shalom

More:

Gil Shterzer observes:

Gush Shalom are a bunch of loonies. It sounds that they are more worried about Sharon’s plans (I’m sure what they wrote isn’t really Sharon’s plan) than their prediction that thousands of Israeli might die.