HA'ARETZ SYNDROME

David Newman's op-ed in the Times is a classic demonstration of Ha'aretz Syndrome, the delusionary state suffered by the Israeli Left and its fellow travellers in the diaspora after the collapse of Oslo. Its central symptom is a description of the peace process in which the only relevant actors are Israelis. For a sufferer of Ha'aretz Syndrome, it was Israeli actions that led to the demise of Oslo, and Israeli actions that can repair the current breach. It is above all a syndrome borne out of deep denial, of the frightening reality of the powerlessness of Israelis to stop the Palestinians fateful choice for war, and the impotence of Israel's best and brightest visionaries to develop a viable plan for peace until the Palestinians repudiate that decision.