Weekly Commentary: Har Homa and Hasmonean Tunnel Self Defeating Debating
Points For Left

Dr. Aaron Lerner Date: 4 March 2010

Almost every critic of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to
include Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron
in Israel's national heritage project points to Netanyahu's decision to open
the Hasmonean Tunnel and build Har Homa in his previous term as if the
consequences of those moves proves their point.

But the opposite is the case.

Yes, there was a lot of flack on the Har Homa project, with demonstrations
and condemnations galore.

And yes, there was even a short bloody clash over the opening of the
Hasmonean Tunnel that runs next to the Western Wall along with angry
statements from around the world and worse.

But let's have an attention span that goes beyond a few days.

I know this is asking a lot for most Israelis.

But it's worth the effort.

Let's put our thinking caps on for a moment.

OK.

Here we go.

Har Homa is today a Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem that is no different
than any of the many other Jewish neighborhoods beyond the '67 line. You
would be hard pressed to find an Israeli Jew who seriously thinks that Har
Homa will ever be ceded to the Arabs in any future deal.

And what of the Hasmonean Tunnel that Netanyahu so recklessly opened?

Here is a hint: Who included a visit to it in his 15 November 2009 tour of
the Old City?

Former President Bill Clinton.

That's because the Hasmonean Tunnel has become a consensus Jerusalem tourist
attraction. And a major one at that.

Wait a second.

But we all know that Netanyahu was a hasty fool for building Har Homa and
opening the Hasmonean Tunnel. And the proof that he is recklessly
shortsighted over Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem and the Cave of the Patriarchs
in Hebron today is what happened with Har Homa and the Hasmonean Tunnel.

Oops.

That's right.

It turns out that, in the long run, the choice isn't, as those Lefties
proclaim as they roll their eyes, between "being right and being smart".

You can do both.

And that's what Netanyahu did.

Again.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il