Eitam responds to life in politics, Israel’s goals

Israeli politician Effie Eitam is no foreigner to war and politics. He served in the Israeli Defense Forces, served as a leader of the National Religious Party and was a member of Knesset, the Israeli legislature.

Eitam was acknowledged for his military service when he won Israel’s Medal of Distinguished Service in the Yom Kippur War.

IU-Bloomington was just one of his stops at college campuses in the U.S.
Here is what he had to say about his life in politics and his take on Israel’s goals:

IDS: When and why did you decide to become politically active? Was there a turning point for you?

Eitam: I spent most of my life defending the state of Israel. I just thought that my experience might be very useful as far as civilian leadership of my country. My experience can be valuable, so I joined politics. ... I think that what I’m doing here now is kind of complementary to the mission of what I did in the army.

The American students should know more about Israel and about the future. ... You might think Israel is all about terror and combat and at the end of the day, Israel is much beyond the Israeli policy conflict. It’s one of the most flouring economies the world. It’s a very innovative country and involved with a lot of pioneering projects in science and in many, many areas.
 
IDS: You’ve spoken at other colleges. What do you want people to know, what do you want to get across from your talks?

Eitam: I think what I want is for all of them to take is a better understanding of what Israel really is. I would say it’s some kind of a start up nation. ...We started to build the state of Israel from nothing.

As far as the Jewish students, I want them to know that their people, their nation, are building a state, this state, not only the state of people who live in Israel, but it’s the common effort, the joining of hands.

It has nothing to do with Orthodox lifestyle, it’s really about the will to participate in one of the most exciting experiments I think ever being made, at least in the last 1,000 years.

Israel, the Jewish state, has a very deep commitment to human values and human behavior and I know that there are many accusations violating human rights especially among the politicians.

When you fight in an urban area and terrorist are shooting from houses where women and children are inside, it is inevitable to have some civilians casualties. ... It’s nothing that we take very easily. So it’s very important for me to highlight the unfair and moral accusations.

IDS: As you mentioned, many people believe Israel has done evil things, and don’t agree with your strong opinions on the matter. What would you say in defense to that?

Eitam: I don’t think there is any need for defense and apology. The facts should be just known. Israel... is located in a very hostile region…it’s also a region of cultures which does not accept basic values we share ... so Israel is defending itself very much, as America is doing in many parts of the world.

As far as defending our borders ... the enemies are really living in our backyard. I’m a firsthand witness because I spent 30 years of my life in the battlefield. ,,, We never plan or carry out a plan where civilians are a target.

We always will think about it as a painful avenue ... to survive in this specific area of the world, which caused so much damage. ... Also our enemies and powers of evil have always in history, used manipulations and lies to legitimize the other side. Those countries’ non-democratic dictatorships always use brainwash and manipulations in order to confuse the free societies by using their channels of information just to weaken them.

All we need to do is to tell the truth. And the truth will pave its way. I think it’s a battlefield, the advocacy of the Israeli case is something we shouldn’t give up.