JP, Sep 14, 1995

No one is saying Zo Artzenu can't voice an opinion. But its demonstrators have taken a dangerous route. The writer is Minister of Education, Culture and Sport.

RECKLESS disregard for public order and safety, unprecedented disruption of traffic, disrespect for the law and utter contempt for the police have been plaguing the country.

The source of this chaos is a fringe group of right-wing protesters from the so-called Zo Artzenu ("This is Our Land") group.

In their futile attempts to rally massive support against the government's peace negotiations on autonomy and redeployment in the West Bank, Zo Artzenu members have introduced previously taboo methods of making political statements:

-- Using small children (including babies) at mass sit-ins, thrusting them forward so they witness direct confrontation with the security forces;

-- Blocking major intersections and highways, causing endless traffic jams and disrupting the lives of scores of thousands of commuters;

-- Scuffling with, and verbally abusing, police and soldiers during illegal and rowdy demonstrations;

-- Calling for revolt and non-adherence to laws.

Like anyone else, these protesters have the right to voice their opinion. However, by trampling on the nation's civil code of ethics, they mock the laws and authority that guarantee their freedom of expression.

The members of Zo Artzenu should realize that their chosen means of expression is counterproductive to their cause. Commuters stuck in traffic james aren't exactly potential sympathizers.

UNLESS WE take immediate measures to control these right-wing outbreaks and put an end to the lawlessness, these outbursts will ravage the nation's soul.

This is more than random violence directed at the public and the security forces. We are witnessing an unparalleled display of unlawful disturbance.

Most of all we are seeing the crossing of long-standing red lines. Political methods of the kind espoused by Zo Artzenu are a fine recipe for destroying the basis of our existence as we have defined it since the founding of the state.

Zo Artzenu demonstrators have adopted the tactics used by our foes. For years, we have been protesting the way our adversaries have planted children at the head of demonstrations, something we saw in the refugee camps. Afterwards, we would count the casualties.

When I and others like me were in the opposition, we condemned the refusal of army reservists to serve in the territories as a symbol of discontent with the policy of creeping annexation through the proliferation of new settlements.

Back then I warned that disdain for the law was a prescription for anarchy. Who makes the laws in this country - elected officials, or a bunch of misguided offenders bent on destroying our foundations for the sake of political gain?

As the talks with the Palestinians move into high gear, the threats to society posed by Zo Artzenu are an imminent danger.

This country has taken a long and arduous route in the attempt to reach an accommodation with our enemies. It has been a seemingly endless, frustrating journey.

Surely we can find a way to bridge our differences in a manner more suitable to an enlightened society than the path Zo Artzenu has chosen.
Let's do it now, before events take an irreversible turn toward a dark era of turbulence and insurrection.