is not easy against
well-organized groups
Professor says fight
is not easy against
well-organized groups
BY LARRY RAMER
Staff Writer
George Zilbergeld
George Zilbergeld of Freehold Borough, the chairman of the Montclair University political science department, believes he learned a number of lessons about terrorism during his recent visit to Israel.
Zilbergeld said he attended lectures presented by former and current Israeli government officials during his 10-day trip in May. The lectures, which included a talk by the former head of the Mossad (Israel’s version of the CIA), were sponsored by The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a nonprofit organization that conducts research and education on the war on terrorism, according to the organization’s Internet Web site.
The Israelis have developed a clear definition of terrorism, Zilbergeld said.
"A lot of people say one man is a terrorist and one man is a freedom fighter, but the Israelis don’t buy into that," Zilbergeld said. "Their definition of terrorism is very clear — violence against civilians to gain political results."
Zilbergeld quoted the Israelis as saying that terrorists want to influence potential supporters, potential victims and governments through their attacks.
"The terrorists are vying for support and recruits, and they want to advertise, saying ‘join us [because] we are the best, toughest, or worst,’ depending on your point of view," the professor said.
Terrorists also attempt to turn people against their government, Zilbergeld said.
"The terrorists want to say to the people, ‘The government is helpless, you can’t depend on them, you had better give us what we want,’ " he said.
Terrorists also seek to influence the government itself, which has to strike a balance between fighting terrorism and protecting the rights of citizens, the professor said.
Governments face a difficult task in trying to combat terrorism since terrorist groups are well-financed and well-organized, Zilbergeld said. Furthermore, terrorist leaders are often drawn from society’s elite, he noted.
"Terrorists are not poor and they’re not poorly educated. These people are doctors, engineers and lawyers," Zilbergeld said. "Very rarely are they poor people."
As an example, Zilbergeld said a lawyer recently blew herself up outside of an industrial zone on the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Terrorists are so well organized that they have developed specialized tasks, the professor explained.
"There’s a person who’s a planner, a bomb maker, someone who locates the potential suicide terrorists and a spokesperson," Zilbergeld said. "Every time there’s a suicide bomb they provide a kind of press kit. These are not people who are oppressed — they are as well organized as anyone."
Terrorists have several long-range goals, Zilbergeld explained.
First, they want to take control of Arab countries — the source of most radical Islamic ideology, the professor said. After that, the terrorists want to take over non-Arab Islamic countries, such as Turkey and parts of the former Soviet Union. Eventually, they would like everyone in the world to become Muslims, Zilbergeld said.
"The terrorists feel there is a conspiracy against Islam and that this gives them the right to use any means to defend themselves. According to (the terrorists’ view), they are the eternal victims and the West is the cause of all their problems," the professor said.
He said these ideas are pervasive throughout the Arab world.
Zilbergeld is skeptical about the contention that the West is responsible for all of the Arab countries’ misfortunes.
"A rational person would ask, How is the West responsible for the poverty (in much of the Middle East) when (the Arabs) have so much oil? How is the West responsible for the dictatorships in the Arab world? If you look around the world, countries that spend so much effort blaming others rarely advance."
In order to succeed, terrorists need a safe haven such as a friendly country or a holy place, the professor said. Terrorists will also never allow people to embrace other ideas, the professor added. For example, terrorists bombed an industrial zone that Israel built to provide jobs for up to 20,000 Palestinians, Zilbergeld noted.
"The terrorists have attacked the industrial zone — they’ve blown up themselves, Israelis and Palestinian workers because the goal of the terrorist is to say, ‘There is no other way besides supporting us.’ "
Society cannot treat terrorists like criminals, Zilbergeld added.
"We can afford to give an individual criminal certain rights without endangering society itself," he said. "The police don’t do anything to criminals until they commit a crime. If you wait for terrorists to act, you may have a terrible, terrible disaster on your hands."
In fighting terrorism, governments often have to take actions that may strike some people as unsavory, Zilbergeld explained.
For example, in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians built underground tunnels that came up in the middle of houses, Zilbergeld said. These tunnels were used to smuggle weapons from Egypt. As a result, the Israelis had to blow up the tunnels, which caused houses to be destroyed, the professor explained.
The professor said he will incorporate the information he learned in Israel in his classes and is willing to speak to groups about terrorism.
Anyone interested in contacting Zilbergeld for this purpose may call him at (973) 655-7573.