I wouldn't have believed it possible.

Since the first day of the State of Israel, I have campaigned for the separation of state and religion, the enactment of a constitution, civil marriage, the abolition of the Ministry of Religions. I have written hundreds of articles in Haolam Hazeh (the late newsmagazine, which I edited for many years), made dozens of speeches in the Knesset and directed five election campaigns on these subjects. As a member of the Knesset, I introduced the first draft-bill for civil marriage and the first amendment for removing the Ministry of Religions from the budget.

After all, I should have been very happy when Ehud Barak last week proposed all this and more. Why, I should have been jumping for joy!

So why am I not jumping? Why do I feel bad?

Well, first of all, there is the question of timing. It's not good that such important matters, concerning the very essence of the State of Israel, become mere gimmicks in a repulsive political game. It is quite clear that one of Barak's propaganda technicians (now called " spin doctors " ) pulled them out of a drawer, blew away the dust and pronto - presented them as the Secular Revolution.

But that is not the most important thing. More important is the fact that this " revolution " is offered as a substitute for peace. That is its declared objective. " If peace cannot be achieved, " say the Sources in the Prime Minister's office, " we shall instead pass the Citizen's Revolution. For making peace we needed the Orthodox. For the Citizen's Revolution we need a government with the Likud. "

Meaning, either-or: Either peace or the secular revolution.

Either peace with the Palestinians or the enactment of a constitution.

One can go further: Either peace with the Syrians or civil marriage.

Either peace with Iraq or the dismantling of the Ministry of Religions.

Either peace with Iran or the separation of state and religion.

Ridiculous? Indeed.

The last 33 years have proved that we were right when, immediately after the Six-Day-War (The Seventh Day of the War, as I called it then) we said that an occupation-state cannot be democratic. A state that dominates another people cannot be liberal. Every occupation is brutal by nature, and the brutality of the occupation is bound to percolate from the occupied territories into society back home, perverting all its parts.

A democratic constitution promulgated while the occupation is still running wild in the Palestinian territories will turn into an act of prostitution. (Both words, by the way, stem from the same Latin verb: statuere, to set up.)

A secular democracy proclaimed while messiah-crazed fanatics run amok in the streets of Hebron and in the heart of Nablus under the auspices of the Israeli army and while Palestinian prisoners languish in Israeli prisons without trial will be a farce.

In South Africa, there was an attempt to have democracy for the whites and an apartheid regime for the blacks. We know how that ended.

Great Britain maintained a democracy at home and a colonial regime overseas. But there is no ocean between Kfar Saba and Kalkilia.

Without peace, there will be war. The war will be cruel on both sides. Not a second Intifafa, as many imagine, but an armed conflict between a whole people fighting for its existence and a colonial army, spearheaded by the settler militias. Many Israeli citizens will object to this war, many soldiers will refuse to serve in it, there will be a struggle inside Israel and extreme things will be said and done. Anyone who believes that a model democratic society can flourish in such an atmosphere needs to consult a good psychiatrist.

The advocates of the Secular Revolution do not bother to conceal their hope that a war will indeed break out. Only thus can Barak's government be saved. The Sources say: " If a confrontation with the Palestinians starts, it will be easier to convince the Likud to join a Government of National Unity. " They mean: it will make it easier for Ariel Sharon to justify his joining the government, in order to prevent the comeback of Netanyahu to the Likud leadership.

So, it has come into the open. Ariel Sharon, the bloody hero of the Kibia, Sabra and Shatila massacres, will become the motor in Barak's limousine. The setting up of new settlements, the confiscation of land, the building of new bypass roads and all the other acts of war, which are now in full swing under Barak, will be multiplied. Many more billions will be poured into this effort and nobody will even think of the poor Israeli townships, like Ofakim and Sderot.

This is not the liberal state we have hoped for. This is not the secular revolution we have been striving for.

The separation between state and religion is essential for our future. But the separation between state and occupation comes first.