by Dr. Haim Shine
Images of the charred
bus in Tel Aviv and the sound of ambulance sirens wailing on Wednesday
reminded us all of difficult imagery from the not-so-distant past.
Injury to civilians and property in Kiryat Malachi, Ashdod, Ashkelon,
Rishon Lezion and elsewhere makes it clear that the battle is not over
yet for the Jews' right to live freely in their homeland.
All the false prophets
of the Left who spoke loftily about peace, understanding and coexistence
seem today to be stuck in a fantasy land, their imaginations running
free. The famous song for peace sounds today like a nightmare. The dream
of short-sighted leaders is that an entire nation pays the price for
some of its parts. The return to Zion is not for dreamers, however — it
is for fighters. Even if a ladder reaching the sky should appear, the
ladder needs to be placed on the ground of reality.
The Israeli leadership
must not repeat the mistakes of its predecessors. Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, who has a historical perspective, should know very
well that repatriation is inconsistent with buying temporary quiet.
During the long days of the Diaspora, Jewish vision and our national
horizons were both short and closed; transience characterized Jewish
life. After 2,000 years, we finally returned home to change this
behavior pattern, instead of settling for temporary solutions that only
increased the appetites of the desert tribes around us, who place no
value on human life.
There is broad
consensus among the public that Israel must be serious and determined in
any decision to eradicate terrorism in Gaza and send clear signals to
Iran. This consensus allows the government to make tough and complex
decisions to restore security to citizens everywhere, replacing the
Pillar of Defense with a pillar of fire. The hope that Israel would
receive international support for its decision on Gaza was unrealistic. A
strong and victorious Jewish state is a contradiction to the existing
foundations of Christian theology. No person or nation in the world
would fight for us; we have to take fate into our own hands, and we must
not hesitate for a moment. The sooner the better.
For many years, Israeli
leaders have struggled to explain to our Arab neighbors that Jews in
Israel are not Crusaders from Europe on a religious mission, and they
are certainly not tourists who, upon receiving travel warnings, go back
to their “home countries.” Many Israelis have a sincere desire to live
in peace with their neighbors, even at the price of strategic and
security interests, but this is perceived as weakness or an inability to
meet challenges. The many agreements and understandings that have been
signed between Israel, Arab states and the Palestinian leadership are
not worth the price of the paper on which they were written.
Repeated rounds of
blows between Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip and the IDF have gone
on for a long time. I have no doubt that the IDF has the operational and
military capability to completely stop rocket fire from the Gaza Strip,
and I say the sooner the better. The people are ready and the army is
well-trained; the leadership just has to determine the right time.
If it turns out that
the Israeli government accepted the cease-fire on a U.S. recommendation,
contrary to the sense of many citizens in this country, we can only
hope that at least Israel was smart enough to receive some exchange on
dealing with the Iranian nuclear program. The solution to the Iranian
problem, of course, also includes Hamas and Hezbollah.
Dr. Haim Shine
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=2925
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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