Fearing Our Own Strength

Israel is, thank G-d, a strong country, with an exceptional military that combines courage, skill and profound morality. Israel will fight back until Hamas and Hezbollah accept a cease fire, at least for the time being.

Yet that is exactly what we must fear.

Israel has begun the "surgery" to cleanse its environment of the noxious diseases of terror and lust for Jewish deaths. But when the blood caused by the surgery begins to gush forth, the UN may condemn, the State Department may criticize If we don't finish the job, the infection will simmer beneath the surface until the next explosion--in a year or two or ten and the Israeli left will become self-loathing. The Jewish state might then be compelled to "sew" up the wound before the infection has been eliminated. If that happens, the infection of terror will be allowed to simmer beneath the surface until the next explosion occurs in a year or two or ten. (The Arabs, it must be said, have lots of patience.)

This has been the tragic Israeli error all along: It has never professed the courage to go all the way, to establish untouchable truths and maintain them with pride. Three examples are noteworthy.

First, in the Six-Day War, when seven armies vowed to obliterate Israel, the Jewish state fought back and won, and tripled its original size. In the aftermath, instead of demonstrating strength, clarity and determination, Israel immediately sent a delegation to Washington to express its readiness to return all of the occupied territories to the Arab nations. (As usual, the Arabs refused the offer; they wanted more.)

Israel was attempting to demonstrate its passion for peace, but it misunderstood the psychology of the enemy. The move demonstrated to the Arab world that Israel was, in the final analysis, unsure and vulnerable, and capable of being defeated through long-term resolve.

In the second example, in June 1982, Israel entered Lebanon to eliminate Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization, which had been terrorizing Israel's northern cities and towns. Just as the army stood on the verge of total victory, the military's hands were tied. The Israeli army waited futilely on the outskirts of Beirut instead of swiftly completing its objectives. The casualties grew from day to day, the results were catastrophic for Israelis and for Arabs, and the PLO survived and thrived. (A little more than a decade later, Arafat would win the Noble "Peace" Prize.)

And third, in probably the greatest political mistake of a modern country, Israel resurrected the PLO in 1993, negotiated the Oslo peace agreements, withdrew from most of the West Bank and much of Gaza, supplied weapons and money to its foes for a police force, and allowed a mighty terror infrastructure to be built in its own back yard. When the first Israeli bus exploded in 1994 and the PLO did nothing to stop it, Israel had the opportunity to liberate itself from the deadly illusion that peace was on the horizon and completely cut down the terror foundations in the West Bank and Gaza. Instead, Israel showed restraint. During the next 10 years, rivers of blood flowed in the Holy Land. Thousands of innocent Jews and Arabs have lost their lives or been permanently maimed. For what?

Time and time again, the State of Israel has proven the truth of the ancient saying, that when a Jew finally makes a fist, he bangs it on his heart to confess his wrongdoings.

So now we're back at the drawing board. Will Israel once again fear its own strength and compromise its moral responsibility to ensure the life and safety of every single person in Israel? Will it buckle under and agree to some type of nebulous cease fire, giving its enemies the time and space to reorganize and plan their next opportunity to attack?

Yes, there are many questions about the future. What is the long-term solution? What about the demographic problem of a minority of Jews in a sea of Arabs? How can Israel continue to "occupy" Palestinian territory?

Our great mistake has been to ask questions of peace in times of war The great mistake of Israel has been to ask--and answer--questions of peace in times of war. Israel, for more than ten years now, is in a state of war, though it never acknowledged it as such. For a decade, there have been Arab attempts on almost a daily basis to murder Jewish men, women and children throughout the country. Many have succeeded; most have failed, only because of the diligence of the IDF and the help of G-d. In a time of war, you talk not about demographics or occupation. You make sure that your citizens are not being murdered and kidnapped.

When Israel's neighbors embrace the path of peace, then we all will have the luxury to confront the demographic problem, as well as any others. In the meantime, Israel must complete the job it began years ago but never saw through till the end.