Now They're Really Going To Get It...

Among the many reasons I had for making Aliyah from my comfortable life in New York, physical security was not amongst them (at least not for the foreseeable future, as I made Aliyah during the midst of the ongoing Arab terror war against the Jewish State - although, in the long run, I do believe that a Jew in Israel is safer here than anywhere else in the world).

That being said, I am troubled by an article in today's Jerusalem Post where IDF Chief of Staff, Dan Halutz (and others) declared that it was his desire for the IDF to respond to attacks against the Jewish State emanating form Gaza with a stronger response then in the past.

"The chief of Staff [Halutz] said very clearly, and very accurately, that the IDF has a broad spectrum of military responses to terrorism," said former deputy defense minister Ephraim Sneh. "Which of these means will be elected in the future in response to Palestinian fire is a decision that will have to be taken at that given moment."

In response to fears that Palestinians mortars were within striking distance of several major Israeli cities, Halutz answered, "We too have mortars," and reportedly told the committee that the army would not hesitate to use the arsenal of weaponry at their disposal.

MK Ehud Yatom added that once every soldier had left Gaza, it was likely that the IDF would begin instituting harsher responses towards hostile fire.

For the life of me, I can't understand the logic behind this decision. Why is it that only after Israel cleanses Gaza from Jews, that attacks on Israel become unacceptable? Why is it that attacks that emanated from Gaza (both on the Jews who lived Gaza, as well as into areas of Israel within the Green Line, such as Sderot) were tolerated with minimal response? What message is the IDF sending to Israel's enemies by telling them that they will only seriously deal with terror after they have 1st retreated in the face of it?

As I said, I accept that fact that living in Israel today comes with a certain amount of risk (although, to be totally honest, I believe it to be absolutely minimal, and in no way affects the way the vast majority of Jews in Israel live their lives). What I can not accept is a government who is not willing to fulfill the absolute minimal requirement that every government in obligated in, namely ensuring the physical well being of her citizens. Among the reasons that Zionist leaders gave for re-establishing Jewish sovereignty in Israel was so that Jewish Blood would no longer be cheap. Sadly, that is still the case today.

It is my hope, that in the very near future the State of Israel and the Jewish people will be blessed with leaders who will implement a policy that will allow every Jew to live in peace, and restore that pride that was once associated with being a member of the Jewish people to the Nation of Israel, both her People and the Land.

Israel
Zionism