Gideon positions the settlers as the enemy of the state. From a personal and a policy perspective. I think that it is shameful that after Israel unilaterally pulled out of Lebanon and Gaza - and we in turn receive a continuous barrage of kassams and katushas, an Israeli can still point to the settlers and say - "if it was not for you and this occupation, we would have peace." Have you lost it man?
Make sure you clarify who are our allies and who are our enemies. This is about the existence of Israel. Nothing less.
If you want to agrue policy, that is fine. Then there is room for discussion. But when you identify settlers as people that should not be protected by the IDF, you are calling a sect of our greatest citizens (educated, tax paying, soldiers) enemies. That is shameful.
------------
Haaretz
Last update - 09:59 27/08/2006
Fed up with the whiners
By Gideon Levy"The candle kids" grew up and became the "protest movement" of this war. The confused youth who sat crying with their guitars and candles in the city square in Tel Aviv after Rabin's assassination are now sitting in the Rose Garden opposite the Prime Minister's Office, no less confused, and seemingly protesting against the war - of course only after it ended. Just as it was impossible to know what the candle kids wanted, it is difficult to understand what the reservists and the bereaved families want. Most of their complaints should be directed at themselves: Where were you until now? If it is only the demand that some officials go home, it's a waste of their time and ours. Clones of those who are deposed will replace them very quickly and nothing will change. Olmert, Peretz and Halutz will go home, and Netanyahu, Mofaz and Barak will come to power. For the first time after many terrible years in which we killed and were killed for no reason, there are question marks hanging over the public discourse. That change should be welcomed. But those who examine the content of the new protest should not hold out great hopes. The arguments of the protesters come down to two main issues, both of them as narrow as the world of the reservist: the IDF wasn't prepared for the war, and the war was cut short. On the first matter, many are responsible, and the second issue doesn't warrant protest. Much weightier and deeper questions hover in the air about why we even went to this war, how it could have been avoided, why is war our only language, what are the limits of power that can be used and where are we going now. The new protest movement is not raising those questions. Even if this wave of protests succeeds, a commission of inquiry is established and two or three people even pay with their seats, nothing will change. Just as the protests of 1973 did not bring about the desired change, except for a few people removed from office, the protests of 2006 won't bring real change. Whining after the war is not a national agenda, and certainly not if it runs for its life from any of the main questions. If it is just the "orange" disengagement protesters in disguise, it even foretells new dangers. Above all, the petition signers and sit-in protesters in the Rose Garden should ask themselves where they were until now. Except for the "oranges" among them, most voted Kadima, maybe Likud or Labor, many of them served in reserves in the occupied territories, dealt with their personal affairs and kept quiet. For years they took direct or indirect part in worthless national projects, from building the wall to the settlement enterprise and deepening the occupation. With their own eyes they saw how the IDF was turned into an occupying police force, bullying the weak but untrained to deal with the strong. They protected settlers, saw the suffering caused by the occupation, were witness to or participated in abuse of Palestinians. The responsibility for the IDF's lack of preparation, therefore, is theirs, partly because of what they did and partly because of their silence. They cannot claim now that they were surprised by the IDF's failure to execute: they were there when the army changed its face. They knew all these years that checking IDs at roadblocks, invading bedrooms, chasing children in alleys and demolishing thousands of houses is no preparation for war. They were supposed to understand that the occupation army's activities in the territories inspires great hatred of us, that Israel's rejectionists policies endanger it more than anything else and that the real test of the army is not in the casbahs. Even the home front's lack of readiness should not have surprised them: a country that abuses its weak at times of quiet will do so in times of war, as well. What is so new and surprising about all this? The other matter, the halt in the fighting, certainly does not warrant protest, but actually a compliment. Instead of asking why the war broke out, the protesters are asking why it ended. If there is anything that the war's command deserves credit for it is its hesitation in the final stages of the war. It is a shame they did not hesitate sooner. And if we had continued the war, where exactly would we have ended up? It was the resolve, hubris and haste of the war's leadership in the first stages that were the original sin against which the protest should be directed. Above all, it is depressing to find out that none of the protesters are raising moral questions. A protest movement that says nothing about the terrible destruction we wreaked in Lebanon, how we killed hundreds of innocent civilians and turned tens of thousands into impoverished refugees is by definition not a moral movement. Even after it has been proved that the excessive force was not effective, no protest has been directed at it. How long will we only focus on ourselves and our distress? Is it too much to ask for the protesters, who are supposedly the cadres of the avant garde, to look for a moment at what we did to another nation? Why is it that after Sabra and Chatilla massacres, which were not even directly our handiwork, masses of people took to the streets and now nobody peeps about the destruction we sowed in Lebanon with our own hands, and for nothing? With such protest movements, Israel does not need the silent sheep that has so characterized it in recent years. We should be fed up with such whiners. Maybe they are brave soldiers on the battlefield, but on the fields of protest they are nothing more than cowardly soldiers.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
Olmert cannot remain in the prime minister's office
Olmert cannot remain in the prime minister's office
By Ari ShavitEhud Olmert may decide to accept the French proposal for a cease-fire and unconditional surrender to Hezbollah. That is his privilege. Olmert is a prime minister whom journalists invented, journalists protected, and whose rule journalists preserved. Now the journalists are saying run away. That's legitimate. Unwise, but legitimate. However, one thing should be clear: If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day. Chutzpah has its limits. You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power. You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million Israelis in shelters for a month, wear down deterrent power, bring the next war very close, and then say - oops, I made a mistake. That was not the intention. Pass me a cigar, please. There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army's original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented. And after arrogantly and hastily bursting into war, Olmert managed it hesitantly, unfocused and limp. He neglected the home front and abandoned the residents of the north. He also failed shamefully on the diplomatic front. Still, if Olmert had come to his senses as Golda Meir did during the Yom Kippur War, if he had become a leader, established a war cabinet and called the nation to a supreme effort that would change the face of the battle, a penetrating discussion of his failures could be postponed. But in blinking first over the past 24 hours, he has become an incorrigible political personality. Therefore, the day Nasrallah comes out of his bunker and declares victory to the whole world, Olmert must not be in the prime minister's office. Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister.
By Ari ShavitEhud Olmert may decide to accept the French proposal for a cease-fire and unconditional surrender to Hezbollah. That is his privilege. Olmert is a prime minister whom journalists invented, journalists protected, and whose rule journalists preserved. Now the journalists are saying run away. That's legitimate. Unwise, but legitimate. However, one thing should be clear: If Olmert runs away now from the war he initiated, he will not be able to remain prime minister for even one more day. Chutzpah has its limits. You cannot lead an entire nation to war promising victory, produce humiliating defeat and remain in power. You cannot bury 120 Israelis in cemeteries, keep a million Israelis in shelters for a month, wear down deterrent power, bring the next war very close, and then say - oops, I made a mistake. That was not the intention. Pass me a cigar, please. There is no mistake Ehud Olmert did not make this past month. He went to war hastily, without properly gauging the outcome. He blindly followed the military without asking the necessary questions. He mistakenly gambled on air operations, was strangely late with the ground operation, and failed to implement the army's original plan, much more daring and sophisticated than that which was implemented. And after arrogantly and hastily bursting into war, Olmert managed it hesitantly, unfocused and limp. He neglected the home front and abandoned the residents of the north. He also failed shamefully on the diplomatic front. Still, if Olmert had come to his senses as Golda Meir did during the Yom Kippur War, if he had become a leader, established a war cabinet and called the nation to a supreme effort that would change the face of the battle, a penetrating discussion of his failures could be postponed. But in blinking first over the past 24 hours, he has become an incorrigible political personality. Therefore, the day Nasrallah comes out of his bunker and declares victory to the whole world, Olmert must not be in the prime minister's office. Post-war battered and bleeding Israel needs a new start and a new leader. It needs a real prime minister.
Monday, August 07, 2006
My wife sent me this article a couple of weeks ago.
This is a log of our email discussion afterwards - to understand the islamist motivations:
ME: This is the most ridiculous analysis and article that I have read in a long time. Thanks Rochelle for the daily dose of humor. Your buddy Feiglin should distance himself from wackos like this. I fear for him though, that these people represent the vast majority of his constituencies. Too bad.
WIFE: I agree that the closing statements are a little messianic- but I would appreciate an explanation as to why the analysis of the situation is "ridiculous" and provides you with your "daily dose of humor" (no more dilbert?)
ME: Dilbert is much more real than this load of #$@&We are not fighting a religious war. This war - which is global - is not against muslims, but against islamic facism. It is not about God. Ours or theirs. It is about power. Arafat was not frum at all. He had the kafiah for political purposes. Syria is not frum at all. They are 100% secular. Iran is somewhat frum, but not the trouble makers. Ahmadinejad is secular. Egypt, Jordan, etc. - are secular states. Iraq was secular. It is a war of propaganda and power. And we are losing, since they have time, the mobility, flexibility, scalability and, most importantly, the will.
Specifically with the current war with Hezbalah:
Bottom line, victory is very different for Israel and Hezbollah. This is a lose-lose Israeli situation and a win-win Hezbollah situation. Hezbollah cannot beat Israel, they can only terrorize it. And Israel cannot 100% uproot Hezbollah without destroying it at the choke point - Syria and Iran. Therefore, this battle is a sure win for Hezbollah and global terrorism in general, and a sure loss for Israel and the free world in general.
WIFE: Spoken like a true 'realist'
Please explain your words "this war is not against muslims but against Islamic fascism". I'm not asking sarcastically , but really do not understand. These leaders may not be "frum" but what is their goal? For Islam to rule the world. They are fighting a religious war. Every attack is carried out in the name of g-d. If this is just lip service - what is their goal? What is their goal in firing missiles into Israel - if not to kill jews and be rewarded by allah? I agree that the situation is not good for us - because their will is greater. They do not care if they die or if many others on their side die - because of their beliefs! If we do not really know why we are here - or why this land is important to us - then their will is greater. This is what Manhigut Yehudit is trying to instill in people - an appreciation of their jewish heritage, and Torah values - in order to strengthen us and our will.
I agree that most of these leaders are secular and are just after world power. But what motivates their soldiers are purely religious motives.
ME: Rochelle, Rochelle...
As Rabbi Wein always says - people, individuals make history. The leaders of the Arab world control their feudal society via propaganda. Today the focus may be religious, but that is just semantics. Hitler's propaganda was not religious, And he was even more effective in creating loyal killing machines. Japan invented suicide bombing without any religious angle. The communist leaders - the ultimate athiests - were the same. The leaders want power, and now the Arabs have it. They have the world by the short and curlies, since the population is so large and the % of oil production is so large. That is it.
(Parenthetically, from an economic perspective, there is only one world super power left. There were a few 20-60 years ago. Those countries, mainly Russia, Spain, France, and others, have strong economic ties. Up and coming super powers, mostly China, have strong economic ties to the Arab countries. This expands the Arab global influence and power).
The great thing about religion (and also communism) is that it is an idealogy and therefore has no borders. Loyal Al Qaida soldiers can be from Indonisia, India, Chechnia, Gaza, or 7 shfartzas from Miami. Fantastic strategy. Capitalism, westernism, etc. is an idealogy of selfishness. No concept of 'cause'. Therefore, only the US and a bit of the UK is fighting this global war. We do not have the 'no border' rule for troops. The free world is not together. Israel is only joining in when it hits its borders. Spain, Australia, Bali, India, etc - treat it like a crime not a war. So do the democrats in the US. So do some left wing in Israel.
Why Israel is Losing the War -- and How They Can WIN!
by: Shmuel Sackett
International Director, Manhigut Yehudit
Av 5766 (July, 06)
Ever wondered why the same Israeli army that defeated Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967 in just 6 days cannot end a 13 year Intifada?
Ever wondered how IDF commandos traveled thousands of miles to Uganda in 1976 to rescue hostages in Entebbe but can't figure out how to cross the street to save three soldiers?
Arab soldiers used to tremble when they saw a soldier. Now they laugh.
Arab pilots used to shake in fear at the thought of flying near the Israeli air force. Now unmanned drones, kassam missiles and katyusha rockets kill dozens of people.
What happened? When did the Arab world become so powerful and the Jews so weak?
You know when? When they switched the fight from "land" to "God".
In 1967 the secular Arabs fought the secular Jews over land. That's a war Israelis know how to fight. But for the last 13+ years the religious Arabs have been fighting the secular Jews over God. This war, is something the Israelis don't want and, frankly, don't know anything about.
Don't believe me? Let's examine some terms:
Before every suicide bomber blows himself up -- in his attempt to take 20 Jews with him -- he screams "Allah Akbar". It means "God is great".
Yassir Arafat, of cursed memory, always used the term "Jihad". It means "Holy war".
The word "Hizzbolah" means "Army of God".
The fighting arm of the Fatah is called "The Al Aksa Brigade" named after their mosque on our holiest -- yet virtually forgotten -- site.
The Arabs know exactly what they are fighting for. They do not want land. The recent katyusha rockets on Tzefat is not because they want to move close to the holy Ari's ritual bath. The rockets on Meron are not because they want a good spot near the burial site of ancient Sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. They are not interested in living in Tiberias, Carmiel or even Haifa.
The kassam missiles from Gaza are not because they want to occupy Sderot, Netivot or Ashkelon.
They are fighting God.
Read that line again. They are fighting God. The Creator Himself is under attack. Don't think the katyushas, which started on the 17th of Tammuz, was a coincidence. Hizzbolah knows exactly what they are doing. They are continuing the fight started by Titus. They are the Haman of today. They are Amalek. And the existing Israeli leadership doesn't have a clue...
What is needed to end this war and bring victory to the Jewish people is leadership that understands what the fight is all about. Israel needs leaders who are connected to God and who are willing to do whatever it takes to sanctify His great and holy Name.
The last thing Ehud Olmert and Shimon Peres want is a religious war against the Arabs. The last thing Defense Minister Amir Peretz understands is how to fight Arabs who are motivated by religious beliefs. These men know how to fight Jews who are spiritually driven but not Arabs. They had no problem supporting and orchestrating the betrayal of Jewish land a year ago and have sworn allegiance to the flag of disengagement. But fighting religious oriented Arabs? Admitting that this war is really against Islam and not just some crazy guys in Gaza and South Lebanon? Be willing to remove the desecration on the Temple Mount in response to missiles in Haifa? Enact communal punishment against the cheering, Hizzbolah flag-waving mobs in Ramallah and Jenin? Never! The Olmert-Peretz-Peres team will never do that. They would rather sacrifice pure, innocent Jewish soldiers in some crazy ground war than fight in the name of the God of Israel.
This is why we are losing. After 2,000 years God returned the Temple Mount to the Jewish People and we threw it back in His face. After 2,000 years God gave us back the entire Promised Land and we chose to remain in Teaneck, Cedarhurst and Beverly Hills. After 2,000 years God gathered the exiles from the four corners of the earth in order to build a Jewish State in Israel and we turned it into a European metropolis with bars, discos and MTV. This is exactly what the prophet Jeremiah: "I brought you into a fruitful land, to eat its fruit and bounty but you came and contaminated my land... My people have exchanged its glory for something of no avail... they have forsaken Me."
This is why the IDF has become a non-entity. This is why the Arabs are laughing at us. Little "Palestinian" kids throw rocks and soldiers run away. Young Arab men wrap their faces in kaffiyas and send chills down the spine of Israelis and some insignificant coward named Nassralah, who is "bravely" hiding beneath 50 tons of steel enforced concrete sends over 1,000,000 Jews running like mice into bomb shelters.
With God's help, this will all change very soon. New leaders will take over Israel who truly believe in "Hashem Tzevakot" (the name used to describe God with great military might). New leaders, whose every fiber of their being is used to sanctify His great and holy Name, will soon lead the country according to authentic Jewish values and finally, the old Jew will return to lead the IDF. This will be the Jew who fights like Moses, Joshua and King David. This Jew serves God, takes no prisoners and works tirelessly at permanently eradicating evil from the world.
When this happens... when Jews truly understand their place in the world and accept upon themselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, the famous verse from the Scroll of Esther will once again come to reality; "And the Jews struck at all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, slaughtering and annihilating, they treated their enemies as they pleased." May that great and awesome day happen soon. Am Yisrael Chai!
This is a log of our email discussion afterwards - to understand the islamist motivations:
ME: This is the most ridiculous analysis and article that I have read in a long time. Thanks Rochelle for the daily dose of humor. Your buddy Feiglin should distance himself from wackos like this. I fear for him though, that these people represent the vast majority of his constituencies. Too bad.
WIFE: I agree that the closing statements are a little messianic- but I would appreciate an explanation as to why the analysis of the situation is "ridiculous" and provides you with your "daily dose of humor" (no more dilbert?)
ME: Dilbert is much more real than this load of #$@&We are not fighting a religious war. This war - which is global - is not against muslims, but against islamic facism. It is not about God. Ours or theirs. It is about power. Arafat was not frum at all. He had the kafiah for political purposes. Syria is not frum at all. They are 100% secular. Iran is somewhat frum, but not the trouble makers. Ahmadinejad is secular. Egypt, Jordan, etc. - are secular states. Iraq was secular. It is a war of propaganda and power. And we are losing, since they have time, the mobility, flexibility, scalability and, most importantly, the will.
Specifically with the current war with Hezbalah:
Bottom line, victory is very different for Israel and Hezbollah. This is a lose-lose Israeli situation and a win-win Hezbollah situation. Hezbollah cannot beat Israel, they can only terrorize it. And Israel cannot 100% uproot Hezbollah without destroying it at the choke point - Syria and Iran. Therefore, this battle is a sure win for Hezbollah and global terrorism in general, and a sure loss for Israel and the free world in general.
WIFE: Spoken like a true 'realist'
Please explain your words "this war is not against muslims but against Islamic fascism". I'm not asking sarcastically , but really do not understand. These leaders may not be "frum" but what is their goal? For Islam to rule the world. They are fighting a religious war. Every attack is carried out in the name of g-d. If this is just lip service - what is their goal? What is their goal in firing missiles into Israel - if not to kill jews and be rewarded by allah? I agree that the situation is not good for us - because their will is greater. They do not care if they die or if many others on their side die - because of their beliefs! If we do not really know why we are here - or why this land is important to us - then their will is greater. This is what Manhigut Yehudit is trying to instill in people - an appreciation of their jewish heritage, and Torah values - in order to strengthen us and our will.
I agree that most of these leaders are secular and are just after world power. But what motivates their soldiers are purely religious motives.
ME: Rochelle, Rochelle...
As Rabbi Wein always says - people, individuals make history. The leaders of the Arab world control their feudal society via propaganda. Today the focus may be religious, but that is just semantics. Hitler's propaganda was not religious, And he was even more effective in creating loyal killing machines. Japan invented suicide bombing without any religious angle. The communist leaders - the ultimate athiests - were the same. The leaders want power, and now the Arabs have it. They have the world by the short and curlies, since the population is so large and the % of oil production is so large. That is it.
(Parenthetically, from an economic perspective, there is only one world super power left. There were a few 20-60 years ago. Those countries, mainly Russia, Spain, France, and others, have strong economic ties. Up and coming super powers, mostly China, have strong economic ties to the Arab countries. This expands the Arab global influence and power).
The great thing about religion (and also communism) is that it is an idealogy and therefore has no borders. Loyal Al Qaida soldiers can be from Indonisia, India, Chechnia, Gaza, or 7 shfartzas from Miami. Fantastic strategy. Capitalism, westernism, etc. is an idealogy of selfishness. No concept of 'cause'. Therefore, only the US and a bit of the UK is fighting this global war. We do not have the 'no border' rule for troops. The free world is not together. Israel is only joining in when it hits its borders. Spain, Australia, Bali, India, etc - treat it like a crime not a war. So do the democrats in the US. So do some left wing in Israel.
Why Israel is Losing the War -- and How They Can WIN!
by: Shmuel Sackett
International Director, Manhigut Yehudit
Av 5766 (July, 06)
Ever wondered why the same Israeli army that defeated Egypt, Syria and Jordan in 1967 in just 6 days cannot end a 13 year Intifada?
Ever wondered how IDF commandos traveled thousands of miles to Uganda in 1976 to rescue hostages in Entebbe but can't figure out how to cross the street to save three soldiers?
Arab soldiers used to tremble when they saw a soldier. Now they laugh.
Arab pilots used to shake in fear at the thought of flying near the Israeli air force. Now unmanned drones, kassam missiles and katyusha rockets kill dozens of people.
What happened? When did the Arab world become so powerful and the Jews so weak?
You know when? When they switched the fight from "land" to "God".
In 1967 the secular Arabs fought the secular Jews over land. That's a war Israelis know how to fight. But for the last 13+ years the religious Arabs have been fighting the secular Jews over God. This war, is something the Israelis don't want and, frankly, don't know anything about.
Don't believe me? Let's examine some terms:
Before every suicide bomber blows himself up -- in his attempt to take 20 Jews with him -- he screams "Allah Akbar". It means "God is great".
Yassir Arafat, of cursed memory, always used the term "Jihad". It means "Holy war".
The word "Hizzbolah" means "Army of God".
The fighting arm of the Fatah is called "The Al Aksa Brigade" named after their mosque on our holiest -- yet virtually forgotten -- site.
The Arabs know exactly what they are fighting for. They do not want land. The recent katyusha rockets on Tzefat is not because they want to move close to the holy Ari's ritual bath. The rockets on Meron are not because they want a good spot near the burial site of ancient Sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. They are not interested in living in Tiberias, Carmiel or even Haifa.
The kassam missiles from Gaza are not because they want to occupy Sderot, Netivot or Ashkelon.
They are fighting God.
Read that line again. They are fighting God. The Creator Himself is under attack. Don't think the katyushas, which started on the 17th of Tammuz, was a coincidence. Hizzbolah knows exactly what they are doing. They are continuing the fight started by Titus. They are the Haman of today. They are Amalek. And the existing Israeli leadership doesn't have a clue...
What is needed to end this war and bring victory to the Jewish people is leadership that understands what the fight is all about. Israel needs leaders who are connected to God and who are willing to do whatever it takes to sanctify His great and holy Name.
The last thing Ehud Olmert and Shimon Peres want is a religious war against the Arabs. The last thing Defense Minister Amir Peretz understands is how to fight Arabs who are motivated by religious beliefs. These men know how to fight Jews who are spiritually driven but not Arabs. They had no problem supporting and orchestrating the betrayal of Jewish land a year ago and have sworn allegiance to the flag of disengagement. But fighting religious oriented Arabs? Admitting that this war is really against Islam and not just some crazy guys in Gaza and South Lebanon? Be willing to remove the desecration on the Temple Mount in response to missiles in Haifa? Enact communal punishment against the cheering, Hizzbolah flag-waving mobs in Ramallah and Jenin? Never! The Olmert-Peretz-Peres team will never do that. They would rather sacrifice pure, innocent Jewish soldiers in some crazy ground war than fight in the name of the God of Israel.
This is why we are losing. After 2,000 years God returned the Temple Mount to the Jewish People and we threw it back in His face. After 2,000 years God gave us back the entire Promised Land and we chose to remain in Teaneck, Cedarhurst and Beverly Hills. After 2,000 years God gathered the exiles from the four corners of the earth in order to build a Jewish State in Israel and we turned it into a European metropolis with bars, discos and MTV. This is exactly what the prophet Jeremiah: "I brought you into a fruitful land, to eat its fruit and bounty but you came and contaminated my land... My people have exchanged its glory for something of no avail... they have forsaken Me."
This is why the IDF has become a non-entity. This is why the Arabs are laughing at us. Little "Palestinian" kids throw rocks and soldiers run away. Young Arab men wrap their faces in kaffiyas and send chills down the spine of Israelis and some insignificant coward named Nassralah, who is "bravely" hiding beneath 50 tons of steel enforced concrete sends over 1,000,000 Jews running like mice into bomb shelters.
With God's help, this will all change very soon. New leaders will take over Israel who truly believe in "Hashem Tzevakot" (the name used to describe God with great military might). New leaders, whose every fiber of their being is used to sanctify His great and holy Name, will soon lead the country according to authentic Jewish values and finally, the old Jew will return to lead the IDF. This will be the Jew who fights like Moses, Joshua and King David. This Jew serves God, takes no prisoners and works tirelessly at permanently eradicating evil from the world.
When this happens... when Jews truly understand their place in the world and accept upon themselves the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, the famous verse from the Scroll of Esther will once again come to reality; "And the Jews struck at all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, slaughtering and annihilating, they treated their enemies as they pleased." May that great and awesome day happen soon. Am Yisrael Chai!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The most unsuccessful war
The most unsuccessful war
By Ze'ev Sternhell
No situation can continue to exist for long without an ideological reason. That's how when once it was clear that it was not achieving its aims, an unsuccessful military campaign was upgraded with the wave of a magic wand to the level of a war of survival. When everyone understood that a moral reason had to be found both for the dimensions of the destruction sowed in Lebanon and the killing of the civilian population there, and for the Israeli dead and wounded (nobody is even talking about the exposure of the entire civilian population in the North of Israel to enemy fire while people are kept in disgraceful conditions in bomb shelters), a war of survival was invented, which by nature must be long and exhausting. That is how a campaign of collective punishment that was begun in haste, without proper judgment and on the basis of incorrect assessments, including promises that the army is incapable of fulfilling, turned into a war of life and death, if not some kind of second War of Independence. In the press there have even been embarrassing comparisons to the struggle against Nazism, comparisons that are not only a crude distortion of history, but disgrace the memory of the Jews who were exterminated. The architect of this unsuccessful campaign has outdone himself: In order to cover up his failures, he delivered a poor man's pseudo-Churchillian speech, and promised us more "pain, tears and blood." There really is no limit to shamelessness. It must be said in favor of the government spokesmen who are in greatest demand on the foreign stations, from the Israel Defense Forces Spokesman to Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- that none of them has stooped to propaganda of this kind.
At the same time, the campaign's goals have been reduced and shrunk during these three weeks. From restoring Israel's power of deterrence, eliminating Hezbollah, and disarming it immediately -- after three weeks we have arrived at the present goal, which is the dismantling of the forward outposts of Hezbollah and the deployment of an international force to defend the North of Israel from the possibility of a repeat attack. At this point, the average citizen, who is not working day and night in the corridors of power and is not sunning himself near the generals' command rooms, is at a loss. Is this how we are restoring the IDF's power of deterrence? Haven't we accomplished exactly the opposite? Hasn't it become clear to the entire world that our "invincible" air force not only failed for three weeks to end the barrage of rockets, but also even needs an emergency airlift of war materiel, as during the 1973 Yom Kippur War? Moreover, the ordinary citizen is asking himself another question: If several thousand guerrilla fighters do constitute an existential danger to a country with a strike force and weaponry that are unparalleled in this part of the world, how is it that during the past five or six years we heard nothing to that effect from government leaders? It is true that since 2000 we have not been preoccupied with anything except the Palestinian issue. Hypnotized by the "Palestinian danger," Israel turned its back during the past two years on all national efforts that preceded the disengagement from Gaza, and then the split in the Likud and the establishment of Kadima, as a prologue to the second major campaign, "convergence" behind the separation fence. And when the present government was formed, a national agenda was formulated for the next two, if not four, years, whose main component is fulfillment of the "Sharon legacy": a unilateral drawing of borders in the territories, pulverizing them into cantons and in effect eliminating the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in them. This led citizens to understand that this is the issue that will determine Israel's future. The clearest evidence of the national order of priorities is the situation in which the IDF's fighting units find themselves. It was no secret that the army almost stopped training in large units and complex operations, and became totally immersed in the struggle against the Palestinian uprising. When infantry brigades turn into a police force specializing in breaking down doors and walls in refugee camps, or in pursuit of groups of terrorists in olive orchards, when the criterion for the success of a senior officer is the number of wanted men he has managed to catch rather than his operational talents and ability to command large units -- the army deteriorates. I cannot recall that the reserve divisions that were drafted on Yom Kippur in 1973, or the Israelis who returned as individuals from abroad in order to join the fighting, were in need of training and refresher exercises. Nevertheless, the Agranat Commission of inquiry was established to investigate, among other things, the level of the forces' battle preparedness. The Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War were wars of survival, and through them the IDF was revealed in all its greatness. The present war is the most unsuccessful we have ever had; it is much worse than the first Lebanon War, which at least was properly prepared, and in which, with the exception of gaining control over the Beirut-Damascus highway, the army more or less achieved its goals as determined by then-defense minister Ariel Sharon. It is frightening to think that those who decided to embark on the present war did not even dream of its outcome and its destructive consequences in almost every possible realm, of the political and psychological damage, the serious blow to the government's credibility, and yes -- the killing of children in vain. The cynicism being demonstrated by government spokesmen, official and otherwise, including several military correspondents, in the face of the disaster suffered by the Lebanese, amazes even someone who has long since lost many of his youthful illusions.
By Ze'ev Sternhell
No situation can continue to exist for long without an ideological reason. That's how when once it was clear that it was not achieving its aims, an unsuccessful military campaign was upgraded with the wave of a magic wand to the level of a war of survival. When everyone understood that a moral reason had to be found both for the dimensions of the destruction sowed in Lebanon and the killing of the civilian population there, and for the Israeli dead and wounded (nobody is even talking about the exposure of the entire civilian population in the North of Israel to enemy fire while people are kept in disgraceful conditions in bomb shelters), a war of survival was invented, which by nature must be long and exhausting. That is how a campaign of collective punishment that was begun in haste, without proper judgment and on the basis of incorrect assessments, including promises that the army is incapable of fulfilling, turned into a war of life and death, if not some kind of second War of Independence. In the press there have even been embarrassing comparisons to the struggle against Nazism, comparisons that are not only a crude distortion of history, but disgrace the memory of the Jews who were exterminated. The architect of this unsuccessful campaign has outdone himself: In order to cover up his failures, he delivered a poor man's pseudo-Churchillian speech, and promised us more "pain, tears and blood." There really is no limit to shamelessness. It must be said in favor of the government spokesmen who are in greatest demand on the foreign stations, from the Israel Defense Forces Spokesman to Tourism Minister Isaac Herzog and former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu -- that none of them has stooped to propaganda of this kind.
At the same time, the campaign's goals have been reduced and shrunk during these three weeks. From restoring Israel's power of deterrence, eliminating Hezbollah, and disarming it immediately -- after three weeks we have arrived at the present goal, which is the dismantling of the forward outposts of Hezbollah and the deployment of an international force to defend the North of Israel from the possibility of a repeat attack. At this point, the average citizen, who is not working day and night in the corridors of power and is not sunning himself near the generals' command rooms, is at a loss. Is this how we are restoring the IDF's power of deterrence? Haven't we accomplished exactly the opposite? Hasn't it become clear to the entire world that our "invincible" air force not only failed for three weeks to end the barrage of rockets, but also even needs an emergency airlift of war materiel, as during the 1973 Yom Kippur War? Moreover, the ordinary citizen is asking himself another question: If several thousand guerrilla fighters do constitute an existential danger to a country with a strike force and weaponry that are unparalleled in this part of the world, how is it that during the past five or six years we heard nothing to that effect from government leaders? It is true that since 2000 we have not been preoccupied with anything except the Palestinian issue. Hypnotized by the "Palestinian danger," Israel turned its back during the past two years on all national efforts that preceded the disengagement from Gaza, and then the split in the Likud and the establishment of Kadima, as a prologue to the second major campaign, "convergence" behind the separation fence. And when the present government was formed, a national agenda was formulated for the next two, if not four, years, whose main component is fulfillment of the "Sharon legacy": a unilateral drawing of borders in the territories, pulverizing them into cantons and in effect eliminating the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state in them. This led citizens to understand that this is the issue that will determine Israel's future. The clearest evidence of the national order of priorities is the situation in which the IDF's fighting units find themselves. It was no secret that the army almost stopped training in large units and complex operations, and became totally immersed in the struggle against the Palestinian uprising. When infantry brigades turn into a police force specializing in breaking down doors and walls in refugee camps, or in pursuit of groups of terrorists in olive orchards, when the criterion for the success of a senior officer is the number of wanted men he has managed to catch rather than his operational talents and ability to command large units -- the army deteriorates. I cannot recall that the reserve divisions that were drafted on Yom Kippur in 1973, or the Israelis who returned as individuals from abroad in order to join the fighting, were in need of training and refresher exercises. Nevertheless, the Agranat Commission of inquiry was established to investigate, among other things, the level of the forces' battle preparedness. The Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War were wars of survival, and through them the IDF was revealed in all its greatness. The present war is the most unsuccessful we have ever had; it is much worse than the first Lebanon War, which at least was properly prepared, and in which, with the exception of gaining control over the Beirut-Damascus highway, the army more or less achieved its goals as determined by then-defense minister Ariel Sharon. It is frightening to think that those who decided to embark on the present war did not even dream of its outcome and its destructive consequences in almost every possible realm, of the political and psychological damage, the serious blow to the government's credibility, and yes -- the killing of children in vain. The cynicism being demonstrated by government spokesmen, official and otherwise, including several military correspondents, in the face of the disaster suffered by the Lebanese, amazes even someone who has long since lost many of his youthful illusions.
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