(Galilee, Israel) — October 7 ushered in a new era in the Arab-Israeli conflict. In the past, we’ve allowed evil to live just on the other side of our borders. We didn’t like it but put up with it. The reasons for this tolerance came from both outside and inside Israel. Outside, there was great pressure from the world that a solution must be found that would allow independent states for Israel and the Palestinians. Any perceived slight by the Jews toward the Arabs was immediately pounced on by the United Nations who manufactured condemnatory resolutions against Israel like they were pickup trucks at a Ford plant.
Inside the country, we had a large population of liberal optimists who truly felt that if we were nice to the Palestinians, we could win them over. “They hate us now, and probably for good reason. If we just love them, then they’ll start to love us. After all, love always wins!” Tragically, the kibbutzim that were attacked along the border were largely populated with many of these well-meaning but naïve families. It’s truly heart-breaking.
As I said, we are in a new era in Israel. No longer does anyone foolishly hope that a relationship between Palestinians and Israelis can be forged. By the actions carried out by those Nazi monsters, they forfeited any right they thought they may have had to Gaza. There will be no Palestinian settlements south of our border.
“But, Amir, that isn’t fair to all the innocent civilians! They can’t help it if they had terrorists living among them!” I understand that there are innocents. And I also recognize that there are Christians amongst the Palestinians. However, the innocents and the believers in Gaza are a very small minority. Just yesterday, the Palestinian Center for Political Research and Surveys, based in Ramallah, released results of their inquiries. Of the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, 82% said the massacre of October 7 was an appropriate response to the attacks on the Al-Aqsa Mosque (which never actually occurred) and to free prisoners from Israeli custody. 70% think that armed terrorism is a proper solution to ending occupation. 90% call for the resignation of Mahmoud Abbas and more than 60% called for the dissolution of the Palestinian Authority (PA). In other words, Abbas and the PA are not radical enough for them. They want Hamas in charge.
We are no longer in an era of appeasement or compromise. We are in the era of vanquishment. The Palestinians in our region and around the world have ceased masking their intentions to annihilate Israel. They have laid down the gauntlet – it is them or us. We did not ask for this fight. We did not desire to make this choice. But neither will we shy away from it. Outside pressure has always caused us to moderate our responses in the past. That is no longer true.
This will be a difficult road because world sentiment continues its sway away from Israel. This past week, the United Nations (UN) rejected a proposed resolution by the U.S. that would have included a condemnation of Hamas. All the world saw what those Nazi terrorists did. Their own cameras proudly showed their torture, rape, and murder of Jews of all ages from tiny children and infants to the elderly. Yet, the world refuses to condemn this group because the massacre was carried out against Israel.
The UN did find the votes to pass a different resolution, however. It called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. The vote was 153 to 10 with 23 abstentions. Many of our European “friends” voted in favor of the resolution. I was so proud of Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan. He held up a sign in the General Assembly that read: “For a Ceasefire Dial [phone number] Ask for Yahya Sinwar”. Sinwar is the head of Hamas in Gaza, and the phone number belonged to him. In an interview, Erdan said that Sinwar could arrange for an immediate ceasefire if he chose to. All he would need to do is return all the hostages and surrender.
As predicted, our closest ally, the U.S., appears to be tiring of our fight for survival. In a statement on Tuesday, President Joe Biden made it clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu will not be able to refuse a Palestinian state in the future. This is not surprising since the president has long been a supporter of a two-state solution. Sorry, Mr. President, but that is now off the table. Biden also expressed his concern that Israel is beginning to lose support due to indiscriminate bombing. Apparently, one man’s “indiscriminate bombing” is another man’s precision-targeted elimination of terrorist facilities, weapons, tunnels, and personnel. Finally, President Biden suggested that Netanyahu must change the composition of his government saying that “this government in Israel is making it very difficult.” I’m sure our prime minister will take that suggestion under serious advisement.
We recognize that we are losing public opinion, but that is nothing new. It just means we are going back to the old status quo of global antisemitism. Very public incidents are daily in the news. Some have results the perpetrators don’t anticipate. In Poland, in an act of stupidity and insanity, MP Grzegorz Braun wielded a fire extinguisher to attack a lighted menorah in the parliamentary building. He has now been excluded from the rest of the session, had his governmental allowance withheld, and is facing criminal charges. Thank you, Poland! In the Turkish Grand National Assembly, member Hasan Bitumen vehemently condemned Israel, concluding with, “You will not escape the wrath of Allah.” He then suffered a heart attack before he even got off the stage. Seems that someone didn’t escape God’s wrath.
Even greater than the drift of nations from Israel is the growing vehemence in grassroots antisemitism. The Anti-Defamation League reported 2,031 incidents of antisemitism in the U.S. since October 7. That is the highest two-month figure ever and is up 331% from last year. Violent protests, vicious assaults, threatening vandalism are all increasing throughout the Western nations. It was especially noticeable this past week as city after city in America and Europe canceled their public Hannukah ceremonies due to fear and threats.
Despite all this, Israel will not stop fighting until we are safe. Yesterday was an especially difficult day as we lost ten soldiers in a 24-hour span in the Shujaiya neighborhood of Gaza. And for those who say, “Only ten? Look at all the Gazan soldiers Israel is killing.” Again, we did not choose this war. They poked the bear. Now we’re awake.
The battle is still raging in the West Bank, particularly in the area of Jenin. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists are being rooted out of their hiding places and either taken into custody or killed. In the north, Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel leading to regular retaliatory airstrikes. Yesterday, fighter jets bombed Hezbollah facilities in and around Nakoura. So far, over 100,000 residents in southern Lebanon have evacuated northward. It seems they recognize what we in Israel all know, and that is that the military campaign in the north is inevitable. Commander of Israel’s Home Front Command, Major Rafi Milo stated, “There is a target date for the war with Hezbollah. We are preparing for it. The situation in the north is worse than the situation in the south.” We are not safe with Hezbollah, an incredibly violent, well-funded, and well-trained proxy militia for Iran, right across our border. When I spoke of an era of vanquishment, I meant on all sides. On October 7, Hamas triggered a response that will only be complete when we, like most nations in the West, can rest secure without fear that our neighbors will fire rockets at our cities or invade across our borders.
There has been a new thread of criticism levelled against Israel as a result of pictures of captured Gazan terrorists wearing only their underwear. I have two responses to that. First, this is tactical. It ensures they are carrying no weapons, and it makes them very easy to spot if they try to escape. Second, these same men were not concerned in the least with the shame and terror they were causing their victims when they were raping and murdering them. Compared to their crimes, a little public underwear time doesn’t even register on the inhumane scale.
Besides, at least Hamas can see what is happening to their soldiers who are taken captive. Israel still has 135 innocent civilians who are being held hostage somewhere in Gaza. We have no idea the conditions they are being held in. What we do know is that at least 20 have been murdered while in captivity. There will be no consideration of a ceasefire until we are assured that we will get back every one of those hostages. Did you hear that, Yahya Sinwar? If you hope to survive this, returning our loved ones is your first step.
