The Situation

This is how much I value Jewish life. My view has not changed. What has changed is the realization that this solution is a virtual impossibility. Creating a Palestinian state would be suicide for the State of Israel. A suicide that would include multitudes of Jews being slaughtered in the process. It would be a tragedy of epic proportion not seen since the Holocaust! 

Israel dare not give up one inch of land. This is how I felt long before Hamas massacred 1400 Jewish souls a couple of weeks ago. 

The hatred of Jews is in the mother’s milk of virtually every Arab. This is how they have all been  indoctrinated from cradle to grave for at least the last 100 years. Those who are actually friendly to us (and there are many) had to overcome that indoctrination. An indoctrination fed by their political leaders and their religious clergy who see us infidels and as usurpers of their land.  Given the choice they would just as soon see us killed as expelled from their land. 

Palestinian leaders - even the so-called moderate ones - do nothing to disabuse their people of that hatred. They do the opposite by glorifying their Jihadists as freedom fighters. That indoctrination is reinforced in a myriad of ways: at home, in the schools in their mosques, in their news and entertainment media, and in their social media..

Hamas is merely the overt expression of that hatred They are the ones who act on it. Cheered on in the Arab street when they succeed in one of their ‘missions’ - as was the case two weeks ago. Hamas is also the most powerful element of the Palestinian people. Far more able to take over the reins of power than the the PA (Palestinian Authority). 

That was made very clear after Gaza was given to the Palestinians by the late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Hamas wasted little time wresting control of Gaza from the PA. They have ‘governed’ that tract of land ever since with a mission to terrorize Israelis. The goal of which was to eliminate Jews from ‘their’ land either through expulsion or death. The latter of which has been their Modus Operandi ever since.

I realized this fact long ago. Which is why a two state solution is an impossibility. As long as there are groups like Hamas, Israel cannot afford to give even the ‘moderate’ PA any kind of Palestinian state. What happened in Gaza, will happen in the West Bank. Hamas will take it over. Creating a Palestinian state is an existential that I oppose with every fiber of my body! I would even go a step further and say that even if Hamas is obliterated (God willing), there are other groups that will take their place with the same commitment to our destruction. All of which will be supported by Iran.

Unless we can get them all and demolish Iran, there can be no Palestinians state.

If there is one good thing to come out of the current situation, it is that a lot of Israelis on the left who supported a two state solution as recently as two weeks ago - in the belief that it would lead to peace - seem to have abandoned that belief.  They now realize that peace is impossible as long as there is a Hamas in the world with Iran backing them.

I don’t fully understand why they did not realize this before. But it is clear that they realize it now. The communities that bordered Gaza were all of that liberal mindset before the massacre. Now, I doubt there a single one of them does not believe that Israel must destroy Hamas. That there can no peace with them in the picture. 

The nation of Israel is united in ways not seen since the six day war or the Yom Kippur War. We are all on the same side. Every Israeli soldier, regardless of their politics, regardless of how religious they are, regardless of who they voted for in the last election, regardless of how they feel about their Prime Minister... has one goal: to go into Gaza and destroy Hamas.

I’m only sorry it has taken so long for the left to see that. And that it took the massacre of 1400 Jewish souls to change their hearts and minds about who and what they are dealing with. But… better late than never. It’s nice to see such Achdus between the left and the right in Israel; the religious and irreligious. I would have never thought that possible just a few short weeks ago. 

The young Jewish IDF soldiers on the front lines are all eager to go into Gaza and get the job done. They are of one mind and one purpose - determined to succeed.

Needless to say, the prayers of the vast majority of Klal Yisroel are with them. Including those of us that live in the Diaspora. 

That being said, the thought of so much Jewish blood being shed in even a noble goal such as this saddens me greatly. I hope and pray that not a single hair on the head of any soldier be harmed. But the likelihood of Jewish blood being spilled is pretty high. And in the case of Gaza, I fear that the hostages will God forbid suffer that same fate! (May God save them all!)

But as the people Israel now realize, they have no choice. Israelis cannot live this way. The enemy must be destroyed. God willing they will be. I am happy that President Biden feels the same way. Even while cautioning Israel to no act out of rage as the US did after 9/11, he has expressed his complete support of Israel’s mission here. 

There will be a lot of questions asked after Israel succeeds in their mission. Such as: Who will govern Gaza after Hamas is gone? What about other terrorist groups waiting to fill that void? Will they succeed? That would make any victory short lived. And what about Iran? Who is going to stop them from continuing to foment anti Israel hatred and supplying terrorists with the means to destroy us? 

I can’t answer these questions. They are legitimate and concerning. But there will be time to worry about that later. For now, Israel must take care of the business at hand. And do whatever it takes to get that job done as quickly and as painlessly as possible.