With the decision makers in Jerusalem agreeing to a cease-fire just one week
after finally giving the green light for a military response to the unbearable
daily rocket attacks against a large portion of the country, it would be
interesting to know if the same decision makers had a clearly defined long-term
goal when Operation Pillar of Defense was launched.
By this I do not mean
a military goal, which I’m assuming they had, but rather a long-term diplomatic
or political objective. My gut feeling, unfortunately, is that other than trying
to achieve some peace and quiet, there was no serious plan to radically alter
the playing field or to effect a long-term change of direction.
Although
I’m not against a little peace and quiet and Israel is certainly justified in
doing whatever it must in Gaza or any place else to prevent enemy attacks and
hopefully attain some of that peace and quiet, unfortunately the same worn-out
approach of reacting to Arab aggression in order to achieve nothing more than
some temporary tranquility in the region will not prevent the next flare-up with
Hamas, Hezbollah or whoever in another six months, one year or two
years.
It’s simply inevitable as long as Israel continues to play a game
of make-believe by pretending that the whole dispute with the Arabs is based
upon land and therefore by solving the land issue, reconciliation with the Arabs
is ultimately possible.
Although such an assumption provides hope, and
perhaps because of this has been swallowed hook, line and sinker by nearly the
entire world, the truth is that the dispute with the Arabs has nothing to do
with land. Had it really been a land issue it would have been solved years ago.
Anyone familiar with the situation knows this, as well as the bitter fact that
the larger Arab world will never reconcile itself to having a Jewish state in
the heart of the Middle East. True, this may not sound nice and it’s certainly
not politically correct, but that’s just the way it is. Israel needs to accept
this fact, internalize it and stop pretending that things are
otherwise.
Moreover, by finally admitting the truth Israel will be
released from its own shackles, and will be able to start heading in the
opposite direction. Politically speaking this means first declaring that the
Oslo process and the foolish discussion of the two-state solution to be history,
and then planning for the eventual implementation of Israeli sovereignty over
all of Judea and Samaria.
Although it certainly would have been easier
had Israel chosen this path years ago, long before it raised the expectations of
the world by recklessly supporting the division of its own land, it’s never too
late to change direction. It might be difficult, but certainly not
impossible.
Although anyone who advocates such a change of direction will
probably be accused of being an “extremist,” that’s no reason to turn back,
especially if such attacks come from all the gurus who predicted a new Middle
East with the launch of the Oslo process, or from those who promised enduring
security for the south with the implementation of the Gaza
Disengagement.
They were wrong in every way possible, even if they never
admitted it or apologized for their mistakes.
Thus, anyone who feels the
burning need to raise his voice and speak the truth, regardless of how it may
resonate in the ears of certain people, should not be deterred for fear of
attack by those who have continually and unrepentantly led us astray.
The
point here is not to blame but rather to help initiate a badly needed change of
direction. Moreover, the real voice of the Jewish people in Israel must be
heard. The average, regular Jew knows that the land of Israel belongs to the
Jewish people and that all the historical lies and distortions that are bantered
about, as well as all the slanderous incriminations that are hurled against
Israel, cannot change this fact.
Furthermore, the Jewish people were not
brought back to the land of Israel after an incredibly long and bitter stay in
exile merely to strive for the attainment of a nice, quiet American-type
lifestyle on the western tip of Asia. We’re here for a purpose, whether we like
it or not. Moreover, the longer we avoid really understanding and internalizing
this truth and instead merely spend our time trying to emulate America and
achieve that ever-elusive peace and quiet, the longer the bloody and senseless
wars with the Arabs will continue.
Although obviously the previous claim
cannot be proven empirically as it falls with the realm of faith, the opposite
approach of just skidding along and attempting to survive in a very difficult
neighborhood, equipped with no greater goal than the attainment of some sense of
western normalcy, has clearly proven ineffective in realizing even this somewhat
limited goal.
Likewise, as much as we repeatedly try to convince the
Arabs to join us in this endeavor, they’re simply not interested. As Einstein
once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting
different results.” Thus, if Israel is seriously committed to its own long-term
survival as a sovereign nation in this part of the world, it must try a
different approach. The question is, how much suffering must there be, for both
Jews and Arabs alike, before we finally change direction?
The writer is a
freelance author living in Jerusalem. http://yoelmeltzer.com