We're not going to take it anymore

Were not going to take

By ANDERSON HARKOV
One of the most overrated American movies of all-time featured a character who would scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore." Over and over throughout its history, Israel has been invaded, attacked by bombs planted by terrorists, blockaded, attacked by missiles fired by terrorists, hijacked, attacked by terrorists blowing themselves up and assaulted by armies from practically every Arab country. Time and time again Israel reached a point where the murder and mayhem was too much and it could not take it anymore, resulting in military action. It is time that Israel responds on the diplomatic front in a similar manner. I am not suggesting that Israel attack Europe because the European Union advocates the division of Jerusalem. Specifically, the EU stated in its recent statement on the Middle East peace process: "If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states." However, it is time for Israel to say it's no longer going to take it from the Europeans and anybody else who has the audacity to treat it like the backwater, desolate colonial province it was during more than 1,000 years of Muslim occupation. It is time for Israel to act with strength and anger, in the diplomatic sense, and to make it clear that there will be consequences for trying to impose unilateral solutions on it. It is time to teach the world that just as Israel reaches a point where it won't be pushed around by violence, it has also reached a point where it won't be pushed around diplomatically. It is time for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to convene an emergency cabinet meeting and rescind the settlement building freeze. No other response is appropriate to the actions of the European Union. In less than a month the settlement freeze has been met by indifference by the US, derision by the Palestinians and now open hostility by the Europeans. Led by Sweden, the EU has clearly stated Jerusalem should be divided between the Arabs and Jews. If we do not stand up for Jerusalem now, then we will not be able to stand up for Jerusalem later. If Jerusalem is not a red line, then why should anything be a red line. THE TIMING of the EU's statement shows us that the settlement freeze has accomplished nothing. Actually it has alienated a beleaguered yet patriotic sector of our society, the religious Zionists, who serve disproportionately in combat units precisely because of their devotion to our country. If it continues for another nine months, it is clear that nothing will be accomplished on the diplomatic front. Yet, the residents of Judea and Samaria will suffer great economic damage and continuous harassment form overzealous inspectors who curiously don't show the same resolve to stop illegal Arab construction. In short the freeze has already inflicted pain on our population in exchange for nothing. The Foreign Ministry's response to the EU is tepid at best, and when it comes to the Europeans, it falls on deaf ears. Of course the foreign minister of Luxembourg, a relic of a country if there ever was one, would say that Palestinians should live in Palestine and Israelis in Israel. It's time for Israel to let the Europeans know that the Jews have left the ghetto, and the Golani Brigade has our back. It is ironic that Israel accepts more insults from countries on the continent soaked with Jewish blood than it does from the rest of the world put together. How long will this continue? We have proven we can stand up to the Arabs, but will we dare stand up to the descendants of those who perpetrated the Crusades, the Inquisition, the pogroms and the Holocaust? We were unable to stand up to the politics of appeasement when Europeans sacrificed the Jews in a worthless attempt to save themselves from Hitler. Now, as history repeats itself, and the Europeans seek to sacrifice Israel to appease the Arabs and Iran, we can, and must, stand up to their cowardly acts. We must let them know we are mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore. The writer is a certified criminal trial attorney. He made aliya in January 2008.