Choosing resistance

I am the most peace-loving guy you are likely to find. I always get into arguments about the militarization of Israel, something our sages would have abhorred.

To them, God was our protector. Our kings were not rewarded for military conquest. I am not a supporter of Bar Kokhba. Chanukah to me is a sham. We survived 2,000 years by not becoming the next Roman empire.

I am also fully aware of the provocations that Israel inflicted on the Palestinians in the days leading up to last week. These were no doubt related to Bibi Netanyahu, political realities with the upcoming Israeli elections, and the now-completed U.S. presidential election. Bibi probably wanted to make a statement to his supporters, to the U.S. and to Iran – “Look, you cannot push me/us around.”

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All that being said, I believe that air wars solve nothing, and that infantry and ground ops are the keys to victory. I was not in favor of Operation Cast Lead, but once it started, I felt we had to make the sacrifice and stay in Gaza.

I feel that way now. I know Jewish lives will be lost. But the context here is not whether or not Jabiri was a nice fellow who somehow wanted to stop the rockets. The context is that the rockets have never stopped.

So this is really simple. Either the Palestinians figure out a way to control their thugs (and resist Israel without resorting to rockets), or else we have to do it for them (to them). And by the way, don’t you think that Syria and Iran are behind the escalation – and don’t we need to send them a signal, too?

I am afraid that we will lose more lives – and I am equally afraid that we will pull back again, and that nothing will change. But one cannot live in fear. The status quo is intolerable. So the choice is either to cave in (to the likes of Jabiri, Syria, Iran) or else to resist … and in so doing, incur the wrath of the nations.

I pick resistance. Am Yisrael chai!