24 Oct ISRAEL’S GREATEST MISTAKE ISRAEL REPEATED THE SAME ERROR SIX TIMES. WILL IT ACT DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME?

Israel is, thank G-d, a
strong country, with an
exceptional military
that combines courage,
skills and profound
moral standards. Israel
will fight back until
Hamas accept a cease-fire, at least for the
time being.
Yet that is exactly what we must fear.
Israel has begun the “surgery” to cleanse its
environment of the noxious diseases of terror.
But when the blood caused by the surgery
begins to gush forth, the UN may condemn,
the State Department may criticize and the
Israeli left will become self-loathing. The
Jewish State might then be compelled to
“sew” up the wound before the infection has
been eliminated. If that happens, the infection
of terror will be allowed to simmer beneath
the surface until the next explosion occurs in
a year or two or 10. The Arabs, it must be
said, have lots of patience.
This has been the tragic Israeli error all along:
It has never professed the courage to go all
the way, to establish untouchable truths and
maintain them with unwavering resolve and
determination. Six examples are noteworthy.

First, in the Six-Day War, when seven armies
vowed to obliterate Israel, the Jewish State
fought back and won, and tripled its original
size. In the aftermath, instead of
demonstrating strength, clarity and
determination, Israel immediately sent a
delegation to Washington to express its
readiness to return all of the occupied
territories to the Arab nations. (As usual, the
Arabs refused the offer; they wanted more.)
Israel was attempting to demonstrate its
passion for peace, but it misunderstood the
psychology of the enemy. The move
demonstrated to the Arab world that Israel
was, in the final analysis, unsure and
vulnerable, and capable of being defeated
through long-term resolve.
In the second example, in June 1982, Israel
entered Lebanon to eliminate Yasser Arafat’s
Palestine Liberation Organization, which had
been terrorizing Israel’s northern cities and
towns. Just as the army stood on the verge of
total victory, the military’s hands were tied.
The Israeli army waited futilely on the
outskirts of Beirut instead of swiftly
completing its objectives. The casualties
grew from day to day, the results were
catastrophic for Israelis and for Arabs, and
the PLO survived and thrived. (A little more

than a decade later, Arafat would
win the Noble “Peace” Prize.)
And third, in probably the
greatest political mistake of a
modern country, Israel
resurrected the PLO in 1993,
negotiated the Oslo peace
agreements, withdrew from
most of the West Bank and much
of Gaza, supplied weapons and
money to its foes for a police
force, and allowed a mighty
terror infrastructure to be built in
its own back yard. When the first
Israeli bus exploded in 1994, and the PLO
did nothing to stop it, Israel had the
opportunity to liberate itself from the deadly
illusion that peace was on the horizon and
completely cut down the terror foundations
in the West Bank and Gaza. Instead, Israel
showed restraint. During the next 10 years,
rivers of blood flowed in the Holy Land.
Thousands of innocent Jews and Arabs have
lost their lives or been maimed forever.
Then, in a fourth example, Israel evacuated
Gaza in August of 2005, leaving it
‘yudenrein.’ Ten thousand Jews were
expelled from their homes, with their
communities demolished by the Israel
Defense Forces under the leadership of
the hawkish Ariel Sharon who in a single
instant reversed his philosophy of sixty
years. Not a single Jew or soldier was left
in Gaza. Israel gave its neighbors the
opportunity to create an independent state
with a flourishing society. Instead, the
following day rockets came pouring
down on Israeli cities, targeting civilians
in homes, schools, and streets. Instead of
waking up to the deadly consequences of
the Gaza withdrawal and re-entering
Gaza, Israel showed restraint. The
results? Hamas has built a powerful terror
war machine, tens of thousands of rockets
have terrorized Israel’s south for years,
and all of Israel stands today in great
danger. Just this past week, Hamas sent
some 450 rockets on Israel, murdering
and maiming innocent Jewish women,
men, and children.
A fifth example: In July 2006, Hezbollah
attacked Israel in the north, shooting
rockets at Israeli towns, and thus diverting
its attention as it murdered eight soldiers
and kidnapped two. The subsequent war
ended with Israel not fulfilling even one
of its objectives. Hezbollah remains
stronger than ever, waiting for the right
opportunity to attack. The two kidnapped
soldiers were not freed. (They were later
returned in coffins in exchange of Israel
freeing some of the worst terrorists.)
Finally, in January 2009, Israel was
forced to reenter Gaza to stop the
incessant rocket attacks. But once again,

Israel chose to allow the terror cancer cells to
remain intact. They left Gaza with Hamas
intact.
Time and time again, the State of Israel has
proven the truth of the ancient saying, that
when a Jew finally makes a fist, he bangs it
on his heart to confess his wrongdoings.
Israel has failed to recognize that when you
leave part of the cancer tumor intact so that
you can complete the surgery as fast as
possible, it will resurface, to attack the
organism. Terror is a cancer; it must be
completely eliminated.
So now we’re back at the drawing board.
Hamas is as strong as ever and its capabilities
are impressive. Rockets have reached Tel
Aviv, 50 miles from the Gaza Strip. Will
Israel once again fear its own strength and
compromise its moral responsibility to ensure
the life and safety of every single person in
Israel? Will it buckle under and agree to some
type of nebulous ceasefire, giving its enemies
the time and space to reorganize and plan
their next opportunity to attack?
The Future
There are many questions about the future.
What is the long-term solution? What about
the demographic problem of a minority of
Jews in a sea of Arabs? How can Israel
continue to “occupy” Palestinian territory?
The great mistake of Israel has been to ask—
and answer—questions of peace in times of
war. Israel, for more than 25 years now, has
been in a state of war, though it never
acknowledged it as such. For 25 years, there
have been Arab attempts on almost a daily
basis to murder Jewish men, women, and
children throughout the country. Many have
succeeded; most have failed, only because of
the diligence of the IDF and the help of G-d.
In a time of war, you talk not about
demographics or occupation. You make sure
that your citizens are not being murdered and
kidnapped.
When Israel’s neighbors embrace the path of
peace, then we all will have the luxury to
confront the demographic problem, as well as
any others. In the meantime, Israel must
complete the job it began years ago but never
saw through till the end.