Force does work

Jackie Levy

The events of this past week should be remembered. After the Qassam attacks on Sderot have become a natural law; after we got used to it, and thought that Gaza-region residents also got used to it; after we got accustomed to the fact there is no need to look for a motive for each and every Qassam, as they simply keep on pouring down one by one.
After our eyes were opened and we realized that Sderot is a price that the government of Israel is willing to pay; after all this, suddenly the IDF utilized high-level intelligence, coupled with impressive execution ability, and hit the enemy with a lethal and accurate blow. This time, it was done without impassioned speeches and silly words such as “Haniyeh will never forget etc. etc.”



And suddenly, Haniyeh proposed that we all sit down and talk. His Hamas emissaries were interviewed by Israeli media outlets and said that we must not forget abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, and that we can talk business.



The events of this past week should be remembered, because we tend to forget quickly. It is not nice to say that someone only understands force, particularly if that someone is Arab. Yet what can we do, this is how it is with enemies, regardless of whether they are Arabs or members of South African tribes. They only understand force. Otherwise, they apparently would not be enemies.



Hamas was never a movement of freedom and liberty. We are talking about a nationalistic fascistic movement, and fascists of this type only recognize two conditions: Blood thirsty battle cries, or mumblings of obsequiousness and capitulation.



Military might
We should recall that up until recently it appeared that suicide terror attacks at shopping malls, buses, and all sorts of other locations were also preordained; that there is nothing we can do about it. The simple fact is that this curse had been stopped, and it was not a result of goodwill either, and not even because the Palestinians have failed to enlist volunteers. It was stopped by military blows, which may have not been accurate enough at all times, but were nonetheless determined.


The idea that we can do nothing in the face of terror, aside from giving in to its demands, was the twisted logic of an honest politician called Yossi Beilin; it was the line that led Beilin to the simple conclusion that those who choose terrorism win in advance. This implied that anyone who does not choose the path of terror is a sucker. Many messianic Jewish terrorists were affected, as we know, by radical rabbis. It is very possible that others were influenced by Beilin as well. They paid close attention to his words.


It is rather symbolic to see the IDF marking the end of that worldview in the same week that marks the end of the Beilin era in Israeli politics. We can therefore conclude with two observations: First, Beilin’s doctrine is increasingly losing its grip on reality, and that’s good. Secondly, Beilin’s style, wisdom, honesty and dedication are also increasingly disappearing, and that’s very bad.


.