As war looms large, Israel is sticking its head in the sand
No Israeli campaign ever ends with the enemy's surrender, which is one of the reasons why we are eternally at war.
By Israel HarelThis week, the head of the Home Front Command, Maj. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, said what he thought to the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. "It's being called the Arab Spring, but it could turn into a radical Islamic winter," he said. "And that increases the chance of an all-out, total war, which could even include the use of weapons of mass destruction."
His remarks caused a storm. Even his cautious phrasing (he said "chance" ) was an affront to the political correctness that has been formulated in Israel regarding the true nature of this "spring." In contrast to the dreamers, he called a spade, a spade.
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Maj. Gen. Eyal Eisenberg. His warning was an affront to the political correctness in Israel regarding the true nature of the Arab Spring. |
| Photo by: Itai Cohen |
Eisenberg's analysis (which was meant to be a situational assessment, not a defiant declaration ) drew a reprimand from Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and Barak's aide, Amos Gilad, joined the fray, telling Israel Radio's Reshet Bet's Aryeh Golan, "Our security situation has never been better." The same declaration, word for word, was made by our nation's leaders on the eve of the Yom Kippur War. Surely anyone who remembers this trembled.
Is "the conception" - and history as well - repeating itself?
"None of Israel's rivals is interested in initiating a war against it," said Barak. None of them? Really? Not even Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Why exactly has Hassan Nasrallah been stockpiling thousands of rockets? Have we really heard no hostile voices coming from Egypt? Why are missiles, some of them capable of hitting Ben-Gurion International Airport, being smuggled into Gaza? And does anyone really know what might happen next in Amman?
"They know very well why it's not worth it for them to use chemical weapons," warned Barak. "They know very well why it doesn't pay for them to even think of using such weaponry against Israel."
Sorry, but they don't know. Because Barak and his ilk, the serial threateners, have taught them that threats like "It's not worth it for them" are idle threats.
During the first intifada, that of the stones and firebombs, our leaders threatened that if the Palestinians used live weapons, the rule would be "in war, as in war." But during the second intifada, when they shot at us and blew us up, killing and maiming hundreds, it took a full 18 months of "restraint is power" before Operation Defensive Shield was launched.
Then came the next stage of threats: If they dare to fire rockets at our civilian population, their cities, residents and all, would be toast. Among those saying this were the greats of Hebrew literature and the top left-wing politicians.
So they said it. So what? Our enemies know very well that threats of "It's not worth it for them to even think of using chemical weapons" are empty threats, and always will be.
Israeli guns are indeed loaded with lethal bullets, but Israel - certainly while Barak is defense minister- will never pull the trigger. Not until Doomsday, which we pray will never occur, but not before. The Jews, even if their citizens survive a chemical attack, will never respond in kind. So if rockets continue to rain down on the residents of the south, even if they have a chemical component, the response will be no more than another Operation Cast Lead, and once again will be concluded too soon.
No Israeli campaign ever ends with the enemy's surrender, which is one of the reasons why we are eternally at war. If we aren't prepared to defeat our enemies, once and for all, with conventional weapons, what's the point of making hollow threats of any other type of retaliation?
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After World War One German nationalism went into a sullen, angry hibernation that awoke with a ferocity the Western Allies were unprepared for. It took total war and virtual destruction of Germany to pacify the Teutonic beast. That is why the French adopted the slogan, "We love Germany so much that's why we want there to be two of them!" Imperial Japan, too, had to be defeated completely in order to pacify their ultra-nationalistic impulses. Both Germany and Japan emerged from World War Two defeated and pacified. I hope this is not what it will take to get the Arab world to curb their reactionary ultra-nationalistic fervor. For their sakes and ours, nobody wants such a destructive war. I can only hope cooler heads will prevail and the Arab Spring will not give way to an Islamist Winter. Otherwise, God help us all.
"No Israeli campaign ever ends with the enemy's surrender, which is one of the reasons why we are eternally at war." ...insightful, truthful statement I have ever read in Haaretz. I only pray that those in command recognized this.
What Harel says in the first part of the article is something every person in Israel with their eyes open should be able to clearly see. The enemies can do tremendous damage to us. They hate us and have incentive to do so. Our Defense Minister seems to be in denial. This is dangerous. While making empty threats is not wise , it is necessary from time to time to remind the other side how devastating our response to any attack will be. Israel despite its having such great offensive power does not have the means to protect itself completely from all the missiles and all the possible forms of attack. The old truth applies here i.e. He who would avoid war had best be prepare for it. And conversely he who appeases and shows himself to be peaceful only invites war and aggression.
- Defensive Shield (Palestinian): 240 killed, 400 wounded, 4,258 detained (Israeli): 30 killed, 127 wounded - Intifada II (Palestinian) : 4,907 Killed (Israeli): 1,063 - Cast Lead / Rocket War (Israeli): 30 killed by rockets (since 2001) 13 killed during operation (Palestinian): 1,166 - 1417 during cast lead only
- Defensive Shield (Palestinian): 240 killed, 400 wounded, 4,258 detained (Israeli): 30 killed, 127 wounded - Intifada II (Palestinian) : 4,907 Killed (Israeli): 1,063 - Cast Lead / Rocket War (Israeli): 30 killed by rockets (since 2001) 13 killed during operation (Palestinian): 1,166 - 1417 during cast lead only
Dont you get it yet? No-one will ever 'surrender' to Israel, just as Israel would never surrender to anyone else. The occupation should've taught you this by now. Pointless wars will bring at best temporary respite if you refuse to address the core issue - that being your steadfast refusal to give the Pals a fair break!
This whole thing is so irratating as an American I can't believe we keep wanting Israel to have peace with these terrorist, I'm sure if Mexico all of a sudden started firing rockets into the US or even if Canada did the US wouldn't sit and try to negotiate a landswap or offer them peace, no the US would retaliate and bomb all of them just like we did with alqueeda in Afghan. Israel has every right to defend itself against the same kind of attacks from these terrorist, I say the hell with peace with those people and once and for all destroy all of them because you know if they had the chance to destroy Israel they would not hesitate
Netanyahu, you have talked the talk but soon you must walk the walk. History will decide if you were cut from the same cloth as Churchill.
This analysis would be fine but for Israel's unjust and self destructive policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians.
Another case of a piece of analysis that could only isolate Israel further. No country can thrive or ultimately even survive while being at odds with the entire world.
Jews need to wake up and realize what type of enemies we are facing. Look at www.machonshilo.org
Yes, we do-and that's a great website
greater and more powerful and influential than he really is, he should sincerely try to think about himself as being perhaps delusional. On the other hand, he just may be one more set in motion member of the alliance of warmongers that essentially may jeopardize Israeli security more than any real (or imaginary) external treat.
We cannot endure any more with Barak as defense minister. He has proven to be weak.
To make peace we must win the war.
We must force our enemies to surrender to make peace. This is how the Allied forces beat the Axis in WWII and this is how peace was made. We must force the enemies of Israel to surrender unconditionally. This is how peace will finally be made.
Sure sounds like another preemptive war is being planned. Who will Israel attack this time?
When the Palestinians came with rocks, Israel answered with gunfire, when the Palestinians came with gunfire, Israel answered with tanks, and when the Palestinians came with rockets, well the Israelis answered with F16 , and phosphorous bombs. And the author speaks of Israel not retaliating in kind, I guess that is true, but not in the way he is describing.
There is a tad too much belligerent rhetoric in here for my taste.
listened to urrgings of Germany's FM Yoshka Fisher and turned another cheek. It took hundreds other killed before Sharon broke the spell of the German FM and launched the Defensife Shield
Israel Harel does something rare for the Middle East - he is telling it like it is. Phony attempts at peace-making with Jihadi terrorists has only prolonged the human suffering, misery and bloodletting (on both sides!). The US/EU/UN are following in the bloody footsteps of Neville Chamberlain in promoting negotiations with people like Arafat and Abbas. Put these murdering terrorists in their place and then peace will become a possibility. "Proportional" responses do not end wars - decisive actions do. It's not so hard to understand.
You are our friend, we love you, but we cannot be eternally at war. My nation will not survive this perpetual conflict. You must find a way to live in peace. The very notion that peace is impossible reenforces itself. In a very short time we will stand up for you against the overwhelming majority of the nations. We will veto the resolution, but it will cost us dearly in blood.
The US does not pay in blood for Israel. Please desist from spreading this horrid libel. It seems that you don't understand yet. Islamo-Fascism hates the United States as much as it hates Jews and Israel - and Europe, Canada and Australia are in the line of fire, too. It has everything to do with Islamic theology and nothing to do with Israel. Also, US soldiers die for US policy and interests and sometimes for defending Arab societies (e.g. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, etc) but never for Israel. Please get your facts straight. And beware the Jihad coming to your neighborhood, too.
So cure yourself doc before coming with your platitudes.
How can we force peace upon people that think we are the devil and want to wipe Israel off the map? Is peace a thing that you can force on others?
It is extremely obvious you have no understanding of Israels situation. I could hardly imagine the US putting up with continual attacks its citizens. You were attacked at Pearl Harbour and you Yanks were Sh-tting yourselves. Just try to think of that happening constantly on your homeland. Would you all surrender with your hands in the air? You were attacked on 9/11 and you are still shaking from it. We have that every day. Make peace!! With whom?
Why must the US cast a veto of this application in the UN Security Council? We should vote for it or abstain. Israel has repeatedly violated the spirit of agreements with the US to stop settlement construction. It seemingly cannot give up the dream of acquiring most of the west bank and ejecting the Arabs from "Judea and Samaria".
' But during the second intifada, when they shot at us and blew us up, killing and maiming hundreds, it took a full 18 months of "restraint is power" before Operation Defensive Shield was launched. I know you won't post this, but I remember your 'restraint.' It included firing rockets into innocent crowds. You can date all this. That eighteen months of 'restraint' is a figment of your imagination.
Please provide evidence about Israel firing rockets into innocent crowds, there is NONE. Yes, Israel targeted terrorist leaders and operatives who were deliberately attacking and targeting Israeli civilians, and yes, sometimes civilians were also hit in these attacks, but this is no different then any war in history and no different then what the US and its allies have been doing in their "war on terror" for the last decade. And, I remember plenty of times in the first 18 months of the second intifada aka Arafat's terror war that Israel responded to terror attacks by hitting PLO buildings and training facilities, etc...but only after giving a warning so the end result was just an empty building being hit.
You did not pay any attention us getting rocketed for 18 months, because the media you read had no interest in reporting this to you. Do a little research and you'll see that it is true. What credit did we get for showing restraint for 18 months? Nothing - just like you're giving us now.
War isn't what's going to destroy Israel. Not one of your planes or bombs or tanks is going to do you the least bit of good at all. And deep down, you know that, and you are frightened.
Israel will ultimately destroy Zionism and thus Israel as we now know it. It was just also too late in the day to try and successfully create a Jewish state via a colonisation process. Maybe it might have worked in the 19th Century but not the mid 20th Century, a State still without borders in the early 21 Century. The colonisation process has been relentless and brutal towards the indigenous non-Jew. The states which have survived colonisation (also initially brutal to the indigenous) and prospered, have been able to reconcile with their indigenous and meld together as one people - at least to some extent. New Zealand perhaps has been the most successful at this, but the other colonised lands such as Australia, SA, Canada and the US are not doing too bad. There is certainly no attempt to protect an ethnicity as there is in Israel. The weirdest thing is to see the recent social justice protests within Israel swell without there being any significant inclusion of the right of the occupied or refugee Palestinian to social justice as well. Zionism which necessitates the dispossession and continued occupation of another people will morph into a pretty empty and ugly state of being.
Israel will ultimately destroy Zionism and thus Israel as we now know it. It was just also too late in the day to try and successfully create a Jewish state via a colonisation process. Maybe it might have worked in the 19th Century but not the mid 20th Century, a State still without borders in the early 21 Century. The colonisation process has been relentless and brutal towards the indigenous non-Jew. The states which have survived colonisation (also initially brutal to the indigenous) and prospered, have been able to reconcile with their indigenous and meld together as one people - at least to some extent. New Zealand perhaps has been the most successful at this, but the other colonised lands such as Australia, SA, Canada and the US are not doing too bad. There is certainly no attempt to protect an ethnicity as there is in Israel. The weirdest thing is to see the recent social justice protests within Israel swell without there being any significant inclusion of the right of the occupied or refugee Palestinian to social justice as well. Zionism which necessitates the dispossession and continued occupation of another people will morph into a pretty empty and ugly state of being.
Your article is spot on and a true rendering of the current situation.
Gotta keep that 'fear factor' high, don't we Israel Harel? Got keep those flame eating away at the souls of the Israeli people! Gotta make sure that imaginary security needs stand squarely in the way of peace and the demise of your precious settlements - don't we Israel Harel? Iran's got no interest in attacking Israel, and everything to lose if it did! You read too much into what Ahmadinejad says - but then of course YOU would, wouldn't you? You're doing exactly what he's doing!
Time to sack Barak and prepare for war.
Why don't you try reading the title of the article - your head is in the sand. If you can't feel it in your soul, you're deluding yourself. Your agenda is plainly visible in your statement about the "precious settlements". You care not about Israel, you care about your agenda. Wake up already.