There are two things reported today by Arutz-7 that I think are worthy of notice.
Sderot is an Israeli town in undisputed territory. It is not in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, or the Golan Heights. The only ones who would claim that Israelis don’t have a right to live there are those who say that the Jews should pick up and move to Europe. But for a year now it has been under regular attack by terrorists from Gaza who fire rockets on the town. It’s been in the news so frequently that it becomes easy to ignore. When I was asked recently if things were quiet here, my reply was, yes, of course, always. And that is true, where I live. But for those who live in Sderot, there may be up to a dozen rocket attacks each day. Every time the siren sounds, the town’s residents have to flee to a bomb shelter. Sometimes there is no warning. Arutz-7 today has a recording (mp3) of one such attack, and you can hear the words Zeva Adom (Color Red) before the rocket hits.
In another article, a former Israeli negotiator argues that Israel should not give away the Golan Heights. What caught my attention here was the clear articulation of the alternative to “land for peace.” Usually you only hear of the pros of peace and the news media (see this story for recent admitted bias in Israel) makes it seem like there is no other option. Yossi Ben-Aharon argues otherwise:
“It’s time that we stop dreaming about peace,” Ben-Aharon said, “and concentrate just on co-existence, meaning that we must be very strong and that our deterrence power must never, ever be perceived as weakness. Some may say that without offering the Golan , a war could break out this summer – but the best way to prevent war is not by running to give away the Golan; this is a show of weakness that will merely invite more aggression and empower the Syrians to threaten and attack us. If they threaten us, our response must be – via third parties – that if they even think of attacking us, we will respond with such force that it will send them back to the Middle Ages. This is a response that will keep the peace, and will find favor with the US to boot.”
Anyone who has ever dealt with Arabs (for the most part – we all know there are exceptions) knows that they respect a show of force. How the “peaceniks” overlook this is beyond me. If you show weakness, it is an invitation to attack. I hope Israel will wake up and realize that giving things away to the Palestinians and now the Syrians only provokes them to attack, seeing their opponent as weak. And don’t be fooled, they see Israel as an opponent that must be destroyed. I preach to the choir here though. Good for Ben-Aharon.