web analytics
June 20, 2013 / 12 Tammuz, 5773
At a Glance
InDepth
Sponsored Post
Bicycle in South Pioneers of the Periphery: Olim of the South

Got that pioneering spirit? You’re invited to help build Israel’s periphery by planting roots in southern soil with Nefesh B’Nefesh.



More Dangerous Than A Nuclear Bomb

tell a friend
Feiglin-Moshe

Is Israel preparing to attack Iran? According to media reports, Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to convince his ministers to go on the offensive. If that is true, Netanyahu will go down in history as the prime minister who saved the State of Israel from destruction – not necessarily nuclear.

There is no doubt that an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities will bring swift retaliation on Israel, the results of which are unforeseeable. On the surface, as long as there is a chance to neutralize Iran’s nuclear capabilities via other methods; diplomatic, electronic, economic and the like, it is not logical to prefer the military option. Presumably, the ministers who oppose the attack are considering the question through this very keyhole: Can we stop Iran in some other way or is the military option the only route available?

Clearly, the non-military options are like a finger in the dike. As long as the Muslim motivation continues to rise on the other side of the wall, it is just a matter of time until the dike breaks. Further, as time goes by, the mission becomes more difficult and complex. The reactor in Bushehr is already hot.  Until about two years ago, it could have been destroyed without much environmental damage. That is no longer the case.

The difference between now and two years ago is that Netanyahu’s public approval rating is better now than it was then. And when it comes to a prime minister from the right, a political window of opportunity is just as necessary as an operational window of opportunity. If the social protest movement had managed to curtail Netanyahu’s popularity, there may not have been any government deliberations about attacking Iran. If we are in a political and operational window of opportunity right now, we must give the prime minister all the support that he needs on this existential issue.

Considering the attack strictly through the keyhole of cost and gain does not portray a true picture of the dismal reality. Nuclear weapons are not the greatest danger to the existence of the State of Israel. One third of our nation was destroyed in Europe without them. The Germans’ main weapon was the delegitimization of our right to exist. Strategically, delegitimization is much more dangerous than any nuclear weapon, for its practical application is only a matter of time – with or without nuclear capabilities.

When the Iranian leader declared his intent to destroy us, the world stood collectively held its breath in anticipation of Israel’s retaliation. When that did not happen, the historical question mark that hangs over the right of the Jews to breathe the air on this planet reappeared.

Whether the Jews have a right to a state or whether they have a right to exist at all was not asked in important Western universities until the world realized that we are willing to live with Iran’s intention to destroy us. The Iranian Amalek and the German Amalek work the same way as the Biblical Amalek. They declare an existential war against us, are willing to pay a price and negate our legitimacy in the eyes of the nations. The Holocaust did not begin with the outbreak of war but, rather, in Hitler’s hate-filled speeches and in the Der Sturmer propaganda.

The ministers who oppose an attack do not understand that the results of the attack are not what matters. Israel must attack Iran in order to restore the legitimacy of its very existence. Israel must restore the equation that says that whoever plans to destroy us automatically becomes a legitimate target for destruction. Bushehr is not the only target, but every plane, car and building in which the heads of Iran’s regime are to be found.

Pages: 1 2 All Pages
tell a friend

About the Author:


You might also be interested in:


If you don't see your comment after publishing it, refresh the page.

no comments

Comments are closed.

SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Latest Indepth Stories
Jacob W. Heller, z"l

My father took Yeshiva University debating into the national spotlight when he competed in the individual National Collegiate Debate finals.

swiss labor camp

My parents arrived as Austrian Jewish refugees in Switzerland almost exactly sixty years ago.

Gilor-Dov

Israel is a country that understands security concerns. Many civil rights have been sacrificed in the name of security and Israelis are used to being checked every time they enter a shopping center, a large store or any public building. Americans recently learned that they, too, are subject to many checks on their most private activities.

Netanyahu shaking Arafat's hand upon handing the Palestinians most of Hebron.

Without a vision, strategy is impossible. Tactics become farcical.

No one can envy President Obama’s current dilemma over Syria.

His decision to begin arming the Syrian rebels challenging Bashar Assad’s regime drew charges that the rebel forces are driven by jihad movements, particularly al Qaeda. Further, many rebel spokesmen have regularly denounced Israel and suggested that once in power they will end Mr. Assad’s policy of not rocking the boat with Israel. How, then, critics ask, could the president align the U.S. with the rebels?

In a gushing report on the election of Hassan Rohani as Iran’s new president, The New York Times began with this: “In a striking repudiation of the ultraconservatives who wield power in Iran, voters…overwhelmingly elected a mild-mannered cleric who advocates greater personal freedoms and a more conciliatory approach to the world.”

Last month in this space we noted that the New York State Assembly was considering legislation that would prohibit domestic insurers from including on their financial statements investments in companies that engage in investment activities in Iran. These financial statements are relied upon by the state to determine whether the company is solvent and able to pay claims. That bill has since passed the Assembly, but the New York State Senate is balking at passing it as well.

There is no other candidate running for mayor who supports our community’s values as Salgado does.

If the eyes are the window to the soul, then children’s eyes are the window to the Almighty Himself.

Adding Turkey to the list of volatile states would mean even more uncertainty for Israel.

Making Rouhani the president was a brilliant strategic move for Khamene’i.

Noone, least of all me, wants to see any Arab child suffer, God forbid.

The Sanctuary was built with an ezrat nashim, a separate area for women.

More Articles from Moshe Feiglin
Netanyahu shaking Arafat's hand upon handing the Palestinians most of Hebron.

Without a vision, strategy is impossible. Tactics become farcical.

MK Moshe Feiglin (3rd from left) visiting Temple Mount in early 2013.

I was surprised to learn that the MK Miri Regev-led Knesset Interior Committee and I, a Knesset member, were not allowed to visit the Temple Mount.

We are witnessing a complete loss of common sense on the part of Israel’s government and security forces

“This area is under Muslim sovereignty,” the senior officer on the Temple Mount said to me.

“I thought that we were in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel,” I answered, as I set out on a series of letter-writing campaigns and meetings with the chief of Israel police, the attorney general and the minister for internal security.

The importance of the caucus on organ harvesting in China, sponsored recently by the Liberal Lobby in the Knesset, cannot be exaggerated.

Israel’s government did not want to liberate Jerusalem. Or to be more specific, the Labor and National Religious Party ministers did not want to liberate Jerusalem. “Who needs that whole Vatican?” Defense Minister Moshe Dayan explained at the time.

Netanyahu made an invaluable turnabout in the way Israel explains itself. We must complete that turnabout. We must not go half way.

The following is my response to a woman who criticized me for visiting the Temple Mount. In a letter to me, she claimed that I broke the law and irresponsibly provoked Arab anger. She suggested that my actions should conform to the will of the “majority.”

    Latest Poll

    Female, Orthodox, Halachic Deciders and Spiritual Leaders (Maharat)









    View Results

    Loading ... Loading ...

Printed from: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/columns/moshe-feiglin/more-dangerous-than-a-nuclear-bomb/2011/11/17/

Scan this QR code to visit this page online:

Close