“We have become like Sodom and Gemorrah,” the judge lamented, referring to the hard kick the Arab woman terrorist received from a Jewish bystander after an attempted stabbing. The judge’s assessment was correct, but not in the manner he intended. It is the judge who represents the Sodom mentality, which turns values inside out, rendering good, bad and bad, good. The Jew who kicked the Arab terrorist still has moral clarity; it is the judge who is stricken with the Sodom mentality.
Clearly, not all the Arabs are murderers. There are very good people among them, some of them personal friends of mine. I believe that many of them – perhaps even the majority – feel very badly about the wave of Arab murderousness enveloping us right now. But that does not change the fact that we are currently in a war. Arabs in the Land of Israel (from both sides of the Green Line), backed by determined and dominating religious and political leadership, have declared that the lives of Jews are worth nothing. And they have acted on these declarations.
This is not a criminal conflict in which, as soon as the intruder is neutralized, it is clear that the court – and not the victim – must determine his sentence. No. This is a war that was declared against the Jews simply because they are Jews. And in a war, you do not fire at the enemy soldier only after he fires at you; you shoot first.
This war, however, is worse than ordinary wars. We are dealing with the total de-legitimization of the very right of Jews to live. Thus, Israel must clarify with actions (not words) that in the face of the widespread terror, all the rules have changed. Whoever raises a knife over a Jew in the Land of Israel loses his privilege to breathe air on this earth – and will be killed on the spot.
When Netanyahu the other week began to explain that Abu Mazen lied and that the young Arab murderer was alive and breathing in a modern Israeli hospital, he proved how much he misunderstands the nature of this war and once again caused Israel severe strategic damage. Does anybody in the world really care if Abu Mazen is telling the truth or lying? After all, when Netanyahu fell into the trap, celebrating the fact that Abu Mazen lied, he himself endorsed the claim that the elimination of a terrorist is tantamount to murder.
A real leader would have said the following:
“As usual, Abu Mazen lied. The boy in question is alive. Nevertheless, I would like to clarify: The Nation of Israel did not establish its own state just three years after Auschwitz in order to once again be slaughtered in the streets. Anybody in our land who raises a knife against a Jew has lost his humanity and the right to continue to live.”
Clearly, Netanyahu is doing just the opposite and a whole trail of confused people have followed in his footsteps.
The result, of course, will be that the lives of the murderers will be worth their weight in gold while police officers and civilians who were the intended victims will be severely punished.
And Jewish blood will continue to be cheap…