Getting Ready for the Next Round

Anyone who thought the threat posed to Israel by rocket attacks had passed would do best to think again.

In a raid carried out in Tulkarem yesterday, Israeli security forces arrested two members of the Fatah Tanzim terror group who were involved in the manufacture of rockets, several of which they unsuccessfully tried to fire at Israel back in July.

The terrorists were being financed and directed by – you guessed it – Hizbullah in Lebanon, and had a weapons cache that included two rockets in the process of being built.

Obviously, this was no science project – but a clear-cut example of how the terrorists are simply using the current lull in hostilities to prepare for the next round of fighting, whenever it may come.

And it would seem logical to assume that the Tulkarem cell that was captured yesterday is just one of several that may be operating in the area, with the aim of preparing to open a second front against the Jewish state should the cease-fire in Lebanon fail to hold.

So don't let the surface calm fool you – the bad guys are already looking ahead, planning their next, horrific move.

Let's just hope that next time around, Israel and its leaders will know what to do.

The Election Outcome - What it Means

The results of Israel’s elections are in. As I predicted in yesterday’s posting, the polls proved to be inaccurate, and Ehud Olmert’s Kadima party came in with 28 seats while the right-wing and religious parties did better than expected.

It will take some time for the dust to settle, and for the demands of the various factions to become clear. But at this stage, it is worth noting the following key points regarding the outcome:

1 - Olmert did not receive a mandate for further withdrawals. His Kadima party got fewer than a quarter of the votes, which is hardly a ringing endorsement by the electorate for his plan to uproot thousands of Jews from their homes.

2 – The anti-religious left was nearly wiped off the political map. In the outgoing Knesset, Shinui and Meretz together had more than 20 seats, or over one-sixth of the parliament. In this week’s balloting, Shinui was erased from the political scene, and Meretz dropped to just four seats. This is a stinging slap in the face to these two parties, whose platforms focused on making Israel into a more secular, and less Jewish, state.

3 – The electorate is growing increasingly disenchanted with “politics as usual”. With 28 seats, Kadima may be the leading party, but this is among the smallest number of mandates ever to be held by the largest faction in the Knesset. A loud and clear protest vote took place, with the joint National Union-National Religious Party receiving just 9 seats, and the Likud getting a mere 11. Votes flowed in large numbers to Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu (13 mandates) and the Pensioners’ Party (7 mandates).

Obviously, Israelis are tired of being duped by politicians, who promise one thing before the election only to carry out something entirely different afterwards.

And frankly – who can blame them?

Today's Election - A Prediction

Every once in a while, a newspaper headline succeeds in capturing the true significance of an historical moment.

“Future borders at stake as Israel votes” reads the front page of today’s Jerusalem Post, summing up the importance of this election.

Many on the right are still gripped by despair, disillusionment and disbelief over the events of the past few months and the failure of our representatives in the Knesset to live up to the principles which they were elected to uphold.

I fully understand these feelings, and I share the sense of frustration.

Nonetheless, we can not just sit back and wallow in hopelessness and despondency. Anyone who can vote must go out and do so.

The future of the country is at stake, and if enough right-wing voters head to the polls, there is a still a chance of preventing the left from obtaining a majority in the Knesset. This would seriously hinder Ehud Olmert’s plans to uproot tens of thousands of Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria, and possibly prevent more territory from being handed over to the Hamas-run Palestinian Authority.

So, here’s my prediction for the results of the election:

Mr. Olmert and his Kadima party will win 25 to 30 seats, but the right-wing and religious parties will have a much stronger showing than the polls anticipate. Olmert will be unable to form a stable ruling coalition without reaching across the political spectrum to the right. His desire to rush headlong into extensive unilateral retreats will prove politically impossible to carry out.

But that, of course, depends on whether each and every one of us who loves the Land of Israel gets out there and votes. So please make sure that you do so.