Who Cares About Fighting Terror?

Palestinian rockets may still be landing near Israel’s cities, but that hasn’t stopped the Government from remaining focused on – what else? – destroying more Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria.

Speaking before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today, IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said that over 1,300 soldiers and policemen will be deployed next week to uproot the Jewish community of Amona, near Ofra, which numbers some 40 families.

Just hours prior to Halutz’ appearance, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired three Kassam rockets at the southern Israeli town of Sderot, underscoring the Government’s continuing failure to stop such attacks.

Nonetheless, Halutz was apparently more interested in discussing the “threat” posed by Jewish families living on Jewish-owned land, rather than ongoing Palestinian attempts to target Israelis.

It is simply mind-boggling that just days after Islamic Jihad carried out a suicide bombing attack in Tel Aviv, the Government and army would be expending time, resources and energy to throw more Jews off their land.

Wouldn’t be it more useful to be hunting down terrorists instead?

This is little more than a transparent political ploy, aimed at attracting left-wing voters back to the Kadima party now that it is being headed by Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

With elections just two months away, Olmert apparently has no qualms about (mis-)using the tools of the state to advance his own political ambitions.

And so, once again, it is the valiant and brave pioneers settling the Land of Israel who might just have to pay the price.

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Israel Needs A Ronald Reagan

This past Friday, the Wall Street Journal provided a timely reminder of just how much a great leader can impact the future of a nation.

Noting that it was 25 years ago this weekend that Ronald Reagan was inaugurated President of the United States, the paper stressed how much Reagan’s economic policies contributed to the country’s growth and development in the intervening years.

Even more important, however, was the fact that Reagan set the stage for America’s return to itself and to its values, after the dour and depressing tenure of Jimmy Carter. He inherited the mantle of leadership over a country whose spirit was shattered, an America that had lost its sense of purpose and mission.

Reagan realized that the first and most urgent of tasks was to restore the American people’s confidence in themselves and their cause, and he set about doing so with great result.

Harking back to this period of recent history, it becomes all the more apparent just how much Israel so desperately needs its own version of Ronald Reagan - someone who will stand up to the international community, and especially to our enemies, with pride in his heart, power in his voice and principles in his view.

Someone who will remind the world that the Jewish people are unlike any other, that we are here by right, by Divine mandate, and that we shall never, ever yield this Land of ours. 

Israel needs a leader to put things back into perspective, to remind us that if we return to ourselves, and to our G-d, we can and will find the inner strength to stave off our foes and fulfill our mission as a nation and as a people.

Faith, optimism, pride and hope. As Ronald Reagan showed America, that is truly what a great leader has to offer.

Israelis deserves no less.

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Hollywood Applauds Suicide Bombers

When I woke up this morning and checked the news, I could not believe what I was reading: a Palestinian film that glorifies suicide bombers had won a major Hollywood award.

“Paradise Now”, which tells the tale of two Palestinians who are recruited to become suicide bombers, was named the year’s best foreign language film at the annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles.

Mideast expert Daniel Pipes has described the film as “propagandistic”, saying that it “whitewashes Palestinian suicide bombing”, while Entertainment Weekly highlighted “the dignity bestowed on a pair of prospective Palestinian suicide bombers” by the movie.

Now, we all know that Hollywood does not seem to share the value system of most sane and rational human beings, as the antics of various celebrities make abundantly clear.

But to celebrate a film that “humanizes” bloodthirsty killers? To confer even a shred of legitimacy on the use of human explosives against the innocent?

Are they out of their minds?

The award given to “Paradise Now” only underlines the extent of the challenge that Israel and the West are confronting in the war on terror. It is a battle of ideas, a struggle between worldviews, and there are still far too many on the home-front who have yet to realize, or even to comprehend, the danger that our societies face.

Every pair of hands that was raised, every applause that was sounded for “Paradise Now”, was a betrayal of morality and human values, and a slap in the face to those who have suffered at the hands of the terrorists.

Shame on Hollywood – but more importantly, shame on all of us, for feeding this industry and for giving it so much influence over society and its norms.

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