Israel sees terror as transactional - they attack, we respond

In Response to Terrorism, In Honour of Our Fallen

As a sovereign nation, with the responsibility to protect the lives of its citizens, there is only one price option for their lives – priceless. Anything else shows a serious lack of self-respect, the kind of lack of self-respect that leads others to believe there is a lower price if they are willing to pay it. This does not just put Israelis at risk, it costs lives, both of Israeli citizens and Israeli soldiers who are forced into dangerous situations that should not have arisen. To be clear, when Israeli leadership does not appropriately respond to terror attacks, it costs Israeli lives.

Furthermore, anything less than priceless would be a price assigned by the terrorists within the terrorists’ value system, a pricing structure which includes community adulation and an eternal place in Islamic heaven. This is not a value system a civilized country can countenance. That reduces the options to two, Israel sets the price or allows the terrorists to set the price, the terrorists will choose to pay or not pay the assigned price. There are no other options.

Ah, you might say these are not the only factors in making this decision, this is far more complex. Firstly, the international media, the UN and almost every other nation will condemn Israel. That condemnation is the same whether the response is deemed to be proportional, an entirely undefined and unspecified term, and a return to the transactional concept, or not. Regardless, there are always those who will very authoritatively state that the response is not proportional and even among “friends”, like the USA who allow that Israel is allowed to defend itself, the statement is invariably balanced by the opposing voice from within the same source to placate Israel’s enemies. Even-handedness and all.

Secondly, while the negative response is always the same, regardless of the nature and the extent of Israel’s response to terror, the positive response varies only in one place, among the terrorists and the Islamic nations that surround Israel. As much as they are encouraged in their terror by Israel’s lack of response, they equally respect a response and grudgingly respect Israel when Israel responds appropriately, with strength. We have seen former enemies turn to Israel in feigned friendship as the result of an appropriate, self-respecting, response to terror and threats. Everyone understands strength and everyone wants to be on the side of the winner. However, Israel must understand this friendship will only last as long as the strength lasts because these strategic alliances are only based on common interests, not common goals.

Thirdly, it is entirely delusional to think that there will be a good result when the terrorists are left with any choice at all. Terrorists’ choices are not made within a value system that has any commonality with civilized society. If they chose terror how do we respond to a culture that we can not wrap our heads around, one that promises eternal rewards for horrific acts? By responding to the culture, more than the terrorist. The terrorist, who likely knows he will be dead, is acting on behalf of that culture, not for himself. How many years has David Bedein written about the textbooks that call for killing Jews? How many years has HaShomer HaChadash had to stand in for the absent police and army? How many infractions does Regavim have to point to before the court and the government will uphold Israeli Law? How many examples do I need to bring? Where is Israel’s self-respect?

Israel must unapologetically support Israel in the face of the corrupt PA leaders who created a culture of terror and use terror as power to achieve their goals in the absence of any real power. Remove them, remove their access to the tools of power - media, finance, water, electric power and mobility, take away their ability to pretend to have power through a terror infrastructure. Take away their ability to take away Israeli lives. Statistically, under the political leadership that promotes it, less than 10% of any society is willing to engage in violence. Absent terror leadership, ideally there will be no terrorists and ideally there will be peaceful community infrastructure. Practically, they must know that terrorism will reap no rewards, no eternal rewards, no community adulation and no celebration, because if there is terror there will be no community.

Similarly, Israel’s response must be such that the entire world understands that Israel values the life of every one of its citizens beyond limits. Just as saving one life is saving an entire world, taking one life is taking an entire world, and if you take a world from us we will take your world from you – all of it. This will be an unrestrained blow, the only option Israel has. It is not unfair, it is not unjust, it is simply the only response a civilized country can have to terrorism and the terrorist and their entire community must know it, because then they will fear it, so that Israel need not fear terrorism.