As an American, I have always been extremely impressed by the State of Israel's commitment to the preservation of human life, even enemy lives. Except for the US and perhaps a few others, Israel is the only country that has always maintained a policy of safeguarding civilian members of the enemy she is fighting.
This policy even extends to aiding those needing help, as was beautifully described by Brigitte Gabriel during a recent address at an American university. She said:
"I'm proud and honored to stand here today as a Lebanese speaking for Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.... I was raised in Lebanon, where I was taught... the only time we will have peace in the Middle East is when we kill all the Jews or drive them into the sea. ...When the Muslims and Palestinians declared Jihad on the Christians in 1975, they started massacring the Christians.... It was Israel who came to help the Christians in Lebanon. My mother was wounded by a Muslim's shell and was taken into an Israeli hospital for treatment.... They treated my mother before they treated the Israeli soldier lying next to her. They didn't see religion, they didn't see political affiliation; they saw people in need and they helped.... For the first time in my life, I experienced a human quality that I know my culture would not have shown to their enemy...."
Although the world will not admit it, Israel has truly been a "light unto the nations" in this regard.
Of late, however, this policy seems to be implemented even at the expense of Israeli soldiers and civilians. Knesset Member Yuval Shteinitz, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, recently said he would demand that the army repeat the wide-ranging, anti-terror offensive in Shechem of two and a half years ago, this time in Gaza. However, army officials persuaded him that at present, the cost in soldiers' lives in the crowded, narrow streets of Gaza might be too great.
Without a doubt, safeguarding the lives of IDF soldiers is absolutely paramount, but couldn't this be accomplished by softening the enemy with air strikes prior to the ground attack? Had air strikes been used in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield, the IDF soldiers murdered by booby-traps during house to house fighting would probably be alive today. However, Israel refrained from using air strikes in Jenin to avoid harming civilians, and in so doing, put her own soldiers in harm's way. Now, by not using air strikes so as not to harm civilians in Gaza, Israel has declined to conduct a necessary operation, thereby permitting the terrorists to continue with business as usual, leaving Israeli civilians and soldiers at the mercy of more Kassam rockets and other terrorism emanating from Gaza.
The once-noble Israeli policy has become one of insanity and foolishness, one of cruelty to Israelis. What kind of government allows attacks on its own people to continue to safeguard so-called "innocent" civilians? This is warped morality, endangering your own people so as not to harm your enemy. Where is the public outcry against this?
Moshe Keinan, whose son Avihu was killed on duty in Gaza, has held a yearly march since then to demonstrate for what he calls "true morality" in the army, demanding that the IDF cease putting soldiers at risk to avoid collateral damage among residents of the enemy Palestinian Authority. The Israeli government and Supreme Court have forced this policy on the IDF, but this must not continue. Government's most important function is safeguarding its people's lives. A government unable or refusing to do so forfeits the right to rule. Recent Israeli governments have corrupted a once-noble Israeli humanitarian policy by sacrificing friends on behalf of enemies.
As an aside, Israel's failure to protect her Christian allies upon leaving Lebanon, and failure to protect Palestinian informers, butchered and murdered publicly by their brethren in PA-controlled areas, merely adds fuel to the fire.
Finally, the intention to remove experienced Border Guard forces from dangerous areas in Judea and Samaria to use them to evacuate Jewish outposts is the last straw. Who has the right to do such a thing, to endanger its people? Certainly not a government whose job it is to protect them. How cheap has Jewish blood become in the State of Israel? It is time for Israelis to scream out, demanding that the government place their lives first and foremost and do everything humanly possible to safeguard those lives, regardless of the possible toll on our enemies and world public opinion. If the government won't listen, then it must relinquish power and be replaced by one that will listen and act like a government - by placing the lives and well-being of its people above all else.
This policy even extends to aiding those needing help, as was beautifully described by Brigitte Gabriel during a recent address at an American university. She said:
"I'm proud and honored to stand here today as a Lebanese speaking for Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East.... I was raised in Lebanon, where I was taught... the only time we will have peace in the Middle East is when we kill all the Jews or drive them into the sea. ...When the Muslims and Palestinians declared Jihad on the Christians in 1975, they started massacring the Christians.... It was Israel who came to help the Christians in Lebanon. My mother was wounded by a Muslim's shell and was taken into an Israeli hospital for treatment.... They treated my mother before they treated the Israeli soldier lying next to her. They didn't see religion, they didn't see political affiliation; they saw people in need and they helped.... For the first time in my life, I experienced a human quality that I know my culture would not have shown to their enemy...."
Although the world will not admit it, Israel has truly been a "light unto the nations" in this regard.
Of late, however, this policy seems to be implemented even at the expense of Israeli soldiers and civilians. Knesset Member Yuval Shteinitz, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, recently said he would demand that the army repeat the wide-ranging, anti-terror offensive in Shechem of two and a half years ago, this time in Gaza. However, army officials persuaded him that at present, the cost in soldiers' lives in the crowded, narrow streets of Gaza might be too great.
Without a doubt, safeguarding the lives of IDF soldiers is absolutely paramount, but couldn't this be accomplished by softening the enemy with air strikes prior to the ground attack? Had air strikes been used in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield, the IDF soldiers murdered by booby-traps during house to house fighting would probably be alive today. However, Israel refrained from using air strikes in Jenin to avoid harming civilians, and in so doing, put her own soldiers in harm's way. Now, by not using air strikes so as not to harm civilians in Gaza, Israel has declined to conduct a necessary operation, thereby permitting the terrorists to continue with business as usual, leaving Israeli civilians and soldiers at the mercy of more Kassam rockets and other terrorism emanating from Gaza.
The once-noble Israeli policy has become one of insanity and foolishness, one of cruelty to Israelis. What kind of government allows attacks on its own people to continue to safeguard so-called "innocent" civilians? This is warped morality, endangering your own people so as not to harm your enemy. Where is the public outcry against this?
Moshe Keinan, whose son Avihu was killed on duty in Gaza, has held a yearly march since then to demonstrate for what he calls "true morality" in the army, demanding that the IDF cease putting soldiers at risk to avoid collateral damage among residents of the enemy Palestinian Authority. The Israeli government and Supreme Court have forced this policy on the IDF, but this must not continue. Government's most important function is safeguarding its people's lives. A government unable or refusing to do so forfeits the right to rule. Recent Israeli governments have corrupted a once-noble Israeli humanitarian policy by sacrificing friends on behalf of enemies.
As an aside, Israel's failure to protect her Christian allies upon leaving Lebanon, and failure to protect Palestinian informers, butchered and murdered publicly by their brethren in PA-controlled areas, merely adds fuel to the fire.
Finally, the intention to remove experienced Border Guard forces from dangerous areas in Judea and Samaria to use them to evacuate Jewish outposts is the last straw. Who has the right to do such a thing, to endanger its people? Certainly not a government whose job it is to protect them. How cheap has Jewish blood become in the State of Israel? It is time for Israelis to scream out, demanding that the government place their lives first and foremost and do everything humanly possible to safeguard those lives, regardless of the possible toll on our enemies and world public opinion. If the government won't listen, then it must relinquish power and be replaced by one that will listen and act like a government - by placing the lives and well-being of its people above all else.