Turning Words into Action

by Ze'ev Kam, Public "Kan" Radio Commentator and BeSheva Contributor, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Between Declaring Support for Yesha – and Eternalizing it in Israel's Code of Law

This past July, we were witness to an unusual occurrence in the Israeli Knesset: No fewer than 68 MKs united around one cause and voted as one in favor of a declaration opposing a Palestinian state. And this does not mean that "only" 68 MKs feel that way; many of the other 52 are quite opposed to a Palestinian state, but for political reasons had to absent themselves for the vote.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has cited this vote since then many times, in announcements that he distributed to the media and also in his speeches. "The Knesset united as one with a great majority," he declared, "against the attempt to dictate to us the establishment of a Palestinian state" – something that would endanger the very existence of the Jewish state.

Behind the scenes, what's fascinating about this is that the vote has absolutely no legal or practical ramifications. The declaration against a PLO state is not an official decision by the State of Israel, and has only symbolic significance. Still, however, it will not be long before Netanyahu and many others in the coalition government, as well as those from the opposition who voted for the declaration, will be tested as to how seriously they meant what they voted for.

Many of are mistakenly inclined believe that if one day, the State of Israel decides to cede parts of Judea and Samaria (Yesha) and give them to an Arab entity, unilaterally or by mutual agreement, the government will be obligated to hold a popular referendum to ascertain if this is the will of the people. After all, it is Israeli law that a referendum must be held in the event that the government wishes to cede territory.

But those many of us are mistaken. This is because the existing law does not pertain at all to Judea and Samaria, but only to areas that are under total Israeli sovereignty. Judea and Samaria – as opposed to Jerusalem and the Golan Heights – are still under IDF administrative control, and have not yet been upgraded to full Israeli status. It's true that in the past, the assumption was that any agreement having to do with Yesha would involve an exchange of territory, meaning that actual parts of Israel would be given up in exchange for the areas of the Yesha settlement blocs, and that this would then obligate a referendum.

But there is yet another caveat. As PM Netanyahu explained in 2013 when the Cabinet approved the draft bill, "Any agreement, if it is achieved in negotiations, will be brought as a referendum. It is important that every citizen directly vote on fateful decisions like these." That is, unilateral withdrawals, such as occurred in 2005 from Gush Katif, need not be brought for a referendum.

Who can guarantee that we won't see a future intiatiative to withdraw unilaterally from some part or other of Yesha? In such a case, no referendum will be needed! Not to mention areas that are already under some sort of Palestinian Authority control; ceding them, despite the tremendous security and other ramifications that will result, will require no popular vote!

Precisely for that reason, the three co-chairmen of the Land of Israel lobby in the Knesset – MKs Yuli Edelstein, Simcha Rotman, and Limor Sohn Har-Melekh – have decided to advance a bill requiring a referendum in the events listed above. And in order to speed the process along, they decided not to take the regular, long, winding legislative route of a "private bill" sponsored by individual MKs. Rather, they arranged for the the Knesset Law Committee to sponsor it. As such, the Ministerial Committee for Legislation will not have to review the bill and determine whether the Government supports it or not, and it can be submitted to the Knesset immediately for its first reading.

For it is clear that a bill of this nature will attract unwanted international pressures, just as the bill to outlaw UNRWA – a full participant in the atrocities of Oct. 7^th – recently did. Although the UNRWA bill passed and is about to be implemented in full, who's to say that the Yesha referendum bill will have the same success? Speed is therefore of the essence.

In one of the preparatory Law Committee sessions for this bill, one of the supportive MKs, Yulia Malinovsky (Yisrael Beiteinu), said with a sting, "I just hope that the coalition will vote for this bill, given the people involved. I also hope that the Prime Minister won't block it, but if he does, he should at least do so in his voice and not via some emissary." A short time after this session, a senior member of the coalition announced that certain hareidi party leaders were demanding that the topic be discussed at the next coalition meeting. This was not the first time that hareidi representatives take the old Diaspora approach of, "What will the goyim say?"

But the three Land of Israel heads – Edelstein, Rotman, and Sohn Har-Melekh – say that they're going ahead with the bill until someone actively tries to stop them. It's actually a form of a dare, to see the Prime Minister, or the leader of any coalition party, would be brazen enough to say that "now is not the time for this bill." This was actually the very real fear when the above-mentioned declaration against a PLO state was voted on. Up to the very last hours before the vote, everyone involved was anxious about some foreign intervention that might suddenly happen in the form of a phone call from abroad, or that someone from the Prime Minister's office, or the Prime Minister himself, would abruptly appear saying that because of Biden, or a feared arms embargo, or the UN Security Council, or whatever, the vote has to be pushed off.

Of course, in the end, the declaration passed by a large majority, including even several opposition MKs.

The idea now is to turn that very declaration into practical law, with real teeth – something that will truly make history.

The Trump Opportunity: Let's Not Bungle It

by Emanuel Shilo, editor of the weekly BeSheva newspaper, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Although reports are that a deal for the exchange of some of the hostages now, and possibly the rest at a later date, is close to finalization, "it's not over until it's over" - and this is one of the reasons why the following article by the editor of the weekly BeSheva newspaper is still very relevant.

1. In only six days from now, a good friend of Israel, Donald J. Trump, will again become the President of the United States. In the two years that remain until the end of the current Netanyahu government, Trump will enjoy a majority (albeit narrow) in both the Senate and the House, as well as a supporting backwind from the Supreme Court and its clear conservative majority. Hopefully we are smart enough to utilize this special window of opportunity, by presenting the incoming Administration our clear goals and plans of action for the Middle East, and making clear our requests and expectations from our best friends. If so, these two years could be dreamlike, extricating us from the current quagmire and guaranteeing a better long-term future for Israel.

2. Pres.-elect Trump has already promised to totally remove all vestiges of the arms embargo that the Biden Administration partially imposed on Israel. The IDF can expect to receive from his administration generous helpings of weapons, and can even hope for the top-quality bunker busters that we so sorely need in order to attack the Iranian nuclear project. Trump's people are already exerting pressure on the International Criminal Court at The Hague so as to thwart future moves against Israel, and even to water down or retract previous anti-Israel decisions – beginning with the arrest warrants (!) issued against Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Galant.

Our requests from the U.S. in the near future are expected to fall on open ears and hearts. We must correctly prioritize our objectives and prove to the new Administration that we will know how to use whatever aid we receive to fulfill them. If we continue to wallow in the mire and drag out the war, our impatient friend in the White House is liable to lose interest in us.

3. Our two most important goals for which we must strive at this time are to, at long last, end the war in Gaza and fulfill its goals – the destruction of Hamas and the release of our captives – and also to uproot and destroy the Iranian nuclear threat.

Trump is clearly committed to the release of the hostages, having stated that if Hamas does not release them by the time he takes office, "all hell will break out." We must see this as a promise from the United States to Israel and its hostages. No longer should we look towards the brutal, murderous leaders of Hamas and hope that they will sign some kind of disastrous deal with us. Instead, we must get ready to "help" along the new policy by opening the incinerators of hellfire and waging an absolutely major assault on Gaza: three or four divisions that will completely occupy the Strip, rescue as many hostages as possible, and destroy Hamas. We can absolutely not accept Hamas administrative control of the population, and we must arrest or eliminate Hamas officials involved in this. Even more importantly, we must stop the "humanitarian aid" that always ends up in Hamas hands and essentially perpetuates the war by keeping Hamas alive.

The entire concept that has driven the war so far must be eradicated. We can no longer implement the wasteful and failed approach led by Chief of Staff HaLevy by which we conquer cities in Gaza such as Jebalya and Beit Hanoun, then withdraw and allow the terrorists to regroup and re-arm themselves, then go and lose soldiers as we conquer them again, and again, etc. Every area that we conquer must be totally cleansed of terrorists and then must remain in our hands! To some of these places, a carefully-screened civilian population can be allowed to return and live under an IDF military administration. The gates of Gaza must also be opened for mass emigration for whoever wants, such as refugees who want a better future for their families. This will also help alleviate the crowded conditions – which are certainly one of the reasons why Gaza became such a dangerous hotbed of terrorism.

At the same time, the IDF must initiate more military operations to release captives! It has been seven months since the famous Operation Arnon, in which four hostages were heroically freed by our forces. But since then – nothing. We can simply not accept this intelligence and operational failure of the first order. Renewing such operations must be part of the general war effort, causing the Gazan population and Hamas terrorists in particular to realize that their end is near, and that the most they can hope for is a safe escape route in exchange for the release of the hostages.

All this must be done within a short time, because the incoming President is not known for his forbearance and patience. Yes, he wants us to win the war, but he also wants to see the war end – quickly.

4. Is Lt.-Gen. Hertzy HaLevi the right man to lead the IDF to this critical and quick battle and decisive victory? Doubtful. He has many merits, including having led Israel's war on seven different fronts simultaneously (!) – but it is quite clear that the responsibility for what happened on Oct. 7^th is mainly his. He is the one who received the intelligence just hours before the attack and decided, with his senior colleagues in a late-night consultation, to take a chance and do nothing, without even taking the trouble to inform his bosses in the government. Despite this, he was not removed from his position, and instead received humongous resources in every form to wage war against Hamas – which, despite some impressive successes, simply did not succeed.

His troubled relations with the government – which was forced to accept his appointment scandalously dictated to it by the Lapid-Gantz-Bennett transitional government – add to the question marks regarding his ability to seize the golden opportunity and achieve the war's goals: the release of the hostages and the decisive defeat of Hamas.

5. And back to the golden opportunity that begins next week: No one truly knows why Israel did not take advantage of its successful airstrikes in Iran to finally rid the world of Iran's nuclear abilities and aspirations. It was likely because of the Biden administration, and also perhaps because of Netanyahu's characteristic hesitancy. But it can now be hoped that with Trump's taking up residence in the White House, there will be no more excuses.

Netanyahu must know that this is most likely his last term as Prime Minister, and if he wants to leave with a good taste in our mouths, he would be advised to carry out what he has long defined as his major goal: the destruction of the Iranian nuclear threat. (The same is also essentially true for the liquidation of Hamas and the freeing of the hostages.) If not now, with the help of the friendliest American administration we can conceive of, then when?

Not Good: Turkey Closing in on Syria

by Nitzan Kedar, journalist and author, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The fall of the Assad regime in Syria means that Syria no longer exists as the country we once knew – and that we have yet to see who will be our new neighbor to the northeast. If we worried that it would be the Islamist terrorists known as the "rebels," it now appears that our old adversary from Turkey – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pronounced Erdwan) – will be in charge. This is not especially cheerful news.

Erdogan's relations with Israel have known chiefly downs as far as Israel is concerned. We know that he has long conspired to revive and expand the Ottoman Turkish Empire (which fell apart over a century ago), and Syria now seems to have fallen into his hands like ripe fruit. If he succeeds in forming a Sunni axis together with Qatar, following his successes in taking advantage of current Russian and Israeli weaknesses in light of their respective wars, and of Iran's loss of regional influence, this is liable to mark the beginning of "Turkish Syria."

Erdogan hold another card as well, namely, support from the "rebels," led by the new Syrian leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa. Formerly known as Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, he will apparently grant Erdogan the rights to build Turkish military bases in Syria and to redraw the maritime borders between Syria and Turkey.

The Turkish president's plan is to take over oil-rich northeastern Syria, while declaring war on the Kurds, his nemesis who currently control the region. What is stopping him is only the fear that the United States will intervene in favor of the Kurds. It's true that President-elect Trump, in his previous term, essentially abandoned the Kurds, and has even said that "the United States has nothing to look for in Syria." However, this is not the approach of the Pentagon, and some Republican senators have already said that they are working with Trump to change his mind. The situation remains murky, but Erdogan is planning to do all he can to ensure maximum Turkish presence in Syria.

Turkish foreign-affairs expert Dr. Chai Eitan Cohen Yanarocak says that even back in 2011, after the civil war broke out in Syria, "Erdogan took a hostile approach to Assad… The Turks view Syria as historically Sunni, not Alawi, and saw the Arab Spring as a type of opportunity to return the crown to its former glory. And if the Turks can't return to Syria themselves, they'll settle for having Turkish loyalists in power there. They also wanted to throw the Iranians out of Turkey's back door – and now they see their chance to do all this."

"The Turks say to themselves," Yanarocak continues, "'If we invested so much here, including lives of our soldiers, the time has now come to reap the profits.' So they will deepen their hold in Syria via a host of projects in construction and infrastructures such as building airports, radar installations, highways, new military bases, electricity, and searching for oil and gas. These are all a way of telling the Syrians, 'we're here to stay.'"

Asked whether Erdogan is seeking to replace Russia, which was heavily involved in Syria in recent years, Yanarocak responded: "The situation with Russia is still unclear. A significant portion of the Russian forces have left Syria, but they still remain strong in two regions. No one knows now what will be with the army bases there. Clearly the Russians will try to banish the Turks, but the latter are very anxious to replace the Russians and will do all they can for that purpose."

Erdogan also would love to abolish the Kurdish autonomy in Syria, although, as stated the Americans represent a threat to these plans. Asked about Foreign Minister Gideon Saar's recent declaration that Israel will support the Kurds, Yanarocak said that such statements "cause great harm to the State of Israel, because they increase Turkish hostility towards us. In my opinion, because the Kurds have no access to the sea and because they are absolutely dependent upon Turkey and the rebels' new regime, they will not be able to supply us, Israel, with any advantage."

Yanarocak is not optimistic about the American role in the future Syria: "Without the Turks, the U.S. will have no word with the new Syria. We know Trump as a businessman, and he will want to maximize American interests in the region. I don't think he cares that much about the Kurdish nation. A few years ago, when the Turks demanded that the U.S. withdraw from the area, Trump did so. The Americans folded and the Turks entered. Afterwards, when the Pentagon exerted pressure, Trump stopped the Turks. Perhaps now, however, Trump will view the situation differently, because so many things have changed there."

"In short," Yanarocak concluded, "there is no doubt that the relations between Israel and Turkey will be even more tense than they are now."

From Interrogation to Target

by Haggai Huberman , journalist and author, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The latest annual Shabak report reveals new anti-terrorist and anti-espionage methods and impressive successes.

The Shabak (Israel's General Security Service, also known as Shin Bet, corresponding to the American FBI) released its annual summary report this past week, entitled, "The Shabak in a Multi-Front War." It contains some interesting facts and insights regarding the war in Gaza, the anti-terrorism war in Judea and Samaria, the Arabs of Israel, and increased Iranian attempts to recruit spies in Israel.

The most significant change in 2024 was the fact that most intelligence from Gaza is now gathered physically from within Gaza. Under the current war conditions, Shabak agents entered the area, together with IDF forces, in order to recruit and activate agents "on the spot." This is the first time since the Disengagement withdrawal, nearly 20 years ago, that this is happening – and not at all by coincidence. The withdrawal engineered by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a Yom Kippur war hero, was the beginning of the process that ended on Simchat Torah of 2023 with the unforeseen slaughter of 1,200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 250 more. This occurred at least partly because barely any valuable intelligence information was obtainable from Gaza for nearly two decades.

This is of course further proof that no technological means, no matter how up-to-date, can ever replace the "personal contact" between the Shin Bet and its agents – spies – on the ground. Signals intelligence (SIGINT) cannot exclusively take the place of human intelligence (HUMINT), and the Shabak learned, and implemented, this over the past year.

In 2024, the joint Shabak-IDF activity resulted in over 1,350 arrestees, including some 40 senior operatives and commanders, 165 close associates of senior officials, 45 involved in the Oct. 7 slaughter, and 100 who apparently have information regarding the hostages.

Saving Lives in Real Time

The main question facing the Shabak over the years was how to make the best, and fastest, use of the information garnered during interrogations. For it is clear that much of the intelligence gathered in this way has no value at all if not utilized as quickly as possible. For this purpose, a new unit was established in the Shin Bet entitled "From Interrogation to Target," which, as its name implies, aims to formulate targets as immediately as possible. The current report reveals that during the war, hundreds of targets in Gaza have been attacked whose information came directly from Shabak investigations. As a result, over 30 (!) top Hamas terrorists in Gaza have been liquidated, as well as hundreds of others on slightly lower levels.

In addition, the investigations led to life-saving information that was passed on to IDF forces on the ground, including warnings about booby-trapped houses, and more.

Not only that, seven hostages were freed by Israeli forces in three different operations, planned and led by the Shabak. Valuable information was also obtained that led to the finding of nine bodies of hostages that were rescued from Gaza and brought to burial in Israel.

Another mission that the Shabak took on was to "pay back" those who took part in the Simchat Torah slaughter. A special command office was set up for this purpose, and succeeded in killing dozens of those known as Nukhba terrorists.

As far as Lebanon and the northern front is concerned, the Shabak significantly stepped up its work there this past year, especially in light of increased Hamas activity in Lebanon. The Shabak increased its intelligence gathering and thwarting of terrorist actions in the Land of the Cedars.

Yesha: Over 1,000 Attacks Thwarted

The report features some amazing stats related to the Yesha (Judea and Samaria) front, where the Shabak thwarted 1,040 significant attacks this year. These included 689 attempted shootings, 326 bomb attacks, 13 stabbings, 9 attempted car-rammings, two suicide attacks, and even an attempted kidnapping. Dozens of special IDF-Shabak operations were carried out in Yesha, including 13 airstrikes.

* Let the reader imagine that these numbers did not measure "thwarted attacks," but rather attacks that were actually carried out. The State of Israel would have been in a very different place during this past year-plus of war…

And what about the Israeli-Arabs? We tend to think that they have sat quietly during this past year, but this is true only for the general populace, which did not riot as it did throughout Israel during the "Guardians of the Wall." But in terms of individuals, some 20 Israeli-Arab terrorist gangs were uncovered as they planned attacks against their fellow citizens, including five rings that planned car-bombs and other bombings. Again, it is not hard to guess the catastrophic effects if five car-bombs had exploded in Israel during the course of the war.

During the course of 2024, some 80 cases involving Israeli-Arabs were investigated, including 26 in which the suspects swore allegiance to or planned to carry out terrorist activity inspired by global jihad and the Islamic State (ISIS) within Israel.

Administrative Detention for Arms Dealing

This year also saw, for the first time, administrative detention for arms dealers, as part of the war against criminal activity that spills over into terrorist activity.

The Shabak report reveals much about Iran's increased attempts – and successes – to recruit spies within Israel. During the course of 2024, 13 grave espionage cases involving Israelis working on behalf of Iran were uncovered. No fewer than 37 Israelis were investigated, and 27 have been charged with very serious crimes with possible life imprisonment sentences. These represent an approximate 400% rise over the year 2023. The discovery of these spy rings, or individuals, led to the thwarting of attacks of terrorism, espionage, and even assassination.

It is estimated that dozens of Israelis were in touch with Iranian intelligence agents during these past 15 months of war, and that hundreds of others were contacted by them. The publication of these stories has led to increased public awareness of the seriousness of the Iranian intentions, and therefore the nipping in the bud of other potential Iranian spies among Israelis.

The Irresponsible, Miraculous Maccabean Revolt – Then and Now

by Haggai Huberman , journalist and author, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Judah Maccabee's war against the Syrian Greeks was not logical or realistic, and basically had no chance of succeeding. But then came the miracles… Things didn't work then by logic – and the same is true today.

If someone in the year 167 BEC had made a cold calculation of the balance of power between the Hasmonean rebels and the Greek kingdom in the Holy Land, he would not have recommended that the Jews start a war against the latter. In fact, there was truly no realistic chance for them to win. They started off with only 3,000 soldiers (or possibly 6,000, according to Maccabees II), while the Greeks had anywhere between 20,000 and 100,000 troops. Things did not look rosy for the good guys.

Even worse was the quality of the respective forces. The Seleucids were well-trained, well-organized, and well-armed, and could boast of infantry, heavy and light cavalry, elephant units, and catapult units for hurling large rocks. In contrast, Judah Maccabee's small army used primitive farming tools and home-made weapons. What chance did he have?

And yet, the Jews won, after a very long war. They utilized a unique combination of Judah's battle tactics: guerilla warfare integrated with unpredictable miracles. The first Chanukah miracle was not the famous "flask of oil" incident, but rather a seemingly "natural" battle development. It happened during the fourth of the eight battles between the Hasmoneans and the Greeks, which took place in Beit Tzur, south of today's Gush Etzion bloc. [One of the modern Jewish communities there is known as Carmei Tzur, in commemoration of the town.] Practically in mid-battle, Greek commander Lysias suddenly left for home to try to inherit the apparently-deceased Antiochus – and Judah rushed in with his forces to fill the void. Announcing, "The Temple Mount is in our hands!" a bunch of centuries before anyone ever dreamt of Al-Aqsa, they purified the Holy Temple, found a lone flask of ritually pure oil, and lit the Menorah for eight days until additional pure oil could be produced.

The fifth battle also took place in Gush Etzion, one of whose communities is named Elazar – after the brother of Judah Maccabee who was killed at this time while bravely stabbing a Seleucid elephant from beneath.

After this defeat, another Chanukah miracle took place. Lysias had retaken Jerusalem, and was about to pursue Judah's army to the north. However, he received word of a rebellion in the eastern part of the kingdom, and again he abruptly and surprisingly left the scene, though not before offering Judah a ceasefire of sorts. Judah the Maccabee utilized the situation for good advantage, and retook the entire area of Judea. This did not mean the onset of a Jewish State, however, as Judah was killed in the next battle: the Battle of Elasa, not far from today's Beit El.

For the next seven years, the Jewish forces were led by Mattathias' youngest son (Judah's youngest brother) Yonatan. He spent this time building up a larger and better-trained army, and in the year 152, he and his forces again liberated Jerusalem and purified the Temple. This time, the Jewish autonomy and Temple dedication lasted for over 200 years, until the Romans sacked the Holy City in 68-70. Yonatan also achieved the nullification of the anti-religious decrees.

Paradoxically, then, it was precisely the Greek decrees aimed at separating the Jews from their Judaism that caused them to rebel and ultimately oust the Greeks and their culture from the Holy Land.  

Miracles are of course not a good work plan. But it's also true that Ben-Gurion - who declared the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 even though it was militarily expected not to last more than a week - famously said: "In Israel, whoever doesn't believe in miracles is not a realist."

We can also now give new meaning to the words of our prayers, "He Who wrought miracles to our forefathers in those days – at this time" - for in our times, too, we are living through a period of an ongoing miracle. It will take years before we truly comprehend what an amazing Heavenly miracle these entire last few months have been, and internalize that nothing that happened here could have been forecast by any realistic observer.

Could anyone have believed on Simchat Torah of 15 months ago, with thousands of Hamas terrorists overrunning our southern border, capturing communities and kibbutzim, slaughtering over 1,200 Jews – that a year later, Hamas leader Sinwar would be turned to dust, most of the Gaza Strip would be turned into piles of ruins, and .Iran would abruptly lose much of its military power in the Middle East and would be closer than ever to economic collapse? Could it have been foreseen that within this time period, Hizbullah would lose not only most of its military strength, but also its legendary leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli attack? Would anyone have believed that a long strip of villages in southern Lebanon would be razed and Hizbullah would be pushed back from the Israeli border? How about that Assad would be in exile in Russia, Syria would be left without an army, and the highest peak of Mt. Hermon, as well as other parts of Syria, would be under Israeli control without even a battle?

Yes, miracles cannot be the main feature of a national battle strategy. And even for a miracle to take place, we must work hard – or at least, fight hard. Without the initiatives that the IDF took, to what would the miracles have adhered or applied? On the other hand, no matter how much we do, without Heavenly providence, our success, especially in these wars, is very far from guaranteed. Both of these have always been true, throughout our history, and including of course that of the State of Israel.

Very soon, we all pray and hope, we will merit to experience possibly the happiest miracle of all: The safe return of dozens of Israeli captives to their families and country, Amen.