In the name
of "proportionality," the State of Israel refrains from deterrence
and punishment when our enemies burn our fields, steal our cars, and harass us
in countless ways.
We learned over the past few days that the greatest superpower in the world held
itself back from attacking missile bases in Iran, from where a rocket had been
fired that downed the world's most advanced intelligence drone. The
superpower's leader's argument was progressive, liberal, containing – a classic
Western response to the Arab-Muslim terrorism running wild the world over. "I
felt that a response leading to 150 civilian deaths would be disproportionate
to the downing of an unmanned drone," he said.
He is not the first world leader to adopt this
mistaken approach to terrorists, terrorist organizations, and cruel nations who
take advantage of the West's naiveté and soft-heartedness to rain down death and destruction upon it.
King Saul, for instance, was very mistaken when
he had compassion on King Agag of Amalek, instead of obeying the express
command of the Prophet Samuel to put him to death. Later on, King Saul killed
the priests of Nov, along with their children, for having cooperated with the
future king of Israel, David. This set of contrasting behaviors was aptly
described with the famous saying, "Whoever has mercy on the cruel, ends up
being cruel to the merciful."
And here in our beloved State of Israel, we are
also falling prey to this approach. When I was a member of the Knesset, I tried
with all my might to pass two laws having to do with Arab terrorism, but in
vain. The first was a bill to require a minimum jail sentence of five years for
anyone found guilty of setting fires to forests and groves in the Land of
Israel – with no room for the judge to find "extenuating
circumstances." I submitted this bill after having met with fire-fighting
organization heads, who told me that most major fires in Israel are the result
of Arab terrorists who have found an easy way to strike at the heart of the
State, without fear of significant punishment. The media generally reports that
"a fire broke out," barely ever mentioning how it actually happened
or who set the fire. Many arsonists are not brought to trial; and those who are,
usually receive light sentences from our progressive and liberal judges, who
feel in their heart of hearts that a harsher sentence might not be
"proportionate."
The State of Israel behaves the same way with
car-thieves. The majority of them are Arabs who easily pass through imaginary
fences along the Green Line in order to steal tens of thousands of Israeli cars
a year. This is another form of nationalist terrorism, and our deterrence,
again, is barely felt. This is due to the sense of many of our judges that it
would be "disproportionate" to punish them harshly, since after all
we "stole" their land and we must be understanding of them. We must
have compassion on those poor cruel people, these judges feel – no matter that
this itself is cruel treatment of Israeli citizens forced to watch their
fields, and often their houses, go up in smoke and their cars stolen from under
their noses.
The arson terrorism from Gaza, generally caused
by kites carrying flammable material onto Israeli fields in the western Negev, continues
24/7; Western media barely report on it anymore. It destroys the lifeworks of
many farmers and others who have worked for years to prepare the ground, remove
rocks, plow and plant – only to watch it all go up in flames at the hands of
terrorists who spend just a few minutes launching their incendiary devices. Not
to mention the blow to Israeli morale it causes - especially for the soldiers
who are prevented from taking action against the enemy because the army leaders
refuse to give the appropriate orders.
This weak-kneed approach was initiated by the
previous Chief of Staff, Gadi Eizenkot. He forbade shooting at the
terror-arsonists, claiming that it would be "disproportionate." But
is it "proportionate" towards the Israeli nation? We apparently grew
accustomed to thinking this way – when we were in Exile! We would always humbly
put out the fires burning in our homes and fields, without acting out against
the hooligans who started them. It is truly hard to believe that this terrible
Diaspora-like approach continues even now in our own Land when we have our own
army. Incredibly, some still argue that it is "disproportionate" to
take action against those who seek to destroy us.
However: The Israelite nation is known for its
long and detailed national memory, and we do not forget. We will ultimately
settle accounts with those who shamed and humiliated us these many years. Even
if our radio broadcasters, judges, Chiefs of Staff, and leaders did not respect
their nation and indirectly enabled its humiliation, the Nation of Israel will
still know how to overcome even this sorry state of affairs, and exact the
proper price from the terrorists of all types who rose against us.