News Anaylsis: Wanted: Might and Deterrence

It's incumbent upon us to ensure that the coming elections result in a strong right-wing party that will force the concepts of strength and deterrence on our government.

by Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz

Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz (Credit: Arutz 7)

A new book in Israel's bookstores dramatically describes the life and heroism of one of the greatest modern Israeli warriors, Meir Har-Tzion. The name of the biography, written by historian Moshe Givati, is Viyhi Ma, meaning "No Matter What."

Behind this short phrase Viyhi Ma lies Israel's ideal national warrior – one who remains ever devoted and dedicated to the stated goal, with courage and without fear, and loving of nation and land. He is a role model for all those fighting in the IDF's many military corps for the success and safety of the State of Israel, creating genuine deterrence vis-à-vis the Islamic/Muslim world as it seeks to destroy us both from within and without.

Front cover of "Viyhi Ma" by Moshe Givati

A careful reading of the book provides a picture of the two different schools of thought prevalent in the early years of the State. The background was something that had become a very frequent occurrence: Arab infiltrators, from the Jordanian-occupied areas of Judea and Samaria as well as from Egypt, would sneak in through the border and into Jewish towns, and murder and maim any Jew they happened upon.  How was Israel to respond to this terrorism? There were two approaches and conceptions.

Then-Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, together with his IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Dayan, supported sharp and strong military actions against the Jordanians and the Egyptians. The goal was not only to fight back against those who supported the murderous attacks, but, even more so, to deter them and make it clear that the Jewish Nation was no longer in exile and would not be led like sheep to the slaughter. However, Moshe Sharett, who served as Foreign Minister and even as Prime Minister for a while, favored moderate, hesitant, and unwarlike responses, so as not to entangle ourselves with the Gentiles' anger.

Most fortunately for the People of Israel, the first approach prevailed. Battalion 890 was established in the IDF, under the command of Ariel Sharon, as was the elite paratroopers force, a continuation of the heroic Unit 101, commanded by Meir Har-Tzion. It was Unit 101 that created a new combat approach on the Jewish battlefield after nearly 2,000 years of exile – one of unwavering revenge and powerful deterrence.

Every generation has its leadership, every generation has its own thinking. To our great sorrow, over the past ten years, the Diaspora-mentality, defeatist approach has prevailed among our leadership. This is why when an Arab terrorist comes with his knife, gun, and car, he is not deterred from murdering our men, women and children, nor are his close circles of friends and family. The worst that can happen to him, he figures, is that he will be killed or wounded during the attack, or perhaps he will be incarcerated under most satisfactory conditions. This is how he is raised and taught by his family and schools, by the newspapers he reads, and the TV programs he watches. None of his relatives and friends have any reason to discourage him from carrying out the next murder.

What options does Israel have in the face of this incessant terrorism? The punishment of choice ever since British Mandate days has been demolition of the terrorist's family home. This is basically a worthless measure, however, as the terrorist's close friends and family generally then enlist to build him an even larger and nicer home. Neither does the threat of expulsion of the terrorist's family actually deter attacks, nor can such a measure be expected to pass Supreme Court approval. Every other type of collective punishment that Israel's Government decides to rain down upon a terrorist's supportive family or friends is also likely to be struck down by our liberal justices, who apologize day and night for our very presence in our Land and for our having "stolen" Arab lands.

The only possible way, therefore, to deter future attacks is to establish a new Jewish town, community, outpost or neighborhood near the site of a murderous attack, named for the victim or victims. This has worked in the past, and can succeed now as well. Many countries in the world have tried for years to get Israel to retreat back to its pre-Six Day War borders – boundaries termed by Israel's legendary Foreign Minister and UN Ambassador Abba Eban (of the Labor Party) as "Auschwitz borders" for their narrowness and lack of strategic breadth. New communities are thus not only a deterrent, but are also strategically wise for Israel in that they bring us further from such borders that threaten the very future of the State of Israel.

The terrorist murders of the past months, and Israel's lack of effective deterrent response, add fuel to the fire. We, the believing public, must make great efforts and ensure that following the upcoming election, the unified right-wing party headed by Ayelet Shaked receives at least 15 mandates. This party will then be a strong force in the next government, and will be able to force whoever heads it to return to the Ben Gurion approach, implemented by Meir Har-Tzion: strength and active deterrence. Am Yisrael Chai!