9th Adar Bet, 5771
On Erev Shabbat the Fogel Family was attacked. Our Defence Minister says “the iron fist of the IDF will find the killers and punish them.” What rhetoric. “Iron Fist” was the phrase Yitzchak Rabin used to describe the IDF in the 6 day war. What a cruel piece of rhetoric. To use a phrase used to describe a fighting army and apply it to a case where our response is so paltry. We investigate it like it was a police matter. We do not respond in a way to create deterrence. We do not uproot villages. We should. Throw three nearby villages out of their homes. At least temporarily, like for a year. Let those return who we think are okay. Or relocate them abroad.
What is worse, the DM says “The world will not let us rule over another people.” The Minister is mistaken. We do not rule over another people. We barely rule over ourselves. This is a very hefker country where the roads are barely patrolled by police. The question is whether we will rise to the occasion of ruling over our own country.
If Israel is our country, then we are responsible for the security here. Therefore everything we do to assure that Israel is a safe country is not ruling over another people, but ruling over our own people. The people in Israel, be they Jews, Arabs, citizens, residents, tourists, legal or illegal aliens, are all the people of this country, to whom we, the Jews, have an obligation to ourselves and to them to ensure are secure.
Therefore, when the DM says, “The world will not allow us to continue to rule over another people,” he is in effect saying, “I have been convinced by non-Israelis that we are not allowed to rule over and defend our own country.” As a statement made by a Minister of Defence, such words are self-testimony that such a minister is unfit for his office. The Defence Minister, as every citizen, must believe that we are obligated to make our country and people safe. May Hashem help give us, through our efforts, a more worthy defence minister soon.
Tags: Fogel Murders, Israel Defence
