Hamas, an Iranian-backed Palestinian terror group, ended any prospect of a Palestinian state Friday when it launched a massive terror attack against Israeli civilians, killing hundreds and wounding more than 2,000.
There is no way that Israelis will ever accept life alongside a Palestinian state now -- not after terrorists invaded Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and even a trance music festival, killing and kidnapping anyone who could not escape.
The videos and photos that circulated on social media were horrific -- most of all, the videos of women being abducted, and of Palestinians shouting "Allahu Akbar!" ("God is great!" ) as they trampled a woman's corpse.
Dozens of Israelis were taken hostage, held at gunpoint in their homes or dragged away to Gaza, to an unknown horror. The scenes of Israelis being loaded into trucks evoked films of Nazis doing the same to Jews in Europe.
There is no way to live alongside that kind of twisted society. And it is not the inevitable destiny of Arab or Islamic nations. Just a few days ago, Jews held holiday prayers inside Saudi Arabia for the first time.
Last month, I visited the United Arab Emirates, where I prayed in a synagogue in Abu Dhabi built as part of a government initiative to promote tolerance. I skied with Arab teenagers in Dubai on an artificial indoor mountain. Peace is indeed possible.
But peace is a choice.
When I entered Bethlehem, which is controlled by the Palestinian Authority, I was told by my driver to hide my kippah -- a Jewish headcovering -- with my baseball cap. On my first visit to Bethlehem, 16 years before, my Palestinian taxi driver, who spoke Hebrew, warned me against speaking the language in public.
This, in a holy town that is a "city of peace." It was that, for centuries: it was Palestinian misrule that made it otherwise.
In September, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the United Nations, he talked about the spread of peace throughout the Middle East. When Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the General Assembly, he denounced the existence of Israel and even denied Jews the right to pray at the Western Wall, the holiest site in the Jewish faith for millennia. A few weeks before, he had defended Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
Israel is now at war in Gaza. The goal, as Israeli columnist Caroline Glick said, must be to end the Hamas regime there. The vast majority of Israelis will support that mission; already, the reservists are being called to their units.
There are only two questions: whether Israel can maintain calm on its other frontiers, including its new alliances with Arab states; and how much of Gaza will be left standing when Israel has finally removed Hamas from power.
The latter question has additional, morally vexing elements to it. Israel's Army Radio, a popular source of news in the country, fretted Saturday about the desire to avoid Palestinian casualties. And there will be incredible pressure among Israelis not to do anything that will endanger the lives of civilian hostages -- including women and children -- currently held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.
One thing is clear: Israel never wants to be in this position again.
That means all talk of a "two-state solution" is just empty air. If Palestinians truly wanted a state, they would have built one -- not just by making peace with Israel, but by investing in their own future instead of terror and hatred.
A Palestinian state is a non-starter; it cannot be a condition for peace.
Palestinians, and Iran, celebrated the sight of Israelis running for their lives. In doing so, they sealed the fate of the Palestinian national project, such as it was.
This week’s portion launches the great story of Abraham, who is told to leave everything of his life behind — except his immediate family — and to leave for “the Land that I shall show you.”
There’s something interesting in the fact that Abraham is told to leave his father’s house, as if breaking away from his father’s life — but his father, in fact, began the journey, moving from Ur to Haran (in last week’s portion). His father set a positive example — why should Abraham leave him?
Some obvious answers suggest themselves — adulthood, needing to make one’s own choices, his father not going far enough, etc.
But I think there is another answer. Abraham (known for the moment as Abram) needs to establish his own household. This is not just about making one’s own choice, but really about choosing one’s own starting point. It’s starting over.
Sometimes we start over in fundamental ways even if much that surrounds us remains the same. Sometimes the journey we have to ...
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
