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.
I should have noted in my message about the weekly Torah portion that this week is Shabbat Chazon, the Sabbath of Vision. We are about to mourn -- but see through that pain to something better that lies beyond, on the other side.
Wishing you the best vision -- and an incredible reality to follow. It happens!
We begin the final speech of Moses to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land. He relates the ups and downs of the years of wandering in the desert, before, finally, the people have the merit to enter the land itself.
This Sabbath always precedes Tisha B'Av, the Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is the anniversary of the destruction of both of the Holy Temples, and a catch-all for many calamities that befell the Jewish people.
A word on Tisha B'Av. This year I am leaving for an overseas trip during the afternoon of the holiday -- in the middle of a fast day. Not idea, but there was no other choice. But my flight is in the afternoon, which is significant.
We relax some of the harsh, mournful customs of the day in the afternoon. We start to pray normally; we sit on regular chairs; we start to have hope again in the redemption that will, one day, lead us all back from exile to our home.
I'll be taking a trip to a land where an important part of ...
President Trump is in Scotland, playing golf and making big trade deals -- a major deal with the EU, in fact. Meanwhile, there is a global outcry about humanitarian aid to Palestinians (not about the Israeli hostages, mind you).
On top of that, Democrats are at their lowest polling numbers ever -- so they are trying to win control of the House by redistricting in the middle of a 10-year Census cycle. Oh, economic optimism is up, so they have a tough road.
And Tulsi Gabbard's revelations about the Russia collusion investigation make it clear that Obama's lieutenants lied to Congress. How deeply was he himself involved? The media continue to ignore the evidence, but we certainly won't.
Special guests:
Nick Gilbertson - Breitbart News White House correspondent, on EU deal
Frances Martel - Breitbart News foreign editor, on Trump abroad and Russia
John Spencer - urban warfare expert, on humanitarian aid and war in Gaza
Bradley Jaye - Breitbart News congressional correspondent, on the ...
