Of Straw and Stubble - A Gaza Ethic

As a Jew, I feel personally invested in the Gaza bloodshed. Those are my people in that fight. 

But does that mean they're making the right choices? 

If Israel was to make mistakes, I’d hope to acknowledge them; if not publicly, then at least in my heart.

Yet, I really believe that they're taking the correct action.

Yes, there's terrible human suffering.

But the suffering has a context.

There are theological, political and historical angles that give necessary depth to the present scene, but I’m going to focus on a simple equation: Israel is a country with a large Jewish population, and many of their neighbors want them all dead.

It’s simple. Undeniable.

The Hamas charter is chillingly explicit on that front (http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html).

A personal anecdote: Ten years ago, I had lunch in Jerusalem with a British-born Israeli journalist, a self-described proponent of the left-wing, ‘Peace Now’ movement.

He had a novel idea: How about Israel ‘giving itself back’ back to Jordan?(!)

Regaining my breath after this jaw-dropping suggestion from a Jewish journalist, I asked him what he thought about the ongoing land-for-peace negotiations with Yasir Arafat.

The journalist answered that he speaks Arabic and knows the PLO well. His opinion was firm: If Israel gave more power to Arafat, he’d move back to England.

Taken aback, I asked why he was so trusting of Hussein and so distrusting of the PLO. He replied that the Palestinian leadership clearly wants very Jew dead.

Period.

He spoke from his experience, and I believe he was correct.

With that in mind, let’s consider an interesting piece of Jewish Law:

"When enemies aggressively enter a Jewish city, even if they’re only coming to take straw and stubble, the populace should take up arms – even in desecration of the Sabbath - to defend itself (Code of Jewish Law – Orach Chaim 329:6)."

Why?

Because when you’re threatened by a sworn enemy, you need to keep your borders absolutely secure. The slightest weakness/concession can be disastrous.

Prof. Kenneth Aumann is a Nobel Prize winning Economist, specializing in ‘game theory’.

Here’s what he said in a 2007 speech, where he addressed the “'game' of life and death, and of existence and annihilation.”

“Our [Israel’s] panicked lunging for peace is working against us....Roadmaps, capitulation, disengagements…do not bring peace. On the contrary, they bring war. These things send a clear message to our ‘cousins’ that we are tired, that we no longer have spiritual strength…that we are calling for a time-out…It only encourages them to pressure us more, to demand more, and not to give up on anything…Capitulations bring about war; determination and readiness bring about peace…we must not simply say it to our cousins but feel it within ourselves…This and only this will bring peace”.

I pray for peace, and for an end to the human suffering on all sides.

So I pray for Israel to be strong and defend itself without apology.

It’s the only way.