Human Sacrifice

Poor Shaul Mofaz. All he did was shoot his mouth off about attacking Iran for the sake of his political campaign. He didn’t actually launch F-15s or risk the life of one Israeli soldier (as transportation minister, he’s not in a position to give military orders). And everybody lands on him for talking too much and sacrificing Israel’s interests to his own personal political ambitions.

Now compare Mofaz to Barak, Livni and Olmert. The latter three (like Mofaz) are in campaign mode now. All share a common problem: They have to solve the security problem around Gaza, which now directly threatens a couple hundred thousand Israelis and is sure to get worse. At the same time, the one thing they cannot do is solve the problem. Solving it means, at a minimum, permanently taking over about 60% of Gaza, including all the territory of Gush Katif, and placing the rest of Hamastan under close blockade. They cannot do this because it means kissing goodbye to the supposed justifications for disengagement: returning Israel to “the quicksand of Gaza” and taking responsibility for the fate of the Arabs there.

Perhaps the main reason they cannot solve the Gaza problem is because they face an election. One would think that a patriotic war is good for somebody running for office. But in this case it’s just the opposite. Netanyahu’s speech will be short and to the point (I ain’t seen it, I’m just guessing): “The Likud applauds the Government of Israel’s operation to restore security to Israel’s citizens in the south. We’re behind the government all the way. We just don’t understand what took them so long. We knew they would have to do this—we told ‘em so, and they now have no choice but to implement the Likud’s policy. The only thing we’re worried about is whether the government will retreat ignominiously with its tail between its legs when the fighting is over. If Israel doesn’t want to have to do all this over yet a third time, the electorate had better vote Likud on November 11.” And that’s what the electorate will do.

So what are Livni, Olmert and Mofaz going to do? They’re going to put on a show. They will do more of the same. They will deploy twice as many or four times as many soldiers in Gaza as today and have two to four times as many fire fights with the Hamas, leading to two to four times as many casualties. They will blow up a few middle-ranking Hamas leaders. They will call it a big operation to “cut the Hamas down to size” or some such foolishness (the object should be not to cut Hamas down to size but to physically eliminate it). Of the three, only Barak still retains enough honesty to say that he wants a “middle-scale” operation. But all three of them simply want to create the impression of doing something. And while the soldiers are fighting and dying, G-d forbid, they will fill the airwaves about the need for “restraint” and for “leaving an opening for a political resolution” (this is with the Hamas, mind you). Because the one thing they cannot do is solve the problem.

Actually, if they do fight, they will have an object in mind. They’ll want to hurt the Hamas—not defeat it, but hurt it. They want to soften Hamas’ terms for a long-term cease fire. And if they accomplish that objective, they will give their blessing to Abu Mazen’s new negotiations with Hamas, and try to conclude that one big, comprehensive peace agreement with a government representing—once again—the Arabs of Judaea, Samaria and Gaza, incidentally leading to the expulsion of 100,000 Israelis from their homes. I don’t think they will achieve this objective—Hamas is fifty times tougher than they—but that will be the general idea.

Who’s going to be doing this? Not Olmert’s sons. They’re in the States, happily and peacefully bringing up their kids (while neglecting to invite Morris Talansky to their bar-mitzvas—one would think that he of all people had earned an invitation). No, they’re going to send my sons, one a reservist in the artillery, another a reservist in the armored corps.

So really, Mofaz has nothing to reproach himself for. He’s nothing but talk. The trio who are so down on him for opening his mouth, Livni, Olmert and Barak, are contemplating engaging in real, live human sacrifice for the sake of their political ambitions—sacrifices that will achieve nothing in terms of Israel’s long-term security.

The grim fact is that this leadership and its policies inspire no confidence in ordinary Israelis. Nobody feels confident that when Barak or Olmert goes to war they have the best interests of the country at heart, or even know how to achieve it. And an army that feels that way will not fight and cannot win. In fact, an army that feels that way may not even show up for the war.

I have informed my sons that if for some reason they wind up spending the impending Gaza offensive in Military Prison 6, they won’t lack for brownies and chiffon cake. One comes back alive from prison.