Our government speaks in high and mighty terms about taking harsh retribution against Hamas. But they are lying. Bombing a few empty buildings won’t accomplish anything. This government has released terrorists wholesale, more than any previous administration. And on the night the students’ bodies were discovered, the terrorists fired rockets on cities throughout southern Eretz Yisroel, forcing the children of Sderot to sleep in bomb shelters, while children in Gaza danced in the streets reveling in this atrocious murder.
Translated by Michoel Leib Dobry
1.
These three young boys had just wanted to arrive home safely. Naftali Frankel had managed to send a text message to his mother: “I’m on my way. See you soon.” Yet, there are places in the world where Jews cannot arrive home safely. This isn’t happening in Afghanistan or even in Iran, but fifteen minutes outside of Yerushalayim. The rules are changing in Eretz Yisroel’s capital city, and a Jew’s personal security has become far less stable.
Knesset Member Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) was right when she said last week that this wasn’t a terrorist attack – this was an execution of children. We’re not talking about a drive-by shooting, randomly throwing a Molotov cocktail at a passing vehicle, or even a suicide bomber on a bus. These are two-legged animals who looked at these kids straight in the eye before shooting them to death.
However, we’ve already gotten used to such frightening stories. We’ve seen the very worst the forces of evil can devise: the slaughter of the Fogel family Hy”d in Itamar, the murders of Tomer Chazan and Eden Attias Hy”d, etc. Yet, with each new occurrence, the heart simply refuses to understand that the other side possesses no humanity. If anything, they’re subhuman.
The main question now is not why they act this way, but why we refuse to accept the fact that we are facing unsentimental bloodthirsty killers with whom it is forbidden to speak under any circumstances.
2.
Last week, during a solidarity rally with the families of the kidnapped boys held the day before the tragic discovery, one of the family representatives suggested that Abu Mazen, may his name be erased, deserves some credit for his civilized and empathetic conduct in stark contrast with the kidnappers. She tried to explain to the world that these depraved murderers are Islamic extremists who have no qualms about killing children, as opposed to the chairman of the “Palestinian Authority” who condemned the kidnapping. There’s only one small problem: She apparently forgot that the last time a planned kidnapping and murder of children took place, the distinguished PA chairman was the perpetrator.
Forty years ago, a group of terrorists penetrated the northern border, murdered some women on their way to work, broke into a house in Maalot, killing the parents and one of the children. Then, the terrorists made their way into the “Nativ Meir” School in Maalot and took more than one hundred high school children from Tzfas on a field trip hostage. Twenty-two students were killed and dozens of others, including staff members, were wounded. Abu Mazen, our “partner” in the diplomatic process, was among the organizers of this bloodbath. Many people apparently forgot about this last week, as they quickly sought to distinguish between one terrorist organization and another.
This is no isolated or unrelated phenomenon: this is the result of what’s been happening on the diplomatic track. The time has come for policymakers to take proper initiative in eradicating terrorism in whatever form – regardless of whether the terrorist wears a tie or a keffiyeh. Instead of declaring that the government of Israel will fight all terrorist organizations, whether it is called the PLO, Hamas, or anything else, successive Israeli governments have waged war on terrorism wearing kid gloves. They expect that the terrorists will educate themselves and realize that killing children is not a nice thing to do.
3.
It is now quite clear that the eighteen days of hoping and praying were already after the boys’ lives had been brutally snuffed out. While the families already knew that there wasn’t much chance that their sons would be found alive, they remained optimistic. They held on to any sign of hope, despite the sobering prospects, praying for a miracle that their children would return home, safe and sound. However, they also knew that they had to be realistic. For a period of two weeks, they were in close contact with clinical psychologists and prepared for the worst.
When we visited the parents of Naftali Frankel Hy”d last month at their home in Nof Ayalon, we told the father that we expect to dance at his wedding. “With G-d’s help,” he replied with a tinge of semi-skepticism and semi-realism. Naftali’s American mother, Rachel Frankel, also told a group of children at the Western Wall in Yerushalayim that even if the worst happened, they shouldn’t become despondent. “G-d isn’t trying to fool us. You understand?” she told them confidently.
However, it turned out that there was a reason why it took eighteen days for the tragic facts to be revealed. During this time period, the kidnapped boys had an important and significant role to play among the Jewish People as a whole. They created tremendous unity, touched people, and aroused thousands to prayer, good deeds, and greater mitzvah observance. Hundreds of Torah study evenings and good resolutions were made in the merit of their anticipated return. Even in their death, they connected countless Jews to their roots, as they created an incredible atmosphere of harmony among the Jewish People. Chareidim, modern Orthodox, and secular – all of them together davened with the same fervor and devotion.
While the sad ending to this affair has left an open wound that will not heal quickly, what these boys managed to achieve during those eighteen tension-filled days is something that no one can ever take away from them. They carry the fruits of their labors heavenward – those thousands of angels created in the merit of the tremendous Avodas Hashem they aroused – as they now stand before G-d’s Throne of Glory.
4.
It is impossible to ignore the egregious conduct of Israeli policymakers during the kidnapping crisis – up until and even after the tragic news became public knowledge. No one seems to recall that former President George W. Bush did not halt military operations in Iraq due to the Moslem holiday of Ramadan; even the Syrians didn’t stop their internal battles because they were fasting. Yet, the government of Israel decided that it would honor the holiday by suspending Operation “Brother’s Keeper” activities in consideration of the feelings of the Arab population.
Instead of explaining to these fifth columnists that it must take full responsibility for its support of the terrorist organizations, the Netanyahu government treated the Arabs in Yesha as if they were an innocent peace-loving community being victimized by terrorism no less than (l’havdil) the Jews. They seemed to forget that the “Palestinian” educational system teaches its children to commit wanton acts of murder and violence, while their mothers transform them into martyrs to the cause. Since this is a population that glorifies bloodshed and makes heroes out of those who slaughter Jewish children, what logical reason is there to handle them so gingerly?
Even after the terrible news was confirmed, Israeli policymakers failed to internalize that they now must take this unfortunate opportunity to act with full force against the terrorists. Our objective must be to discourage them from even entertaining the thought of kidnapping Jews to advance their cursed agenda – now or anytime in the future. As former MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari has said, instead of our continually mourning over the results of their acts of killing and carnage, now is the time for them to gather for prayers in their mosques over the price they pay through Israeli action.
While our government of liars speaks in high and mighty terms about taking harsh retribution against Hamas, in practical terms, its leaders have released terrorists wholesale, more than any previous Israeli government. Even after the kidnapping, they still haven’t learned their lesson about how a sizable majority of those terrorists freed in the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap are now roaming the streets and have returned to their earlier murderous activities. Most tragically, even on the night the students’ bodies were discovered, the terrorist organizations fired rockets on cities throughout southern Eretz Yisroel, as the children of Sderot slept in bomb shelters following the “Code Red” sirens, while children in Gaza celebrated this atrocious murder.
5.
The current call for revenge is not merely a way for us to vent our anger against the Arabs, but to ensure that the murder of children in Eretz Yisroel will become a thing of the past.
Left-wing commentators state that revenge is a very impulsive (and ill-mannered) mode of conduct that merely creates a vicious cycle of endless violence. But that would be an appropriate response for policymakers in Copenhagen or London, i.e., not those fighting extremist Islamic radicals in the Middle East. Here, however, this is not an act designed to blow off steam, rather a vital military operation to convince the other side that our patience has run out and the rules of the game must now be changed – to our advantage.
Of course, there is also our form of revenge – spreading greater light and vitality. In Judaism, revenge comes with a resurgence of new life, while comfort and consolation comes from G-d Himself. It is now incumbent upon all of us to create more spiritual light – another mitzvah, more Torah study – to perpetuate its existence within us at all times. Today, our job is to show the terrorists that while they educate their children to commit murder and butchery, we will respond with the everlasting and eternal holiness of the Jewish People, which illuminates the world with the power of mitzvos and good deeds.
“Nations, sing the praises of His people, for He will avenge the blood of His servants, bring retribution upon His foes, and placate His land – His people.”