No Israeli can have a claim against the president of the United States. The trip to Israel, the stabilization, the aid and the words themselves demonstrate that he really cares about us. But don't get confused – he's doing what's best for the United States, and of course for his campaign. This is not the case with the Israeli leadership, which seems to have thrown itself into the arms of the American government, begging for a bear hug, not to mention castration of a bear. This is a leadership that shows hesitation and reluctance, in contrast to the united, strong people who are determined to change the situation from the ground up.
What happened this week on the Washington-Tel Aviv route is indeed unprecedented, but not only positively. Because unlike all of Israel's leaders in the past, it seems that Netanyahu and his colleagues in the small leadership did everything possible to get the Americans to tie our hands. Among other things, they will prevent the government from ordering the IDF to do what logic and survival instinct require.
The main foam went out on the charge in humanitarian aid to Gaza (archive), photo: Reuters
The main foam has come out on the positive humanitarian aid to Gaza, although this is not necessarily the most dangerous element in the devotion of the Israeli leadership to the American handcuffs. But it is truly outrageous that we are once again eager to surrender to the double standard of the world towards us. Speaking of comparisons with Nazi Germany, I wonder what humanitarian corridors the Americans and British provided to the civilian population under Nazi rule until complete victory. Where were the aid trucks for the residents of Hamburg and Berlin who were indiscriminately bombed, for the people of Dresden, which was set on fire and destroyed in revenge, two months before the end of the war?
But surrendering to the dictate of aiding the enemy dictates the even more serious part, which is tying hands in the way the war is conducted. Thus we returned to the scene of the "uninvolved" - we returned to play according to the interests of the enemy. In general, how can one not protest against the bloody clichés about most peace-loving Palestinians, how to agree to transfer $100 million to the aggressive Gaza and Ramallah?
How can you not protest against the bloody clichés?, Photo: Reuters
And the most serious thing on the part of the Israeli leadership is the disregard for the American attempt to dictate the next day, in the destructive spirit that has put us in a trap. How can we accept without a tweet the preaching of a Palestinian state, to accept Abu Mazen as a partner for peace, even though even today the head of the Palestinian Authority stands against us, incites and educates precisely in the spirit of the monsters from Gaza?
Here, too, the fact that the Democratic president of the United States, who is certainly sympathetic to us, is making a bitter mistake regarding the Palestinians is regrettable but not sensational. There have always been differences of opinion between us and Washington. Among other things, we remember the American opposition to the declaration of the establishment of the state, the blackmail in the supply of weapons in the Yom Kippur War, the opposition to the continuation of the First Lebanon War: the Americans criticized and pressured, the leaders of Israel struggled and maintained our independence, to the best of their ability.
Out of the trap
This is not the case for those who invite the US president to visit in the middle of the war, instead of ordering the forces to enter and crush Hamas. Not so for those who know that the visit will stop the attack and lead to Israeli hand-wringing. Such a leader is giving up, for the first time in the history of the country, a fundamental component of our independence. Most worryingly, the impression arises that he is simply trying to curl up in the bosom of the American, afraid to lead the campaign as he must. Continuing to wander the line of the last 30 years, the one that has brought us to existential distress now. And even if, because of an irresponsible, not to say criminal, policy, the army was cut and the SWAT units were emptied, and therefore enormous American assistance was required, there is still no justification for all this.
Brothers in Arms Volunteer Program // Photo: Moshe Ben-Simhon
The enormous power of the people, emanating from almost all views and sectors, shows how capable we are of changing reality and flourishing again. Only this nation today needs determined leadership to lead it out of the trap. The one into which we were admitted by leaders who were afraid to lead courageously, in our disturbed environment. And this nation must now push the members of the small cabinet in the right direction, because it seems that salvation will not come from them alone.
It was hard not to notice, in President Biden's speeches and conversations, what he was pulling about the day after. It was clear that even if we crushed Hamas, Washington would pressure us to rule Arafat's students in Gaza and give them a state in Judea and Samaria. And this is exactly the recipe for suicide, as many who believed in the visions of peace and disengagement of the past 30 years now understand.
The question of the day after is connected to military moves. Because whoever wants to promise a return to Bari and the village of Gaza must realize that if we do not control Gaza militarily, the catastrophe will return. After all, no sane person can ignore the difference between Gaza and the West Bank in the 18 years since the "disengagement." Only the continuation of absolute security control in the mountains prevented a Gaza process in Judea and Samaria, thwarted the construction of offensive capabilities, extortion, and Nazi attacks on communities in order to destroy us. Therefore, any authority given in Gaza to any Palestinian entity, without our security control, will lead to the same suicidal dynamic. As for international forces, come on, look at what's happening in Lebanon.
IDF soldiers during the Second Lebanon War, 2006, Photo: AP
In this context, it is worth recalling the finger perception that was conceived after the six days regarding control of the strip. At that time, three strips of communities were drawn – in the north, south and center of the Gaza Strip – in order to ensure our security control. Now, even if the settlements are not returned, security fingers of steel in Gaza are the only recipe for the return of the village of Gaza and Bari to the continued existence of the state. Every other idea belongs to the suicidal hallucinations that have brought us this far.
Who will lead tomorrow?
There is no doubt that the current leadership, on both sides of the small cabinet, is unable to cope with the existential situation into which it itself has put us. We must hope that the enemy and the eyes that have been opened to the public will push decision makers to let the IDF do what is necessary. All so that we will arrive at the day after this war in a reasonable condition, even if not optimal.
And on the day after the war, Israel will have to establish a new path and leadership, so as not to repeat the eclipse of lights that dragged us almost to the depths. The paradox is that the ideological path of the so-called right has proven correct, not to mention necessary in order to survive. But the collapse and attack occurred on the watch of those who claimed to be the essence of the right. All because the Likud and Netanyahu have been bearing the name of the right in vain for many years, and are implementing the left's erroneous ideological path. In fact, we had a political masquerade ball, during which civilian and military leaders thought and did exactly the same. They called themselves right, left, middle, but together they lacked the same leadership and courage, failing to deceive themselves.
The day after the last shot in Gaza, the political map must change. Netanyahu will resign, on his own initiative or not, and in any scenario a dramatic party and leadership vacuum will be created, precisely on the ideological side that was right – precisely on the hawkish and sane right. How do you fill this vacuum? This needs to be thought about now. New parties, other leaders, unification and strengthening with existing elements. The State of Israel will need new leadership, courageous and realistic leadership for change
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