Hamas/Gaza War Musings #52: VICTORY is Not on Bibi's Menu

 

I know that many people think I've been exaggerating or distorting Prime Minister Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu's ignoring the concept of VICTORY as the only way to really end the war, our war of survival against Hamas/Gaza. Well Bibi has admitted it. He listed five principles, five aims, five requirements needed for this war to end. The crucial, only way to really end the war and give us peace VICTORY isn't on the list and neither is Gazan/Hamas's surrender.

screenshot from my computer of the Jerusalem Post

Here's Bibi's list:

1. Hamas Disarmed
2. All Hostages Freed
3. Gaza Demilitarized
4. Israeli overriding security control
5. Non-Israeli peaceful civil administration

You may notice, as I did, that there's not even a hint of resettling Gaza by Israelis. Bibi does not support a return to Gush Katif. In all honesty, this list won't work. It won't give Israel peace. It's no more effective than all the other "ends of hostilities" that we've suffered through in the close to two decades of Bibi's reign.

Bibi is hoping we've forgotten, but there have been more wars/attacks on Israel during his rule than any other twenty years of Israel's existence. And none of them ended in victory. Bibi would just declare them over, claiming that we showed the terrorists that we're stronger. Duh? That's why it was so easy for Gaza/Hamas to successfully attack us just under two years ago.

Bibi's list is not going to work. History and common sense prove me right, unfortunately. Let's see who from the coalition have the guts to tell the truth and vote against Bibi...

Twenty Years Since Disengagement- Deja Vu- The Elephant in The Room

From my blog post Opening Old Wounds, Disengagement, Part 1

There have been so many articles and youtube videos about Disengagement in the media. They mention all aspects of it, and I didn't notice any claiming that it had been a good policy decision. Thank Gd for that. 

I wrote a "letter to the editor" to the Jerusalem Post concerning the articles I had read in the paper and the magazine. This post is based on that letter which, as of today, hadn't been published. 

I was very pleased/impressed by the great variety and quantity of articles in last Friday's paper about twenty years since Disengagement, but maybe I missed something. It's a very big elephant in the room, especially for someone who has lived in Israel since 1970. I'm referring to Menachem Begin's "Camp David Accords," which is to blame for Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai and the total destruction of all Israeli communities, Yamit and others there. Disengagement was clearly modeled on it, and both Begin and Arik Sharon were Prime Ministers from the Likud. Yes, just like the Likud elections slogan: "Only the Likud Can Do It." Voluntarily destroying Jewish communities, especially agricultural ones, had been a "red line" for the Labor Party. 

Close to a half century after Menachem Begin proudly announced his "achievement," I still consider it the most insanely dangerous decision in Israeli history. As we've seen since then, Israel doesn't know how to negotiate wisely. Why didn't he insist on keeping all of the moshavim and towns in Sinai as proof of peace?

Menachem Begin, Ariel Sharon and Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu were/are plagued/cursed with a desire to show the world that they're reasonable moderates and as a result they do what they consider "diplomatic," generous endangering the security and existence of the State of Israel. 

I'll never forget Begin's speech afterward the withdrawal/destruction of Jewish communities in which he claimed that the remaining and new Israeli communities in Gaza and nearby would be forever, fully recognized forever by the world as part of Israel. 

Gush Katif was to be the replacement of the Sinai for Jewish settlement. For example, Neve Dekalim was named for the destroyed Moshav Dikla. 

Twenty plus years ago, I was incredulous that the anti-Disengagement organizers didn't use Begin's speech in the campaign. I tried to contact them about it but failed.

Tzachi Hanegbi, whose mother Geula Cohen left the Likud over the withdrawal, described the agreement as the precedent for legitimizing Disengagement.

For many of us, the scars of Begin's Sinai withdrawal have only gotten more prominent with Disengagement and Bibi's unending destruction of Jewish communities throughout Judea and Samaria.

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #51: "Conflict?" Nope-- They Want to Destroy Us

The woke lexicon has made it to Israel, very unfortunately. How can a war, with such clear differences between aggressors and victims be called a "conflict?" What's a "conflict?" According to the Oxford online dictionary, it's:

a serious disagreement or argument, typically a protracted one.

"the eternal conflict between the sexes"

That doesn't sound like the war for survival that Israel has been fighting for over a year and a half. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and the international intifada supporters want to destroy the State of Israel and aren't embarrassed to say so. Why has the Jerusalem Post joined those calling this war a "conflict?" I was additionally shocked to read Barbara Sofer claiming that she wrote "by the time you get this, I'm sure this conflict* will have blown over," during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. That was a WAR, and nobody called it anything else. I was a mother of two at the time living in Jerusalem.

To survive, win this war, we must refer to it as a war and fight it as determined warriors. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has a "thing" about the word "war," "milchama." For years, whenever our enemy has attacked us, Bibi would downplay the attack and declare our defense and "operation," mivtzah," instead of declaring war against the enemy and resoundingly defeat them. After a bit he would announce that they've calmed down, learned how tough we are, and that would be it. 

War, surrender and victory are not words we Israelis hear or read. There are those who want to hear the government's plans for "after," but after what they don't say. They don't use the "V word" and seem to expect that at some point the terrorists who attacked on October 7, 2023, will just get tired and cease fighting. And if they do stop and sign some "deal," the next war, and there will be a next war, will be much, much worse than this one with many more hostages. The only way to stop the "cycle of violence" is to decisively defeat the enemy. Don't warn them before shooting; don't feed them. We must fight to total victory. Hamas and our other enemies must surrender, and we Gd willing must declare full sovereignty in all the Land of Israel. 

No negotiations. Negotiations are for compromise. 

• How can we compromise with people who want to destroy us totally? 
• How can we compromise with people who bragged about raping, decapitating, murdering innocent Israelis?
• How can we compromise with people who want to burn and destroy our country?

Get real. Read their lips!

I'm a realist. I don't believe in fairy tales, fantasies... Please think. Be rational. Terrorists don't turn into peaceniks.

*emphasis mine

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #50: Deja Vu, Yet Again-- Will Israel Ever Learn?

This post is based on my last night's "Gnite" on Facebook. That's a message I write most nights before going to sleep. Sometimes I haven't a clue what my fingers are going to type out, and sometimes I find myself elaborating on what has been filling my head, generally something to do with the WAR.

I think it's extremely important to remember that Israel's WAR FOR SURVIVAL has a number of fronts. From what I understand, the northern front is now quiet. But what does that mean? Did our enemies surrender?

Just a few weeks ago Israel decided that the time had come to try to destroy Iran's nuclear development, which seemed impossible, since we don't have strong enough bombs to go deeply enough. Also Iran immediately began bombing Israeli cities, and our Iron Dome and other defensive "machinery" only partially prevented destruction and death in Israeli cities. After the USA completed the bombing of Iran's nuclear development center, utilizing the damage that Israel had accomplished. This front also quieted down without anything that could be called a surrender by Iran.

Now Israel has returned to fighting in Gaza, Deja Vu.

Early in the war, I'd read in the newspapers and internet interviews with IDF reservists on the southern front who'd say it's the second, third or fourth time ... or more, they've battled and taken over the same sections of Gaza. After each of the previous wars, Bibi who was usually (or always) Prime Minister at the time, would declare that we "won," and the Gazans/Hamas/or whatever you want to call them had been stopped and "know that we're stronger." Then we'd leave, the terrorists would return and within a year or two or three, they'd attack us yet again.

Of course 20 years ago, when Arik Sharon ordered Disengagement, we were told that if the Arabs dared to attack us ... we'd be back. Obviously that was a very empty threat.

In the past twenty years, since the Israeli Government destroyed Gush Katif and turned thousands of hardworking Israelis into refugees, destroyed homes and successful businesses, we've been attacked, bombed, suffered rocket attacks and then the perverse, violent, murderous massacre and kidnapping on October 7, 2023. Arik's Disengagement failed completely.

How many wars and how many dead Israelis will it take for Bibi to get/comprehend the message? We need a TOTAL VICTORY. The enemy must surrender. It's suicidal to make a "deal" with those terrorists. And he's not even demanding that every single solitary hostage alive and dead be returned before he'd even "talk." Bibi Netanyahu doesn't know how to negotiate. He just surrenders.

I know that this may sound "cruel," but someone ought to tell the yellow "bring them out at any cost" crowd two simple things:

    1- their campaign is showing the terrorists how to break us. Just kidnap Israelis and Israel will fold.

    2- Bibi and the IDF aren't holding the hostages. They should have focused their demonstrations on the Red Cross, who've never even visited the hostages.

There won't be peace until we fight to win, to destroy the enemy and to do this we must stop the woke "humanitarian aid" and the ridiculous counterproductive "warnings" which undermine the effectiveness of our fighting and endangers our precious soldiers.

OK, I said it. I could say more... maybe next week. Gd willing...

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #49: Life During War in 17 Syllables, Haikus

I've been writing Haikus for years and have a facebook group I call #morningcoffeehaiku. Pretty much every morning, while drinking my coffee, I describe my feelings in haiku form. That means three rows of text. The first has five syllables, second has seven, and the third five syllables. Writing these haikus has trained my mind to express myself in minimal words. 

Here are a few, most recent first:

Chodesh Tammuz Tov

pray and fight with equal zeal

we all have a job

VICTORY's needed

before celebrations start

enemies laughing

war's hibernating

at least Iranian front

I must "seize the day"

such confusing times

Iran is only one front

we're still in danger

Thank Gd for so much

though the road is much further

for true VICTORY

looking for humor

while world wants to destroy us

Jewish survival

wartime exhaustion

but sans VICTORY can't end

being realistic

victories end war

simmering is just deadly

we need VICTORY

summer finally

talking about the weather Can I ignore war?

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #48: Deja Vu: Amalek = Hamas

Our sages all say that Amalek began attacking when it perceived weakness in the People of Israel and its leadership.... 

Every generation has its Amalek, but it's quiet because it's afraid of us. It attacks when we fight amongst each other or go around begging foreigners for help. Yup. That's the truth.

That's why in 1967, Egypt, Syria and Jordan conspired to attack on three fronts and destroy the State of Israel. It "checked the water" with threats and demands on us, our supposed allies and the United Nations which had "peacekeeping forces" which were supposed to protect us. The UN quickly removed its forces to facilitate easy attack, our supposed allies waited in safety and our Israeli government ordered the digging of graves. The State of Israel was all alone, but Jews in Israel and all over the world prayed to Gd. Simply put, that's how we won so decisively.

When instead of declaring all of the Land we liberated sovereign Israel, the government refused to settle all but the most agriculturally promising areas, our enemies attacked again six years later. Yes, the Yom Kippur War. This time they didn't threaten, they just attacked with the hidden support of the United States, while Israel was kept in the dark. As the war went on, the USA tried to keep Israel from  having a decisive win, yup-- nothing's new. Thank Gd Arik Sharon refused to follow orders and crossed the Suez Canal with his forces, and Egypt surrendered.

Unfortunately, that was the last show of true strength anyone saw from Israel. In the past decade plus, every couple of years, we're attacked, Bibi refuses to call it a war, refuses to defeat the enemy, just offers a ceasefire, claiming that "now we've shown who's stronger," and most of the country falls for it. I haven't.

Israel tries to compromise, act "gracious," do clever high-tech "tricks," make deals, ceasefires etc. And again the internal fighting definitely encourages our enemies.

For me it's so clear, so obvious. That's why with every "deal" offer, comprise, fokokt "moral fighting," "compassionate" "humanitarian" food to the Gazans, the demands of the terrorists get larger and more dangerous for us.

If you study the Tanach/Bible, you should see that it's classic Amalek... Remember what important instructions Gd told the Prophet Samuel to say to King Saul in 1 Samuel Chapter 15:

Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses!”

Did King Saul obey? No! He kept the Amalek king alive, plus some of the animals. which he used for sacrifices contradicting Jewish Law. Yes, just like Bibi has been doing with his "moral fighting" and "humanitarian aid." How was King Saul punished? He and his sons were killed in battle. That was the end of his rule, no dynasty.

Today there are two very strong parallels with the Biblical Amalek.

• Amalek fights us when we appear weak.
• The only way to have a true lasting victory is to destroy our enemy without mercy.

Need I say more?

Historical Parallels Between India-Pakastan and Israel

I wrote this letter to the Jerusalem Post which probably won't be published. It should have appeared today, so when I didn't see it, I put my letter on Facebook. Then the Facebook post seems to have disappeared... strange...

So here's what I wrote:

elephant in the room

https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-853271

The Jerusalem Post, Tzvika Klein, among others keep ignoring the most important, and obvious to me, connection between what's happening between India and Pakistan and the Arab war against Israel. Go back to history, post World War Two, August 14, 1947 when Great Britain divided the Indian subcontinent into two unequal parts, one for the Hindus and the other for the Muslims which became India and Pakistan. 

Not long before that, Great Britain began dividing up the British Mandate of Palestine, which was supposed to be for the Jewish People, by importing the Hashemites from Saudi Arabia to rule the eastern bank of the territory and called it Jordan. Afterwards, instead of allowing Jews to establish a country on the entire western part of the Mandate, Britain, along with the newly formed United Nations, allocated a small indefensible bit of the land to the Jews and the rest of they assigned to Arabs to invent an additional Moslem country. Member countries of the UN voted its approval November 29, 1949. That second Arab Moslem country in the mandated land didn't come to be, because there was no actual nation/people there, so when Israel's War for Independence ended Jordan occupied all the territory not in Israel's control.

The wars we've been suffering from since then and what's going on between India and Pakistan are all connected to Britain's and the UN's playing god in distant parts of the world.

It's a shame that Klein and other Jerusalem Post writers keep ignoring this.

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #47: Bibi, The Worst of Menachem Begin

This is related to War Musings #46, so if you haven't read it, I recommend that you do so. Both of these posts show how we're suffering from the mistakes made and never corrected decades ago. Here I concentrate more on one of the late Prime Minister Menachem Begin made. No, I don't get into Begin's Sinai withdrawal and destruction of numerous Israeli communities in the Sinai, aka the Camp David Accords.

What concerns me the most is how Begin's, and more recently, Bibi's avoiding cleaning the bureaucracy of those who obviously want to sabotage their government policies. In Begin's time, the Foreign Ministry, stocked with Leftist Labor supporters, didn't advise him according to his supporters' and voters' policies. People didn't vote him in to withdraw from the Sinai and destroy Jewish communities. It's very probable that Begin's depression towards the end of his rule, wasn't just because of the death of his beloved wife, but because his policies had alienated his closest friends and supporters.

When Begin's party got the most seats in the 1977 elections, it was a surprise for all. As I remember, none of the polls predicted such a political upheaval. Begin didn't have an "army" of followers to take over the bureaucracy. I don't think he had a real plan for an eventual win. For nineteen years, Herut and Liberals felt that they'd be permanent Opposition.

Upon establishing his government, instead of doing what was technically legal, replace government workers involved with policy. Instead he tried to make "friends" with them, called it being "noble," by not firing the Labor followers and Histadrut members. So political appointees became permanent policy makers, and they made sure the "right" people succeeded them, "a friend brings a friend." That's how the Judicial, the IDF, Foreign Ministry and the Shabak etc still follow Leftist Labor policies, even though the Labor party hasn't had a Prime Minister for decades. The only real ideological success/change was that Begin's Liberal-- meaning non-socialist--political partners did what they were elected to do by breaking the power and monopoly of the Histadrut in economics.

Binyamin Bibi Netanyahu continued the path Menachem Begin. That's why Judicial Reform never got done, nor did he put his own people in important security positions, so on October 7, 2023, he wasn't informed about the signs of Hamas Gazan preparation for war against us. Shabak head Ronen Bar has made it clear that he considers himself over the government and refused to recognize that he had been fired. My big question is why did it take so long for Bibi to even try to fire him...

Here we are a year and a half after that murderous invasion, no closer to #TotalVictory #ניצחוןמוחלט than we were on October 8th. Despite Bibi's brave bombastic speeches, his policies are weak and failing. Our soldiers are being killed, maimed, wounded and are exhausted. We don't act like victors. We haven't returned to Gush Katif. Bibi thinks we can just be policemen aka targets. Bibi doesn't have a vision for a greater future. I predicted this when I heard him speak in 2008.

Israel is at war for its very survival. We must achieve victory. Victory must be combined with Israeli SOVEREIGNTY over all the land we administer, otherwise we'll be at war again and again until we collapse, Gd forbid. Along with sovereignty, we must allow settlement all over. Illegal Arab building must be destroyed. Minimally, don't allow Arabs to build where the Oslo Accords forbade them. More about the Oslo Accords... another time. That's another story.

Pray for strong leadership which is needed for VICTORY, the only way we'll ever see peace and the return of the remaining hostages.

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #46: Deja Vu, Labor vs Revisionists

I try not to listen or read much news, just enough so that I have an idea of what's going on. As you may know, I don't think that Bibi has done a good job. It's pretty obvious considering the wars going on here. The Buck Stops Here...

There's the "war" between various sectors and ideologies here in Israel. Some of this is connected to the old Labor socialists vs Revisionist capitalist Israelis. The imaginary and trumped up charges against hilltop youth and those to the Right of the Likud remind me of the Saison and Palmach attack of the Altalena way back when...

That's an earlier example of how the Israeli Left, which still controls many of the government departments, like the "justice department," which also causes the military glass ceiling, media distortions, Shabak's investigating "hilltop youth" rather than Arab terrorists, etc, etc, etc.

And of course there's the war that started October 7, 2023... and the fact that Ronen Bar, Director of the Israeli Security Agency knew something was "going to happen" but refrained from informing the Prime Minister and sending the IDF to protect the southern front. It's pretty clear to me that he were hoping that Bibi would have a breakdown like Yitzchak Rabin did during the 1967 Six Day War and resign/retire.

Now Bar is refusing to leave his position. I guess he's burning his papers...

But my big question is:

Why did it take Bibi a year and a half to go after him?

Yup, lots of questions, and the answers aren't pretty.

Unfortunately, when I searched in English news about Ronen Bar, the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post had similar headlines to the unabashedly pro-terror anti-Israel Al Jazeera. The only honest, reliable article and youtube I could find was from JNS, Netanyahu refutes Shin Bet chief’s claims he broke law. So if you haven't yet begun to read and watch JNS- join now.

Now in all honesty, I do find JNS too worshipful of Bibi at times, but there's nothing better, more accurate. Unfortunately, that's one of the results of not having a term limit for Prime Minister here in Israel, but that's another problem. Searching this blog for a post about limiting the number of years for Prime Minister, I found this Israel Post-Coalition Crisis: Back to Usual #$!#! Idiocy. from nine 9 years ago.

I'll end here and await your comments. Please share, too, thanks.

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #45: Bottom Line-- Bibi has FAILED

Simply put: If Bibi was a good leader, a good competent Prime Minister, then Hamas wouldn't have attacked Israel October 7, 2023... and if you insist that they still would have attacked... then we should have won within a few weeks. Really. 

I'm a pragmatist, a CPA's daughter. I look at the bottom line. We may win some battles, but we're not winning the war. True Total Victory seems further away now than a year ago. Sorry to sound so depressing, but I'm a realist.

Here's another of my "Gnite" posts:

I feel like a broken record in responding to Bibi's statements, since he hasn't really said anything new...

Promises, platitudes and threats... depending on who's the audience. We never win, just take breaks... duh! No war was ever won like that.

The IDF which was once one of the best armies in the world...

Israel which is such a tiny country...

Civilians and reservists who heard about Hamas's attack on Israel's south made it to defend the country before the army. We've always bragged that we're a civilian army, but that's not quite what was meant.

The slogan אחרי Acharei--AFTER ME traditionally meant that the generals led from heading into battle, not civilians first and generals in the safety of their homes and offices.

Early in the war, the older reservists, sometimes serving along with their sons, reported that it was the third or fourth time fighting for the same land in Gaza. Each time they won, but then were told by the government to give it back to the terrorists.

Something stinks, and it's coming from the our so-called leaders, Bibi and mafia. They show up for photo-ops and then return to safety.

The State of Israel is in serious danger.

Our soldiers are the best, but they can't make policy. The policymakers are from "lala" land. Bibi's policy is destroying the morale of the soldiers, who aren't stupid. They realize that they're being used and lives wasted. Don't Likud voters realize what they've voted for?

Trump's not going to save us. We must save ourselves. As a student of the Bible, especially Navi-Prophets, it's clear deja vu אין חדש ain chadash nothing's new. When we fight without asking for foreign help, then Gd will pitch in with miracles. And we must resettle Gaza. It's ours. We must act as a sovereign nation. That's the only way for #TotalVictory. #ניצחוןמוחלט

Gd willing, tomorrow will be a better day.

Hamas/Gaza War Musings #44: Nothing's New, All in The Bible

Biblical Shiloh

This starts with one of my "Gnites" on facebook, but then I continue with more details and history.

As happy as I am that Donald Trump won the election and is now POTUS again, Israel must not depend on him. We are supposed to be an independent sovereign country.

Trump's policies vis-à-vis Israel are better than any of his predecessors, but he's not our ruler, and one can't count on all of his policies and ideas to be good for us.

The Israeli Prime Minister must act as a strong leader and not a weak follower. Unfortunately, Bibi is a very weak PM who tries to be "moderate" aka "centrist," which is what he said he would be when I heard him in 2008, "Shiloh Musings Impressive."

After hearing that speech I pictured Bibi as being held immobile by a bagel. Unfortunately, he has proven me correct.

Prime Minister Netanyahu is a talented orator and actor, but he doesn't have the guts to lead us into victory. He's too busy trying to ingratiate himself with those who really don't care about Israel's survival. That's why he brags about his dangerous "morality," warning the enemy, so no alleged innocent civilians would be killed.

The attack on October 7, 2023 proved that there aren't innocent Gazans. The Gazans that many Israelis in the south had considered as friends were those who enthusiastically showed their true colors as Hamas terrorists, murdering, raping, mutilated, incineration truly innocent, and in many cases, naïve Israelis.

There's only one way that the State of Israel can survive and thrive would be to act as a truly proud sovereign nation and recognize that we have only one reliable ally, Gd Almighty. With that, we must fight to win, resettle Gaza and expand Israeli sovereignty in Judea, Samaria, the Jordan Valley and the rest of the State of Israel.

Remember that Zionism means the return to our well documented native Homeland. We've liberated it. It was conquered by Biblical heroes like Joshua. Please be careful of your vocabulary. Words have power.