Uri Orbach
Photo: Gabi Menashe
The usual suspects
Leftist camp crashed because it always absolves Palestinians, blames Israel
Radical Knesset Member Zahava Gal-On from Meretz had a good week. First, she demanded that the prime minister report to the Knesset about the alleged Air Force operation in Syria. Later, after the cabinet designated Hamastan in Gaza as a "hostile entity, Gal- On declared that "semantic exercises cannot erase war crimes."
Regardless of the claims and debate whether the government must report to the Knesset about any military operation, or whether the "hostile entity" decision is wise or foolish, it is worthwhile to pay attention to Gal-On's style. This is exactly the style that demolished the Israeli Left and brought it down to a mere six Knesset seats. And for that, we thank you, Zahava.
In the eyes of Gal-On and some of her colleagues, Israel is always the suspect. With artificial righteousness, they claim that we have no expectations of the Palestinians, and that they only care about Israel's conduct.
When Zahava Gal-On demands that the prime minister report to the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee, any Meretz boy understand what she wants. She doesn't want a report, but rather, sweaty generals that explain why the belligerent Israel dares (allegedly, allegedly) to infiltrate Syrian territory.
When she uses the war crime terminology, she explicitly says that Israel is to blame for everything that is happening in Gaza and not the Palestinians themselves. This is the Israeli Left at its worst. Every failed withdrawal reduces its power, but boosts its cries.
This delusional camp recorded another achievement this week: The establishment of a committee of inquiry into the killing of arch-terrorist Salah Shahada and the 14 Palestinian civilians killed along with him.
Here too, the leftist opposition wishes to see IDF officers sweating. The leftists are interested in and able to create an atmosphere of suspicion regarding any IDF operation. After all, if an inquiry has been ordered, something must be wrong. The results of the examination are not as important or interesting as the inquiry in and of itself. It is enough that they investigated, and were digging up, and excuses were made, so that next time they will think twice before getting into such mess again.
Sympathizing under any circumstances
The leftist sages draw great pleasure from watching their colleagues at the High Court of Justice reprimanding the government or army, and headlines that announce lessons and conclusions, and protest watches that are already taking shape in the face of the moral failure.
Salah Shahada should have been eliminated, and if there were a few civilians there who were also killed, this is regrettable yet doesn't require the establishment of any committee. A commission of inquiry should have been set up if, heaven forbid, another 100 Israelis would have been killed a week later because this murderer was still alive and able to mastermind another terror attack.
If the soldiers of the Palestinian people, which elected Hamas, fire at Sderot from Gaza, they should be isolated, their fuel and electricity supply should be minimized, and they should be pressed to the point that they scream out "enough." A war crime? Don't make us laugh. Those who fail to respond to Qassam fire with great force are guilty of criminal negligence.
Yet the IDF is always a suspect. The delusional margins of Israeli politics, those who sympathize with the Palestinians under any circumstances, won't stop harassing. To some of them, Israel is reminiscent of Germany in the 1930s, no less. In a few years, at this rate, Israel will resemble Germany in the 1940s in their view.
Ever since we chose to go with their dialogue and withdrawal approach, the entire region is in a raging storm. There is no dull moment in Sderot, those uprooted from Gush Katif are still abandoned in mobile homes, draft-dodging is on the rise, and Hamas in Gaza makes us miss even Fatah terrorists. The only measures that maintain relative temporary calm are targeted assassinations and the Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria.
Yet withdrawal and disengagement have become, also with the help of sympathetic media, central notions. While Sharon and Olmert, and before them Rabin and Peres, proceeded with failed diplomatic moves due to a sense that we cannot coexist with the Palestinians, Zahava Gal-On and her colleagues come with a pile of guilty feelings and fake righteousness.
While Israelis are willing to withdraw for practical reasons, Gal-On and her colleagues direct the blame mostly towards Israel. This is why the Israeli leftist camp has shrunk so badly. It chose a regular work routine: The Palestinians will continue to be reckless, the government will decide to respond, the IDF will do its best, and at the end of the road (as well as at the start and throughout,) a military court will await with handcuffs and Zahava Gal-On's high-minded stare.
