Time to change direction

We need leadership that doesn’t convey sense of weakness or cling to flawed notions

Benyamin Elon|Published: 03.21.08 , 01:29

Purim is a holiday of great salvation. A comprehensive plan for exterminating the Jews was placed on the agenda, endorsed by the leader of a superpower, and at the last moment was averted as a result of quick action by Mordechai, the devotion of Esther, and plenty of covert help from above. All of the above facilitated developments that prevented the story from having an utterly different ending – had such ending materialized, we would not be here today.

And still, despite the great salvation, the Talmud rules that in Purim we should refrain from reciting “Hallel” – the psalms expressing praise for God and thanksgiving, which are recited in all the holidays. Why? The Talmudic Sage Raba says that “we are still the slaves of Ahasuerus.” The people of Israel was indeed spared the extermination decree, but it remained in the Diaspora under the regime of the Persian king and subject to his caprices.

This year, we shall be celebrating Purim in the State of Israel, which is celebrating 60 years of independence. Yet sadly, in many ways it appears that we are not yet free. The terrible massacre in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva attests first and foremost to the great weakness conveyed by the State of Israel both to the outside world and domestically.

Failure in Gaza

What is important here is not the question of why an east Jerusalem Arab can walk around freely in the State of Israel or where the security guard was, but rather, what formed the impression that one can hit Israel with impunity.

This impression started emerging far away from Jerusalem, in the north and south, where the enemy learned that it can attack us after we withdraw, wear us down, and irritate us, while we don’t know how to respond. Our leadership conveys a sense of weakness and confusion. We erased the entire settlement enterprise in the Gaza region in order to “disengage,” even though it was clear to anyone with eyes in their head that Gaza would not disappear – rather, it would only become more difficult to access. Now, those who led this move find it difficult to recognize the mistake and change direction.

Yet we must make no mistake about it: Tel Aviv and Sderot are two sides of the same coin. If we can be hit in Sderot, we can be attacked in Tel Aviv too. If the State of Israel conveys a sense of weakness even its Arab citizens, who are torn between loyalty to their people and loyalty to their country, will choose the former option.

This weakness can only be defeated by leadership with a vision that would be able to leave behind old notions proven as failures. Recycling futile and dangerous peace processes, or alternately, clinging to a policy of unilateralism will leave all of us embroiled in this bloody cycle for many years to come.

Following an arid and painful winter, our people deserves a spring that presents a new horizon and a new hope.

Knesset Member Benyamin Elon is the chairman of the National Union and leads the Israeli Initiative