Do home demolitions deter or encourage terror?
Two opposing viewpoints on the contentious issue: Terrorists should know their families will pay the price, says Smadar Shir, while Merav Betito argues that defense officials believe that such a move is counter-productive.
Smadar Shir
Without imposing the death penalty on terrorists who massacre innocent people, including babies and children, simply because they are Jews, demolishing the family homes of the martyrs is the least Israel can do to deter the martyrs-in-waiting and punish the joyful family members who within seconds of the brutal massacre were out on the streets ululating, handing out candy and brandishing pictures of their sons, "the heroic martyrs," without even bothering to conceal their faces behind their keffiyehs.
Who do they remind us of? Of that pious nun who went to confession and told the priest in a voice quivering with pleasure that she had lost her virginity the night before and had made love until dawn. To her surprise, the priest instructed her to drink lemon juice with crushed and hot spices. "Will this absolve me of my sins?" the nun asked. And the priest replied: "No, my child, it won't absolve you, but at least it'll wipe that smile off your face."
No country in the world would tolerate these horrific murderous acts, committed in public places in broad daylight and motivated by religious and nationalist hatred. Only in Israel, headed by the world's leading expert in fighting terror, are the lives of despicable murderers made easier.
When setting out on their missions, they know that if they don't rise to heaven along with their victims, they'll be slapped with life sentences. And behind bars, they'll learn a trade and get an education; and the next time an Israel Defense Forces soldier is kidnapped, they'll become bargaining chips, get their freedom, and receive a king's welcome back in their villages.
They know, too, that if they pay with their lives, aside from the virgins awaiting them at the gates of Paradise, their families will be elevated in status – after all, their seeds produced the savage who cried "Allahu Akbar" and swung an ax and a knife.
It's time to reverse the line, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Ezekiel 18:2). A terrorist that sets out to perpetrate an attack must know that his family's home will be razed to the ground.
Merav Betito
In late 2004, the chief of staff at the time Moshe Ya'alon set up a think tank headed by Major General Udi Shani and tasked with examining "the policy of home demolitions for deterrence purposes."
Six months later, it was then-chief military advocate general Avichai Mandelblit who appeared before the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee and informed the panel members that based on the think tank's findings, demolishing the homes of terrorists is ineffective and doesn't constitute a deterrence.
It's hard to believe that the current defense minister and cabinet secretary have already managed to forget their recommendations on the issue. Perhaps it's because they are now politicians who prefer to curry favor with the public than do the right and responsible thing.
Perhaps, too, they need to be reminded today, in their positions close to the prime minister's table and ear, from where they have the ability more so than ever before to halt this folly.
"The action affects numerous individuals and extensive personal property, and causes increased hatred. The collective public solidarity intensifies and leads to the encouragement of terror," Mandelblit told the committee at the time.
He added: "According to the findings, there is no evidence indicating that the home-demolition policy has been effective over time; the deterrent effect achieved at the outset eroded over time to a point at which it had no influence over the terrorists. According to the scenarios the team presented to the General Staff, the demolitions, which yielded results to begin with, produced the opposite result over time."
Will the same mouth that once said no now be the mouth that says yes? Is it logical for the man who explained that home demolitions lead to more terror to remain silent at this point in time and not to step in personally and stop the next murder?
Those who remain silent and those, too, who cry out just minutes after the massacre for the demolition of the terrorists' homes fail to understand the role of a true leader. If only home demolitions were something that could help to put an end to the conflict; it only a few bulldozers could straighten everything out.
It's been proven already, unfortunately, that apart from compounding the sense of despair and frustration, we won't achieve anything from such actions.
