On October 7, the Hamas terrorists were armed, the Israelis massacred were defenseless. The unanswered question is why did Israel disarm its citizens most of whom are IDF veterans and leave them vulnerable to mass rape and murder by Hamas? An incredibly stupid decision and the Israeli government is clearly culpable. Every Jewish family in Israel (and the US) should have a 9 mm handgun, an AR15 rifle and plenty of ammunition for both. Every adult and teenage member of the family should be proficient in their use. Have anti-gun Jewish politicians in both countries learned nothing from the Holocaust and the latest slaughter? Isn't it time for the Jewish people to tell them to go fuck themselves?
The answer is the hubris of “safety” thinking. The government was more afraid of random injuries of and by armed citizens than they feared attacks like October 7. I know a former Israeli army officer who had a hand personal hand gun at home that gave it up because should it be stolen he would have done jail time. In addition only combat arms active duty soldiers carry weapons when not on duty. This is a change from the past. The first time I was in Israel in 1987 every uniformed solder had a weapon when off base. Now this may all change again to a more realistic position where the safety position is an armed citizenry.
As I have stated previously:”Throughout the history of the Jewish people and upon the formation of the state of Israel, its destruction and the murder of Jews by its enemies has never ceased and never will, until all the Jews are murdered. The enemies of Israel and Jews everywhere have told them so. They will never release the hostages alive, even if their absurd demands are met. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Plan accordingly. Act accordingly.
And yes, the obligation to ransom captives is an important one in Jewish tradition. How it might be qualified is something that would require a closer look at the sources, starting with the greatest of the Jewish law codes, that of Maimonides, from the 13th century. For example, is it ransom at any price? The Jews of late antiquity and medieval times had no state. Do reasons of state enter the equation now, forcing a different conclusion? Maimonides, for one, was aware of such considerations as a general matter.
The estimable Walter Russell Mead made the same point last week in his podcast.
Non-religious Gentile American here— I am of the opinion that Israel has to accept, and I wish our president would also accept, that the idea of a Palestinian state has to die. Like die hard. I have suspected since the late 90’s and more recently since Oct 7, that there is no real honest political movement in Palestine that sees a state of Israel as a Jewish state. They have shown NO desire to build trust. The withdrawal of Israel from Gaza less than 10yrs ago could have been a starting point. Instead it leads to a culture of self annihilation.
The most humane thing is to evacuate Gaza civilians to other countries, and work on a similar situation in the West Bank. Palestinians need to learn from what Thucydides calls “the school of life”.
West Bank Palestinians could have seen Oct 7 as a stepping stone to bridging peace by denouncing the incident and calling for hostage releases and ending their armed struggle.
Too bad they can’t see anything but paradise as they leave their lives on earth to be cannon fodder for hate.
I agree that the two-state solution is a US State Department mirage. Nobody wants it, really. As to the alternative, I’m not sure that there is one, really. Their Arab brothers don’t want the Palestinians, obviously. It’s a tragic situation.
And that’s been the case since 1948. When the head of UNRWA declared shortly after the agency was formed, that he was making plans to resettle them in the Arab world, the Arab League told him that it wasn’t going to happen. When in 1958, the UK and US started making noises about dissolving UNRWA because it wasn’t doing what it had been created for, the Saudi ambassador made it clear that if they did, there would be no more oil sales or cooperation of any kind.
Jewish tradition does set a limit on ransom, as shown in the case when Rabbi Meir of Rottenburg was kidnapped, and forbade those seeking to redeem him from paying too much.
Very well said. I’m trying not to be callous, but I think they should operate from the assumption that the hostages are dead and do what needs to be done to protect the living and the future of those yet to be born.
Well, as I recall, the national anthem of Israel is titled “The Hope.” So I would advise realism, but not the abandonment of hope. Some hostages have been rescued, and it may be that more will be rescued.
I totally agree. Nobody is willing to sacrifice their own family member, nor would I be, but that is not how you can fight a war and save a nation. Everyone's sons and daughters risk their life when the country is at war, otherwise a war could never be won.
As for the world's approval, Israel will never have that except perhaps if Israel is destroyed everyone will be terribly sorry afterwards and there will be memorials and education programmes saying "never again".
I wish Israel had defied international pressure and taken the risk to go hard into Rafah when they first had the chance. They knew what was at stake - or did they? It sometimes seems like even the Israelis have not fully grasped how monstrous Hamas is, how unreasonable, cruel and pitiless, amoral and filled with hate.
Going Hard requires arms and the USA has the say so. And, Biden didn’t stay with that support for very long. Kamala won’t actually give anything but chin music.
Watching the commemorations and speeches during this year’s D-Day anniversary, I asked myself what speech I would have given if called upon to do so. That question became an article on Substack, and I think perhaps it’s of some relevance in the context of Israel’s current time of troubles. The price is always high.
Completely agree with all that you say.
Minor correction …. This sentence: “Those people want the land between the river and the sea to be cleansed of Jews: judenein as the Nazis put it.
The proper German word is Judenrein, not judenein. It means free of Jews.
On October 7, the Hamas terrorists were armed, the Israelis massacred were defenseless. The unanswered question is why did Israel disarm its citizens most of whom are IDF veterans and leave them vulnerable to mass rape and murder by Hamas? An incredibly stupid decision and the Israeli government is clearly culpable. Every Jewish family in Israel (and the US) should have a 9 mm handgun, an AR15 rifle and plenty of ammunition for both. Every adult and teenage member of the family should be proficient in their use. Have anti-gun Jewish politicians in both countries learned nothing from the Holocaust and the latest slaughter? Isn't it time for the Jewish people to tell them to go fuck themselves?
The answer is the hubris of “safety” thinking. The government was more afraid of random injuries of and by armed citizens than they feared attacks like October 7. I know a former Israeli army officer who had a hand personal hand gun at home that gave it up because should it be stolen he would have done jail time. In addition only combat arms active duty soldiers carry weapons when not on duty. This is a change from the past. The first time I was in Israel in 1987 every uniformed solder had a weapon when off base. Now this may all change again to a more realistic position where the safety position is an armed citizenry.
As I have stated previously:”Throughout the history of the Jewish people and upon the formation of the state of Israel, its destruction and the murder of Jews by its enemies has never ceased and never will, until all the Jews are murdered. The enemies of Israel and Jews everywhere have told them so. They will never release the hostages alive, even if their absurd demands are met. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Plan accordingly. Act accordingly.
Sadly, yes.
And yes, the obligation to ransom captives is an important one in Jewish tradition. How it might be qualified is something that would require a closer look at the sources, starting with the greatest of the Jewish law codes, that of Maimonides, from the 13th century. For example, is it ransom at any price? The Jews of late antiquity and medieval times had no state. Do reasons of state enter the equation now, forcing a different conclusion? Maimonides, for one, was aware of such considerations as a general matter.
The estimable Walter Russell Mead made the same point last week in his podcast.
See comment above re: Rabbi Meir of Rottenburg, a medieval case of a limit on ransom.
Perfectly stated. Again.
Well said, G-d bless you. Keep speaking the truth. Fearlessly.
Non-religious Gentile American here— I am of the opinion that Israel has to accept, and I wish our president would also accept, that the idea of a Palestinian state has to die. Like die hard. I have suspected since the late 90’s and more recently since Oct 7, that there is no real honest political movement in Palestine that sees a state of Israel as a Jewish state. They have shown NO desire to build trust. The withdrawal of Israel from Gaza less than 10yrs ago could have been a starting point. Instead it leads to a culture of self annihilation.
The most humane thing is to evacuate Gaza civilians to other countries, and work on a similar situation in the West Bank. Palestinians need to learn from what Thucydides calls “the school of life”.
West Bank Palestinians could have seen Oct 7 as a stepping stone to bridging peace by denouncing the incident and calling for hostage releases and ending their armed struggle.
Too bad they can’t see anything but paradise as they leave their lives on earth to be cannon fodder for hate.
Certainly, in its present configuration, the movement of Hamas et al. aims for a "zero-state solution."
I agree that the two-state solution is a US State Department mirage. Nobody wants it, really. As to the alternative, I’m not sure that there is one, really. Their Arab brothers don’t want the Palestinians, obviously. It’s a tragic situation.
And that’s been the case since 1948. When the head of UNRWA declared shortly after the agency was formed, that he was making plans to resettle them in the Arab world, the Arab League told him that it wasn’t going to happen. When in 1958, the UK and US started making noises about dissolving UNRWA because it wasn’t doing what it had been created for, the Saudi ambassador made it clear that if they did, there would be no more oil sales or cooperation of any kind.
Jewish tradition does set a limit on ransom, as shown in the case when Rabbi Meir of Rottenburg was kidnapped, and forbade those seeking to redeem him from paying too much.
https://www.jewishhistory.org/hostages-then-and-now/
Interesting. That, perhaps, is an example of some relevance in the present circumstances.
Very well said. I’m trying not to be callous, but I think they should operate from the assumption that the hostages are dead and do what needs to be done to protect the living and the future of those yet to be born.
Well, as I recall, the national anthem of Israel is titled “The Hope.” So I would advise realism, but not the abandonment of hope. Some hostages have been rescued, and it may be that more will be rescued.
I totally agree. Nobody is willing to sacrifice their own family member, nor would I be, but that is not how you can fight a war and save a nation. Everyone's sons and daughters risk their life when the country is at war, otherwise a war could never be won.
As for the world's approval, Israel will never have that except perhaps if Israel is destroyed everyone will be terribly sorry afterwards and there will be memorials and education programmes saying "never again".
I wish Israel had defied international pressure and taken the risk to go hard into Rafah when they first had the chance. They knew what was at stake - or did they? It sometimes seems like even the Israelis have not fully grasped how monstrous Hamas is, how unreasonable, cruel and pitiless, amoral and filled with hate.
Going Hard requires arms and the USA has the say so. And, Biden didn’t stay with that support for very long. Kamala won’t actually give anything but chin music.
“Chin music”: 😎
Watching the commemorations and speeches during this year’s D-Day anniversary, I asked myself what speech I would have given if called upon to do so. That question became an article on Substack, and I think perhaps it’s of some relevance in the context of Israel’s current time of troubles. The price is always high.
https://unwokeindianaag.substack.com/p/the-price-was-high?utm_source=publication-search
Damn good job, Thomas.
Thanks.