"The armada of hate and violence in support of Hamas terror organization was a premeditated and outrageous provocation.” Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon
I am reminded of a press conference with then Israeli Head of Opposition Netanyahu. The foreign press was invited to tour two cities along the Mediterranean, the Port City of Ashdod and the city of Ashkelon, 30-seconds and 15-seconds from launch of rockets from Gaza. In each city, we were met with falling rockets announcing our arrival.
It was during Operation Cast Lead. At one stop, a BBC reporter asked about the “proportionality” of Israeli response. Netanyahu, the former head of state, replied first with his message, reiterating there are no parties, no differences between Israelis, whatever their political affiliation. Netanyahu continued talking about standing together: A Jew is a Jew wherever he is, he said, and we all stand with Israel and her leaders at the time, united, as one.
It is the strength of a true leader, the experience of a lifetime, that will allow the head of opposition to forgo the ripe opportunity to blame all the ill-wills on his archenemy at that time, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Livni. One is yet to see if Livni, today the Head of Opposition, will learn from a page in Netanyahu’s book or choose a different path.
Netanyahu then continued to address the question about proportionality, putting things in perspective: For eight years, thousands of rockets were aimed and fired into kindergartens, schools, auditoriums, shopping centers, a hospital, a power plant and residential neighborhoods in Israel. If Israel wanted, her response could have been in direct proportion to the sum-total of the on-going attacks, but Gaza then would not exist.
Two things were evident during that daylong tour: First, Netanyahu can formulate a response and put it to action. His office invited members of the foreign press to join him on a fieldtrip, which was immeasurably valuable, for many foreign journalists just landed in Israel and knew nothing of what is happening on the ground, yet they knew everything from the international campaign against the Jewish state.
Second, at times of war (and here I extend the definition beyond the narrow, legal definition or declaratory act), we must all stand together. All imaginary and artificial boundaries fall, and we act toward a common goal to prevail.
Just hours after the Israeli Navy stopped the advancement of the Convoy of Terror, Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke by telephone with the relevant security ministers and officials and was updated on the action and subsequent developments.
The Prime Minister’s office reports that in his discussions with Defense Minister Barak, Foreign Minister Liberman, Minister Moshe Yaalon, Public Security Minister Aharonovitch, IDF Chief of Staff Ashkenazi and Israel Security Agency Diskin, the Prime Minister issued security, diplomatic and information directives, reiterated his full backing for the IDF and inquired about the well-being of the wounded.
Several Israeli soldiers were wounded, two critically.
It was during the early morning hours of Sunday, July 4th, 1976, that Israeli commandos landed in Entebbe, Uganda, in an attempt to free the hostages of the Air France plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Yoni Z”L, the older brother of Netanyahu, died in the operation.
There too, the message was that Israel would fight terrorism with ingenuity, creativity, courage and all her will and physical powers. Then we stood as One Nation and prayed for the success of the mission and for brining our people safely back home.
Terrorism has not changed but became more sophisticated. We have armed the Palestinian terrorists, and they have formulated a winning strategy and advanced their warfare. This time around, the Palestinians and their “human rights” cohorts hijacked the Gazans, claiming that humanitarian aid and construction materials are necessary and their flow is prevented by Israel.
Given the completion of the new Olympic-size swimming pool in Gaza and the new Port there, one must suspect if construction materials are truly needed. The mission had nothing to do with the real need of the Gazans. Instead, it was a terror act designed to inflict as much harm on Israel.
If the organizers were true humanitarians, they would have agreed to carry, along with the so-called “necessities,” also a letter to kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who has been held in captivity for four years. Hamas has prevented the International Red Cross visitation rights, guaranteed to Shalit under international conventions. It is both hypocrisy and a simple litmus test as to the real nature of the organizers. Simply put, “humanitarian” was not part of their real mission statement.
The Terror Convoy was willing to do whatever is necessary (though not quite imaginable to sane people), including attack the soldiers boarding the ships, thus knowingly risking the lives of the children and others they brought along with them to the journey, much like their predecessors who hijacked the plane decades ago. Human life has no value to the enemy; yet Israel spares nothing to protect both the lives of her own citizens and those of all others, including her enemies’.
In war, one must fight. In the Middle East, more than any other place, inaction is perceived as weakness. Israel is under attack, and she therefore must respond now. Although Israel has advised the Terror Convoy it will not be allowed to arrive to Gaza, despite Israel extending the offer to welcome the vessels in the Port of Ashdod and transfer the humanitarian aid directly to Gaza in an organized manner and ignoring criticism from within that those who break the law should not be welcomed into air-conditioned facilities and treated as guests, the Convoy organizers ignored, rejected and knew its members will receive excellent treatment.
Thus, at face value the mission was very low-risk with an enormous potential of dividends. The international coordinated attack that would follow the Israeli forces embarking the ships was well thought and extremely well prepared. The UN is to convene. The Turkish Ambassador from Israel is returning to Turkey. Israel is being condemned. Travel warnings are issued. Israel braces herself to attacks from Gaza and from her local Arab population. Israeli naval, air force and ground forces are ready to meet challenges on all fronts. There is a feeling of pre-war.
The public diplomacy assault has started. The editor in chief of a liberal site where this series of Postcards once appeared has announced:
In an obscene act proving the criminality of Israel's leaders, 16 humanitarians on the Gaza aid flotilla have been killed, with 60 more wounded. Israelis justified the mass executions saying that the commandos when they landed, in international waters, on the main boat of the flotilla, were attacked with sticks and metal rods. Amazing they didn't blow up the whole boat, with 600 civilians from 50 countries on board.
The same allegations were brought against Israel in the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead. There too ample warnings were given, but the Hamas terrorists chose to use children as shields, mosques, schools and kindergartens as launching pads for rockets, storage places for ammunition and rockets and safe havens for their members. Israel was subsequently declared guilty of war crimes by Judge Goldstone. Goldsone II is soon to be issued.
The Los Angeles Times immediately reported “Israeli action widely condemned: Crowds march in Turkey and Jordan. Angry reaction from Arab states is joined by harsh criticism and calls for an explanation or investigation from the U.N. and the European Union.”
In Washington, D.C., the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) urged President Obama to “condemn what the Muslim civil rights groups called an Israeli ‘massacare’ of civilians … Israeli commandos killed at least ten civilians in a pre-dawn raid …” CAIR’s national executive director urged the President to “live up to his statement one year ago in Cairo in which he said that America will not turn its back on ‘the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity and a state of their own.’”
Undoubtedly the attacks on Israel will continue and intensify in the coming hours and days. Israel must respond. She should have learned the lesson already that the only course of action is to attack back, to respond forcefully, else Goldstone II will soon air.
Once again the Jewish State was found guilty and the masses around the world will execute the judgment in riots, violence and hatred expressed against Jews and Israelis.
The world stood at awe when Israelis went 2,500 miles to free their people who were taken hostage, singled out only because they were Jews and Israelis. It was with full inner conviction that Israeli soldiers embarked on a mission then and today: The Convoy of Terror was to be stopped at minimal casualties, but it had to be stopped.
On Sunday morning 1976, Israel’s actions resonated with the world. Today, she is being delegitimized. Stand strong, Israel, for you are just. May G-D the Almighty protect and save our soldiers, on the ground, in the sea and in the air, from every ill and wrongdoing, and send blessings and success in everything they do, for G-d, our Lord, goes with them to fight our enemies to bring salvation to all of us.
