Tuesday, August 23, 2005

True Zionism at work...

I'm a little worried after observing the way the Jews were forced out of Gaza by the Israeli Army. After all, here's a bunch of Jews living in the Diaspora (Gaza is clearly the land of the Philistines, not part of the Land of Israel), living a very nice comfortable middle-class life, and {BOOM!!} all of a sudden the Israeli Army shows up forces 'em out of their homes, pays 'em 10 agorot on the shekel for their property, and forces them to make aliya!

I'm a little worried about myself. I mean, maybe some day I'll wake up and find Zahal outside my American front door, yanking me and my neighbors out of our very nice homes and force us to live in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem!

All snark aside, the best comment I've read on this whole sorry escapade is an op-ed piece by Avirama Golan in Ha'aretz:

"To the surprise of both sides, the State of Israel has passed the test with flying colors. But now the next test begins. The defeated Yesha leadership has a clear interest in the evacuated residents of Gush Katif remaining refugees to prolong the "trauma." The next lament will be the sorrows of the uprooted.

Many liberals on the left are being enticed into extending their condolences for the private pain of the Gush Katif evacuees. Now is not the time. Like parents who do not give in to the wild and tearful tantrum of their adolescent child, even if it occurred due to a clear parental failure, Israel, seeking life, must understand that it is not enough to disengage from territory. The old-new settler lexicon must be disengaged from our consciousness."

We've got to keep these religious nuts with a bizzare messianic complex from framing the terms of the debate. Especially since the security of the Jewish people is at stake.