The Bitter and Endless Cycle of Arab Terror

ערב שבת קודש פר׳ פינחס תשע״ה

YNET: Settlers: IDF needs to do more for us
A wave of terror attacks since the beginning of Ramadan and easing of travel restrictions for Palestinians is causing anxiety among Jewish residents of the West Bank.

Itay Blumenthal, 07.01.15

Jews living in West Bank settlements say they fear for their safety and are frustrated by the authorities.

The last ten days have seen a rising wave of Palestinian terror attacks against Israeli citizens and security forces. Danny Gonen was killed on June 19, and on Monday Malachi Rosenfeld was murdered. In between, there were numerous incidents in which people were stabbed and firebombs and stones were thrown.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said the attacks were sanctioned and funded by Hamas in Turkey, while a senior IDF official said the attacks were carried out by isolated individuals.

Residents told Ynet of a sharp decline in the sense of security since the beginning of Ramadan, after restrictions were eased for Palestinians, and protested the failure to resolutely tackle terrorism.

Aharon Tavger, 33, a resident of Zeit Raanan in Gush Talmonim, said that alongside anxiety about incidents like those of the last few weeks, residents continue to live normal lives while hoping for stronger action by security forces. (cont.)

Esser Agaroth (2¢):
The IDF aren't doing enough? Seriously? This complaint is so old and tired….

But, before I continue my rant criticism of all those involved in the murder of Jews, I must first acknowledge one recent murder in particular, the murder of Malachi Rosenfeld hy”d from Kokhav HaShahar. Yishma’eli (Arab) terrorists shot Malachi along with three other men, all of whom were coming home from a basketball game.

Malachi Moshe Rosenfeld hy"d

Now here is what I mean when I say that the complaint that the IDF do not do enough is old and tired.

Do I believe that the IDF are doing enough? No, of course not! They never do enough. The Israeli Government never orders them to do the job which needs to be done.

But, it is the settlers who have become old and tired with their complaints AND their inability to see that their complaints fall upon deaf ears, and will never be satisfied.

The complaints and demonstrations are often led by the Yesha (Judea, Samaria, and Gaza) Council, the same council which collaborated with the Sharon government to throw out almost 10,000 Jews from their homes, 10 years ago on the day after Tisha b'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of the First and Second Temples, among other tragic events.

Many have decried that the Yesha Council has been revamped, and "different" than it was before. When I first heard that, the Yesha Council made the former head of the Binyamin Area Council, Pinhas Wallerstein as it executive director. Yet, the settlers still bought into it.

The Israeli Government will generally give lip service, and some minimal action, to satisfy the settlers. Things then calm down, and then whole cycle repeats itself.

But, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, here is the picture I created, in order to explain fully the ridiculous cycle we stuck in...

(Click on the image to enlarge it.)

This week's Torah portion is named from Pinhas ben Elazar who turned The Almighty's "wrath away from the children of Israel" (Num. 25:10-11).

Nowadays, a Jew like Pinhas would undoubtedly be imprisoned for "taking the law into his own hands," and even demonized by his fellow, "Torah-observant" Jews.

And so, we remain in a bitter, and seemingly endless, cycle of tragedy and false hopes.