One Month into the War with Lebanon
Yitzhak Frankenthal
Israel has been waging a complicated war against Lebanon for almost a month now. Over this time, there have been many calls made upon Israel to withdraw its forces, cease its fire and begin negotiations with Lebanon.
Similar calls, along with demonstrations, have also been made by different parties within the Israeli peace camp. Associated with the Israeli peace camp since 1973, I have been actively fighting for peace since 1994. I believe that it is because I am a peace activist that I must call on the Israeli government to continue its operations in Lebanon.
Real peace, much more than a slogan, incorporates inherent rights and obligations that are fundamental to its existence.
Such, for example, is my right to a) live peacefully and safely, and my obligation to allow my neighbor to enjoy the same; b) my right to live in my own country, and my obligation to allow my neighbor to do the same.
Neighboring countries do not need peace agreements, per se, for them not to engage each other in open conflict. Countries can exist next to each other and not fight – even without a peace agreement. Countries cannot, on the other hand, perform atrocities to one another even given the absence of a peace agreement.
Lebanon is a sovereign state. Out of the blue, for whatever reasons, someone in Lebanon decided to abduct Israeli soldiers and fire barrages of rockets at its territory. Why? – What had Israel done to Lebanon? What could have been Lebanon's interest in initiating such a confrontation with Israel? Doesn't Israel deserve to exist in peace and prosperity alongside Lebanon, just as the US exists alongside Canada?
The state of Israel woke up one morning, to find its soldiers being kidnapped and its northern territories under heavy rocket fire. Had it (Israel) not responded, I would have been left with no choice but to leave Israel. In my opinion, any country that does not defend its residents is not worthy of having them.
What then, should be considered a suitable response to these attacks?
In a short article titled "The Third World War", which I wrote in 1995, I noted that there are groups currently in existence that have their goals set on undermining and ultimately destroying capitalism and democracy. I recommended in my writing that all the countries of the world unite under the United Nations and fight these groups together. I made the point in that article that this conflict, or war, is one that is between the free world as we know it and terrorist groups.
If any country were to provide shelter for these groups, I wrote, it would be up to the world to replace the leadership of that country - by force, if necessary.
Between when I wrote that article and the present day, the world has experienced hundreds of terrorist attacks - most of which were carried out in the name of Islamic extremism. Ironical perhaps, that what these terrorists primarily hurt was the very thing for which they were supposedly fighting – Islam.
Islam is a religion with advanced ethical and value codes. The overwhelming majority of Muslims reject and openly oppose extremism. Islam forbids the harming of innocent people. It opposes corruption, wickedness and cruelty. How then, we might ask, are these horrific acts of violence are being committed in the name of Islam?
Let us not forget that throughout history, acts of terrible violence have been committed in the name of Christianity and Judaism as well. Even today, we can witness the occupation of the Palestinian population in the name of Judaism.
If the leader of a country calls for the annihilation of another country, he must be removed from his leadership. If the leadership of a country decides to harbor and provide a sanctuary to terrorist organizations - allowing them to operate freely from within its borders - they must be forced to realize that their nation and their country will be forced to pay the price of terror as well.
Two thousand rockets have landed on Israeli territory in the past month. Twenty-two innocent Israeli civilians have been killed, thousands injured. Over twenty-five soldiers, who had no other choice but to fight in the battle against Lebanon, have perished as well.
I am aware that hundreds were killed in Lebanon, and that thousands more were injured. I am saddened by these deaths. I am hurt by any harm that befalls innocent people. Nonetheless, for as long as terrorists in Lebanon operate from within densely populated areas, we have no other option but to warn these citizens that we must fight the terrorists within their midst, and notify them that if they do not want to be caught in the crossfire – they must leave their cities.
However ruthless and horrible this might be, I am not willing to hurt Lebanese citizens and I am not willing to agree to terrorists taking shelter among civilian populations, using them as a shield from behind which they are safe to attack us. As intricate and complicated as the situation is or becomes, the red lines must remain defined and clear. No, there can be no protection for any terrorist anywhere in the world. Yes, it is my duty to avoid the shedding of innocent blood. This is exactly why I am obligated to notify and warn the civilian population of Lebanon, as Israel has done.
The situation between Israel and the Palestinians is no less complex: The Arabic countries of Egypt, Jordan and Syria have attacked Israel in the past, in the attempt to destroy it. Since then, we have signed peace agreements with both Egypt and Jordan. The Palestinians, who were part of Egypt (Gaza) and Jordan (the West Bank) before these wars, were left without a country. Egypt abandoned Gaza and Jordan abandoned the West Bank, leaving over 3 million Palestinians without citizenship or a country. Israel was then forced to decide whether to adopt the Palestinians and provide them with the right of Israeli citizenship, or let them establish their own sovereign state – the state of Palestine. To discuss all of the events from that point up until today would require much more extensive discussion than the extent of this article. Suffice to say that, at the end of the day, the Palestinians still do not have their own country, continue to live their lives under terrible occupation and suffer daily. To the Palestinians' eyes and my own, this is the very worst form of terror.
What is the difference then, if any, between Israel and the Hezbollah? What, if any, are the differences between Hammas, Israel and the Hezbollah? - In the end, all three of the above-mentioned parties commit acts of terror. Let me note here that there are in fact many people who see no difference between them - I disagree.
Lebanon is a sovereign state. The Hezbollah organization established a military militia in Lebanon that was at war with Israel for as long as Israel was in Lebanon (1982-2000). With the withdrawal of IDF forces from Lebanon in 2000, the Hezbollah no longer had anything to exist for. From that point on, the only thing fuelling the continued existence of the Hezbollah was the hatred of Israel.
Hizbullah is currently serving the leaders of Iran, who have set for themselves a religious goal of destroying Israel, and the leaders of Syria, whose desire to harm Israel stems from both military considerations and as a continuation to the Six-Day war in which they lost the Golan Heights. It is worth noticing that the absurdity in the Middle East has brought a secular country such as Syria, whose leadership is Sunni – enemies of the Shiite – to support the extremist Shiite religious organization of Hezbollah.
One of the most painful conclusions that should be reached as a result of the thousands of rockets that have been (and still are) fired at Israel, is that there is a need to stop Iran's nuclear program with any means necessary, before it arms itself with unconventional weapons. What we must conclude from the terrible attacks by Hezbollah is that Israel now has an obligation to make haste and take decisive actions against the possibility that Iran will arm itself with nuclear weaponry.
Longing and striving for peace does not entail the wish or a willingness to self-destruct. On the other hand, the will to live does not entail opposition to peace. Life is not black and white, but morals and ethics are – there can only be ethical or non-ethical, moral or immoral.
The Hammas organization fights Israel in much the same manner (and for much the same reasons) as the PLO fought Israel in the past. Hammas is unwilling to recognize Israel as a state unless Israel recognizes a Palestinian state first. Hammas is not an easy adversary, but it is nonetheless one with whom we might reach an agreement. The Hammas organization murdered my son, my Arik. After many conversations with their leadership, I have concluded that a true and lasting peace agreement with Hammas is a real possibility. Regretfully, the USA, Europe and of course Israel, perceive Hammas as a terrorist organization and are therefore not willing to enter any talks with them.
I mentioned earlier that Israel, due to its occupation of the Palestinians, is committing daily acts of terror. Perhaps now is the right time to elaborate a bit on what "terror" is, and to present a method of differentiation between its various types and forms.
In kidnapping soldiers and firing rockets from within a sovereign state, i.e. Lebanon, Hezbollah has only one goal – to attack another sovereign state (Israel). These attacks are aimed at causing damage and panic to their victim. In these attacks, the malicious intent can be seen clearly: the intent to scare and kill as many innocent civilians as possible, to maximize the effect of the attacks on another sovereign country. There was no intention in these attacks to free Lebanon from Israeli rule. There was no interest in these attacks to fight Israel for not returning the Golan Heights to Syria, as the Hezbollah operates from within Lebanon - not Syria. As Nasrallah himself articulated it, the sole intent of these attacks was to eliminate Israel and Zionism.
The daily acts of terror that Israel commits against the Palestinians are definitely not done out of malicious intent, but rather out of sheer stupidity and apparent inability to bring the terrible situation to an end. Against this stupidity we must, in a positive way, demonstrate and struggle. We must, in a manner that does not end or harm life, quicken the end of the occupation. This is what I have been working towards for years – too many years.
When a man causes another man's death, an inquiry is made into the killer's motive – did he intend to kill the victim or was the killing an accident? If there was no intention to kill the victim it becomes a case of manslaughter, not murder. Although further inquiry might be made into whether or not the death of the victim was due to negligence on the part of the killer, in any case it is no longer a murder. Despite the fact that the victim is no deader in a murder case than the victim is in a manslaughter case, we are dealing with a murderer. In other words, it is clearly the motive of the perpetrator which determines the nature of the actions in either case, serving to define the act as either murder or manslaughter.
While undoubtedly committing acts of terror, Israel had not intended to occupy the Palestinians. It was cornered into doing so as a result of the wars which were forced upon it by Egypt and Jordan.
The Israeli occupation of the Palestinians continues today due to stupidity and the misuse of Judaism as justification to do so (i.e. the biblical promise of a Greater Israel, etc.). I am not justifying the occupation. I am struggling to bring about its end.
For over 2000 years, Jews lived in exile. We had no country. At long last, we established the state of Israel in 1948. As a nation, we have suffered much oppression, and have also oppressed others. We deserve to live in our own independent state, just as Americans, Europeans and Arabs deserve to live in their own lands.
Palestinians, too, deserve to live in their own independent land – and this is what I fight for.
As the state of Israel is attacked by another sovereign state, it is obligated to defend itself. Regretfully, it is true that many innocent civilians are being killed and injured in the process. Israel cannot be blamed however, as it is the fault of those terrorists that perceive the tactic of attacking Israel from within its population as legitimate.
The Hezbollah has proven that not only does it not care for Israeli citizens – it does not care for Lebanese citizens either. Israel is obligated to fight to ensure its own safety.
Although I believe that Palestinians deserve their own country and strive towards this very goal, if a Palestinian state was established and it decided to attack Israel after we had reconciled and made peace with it, I would be the first to go to war.
Should the civilians of Lebanon suffer the consequences of Hezbollah's aggression?
This is a fundamental moral question that needs to be addressed before any decisions can be made regarding the Israeli war in Lebanon. No terrorist organization can grow to large-scale proportions without the support of the country in which it operates. The Lebanese government's tragic strategic decision not to stunt the growth of Hezbollah, prepared the ground for Israeli attacks – it was only a question of when and how much would have to be destroyed as a result.
Blame for these attacks cannot be directed at Israel by the citizens of Lebanon - the majority of whom are Shiite and Hezbollah apologetics – they should only point fingers at the Hezbollah. Let all of those who support the cessation of Lebanese suffering approach those civilians and pressure them to eradicate the parasitic terrorist network in their midst.
How long will Israel fight in Lebanon, is another question that must be asked. Have we once again stepped into Lebanese quicksand and opened another chapter of Israeli occupation in Lebanon?
Israel cannot afford to live under perpetual threat, violence and rocket fire. For Israel to turn the other cheek to these aggressions and enter negotiations with Hezbollah, it must be ready to live in a state of utter insecurity, under incessant aggression, blackmail. I, for one, am not prepared to have Israel exist under those conditions – and therefore I support the continuation of the fighting in Lebanon, to the extent that it renders Hezbollah ineffective. Rest assured that if Israel ceased its campaign now, it would mean a victory for terror everywhere - not only in Lebanon. The free world, the ethical sector of humanity, cannot afford to have every bastard become a king; to allow any terrorist organization to hold peaceful populations captive to its will.
If you do not want terrorists, you have no choice but to fight terrorism.
In emphasis, I would like to return to the main difference between Hammas and Hezbollah. Hammas is fighting for an independent state and is willing to live in peace alongside Israel. Any equation drawn between Hammas and Hezbollah would therefore be tragically mistaken. So long as we do not understand that Hammas is not a terrorist organization, we will continue fighting it instead of negotiating a peace agreement with it based on reconciliation and peace.
Yes, I strive for peace. Not for conditional peace, but for real peace. Yes, I strongly oppose any harming of innocent civilians. Above all else, however, I am concerned with the safety and wellbeing of my own people, my own country.
Much to my regret, many of those in the Israeli peace camp seem to have become confused in light of recent events, and so we published the following ad in the local daily newspapers. I look forward to hearing your responses.
