There is a lesson to learn from the murder of Eden Atias.
Yes, there have been hundreds, thousands, of similar murders. But it seems to me that we are reaching a tipping point now. Several factors are coming together:
• Israel has, for the first time, released murderers en masse for absolutely nothing in return.
• This action has been forced by an American administration which, for the first time, is tilting hard toward the PLO and away from Israel.
• The US attitude has not been lost on the Arabs. Just in case they didn’t notice, John Kerry threatened Israel with a third intifada the other day.
• Incitement against Israel has reached a fever pitch, and PA officials are not even pretending to want to stop it.
As a sovereign state, Israel must maintain its right to protect its people against internal and external threats. It must not castrate its own justice system, or — worse — allow foreign pressure to do so.
The Arabs understand the US position as tacitly approving of terrorism, whether or not Kerry and others who speak similarly do. If they also understand the Israeli position as tolerance of a certain amount of it, then we can expect more Jewish lives to be lost in the near future.
There are a few steps that Israel can — must — take to make clear that it will not allow its people to be victimized:
• A death penalty for terrorist murder must be implemented. Israel can’t be blackmailed into releasing dead murderers.
• It goes without saying that the two remaining prisoner releases should be canceled, and it should be announced that this is because of the murder of Atias.
• Terrorism of any kind — including rock throwing that doesn’t happen to end in murder — must be taken seriously.
• Self-respect demands that Israel not negotiate with the Palestinian Authority while it is inciting its people to murder Jews. Negotiations must stop and not resume until official incitement stops.
• Israel must protest in the strongest possible terms to the US for the statements of Secretary of State Kerry, and explain that the biased Kerry is not an acceptable choice to mediate between Israel and the PA.
Israel will not stay a sovereign state if it won’t act like one.
@ rrebell:
You are wrong. It’s the political support Israel gets from the US that is its most important asset. But since that hardly exists under the Obama administration, Israel needs to forge new political allies and in a hurry!
@ XLucid:
You speak of the victim’s families and how they suffer in contrast with the celebrity lifestyle of the vermin perpetrators but you forget to contrast family with family. The vermin perpetrators’ families live in the lap of luxury with handsome payoffs from the PA (foreign aid money at work!)while being upheld as the cream of their sick society and a roll model for their youth.
The thing to do is to kill them on the spot, without trial.
As a lawyer and a Canadian I have always opposed imposition of the death penalty for a number of reasons. However, I can see the logic in the suggestion that Israel should execute terrorist murderers for the reasons stated. The only thing is that I don’t think there should be an American styled “death row” where prisoners languish for years, even decades, before the punishment is carried out. I think that appeals should be carried out within a month, and then within the next month the execution should take place. In other words, don’t create a buildup of terrorists with blood on their hands so Israel is put in the position of having to capitulate to coercion to release them.
@ rrebell:
This is directed to the suggestion of Israel cutting down on the US aid that it receives. You make a good point. However, I think Israel should wait until the oil and gas discoveries start to pay off.
Why is Israel even capturing these terrorists alive?
The first thing towards sovereign Israel would be, that Israel should ask decrease the aid that is getting from the USA. It would have a tremendous political impact. The other side of it is the financial aid, also a political leash and the end of this is in the giver’s hand. Beside without most of this aid Israel can manage pretty good. But it is possible that I am wrong.
If the terrorists were indeed punished according to their crimes, then Israel would have never to release anybody.
How Israel can be respected if, instead of punishing the Jew killers, it penalizes the family victims and the tax-payers?
How is it conceivable that while the terrorist enjoys vacation conditions in the Five Star Prison, the orphans left by the victim (who may be five infant children and a baby) are starving and experiencing difficult times since their father – their principal breadwinner and household head – has been killed?
How is it conceivable that while the poor widow left by the victim needs to work hard to make ends meet, and to feed her children and to provide them the minimum vital, the “cherished” terrorist is pampered by Israel in the Five Star Prison.
How is it conceivable that the terrorist (i) is provided unlimited food, (ii) is entitled to hours outside of his cell to play tennis, soccer, basketball, (iii) benefits from cable television, internet, (iv) studies and can get a doctorate, (v) benefits from health and dental plans, etc…?
A self-respected sovereign state must have instituted the death penalty for terrorist a long time ago.
It would have been a respite and a relief for the family victims and the tax-payers, a respect of the rule of law, and a proper judiciary and law enforcement system.
To the contrary, this (ie. Kerry’s recent statements re: Iran, Palestinians and Israel) is not the first time the U.S. has tilted towards the Palestinians and away from Israel.
When it comes to supporting Israel politically at the U.N. and aiding Israel financially, the U.S. has, subject to some exceptions pretty much been there for Israel. The same can be said for Obama, though it is also fair to say his views, words and deeds have more than any president before him tried to undermine Israel’s credibility and position. It seems the only things keeping Obama supportive of Israel and holding him back from turning against Israel altogether, is that Israel enjoys much bi-partisan support and sympathy from both U.S. houses of congress and the majority of Americans.
When it comes to the Israel vs. Palestinian conflict, historically the U.S. has rarely censured Palestinians. That is not just an Obama thing.
The last time the U.S. condemned Palestinian leadership was when Arafat walked away in about 2000 from the dream TSS offer Clinton leveraged Ehud Barak to make. Even Saudi Prince Bandar got into the act and denounced Arafat and the U.S. MSM generally were equally condemning of Arafat.
As for Iran, the U.S. has committed her energies to keeping Israel from attacking Iran rather than keeping Iran from finishing its race to nuclear WMD capacity. As regards Iran, Obama has undermined Israel at every turn including last year leaking Israeli plans to attack Iran in the spring-summer of last year.
Much has already been written over the last 2 weeks about Obama’s/Kerry’s perfidy, incompetence or both as regards Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and the Iranians. No need to rehash same here.