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Should we condemn bin Laden’s assassination?

The sirens in southern Israel are wailing again. Families are running for their lives in their narrow multi-second window of time to bomb shelters yet again. In reaction to Israel’s targeted assassination of Islamic Jihad’s Bahaa Abu al-Ata, a commander in the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization, unguided rockets are raining on Israel again.

Unguided.

In a tightly targeted, guided, military operation, the IDF killed a man responsible for orchestrating the hundreds if not thousands of unguided missile attacks upon Israel. Again, unguided — by definition, this means targeting innocent civilians, including children.

Israel is now safer. Just a little safer, because unfortunately there are still more living terrorists bent on Israel’s destruction. But somehow, Israel’s very guided, very targeted action becomes a debate, or even fodder for outright criticism.

When Osama bin Laden was taken out, the world became a safer place for innocent civilians. There was a consensus, a justification for his assassination, as well as palpable relief. While there is nothing to rejoice about a human born so pure and innocent who tragically crosses to the dark side and turns evil, there is a sense of restored equilibrium in the thought that at least the person did pay a price for his evil deeds and, most important of all, has been vanquished — prevented from wreaking further havoc.

I wonder, how is Israel’s assassination of al-Ata, any different?

There seems to be a misplaced sense of sympathy or moral righteousness in those criticizing or opposing Israel’s protective move.

At the same time, I hear competing voices starting to create quid pro quo scenarios of consequential justice for the unguided rockets raining on Israel. “For every one rocket fired on Israel, send back 100 of them into Gaza.” “For every rocket sent into Israel, Israel should impose a one-day closure on the Gaza border — no entry of supplies!” “Repatriate the Palestinians to Jordan, their original state, so Israel can be left to live in peace without the threat of constant Palestinian terrorism.”

I don’t know what the compassionate solution is. What I do know is, if an enemy of Israel, one who speaks of her destruction and whose focus is orchestrating unguided missiles that maim and kill innocent people, including children, that person and anyone supporting such a person should understand very clearly that when an arch-murderer and terrorist who targets children goes to sleep at night, he might not live to see the morning’s light of day. Israel will take action. Israel will defend itself.

The assassination of an arch-terrorist does not equate to targeting civilians.

Which is exactly what unguided missiles do.

Everyone speaks of, thankfully, miraculously, no human casualties in the current barrage of missiles from Gaza into Israel. Yes, this protection of human life is the most crucial essential thing.

But living with the ongoing terror that comes and goes in spurts, of being subjected to unguided missiles, of living with the fear of “what if it hits me or a loved one this time,” of living with the nearly impossible pressure of running for your life to a bomb shelter in mere seconds — these traumas erode the well being of millions of innocent civilians. Israeli civilians. The psychic damage incurred to a generation and maybe by now two generations cannot be overestimated.

Gaza is a cesspool of terrorism. Instead of the hoped-for inception of an independent, civil and productive Palestinian society after Israel’s total, unilateral departure from Gaza in 2005, Gaza has simply been transformed into another terrorist enclave, whose sole purpose is Israel’s destruction; at the same time strangling the well being of its own Palestinian people.

I’ve read and heard Israel’s decision to pointedly assassinate a wanted arch-terrorist as an “escalation.” Escalation? No this action does not by any means imply a desire for conflict or violence. It is not a call for war. It is a single, targeted, guided act of violence meant to stop mass violence visited upon your people.

How is eliminating such an evil person, who is plotting to kill your innocent people, anything other than a necessary act of self defense?

Al-Ata’s unguided violence was dealt with by Israel with a restrained, guided response.

Yet, the unguided rockets from Gaza continue falling upon southern Israel.

The sirens are still wailing.

Copyright © 2019 by the Intermountain Jewish News



Tehilla Goldberg

IJN columnist | View from Central Park


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