Turning Plowshares into Swords

Wednesday's horrific terror attack is a reminder that despite hudnas, tahidiyas, 'peace talks,' shelf agreements, lulls in violence, and grandiose expectations for quick fix solutions to the Israeli-Arab conflict, the enemies of Israel, of which there remain legions, do not rest from their dream of destroying the Jewish State. And contrary to the "conventional wisdom," which predicted that the building of the separation barrier, the targeted killings of terror leaders, and the maintenance of an IDF and intelligence presence in the West Bank would be ineffective and counterproductive, terrorism has been markedly down these past four years. But terror attacks in Israel have been down for the aforementioned reasons; not for lack of will and desire on the part of the purveyors of the attacks.
As Gerald Steinberg points out below, "Palestinians have been raised on the armed struggle, and many are capable of acting on their own, with whatever weapons are most readily available. The steady flow of incitement in the media plays a central role in this process, including Palestinian television programming preaching the virtues of martyrdom and the glory of fighting the Zionist enemy. As a result, the isolated action may appear to be spontaneous, but the foundation and preparations are never far away."
And even Bradley Burston, who is about as liberal-minded--in the best sense of the term--and critical of his own society as one gets, is beginning to wonder "What is it that Palestinians really want? I no longer believe that it's as simple as wanting statehood. This is what I don't yet want to admit: that for all these years, what a critical mass of Palestinians want most, perhaps even more than statehood, may be nothing more than seeing Jews dead and gone."
At what point does the West reassess its continued support and enabling of the Palestinians? It's lavishing of billions of dollars in aide? When do we demand real accountability and responsibility on the part of the Palestinians and their leaders? What if Wednesday's bulldozer terrorist had managed to go the last few hundred meters and mow down dozens, if not hundreds of civilians at Mehane Yehuda Market? What then?
david brumer

Terror's Predictable Spontaneity - Gerald M. Steinberg
The constant pattern for over sixty years has been that whenever violent attacks against Israelis were contained on one front, another front was immediately opened, often involving a different form of violence. When the suicide bombing campaign was halted by Operation Defensive Shield and the construction of a security barrier, the rocket barrages started from Gaza. Now the shaky cease-fire in Gaza is the signal for a new and different form of violence against Israeli civilians.
Palestinians have been raised on the armed struggle, and many are capable of acting on their own, with whatever weapons are most readily available. The steady flow of incitement in the media plays a central role in this process, including Palestinian television programming preaching the virtues of martyrdom and the glory of fighting the Zionist enemy. As a result, the isolated action may appear to be spontaneous, but the foundation and preparations are never far away.
Palestinians have also learned that the United Nations and the powerful groups claiming to promote human rights rarely respond to such attacks in contrast to the consistent and predictable condemnations of Israeli attacks. In the Second Lebanon War, and in recent months, the Gaza rocket attacks, the statements and campaigns by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and many other groups focused primarily on accusing Israel of "collective punishment" and "war crimes" in its reports (the fact that these legal terms are distorted beyond recognition in this context is generally ignored). Thus, Palestinian violence has the double impact of killing Israelis while also contributing to the demonization of Israel. (Jerusalem Post)

Palestinian Terrorism as a Natural Act - Bradley Burston
On a quiet morning in Jerusalem, a man behind the wheel of a bulldozer has taken it upon himself to kill Jews. Women and children and the elderly and the infirm. What's a decent person to think when Palestinian groups fall over one another trying to claim the bulldozer attack? And when one of the groups is the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade? What is it that Palestinians really want? I no longer believe that it's as simple as wanting statehood. This is what I don't yet want to admit: that for all these years, what a critical mass of Palestinians want most, perhaps even more than statehood, may be nothing more than seeing Jews dead and gone. (Ha'aretz)


Why Were We Surprised? - Moshe Elad
In July 1989, a member of Islamic Jihad from Gaza boarded a bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. As the bus ascended the hills, the terrorist walked up to the driver and pulled the wheel to the right, sending the bus into the valley below and murdering 16 people. Wednesday's terror attack, where a terrorist driving a bulldozer plowed into pedestrians and vehicles in Jerusalem, should not have come as a surprise. It is well known that the motivation of terror groups has not declined. Col. (res.) Moshe Elad currently researches Palestinian society at the Shmuel Neeman Institute at the Technion. (Ynet News)