Operation “Peace for the Galilee” has been highly successful, with G-d showing open miracles to the Jewish soldiers fighting to assure peace for Eretz Yisrael. But for complete victory, the operation must be brought to its full, avowed conclusion. We cannot repeat past mistakes of halting the campaign before it is fully completed, or surrendering land vital for Eretz Yisrael’s security.
The hand of the L-rd has done this
Yeshayahu 41:20
We raise our banner in the name of our G-d
Tehillim 20:6
All the nations of the earth shall see that the Name of the L-rd is called upon you and they shall fear you.
Devarim 28:10
Eretz Yisrael is currently engaged in Operation “Peace for the Galilee.” As its name indicates, the purpose of this operation is to assure peace for the Jews in Galilee by removing the terrorists, who, entrenched in Lebanon, have been menacing the entire region. The operation has been highly successful, with G-d once again showing open miracles. The Israel Defense Forces have been victorious far beyond expectation, and the operation has proceeded with stunning rapidity — actions which were expected to take two days were executed in one day or less. Individual soldiers have related the miracles they have witnessed; and all agree that “the hand of the L-rd has done this.”
Yet, not all have been able to measure up to the occasion. The avowed intention of this campaign was the complete eradication of the terrorist menace. But some political “leaders,” employing the most irrational of reasoning have protested, insisting that the campaign be halted and not brought to its necessary conclusion. Unfortunately, their influence succeeded in obstructing the progress of the operation; and therefore the campaign has not, as yet, completely fulfilled its goal.
Likewise, there are those who, blind to past experience, wish to repeat the mistake made in previous wars. Although the territories which Eretz Yisrael now controls are vital for the safety of its citizens, territories which G-d has miraculously delivered into its hands, there are those who wish to immediately surrender them. This same error was made after previous wars, and each time the result was the necessity to engage in yet another war. After previous wars, the government literally begged the Arabs to take back the land it had captured from them — and in the next war, the Jewish army had to fight to recapture the same land. Such reckless magnanimity has resulted not in peace, but greater bloodshed.
Shulchan Aruch, the Jewish Code of Law, prohibits the surrender of lands necessary for security. This applies not only to Eretz Yisrael itself, but also to lands outside Eretz Yisrael. Until now, Jews in the Galilee could not live peacefully, and were forced to hide in shelters from terrorist shellings from Lebanon. The aim of Operation “Peace for the Galilee” was to remove the terrorists from Lebanon once and for all, thus allowing Jews to live peacefully and securely. Yet, despite the results seen from previous submission to pressure, there are those willing to repeat this mistake and surrender the now terrorist-free area.
Our Sages say that had the Jewish people merited it, the redemption from Egypt would have been final, with no exile following it. So too today. If, after victory in previous wars, Jews would have followed the directive of Shulchan Aruch and been steadfast in their refusal to surrender lands necessary for their very security, this present war in Lebanon would have been completely unnecessary.
Why are Jews willing to surrender these territories? They are possessed by fear of gentile reaction, the age-old fear of “what will the non-Jew say.” A “golus mentality” has become integrated into their very character; and embedded within them is the belief that a Jew must always cringe and cower before non-Jews, and always, always, take their opinion into account.
The source for this mentality? When a Jew loses his own Self-respect, when he no longer knows how a Jew thinks, speaks or acts, he adopts non-Jewish attitudes. When a Jew no longer knows what it means to truly fear G-d, he becomes subservient to the “strange god that is within you.” That “strange god” is the antithesis of the true Jewish attitude of submission to G-d’s will. The supreme criterion of conduct is no longer G-d’s Torah, the Halachah; but rather how the non-Jewish world expects him to act.
This irrational fear of non-Jews and public opinion results in submission to all sorts of pressure — even while one knows that to do so is to act against the best interests of Jews and Eretz Yisrael. Thus the pathetic eagerness to surrender lands vital for security, and thus the hesitancy in carrying out the present operation to its logical, avowed conclusion. All for fear of what the gentile will say, what the gentile will think of us.
In this instance, the golus mentality worked its influence even without outside pressure. It had been announced beforehand that the President of the U.S.A. was leaving Washington for a ten day trip, and would have an extremely full itinerary in Europe. This was a clear indication that Eretz Yisrael could mount this operation without fear of any real pressure from the U.S.A. Indeed, although the President could have communicated with Eretz Yisrael from overseas and applied some pressure from there, there was no real attempt to do so. This was a clear signal that Eretz Yisrael had a full ten days in which to complete the operation without political hindrance.
Moreover other nations are now too occupied with their own wars to concern themselves with other matters. Certainly then, it was the proper time to begin and fully complete the campaign. Yet, because of their golus mentality, some Jews imagined pressure which did not even exist! Fearing, as usual, world opinion, they succeeded in hindering the progress of the campaign.
Although this ten day period of grace has passed, it is nevertheless not too late to rectify the mistakes of the past for repentance helps in all instances and at all times. A true desire to fulfill Torah law will see the campaign successfully and fully completed. Moreover, the enemy has broken the cease-fire agreement; and thus by Divine Providence Eretz Yisrael has been given another opportunity to resume its task and completely attain its goal. The operation could and should have been completed in the ten days. But since it was not, G-d has granted another opportunity to make good. And since the enemy has broken the cease-fire, Eretz Yisrael not only may, but must break it. To sit by passively will be construed as a sign of weakness and fear on Eretz Yisrael’s part exactly the opposite of his campaign’s purpose.
But still, in the face of all logic, there are those Jews who caution against publicizing the enemy’s breach of the cease-fire, maintaining that Eretz Yisrael must continue to honor its side of the agreement. They cite instances of similar conduct in past years, including the disastrous Camp David treaty, where, even when the other side immediately broke the terms of the treaty, Eretz Yisrael announced they would continue to honor it.
We have tasted the fruits of such an attitude, and they have been bitter indeed. Let us make sure that this time the error is not repeated. It is imperative that all Jews be able to live safely in all parts of Eretz Yisrael — in the north and in the south, in the east and in the west. No other considerations can be taken into account. In matters of security, the opinion of the military must prevail, for they are the experts; and they are of the unanimous opinion that Operation “Peace for the Galilee” must be fully completed. Since this is the consensus of military opinion, it becomes the halachah — and must be fully adhered to.
In addition, only the full completion of this undertaking can justify the casualties which have occurred. Every Jew is a “complete world,” and every soldier killed is an incalculable loss. The purpose of this campaign was to assure the well-being of Jews living in Eretz Yisrael. If this goal is not attained, the casualties incurred will have been in vain. To stop now, and let the situation revert to its previous state, is tantamount to letting those Jewish deaths be in vain. Only the full realization of the operation’s avowed aim will justify the deaths and injuries. And it is only by completing the operation that future casualties will be prevented.
In the name of G-d
May it be G-d’s will that all Jews, united “as one man with one heart,” resolve to conduct themselves according to the directives of G-d, the L-rd of Hosts, as recorded in His Torah, the Torah of truth and life.
The soldiers, who have the great merit of protecting Jewish settlements with self-sacrifice, should continue to fulfill their goal and mission of assuring the well-being and safety of Jews. And this should be done with the knowledge that victory comes not because of one’s own strength, but because “we rely upon and invoke the Name of the Lord our G-d” and “we raise our banner in the name of our G-d.”
It is thus necessary for the soldiers to have absolute trust in “the L-rd, G-d of Hosts.” This trust is achieved by strengthening their bond with Judaism, to the extent of full observance of Torah and mitzvos in daily life. Moreover, each soldier in the Israel Defense Forces should possess a letter inscribed in his merit in one of the Sifrei Torah currently being written to unite all Jewry. There are 304,805 letters in a Sefer Torah; and when a Jewish soldier has a letter inscribed in a Sefer Torah in his merit, an eternal bond is formed between him and the other Jews in the Sefer Torah. Thus, when a Jewish soldier goes into battle, he does not go alone, but together with 304,804 Jews. Naturally, this assures complete victory.
Today, in the time of exile, it is G-d’s will that we must resort to natural means — physical weapons — to ensure the safety of Jews in our Holy Land. But when we fight in the name of G-d, when we act as true Jews in our daily lives, we will not even need to use them or and the nations of the earth shall see that the Name of the L-rd is called upon you and they shall fear you.”
Operation “Peace for the Galilee” has still not been completed after weeks of fighting. Although G-d has shown many miracles, military and otherwise, the opportunities thereby provided have not been properly utilized. The terrorist threat will not be removed by diplomatic maneuverings, but only by a strong show of force.
In part I we spoke of the necessity of bringing Operation “Peace for the Galilee” to its full, avowed conclusion, the only way peace can be assured for the Jews of Eretz Yisrael and particularly those of the Galilee. We warned against repeating past mistakes of succumbing to political pressure and prematurely aborting the campaign.
Since then the situation has, if anything, worsened. The Israel Defense Forces, with their usual bravery and self-sacrifice in defense of their brethren, have succeeded in cleaning out the terrorists from much of Lebanon, and have encircled Beirut where 6000 terrorists are trapped. The logical act would have been to then rout them from Beirut, thereby fulfilling the campaign’s aim of completely eliminating the menace from Lebanon. But just as the army stood on the verge of total victory, politicians once again stepped in and tied the military’s hands. The Israeli army now waits futilely on the outskirts of Beirut, while the terrorists, confident that political machinations will once again save them from military defeat, sit complacently within.
This campaign was undertaken with the express purpose of saving Jewish lives from terrorist attack. Self-defense is an elementary right, needing no approbation from others. Yet some Israeli politicians, with their habitual subservience to, and fear of, non-Jewish opinion have obstructed and halted the campaign. Valuable time is frittered away in endless meetings, consultations with countless committees, sending letters and telegrams, and seeking the counsel and approval of others.
Similarly ludicrous is the spectacle of subjecting every move in this campaign to the prior approval of the entire Knesset — which includes Arabs, Communists and Christians. More serious is the inclusion in the government of those people, or their adherents, whose record in previous wars is disastrous. When the Egyptian Third Army was surrounded in the Yom Kippur War, it was these same politicians who buckled under pressure and kept the Israeli army from finishing its task. After the Six Day War, it was these same politicians who literally begged the Arabs to take back the liberated territories. Likewise with the Suez Campaign of 1956, and the War of Independence in 1948.
And once again they act in the same disgraceful manner.
Unmindful of past experience, they are obstructing the “Peace for the Galilee” campaign, and again are undoing the work of the military. The Prime Minister at the time of the Yom Kippur War, Golda Meir, at least had the decency and courage to admit her fatal mistake of placing political considerations over military advice. She wrote in her autobiography that although military intelligence warned of an impending attack, the government did not order a mobilization for political reasons. The resulting hundreds of casualties and thousands of wounded, she wrote, would be before her eyes forever, and she would never forgive herself for her mistake.
But these politicians apparently have no shame and continue in the same tragic path! Not only have they brought about the disgraceful Camp David treaty, but they are now responsible for even more unnecessary deaths in the present operation.
It has been claimed that the Camp David treaty has now been justified, for it has prevented a second front with Egypt during this campaign, Yet the very opposite is true: The concessions given in the Camp David treaty have
contributed to causing this war. If not for the weakness shown then, there in Lebanon. War is would be need for even a prevented when the enemy is afraid to do battle. Giving the enemy land, airfields, settlements and oilfields — all vital for our security — demonstrates our fear of them. The adversary is emboldened, Jewish settlements are shelled, terrorist attacks grow more brazen — and the result is the necessity to wage yet another war in Lebanon.
How many times must we wearily repeat the absolute needlessness — of giving away so much in the Camp David accords, thereby jeopardizing Eretz Yisrael’s security? President Sadat of Egypt needed and wanted the treaty as much as Eretz Yisrael, if not more so. Egypt’s economy was in shambles and revolution was a very real threat. He had to have a peace treaty with Israel to save his government. Likewise, the U.S.A.’s President Carter desperately needed a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt to bolster his personal prestige and revive his flagging standing in the political polls.
In such a situation, had Israel stood firm and made only token concessions, a treaty would have been signed just the same — and we would have retained the land, the oil, the settlements and the airfields! The proof? When Israel stood firm on surrendering Jerusalem, which initially had been one of the foremost items on the agenda, Egypt signed the treaty anyway. Of course Sadat tried to get as much as possible. But just as the treaty was more important to him than getting Jerusalem, so too it would have been more important than gaining the other concessions.
We are paying now for our weakness then. We are so pathetically eager to claim Egypt as our “friend” that we ignore reality. Egypt does not count Israel as a friend, and has no compunction in assisting terrorists in their bloody raids against Jews. Information given trustingly by Israel to her It ally” Egypt winds up in the hands of the P.L.O. — together with substantial weapons and aid. Such are the fruits of the Camp David “peace.” It has not prevented a “second” front; it has caused this one.
Under the terms of the Camp David treaty, Israel surrendered the strategic buffer zone between herself and Egypt, leaving the densely populated inner cities perilously vulnerable to attack. Yet it is precisely to obtain just such a buffer zone that Israel mounted Operation “Peace for the Galilee!” The very thing Israelis fighting for in Lebanon was given away in the Sinai.
As noted above, those politicians who caused unnecessary deaths in the Sinai campaign and in the Yom Kippur War, those who were the prime movers in the Camp David surrender, are the same ones who are eroding the military’s victories in Lebanon. The entire operation could have been finished in a matter of days, especially with G-d showing open miracles to the Jewish forces. But with their fear of gentile reaction, politicians called for a halt: First we must consult with Washington. What does London say? Is France’s reaction favorable? Jewish soldiers are dying daily because of their procrastination, but more important in their eyes is: Does the world approve?! The “golus mentality” is so deeply embedded in their psyche that non-Jewish opinion takes precedence over Jewish lives.
G-d has given us so many opportunities to make good. At the beginning of the operation, President Reagan was in Europe for ten days, a clear indication the campaign could then be mounted — and
finished — without pressure from the U.S.A. When this time was not utilized properly (due to the interference of the above politicians) a further nine day period of grace was given: Prime Minister Begin’s visit to the U.S.A. was the perfect excuse to finish the campaign without recriminations against the Prime Minister — for how could he be blamed when he was not there? Yet another opportune time was the transition period between Secretaries of State: The time taken for the new Secretary of State to familiarize himself with his new job was a splendid opportunity to bring the campaign to its full conclusion. A further opportunity was lost when President Reagan again left Washington, this time to watch the space-shuttle Columbia land. President Carter watched similar events on television in the Oval Office. Divine Providence led President Reagan to leave Washington, providing him with a ready excuse for not undertaking any radical action on Lebanon while being absent from the White House.
Despite all these opportunities granted by G-d, miracles as great as those witnessed on the battlefield, they have not been utilized by Eretz Yisrael. Operation “Peace for the Galilee” has ground to a halt, and the terrorist menace has yet to be exterminated from Lebanon.
Israel, instead of pressing on with its task, has busied itself with proving — that the P.L.O. are indeed murderers! What a waste of time and energy. Everyone knows what they are; they themselves openly state their bloody goals. And this never has and will not make any difference. Politics do not run on truth or justice; it has its own protocol, and “diplomatic” conduct is the only measure of acceptability. And through striving for such acceptability, all that has been achieved is another day wasted, and time, energy and money diverted from its proper place. Worst of all, we delude ourselves into thinking something concrete has been achieved that now the world knows the P.L.O. are not at all nice people!
What is Israel waiting for? How many meetings, conferences, consultations, must be held before the army is allowed to do its job? A politician will never change his stripes; especially those few who were instrumental in Israel’s withdrawals and political defeats in the past, and who know full well what their obstructionism is leading to now. They fear neither man or G-d; they are interested only in perpetuating their positions. The only possible way to get them to admit their mistake is to publicize exactly who caused the unnecessary loss of lives by obstructing the “Peace for the Galilee” campaign. Perhaps their fear of losing their seats at the next election will have some effect.
In the meantime, if they are too weak to withstand pressure from non-Jews, if their Jewish pride is not equal to the task of assuring Israel’s security, we ask each of them: Do the Jewish people a favor and go home for the duration! Keep your government salaries and pensions, keep your chauffeured cars, keep your coveted positions of honor — just do not mix into things out of your area of expertise. Let the experts do their job, and let them decide security matters. And it is the unanimous opinion of the military that this operation must be fully carried out and properly concluded.
We are fast running out of time. A recent occurrence demonstrates both the urgent need to act quickly, and simultaneously G-d’s kindness to His people once again. It was announced that President Reagan would make an address to the nation on the situation in Lebanon. Some hours beforehand, details were given to the press concerning its contents. It outlined a plan that corresponded horrifyingly to that proposed by the P.L.O. Yet the President in his address said the exact opposite: Israel is not to blame; no promises were given not to attack Beirut; the U.S.A. supports Israel; it cannot be compared to Afghanistan; it is purely self-defense etc.
How to reconcile the two events? The release to the press was a trial balloon sent up by the administration to test American Jewry’s reaction. And that reaction was deafening silence, with no Jewish spokesman speaking up in condemnation. Nevertheless, the President, against all expectations, not only did not condemn Israel but supported its actions. This was nothing less than an open miracle from heaven.
Simultaneously, the prior release to the press served as a warning to Israel of what can happen. The stick was raised but it did not fall. And yet Israel still procrastinates, the military’s hands are still tied by a few golus-bound politicians. None can foretell the future, and none can know when the stick will fall. Why then are we waiting?
The argument has been advanced that the reluctance to take Beirut stems from the heavy casualties which can be expected from the step by step, house by house street fighting. This is manifestly unnecessary. Beirut is not open countryside. It is a city of limited dimensions, of which the P.L.O. controls only the Western sector. Israel has completely surrounded Beirut, and has all the weapons necessary to shell it out of existence. Israel knows this. More importantly, the P.L.O. knows it too. Should the P.L.O. believe that Israel is really prepared to turn Beirut into rubble, surrender will be swift and sure. Not one Israeli soldier need set foot inside Beirut. When the P.L.O. sees that Israel is no longer interested in wasting time and listening to its absurd demands, but really intends to eradicate them once and for all — a five minute warning period will see every terrorist in Beirut fleeing the city.
Of course the P.L.O. wants to prolong the negotiations, to keep on setting ridiculous conditions for an “honorable” withdrawal. Why not? Every day gained is a victory for them. But why is Israel allowing itself to be drawn into this futile game of negotiating whether the terrorists will withdraw with or without their heavy weapons, with or without their personal arms. Even if Israel “wins” and they withdraw without weapons, the minute they set foot in a sympathetic Arab country they will be completely re-armed. Certainly they should be deprived of their weapons. But we do not have the time to indulge in word-games when the entire operation may be jeopardized. The U.S.A. has already shown the stick it may be prepared to use, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. We must get rid of these killers of our people before it is too late to do so. And the only way without casualties to Jewish soldiers is to threaten to obliterate Beirut and its murderers — and mean it! The very knowledge that Israel is prepared to do so will cause them to surrender, and thus their lives also will be saved.
But the politicians continue to haggle, and Jewish soldiers continue to die. As on so many previous occasions, a war was prematurely ended before the military could finish their job; and military victories were turned into political defeats. Let us say, for the sake of argument, that Operation “Peace for the Galilee” should not have been started. But once the army has been committed, let them finish!
A parable: A patient lying on the operating table. A fearful person comes in, sees a few drops of blood flow, and begs the doctors to halt the operation until the patient will recover his strength. At the second operation, the same thing: Delay it for another time, make the operation in “installments.” No sane person would suggest such a thing. The patient
needs the operation, for without it there is danger to life. No normal person would tell the experts, the doctors, how to perform the operation.
The analogy is clear: The terrorists are a danger to the three million Jews in Eretz Yisrael. They must be excised and rendered impotent. One operation was mounted. Politicians, weak creatures, fearful of the spectre of their own insecurity, wanted to halt it in mid-term. When the army rightfully claimed they must finish the operation, a howl of protest went up. And the operation was halted. When the situation became so intolerable that another operation had to be mounted, the politicians again interfered. And a third time.
“Peace for the Galilee” is the fourth operation. Everyone agreed it was necessary. Hundreds of Jewish soldiers sacrificed their lives to assure the security of Israel and her citizens. But again the same warped logic, which, if its consequences were not so tragic, would be ludicrous. The terrorist threat is not to be eliminated once and for all. The wound is to be left festering with all its deadly bacteria intact — they are only to be shifted from one place to another. Afterwards, who knows? Another conference, another round of interminable talks, more scurrying around to cull favor and assent from every petty government in the U.N. You are experimenting with the lives of over three million Jews! Have the consequences of the past not taught anything?
In the final analysis, it is the responsibility and within the powers of just one or two people to ignore the advice of faint-hearted politicians and finish the job quickly and without fuss. The U.S.A. does not want to be publicly consulted. Its administration does not need or want the headache of getting involved, and then later having to justify its actions. As long as it is not publicly held culpable it does not object to Israel’s completion of the operation — and the sooner the better.
Success is assured when, together with the threat of physical weapons, the Jewish army goes into battle with its true strength — “We rely upon and invoke’ the Name of the L-rd our G-d.” The unsurpassed merit Jewish soldiers have of being prepared to literally sacrifice their lives to protect the Holy Land and the Holy people who dwell therein is itself enough to bring open miracles from G-d. When “we raise our banner in the name of our G-d,” when we follow the directives of G-d given in His holy Torah, in the Shulchan Aruch, we merit a full and lasting peace. Then, very soon, we will — greet our righteous redeemer, when “peace and tranquillity will be in his days” and “nation will not raise sword against nation.”
Erev Rosh Hashanah, 5743