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Commentary;
The unfortunate thing in Israel is that no longer do all Israelis see their fellows as Jewish brothers. There was a time when every man’s doorstep was like one’s own. But in successive leftist, Askenaz protexia regimes and even amongst a Shas coalition partner, the mindset of division, of asaf’suf which these regimes have promulgated amongst Israelis has negated selflessness among brethren. MB
Treat Sderot Like Tel Aviv, by Hanoch Daum (Ynet)
“This is the bitter truth: In this country we have citizens who are worth less, citizens who do not deserve the utmost effort in order to guarantee their safety.”
Full Text;
Dear Sderot residents. Allow me to turn your attention to something which many of you fail to notice.
Everything is in our head. Everything depends on a decision. Had the State of Israel decided that the firing of even a single Kassam rocket on an Israeli town is a strategic threat, there would not be thousands of Kassams landing on you for years, as if you were sitting ducks.
They try to make you feel different. They try to lull you, to make you feel that everyone is making an effort for you, and that everyone is doing everything possible so you, legitimate citizens of this country, will not face immediate life danger along with your children.
Yet this is not true. Had decision-makers truly wanted to make sure no Kassams land on you, this would not be happening; had they viewed this as a strategic threat to the State of Israel, this would not be lasting for such a long time.
After all, this is an open secret that is unpleasant to discuss out loud: In Tel Aviv we would not see shells landing in city streets for such a long time. It simply would not have happened. This is the truth. Where I live, in the settlements, the residents also had to get used to terrorists infiltrating residential homes during the years of the Intifada. Everyone thought it’s terrible, but apparently not terrible enough for the government to break the rules and do everything in its power to prevent it from happening.
Cynical mechanism
This is the bitter truth: In this country we have citizens who are worth less, citizens who do not deserve the utmost effort in order to guarantee their safety. For them it’s enough to engage in a partial effort.
In order for this government to go berserk for you, the residents of Sderot, something beyond the ongoing firing of rockets must happen. Should a Kassam land in a kindergarten, the IDF will enter Gaza. This is the cynical mechanism in place in Israel: The residents of Sderot are not important enough for the IDF to receive a determined order to win, but kindergarten kids are important enough.
So what do you need to do? There are only two possibilities. Either you wait for a Kassam to hit a kindergarten – after all, statistically it will happen eventually – or you embark on an ongoing protest right now. You can paralyze the entire city and present an unequivocal demand to Prime Minister Olmert: Do for us exactly what you would do for the residents of Tel Aviv. Exactly the same.