The war with Hamas is well and truly lost and the responsibility lies not with the rank and file soldiers but with the whole political and military elites in Israel. The situation can be summed up as being a case of brave, brave soldier led by pompous fools. (I thought of saying led by donkeys but I will not use such expressions ever again because my politics lead me to respect the animal world. Recently I was barred from the Talk Radio Europe radio phone in because I said the host was speaking “bullshit” and on reflection I was sorry I used that expression because I was ashamed of myself for using a derogatory word implicating a defenseless and innocent animal. In case anybody is interested he is a British Jew called Tindesley and he was saying that the Jews in Morocco were never driven out by the Muslims and that made me instantly angry, so I lost my cool)
I was struck above all at how small is Gaza. Israel too is small (less than the size of Munster) but Gaza is tiny. And there is so much talk in Jewish circles about the great IDF, but that now has to be very much questioned.
Also I was struck by the idea of these Hamas guys going underground. As a military commander I would immediately see that as a major positive for my side. Going underground makes the enemy totally vulnerable.
Totally vulnerable if given certain conditions or certain actions by the IDF. I will divide the response to that question in three ways
- What Netanyahu did
- What a daring commander would have done
- Finally further consideration of these first two points, the first of which in (1) above we know. It is this further consideration that I would like to focus on.
On the question of what Bibi did is very easy to answer. Basically he did nothing (as Martin Sherman demonstrated). Oh of course there were lots being done, soldiers dashing here and there, but as Sherman showed nothing of a strategic nature. So that first question is easy to answer…Bibi did nothing
What a daring commander would have done. The answer lies in what Brian Boru did against the Danes in the Battle of Clontarf in that our Brian took possession of the ground that the Danes were standing on and held on to that ground. So a daring commander would have taken possession of the ground and held on to the ground (of Gaza to start with) For that the Jews need a big thought that is simple, true and understandable for all Jews. The big thought is the Land of Israel and to end Antisemitism in the Land of Israel. This is a BIG thought indeed and it even includes some Jews as well, Haaretz comes to mind.
Now the reflection…the important part.
MOST IMPORTANT POINT NUMBER 1
Israel is not united. Israel does not have a political party to unite it. Because Israel does not have a political party Israel can never unite the vast majority behind a programme. The people of Israel never unite behind a programme. They remain divided. Sometimes as in the Gaza Withdrawal a mass movement develops but because there is no political party the mass movement fades away as reality of defeat sets in
MOST IMPORTANT POINT NUMBER 2
Israelis cannot build a political party to unite under because there is no ideology or theory to unite under. Some of the participants include a man on Shermans blog who calls for a King!!!, Netanyahu who was a furniture salesman not a theoretician, his wife plays a role and she is a housewife, Feiglin is terrific but Feiglin is for Feiglin and Feiglin hates the plebeians, Livni is Livni and Livni just loves living with Antisemitism. The “Labour” Party also loves Antisemitism, The Likudniks can never have any power because they see things as moving through the Knesset, so they tie the Israelis to the Knesset, the Women in Green are conquering the latest hill measured 50 yards by twenty, the Rabbis are reading up on what some bloke wrote about something 2000 years ago, most of the ladies in Tel Aviv seek a tan desparately, and there is hardly anybody that sees the Jews as an iron age people who are part of a long development starting somewhat with “Lucy” and her friends on the Savanna plains
And that is why Netanyahu could not ever develop a strategy to take over Gaza, expel the Antisemites, make an offer to Arabs to love the Jewish Homeland, even make an offer to some to find new homes (they tell me there is lots of space and lovely nature in Mayo!)
Netanyahu has no background (the opposite) to have a strategy or theory even. This issue is beyond him. He is a furniture salesman (and Obama is a third rate University Lecturer and you know what they are like!)
So until this new leadership is built then this war and all future wars against Fascism will be lost, and the Jewish Homeland will fall into great danger of being destroyed. The Barbarians will have defeated this Great Idea.