(Times of Israel) Yossi Klein Halevi - When Israelis say the images of the Hamas massacre are "unbearable," we mean it literally. We cannot bear this, cannot allow the massacre to redefine us as a nation. We are at war to erase the catastrophic perception of Israelis as victims. Nothing is more antithetical to the Israeli ethos than for Jews to be burned alive with their hands bound behind their backs. Israel faces a genocidal regime on its border. That regime must be destroyed not only for our sake but for the sake of the region. Israel's most urgent need is the immediate restoration of our shattered deterrence. To lose deterrence is to invite aggression on our other besieged borders. That is what makes this an existential war for Israel. Those who caution against invading Gaza rarely offer Israel an alternative. Not to react decisively carries potentially greater danger for Israel. The writer is a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute.
2023-10-18 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive