(Jerusalem Post) Rabbi Yitz Greenberg - The Palestinians have often asserted that the creation of Israel was the cause of their Nakba (catastrophe). But they have failed to acknowledge that they brought the Nakba on themselves by their own actions and those of their leadership. The same holds true for the forthcoming invasion of Gaza. The Hamas brutality and mass murder of Oct. 7 left Israel no alternative but to invade to stop future massacres. The single most important factor in the failure to set up a Palestinian state to this day is that they established their narrative to eliminate the Jewish state first. No people has a right to achieve its national sovereign dignity by destroying another state. Ironically, Israel's rule over the West Bank was a golden age for the Palestinians. The gross national product of the West Bank rose 12.9% a year from 1968-1978. The average per capita earnings in Gaza went from $80 to over $1,700 in 25 years. There were no universities on the West Bank before 1967 - afterward, seven were set up. Hamas' vile atrocities of Oct. 7 convinced the entire spectrum of Israelis that life could not go on by containing Hamas or trying to change its policies with economic incentives. The conclusion: Hamas must be eliminated, whatever the cost. Thus, the Palestinians have brought down on their own head the coming losses and suffering. The writer, a leading Jewish thinker, has written extensively on post-Holocaust Jewish religious thought, Jewish-Christian relations, pluralism, and the ethics of Jewish power.
2023-10-23 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive