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www.detroitjewishnews.com

Dry Bones

Lives On The Line

I

srael is morally correct in trying to kill the
men who organize Palestinian terrorist attacks;
it's a matter of self-defense. The pious criticism
by the hand-wringing moralists in America,
Europe and, no surprise, the United Nations, is just
plain wrong.
The issue is stunningly simple. Leaders of extrem-
ist, usually religion-based organizations such as
Hamas and Islamic Jihad train young Palestinian
men to become walkinc, b bombs or distribute
weapons with instructions to target Israel's civilian
population.
The leaders do not put their own lives on the line,
but whip their supporters into a frenzy of
hatred that condones these vicious assaults
on innocents. Yasser Arafat's Palestinian
Authority turns a blind eye — or even lends
a stealthy hand — to this horrendous system
for murdering Israeli fathers, mothers, teens and babies.
The bomb factories and their human delivery sys-
tems must be obliterated. The best way that Israel
has found so far is to try to find out where the plan-
ners, bomb builders and commanders live and work
— and strike them down before they kill again.
These are not political "assassinations." The people
Israel targets are deadly enemies who send their
"troops" to wage what they describe as a "holy" war.
They are guerilla generals, and generals have always
been fair game. To let them operate unhindered
would be insane.
The United Nations Charter so frequently cited by
the critics as a legal bar to Israeli targeting actually
provides the best defense for the actions. It states that
"in peacetime, the citizens of a nation, whether they
are political officials or private individuals, are enti-
tled to immunity from intentional acts of violence by
citizens, agents or military forces of another nation."

Since Israel can hardly expect the rest of
the world to provide that immunity for its
citizens, it must do what it can to stop
attacks by the "citizens, agents or military
forces" of the Palestinians. Hitting them
before they hit more Israeli civilians is
plain common sense.
It isn't as if other nations didn't, and
don't, do the same thing. The United States,
for example, dropped bombs on the home
of Muammar Qaddafi in 1986, killing the
15-month-old daughter of the Libyan
leader. Three years ago, its missile attack on
the suspected hideout of terrorist
mastermind Osama Bin Laden
killed a reported 20 people, but
not Bin Laden.

EDITO ItIAL

Right To Exist

The state of Israel owes its citizens the
best defense it can provide against mad-
men who encourage religious zealots to
seek "martyrdom" by blowing up them-
selves along with peaceful Israeli citizens
at discotheques and pizza parlors. The
Torah plainly states that, if you know that
someone is trying to kill you, you must
rise early and kill him first. Self-defense is
a commandment, not a choice.
We have said before that American Jews
were likely to be made uncomfortable by
some of the tactics Israel is being forced to
use to combat the Palestinian intifada (uprising).
Eliminating the masterminds of suicide bombers is
not one that should make any of us even wince.
The Palestinians who are crying foul should recog-

nize that they could end the problem in a very sim-
ple way — put these terrorist leaders-in jail. If they
were not allowed to operate freely, then no one
would need to practice "lethal anticipatory self-
defense."

❑

This Year In Jerusalem

DON SCHARG
Special Commentary

Jerusalem

CO

ur only travel plans this summer were
trips to Toronto and Las Vegas. After hear-
ing Rabbi Shlomo Riskin of Efrat speak in
Southfield in May about the need for
American Jews to go to Israel, my wife, Janice, said,
"Let's go!" Being the smart husband that I am, I lis-
tened to my wife.
We immediately made plans for our trip. Excited,
we told our friends and family of our plans and met
with two types of reactions. Some expressed great
support for the trip. Others were shocked and
thought we had lost our minds. "Don't you know
that there is a war going on?" we were asked.

Don Scharg is a West Bloomfield resident. He and his
wife, Janice, have two children. The family is affiliated
with Ohel Moed Shomrey Emunah in West Bloomfield.

retained that special spirit. We walked
That is the point. There is a war
all
over and spent substantial time in
going on in Israel. Not only the war
the
Jewish Quarter of the Old City,
that you see on television, but also a
taking classes at the Isralight Institute.
war of attrition that is hitting the Israeli
During Shabbat services, we
population within the interior of Israel.
enjoyed the grandeur of the Great
This war of attrition was evident upon
Synagogue and had Shabbat lunch
our journey to and arrival in Jerusalem.
with former Detroiter Alan Cohen
The current Palestinian intifada (upris-
and his wife, Bonnie, who live across
ing) is keeping American Jews away.
from the Jaffe Gate. Joining Alan and
This was not a typical summer trip to
Bonnie for lunch were 30 American
Israel. We flew on Continental. Usually
and Canadian women visiting
the flights to Israel are filled with
Don and Janice Scharg
through the Aish HaTorah Executive
Americans. On this trip, it appeared that at the walk around
Women's Learning Program.
we were the only American Jews on the
Jerusalem's Old City
On erev Tisha b'Av, we walked
plane. The rest of the airplane was filled
on erev Tisha bAv.
with 10,000 other Jews around the
with Israelis returning home and Arabs.
walls of the Old City on a march sponsored by the
After dropping our suitcases off at the hotel, we
Women in Green. We loved to walk around
immediately walked the streets of the city. The
Jerusalem and shop in the stores, visiting shopkeep-
Talmud says that 10 measures of beauty were given to
the world and Jerusalem took nine. That is still true.
JERUSALEM on page 42
Jerusalem is always magical and the city, on this trip,

8/24
2001

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