Special Report
ANALYSIS: OPERATION CAST LEAD
Behind Hamas
Don't forget the Iranian connection.
David Horovitz
Jerusalem Post
Jerusalem
A
mong the many negative conse-
quences of the Second Lebanon
War in summer 2006 was the
distraction it provided from Iran's nuclear
program.
So focused was the international com-
munity on 34 days of fighting, and so
inarticulate was Israel in explaining that it
was (indecisively) confronting the Iranian
takeover of southern Lebanon, that
Teheran slipped gratefully into the global
shadows, there to quietly advance its prog-
ress toward the bomb.
Today, there is a danger of the same
process repeating itself.
Hezbollah is an Iranian creation. Hamas
is not. But it has drawn itself increasingly
into Iran's orbit. Much of its imported
weaponry, and the expertise with which it
now produces and refines its own rockets,
have been provided by Iran. Dozens of its
commanders have been trained in Iran in
recent years, coming home and dissemi-
nating that "education" as Hamas has built
an army in Gaza.
And, increasingly too, Hamas has come
to act in the service of Iran's aims.
Many signs, even on Sunday, day two
of Operation Cast Lead — suggest that
Israel is trying to conduct this conflict on
ff
Israelis react at the scene of a Dec. 24 rocket attack in Ashkelon.
the basis of lessons learned from the war
against Hezbollah as regards the avoidance
of grandiose stated aims and the absence
of boasting about the Israel Defense
Force's capacity to destroy its enemy.
What is not yet clear, by contrast, is
whether Israel is truly intending to pursue
its deceptively narrow-sounding stated
goal of restoring long-term calm to the
South.
This aim is actually immensely com-
plex, given that Hamas' raison d'etre is
to attack Israel and that it is thoroughly
indifferent to the deaths of its own people
— as exemplified by its ruthless seizure of
control in the Gaza Strip 18 months ago.
A Serene Noise
Yad Binyamin, Israel
W
e knew something was up.
Our small yishuv (settle-
ment – but it's the kosher
kind, well inside the Green Line) sits
about a mile
away from Tel
Hashomer Air
Force base, a
major hub of
Israel Air Force
activity. You kind
of get used to
the jets streaking
overhead all the
time, and tune
out the noise.
Except on
Shabbat.
A10
January 1 . 2009
On Shabbat, there are never jets.
You cherish the quiet. After all, why
disturb the Jewish day of rest unless
there's an emergency. And that's how
we knew something was up
– when we heard the jets on
Shabbat afternoon.
For some weeks now, we've
been hearing about the
bombs and missiles and rock-
ets landing throughout the
south of Israel. And I've been listening
to the news along with all Israelis with
a growing sense of frustration. While
it has been a relief to hear (most of
the time) that there were "no inju-
ries," how long could that really last?
(Not long enough.) When would we do
something to stop the shooting? What
would we do? What could we do?
Many signs, too, suggest that Israel is
making an effort, albeit not wholly suc-
cessful, to improve on the abject public
diplomacy of the 2006 war.
What is not yet clear, by contrast, is
whether the official spokespeople have
internalized the necessity to highlight Iran
in their message to the world — Iran,
the state champion and major enabler of
Hamas' terror-state in Gaza.
Iran is inspiring, funding, arming and
training Hamas. Iran is avowedly com-
mitted to Israel's destruction and regards
Hamas as a tool toward this goal. The
same Iran, via an emboldened Hezbollah,
is now most of the way to achieving proxy
I learned today [Dec. 29] that my
house sits in harm's way. Yad Binyamin
lies smack between Kiryat Malachi
and Gadera, about 40 kilometers
from Gaza, at the outer range of
Hamas rocket capabilities. Unlike the
residents of Sederot, who get only 15
seconds warning, we'll have 45.
Not that I'm that worried. But it
e does give me an eerie sense to
know that for better or worse,
I'm "within range" of a terrorist.
As if the bombings in Mumbai
didn't remind us that all of us
are – inside Israel and out.
I view the fighter jets differently
than I used to. In the U.S., jets were a
nuisance; a source of noise that dis-
turbed our otherwise quiet lifestyles.
They were part of the background, to
be taken for granted and ignored. In
fact, the only day I can remember not
hearing the roar of the jets was 9-11
Insi d
lsra el
control not merely of southern Lebanon,
but all of Lebanon.
The same Iran, already armed with
missiles that can reach Israel, is extending
its missile range to Europe and, it hopes,
ultimately to North America.
The same Iran is openly challenging
not just the Middle East order but the
world order, with President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad personifying that challenge,
thoroughly backed by the entire Teheran
regime.
And that same Iran is moving ever
closer to the nuclear capability it intends
to use in the service of its goals.
The long-term deterrence of Hamas'
capacity to threaten Israel would represent
the long-term deterrence of one aspect of
Iran's rapacious and far-reaching power
drive. That's an outcome of Operation Cast
Lead that at least part of the watching
world might appreciate — if Israel can
manage, first, to explain it clearly, and then
to achieve it.
❑
Continuing coverage: JNonline.us.
Chanukah Reference
JTA – The name of the operation,
Cast Lead, drives from the dreidel
being originally manufactured by
pouring molten lead into a mold. The
name has a double meaning because
that is how bullets are manufactured.
when I yearned to hear a jet in the sky.
Now though, when I hear a jet roar
overhead or especially when I see a
formation of two or three helicopters,
I think about the men inside. Actually,
it's probably boys. And they're our
boys, whom we're sending to do some
very adult-like behavior to protect our
country, our families and our people.
Lately, whenever I spot an aircraft
overhead, I think a small prayer in my
head. I pray for the well-being of the
pilot. For the safety of the crew. For
the peace of mind of their parents.
And for the safety of our country.
Because a jet or a helicopter is no
longer just a noise to me. It's our chil-
dren. And this week especially, they
need all of our prayers. ❑
Reuven Spolter is the former rabbi of Young
Israel of Oak Park. The Spolters made aliyah
in 2008.