After the War
It was mid august when the war was over. But only now Israelis are starting to ask the important question: what is next?
I think the most important thing that happened is most of us Israelis now understand that we can’t use violence to solve every problem. A very small group of terrorists, Hezbulla, has shown us the limits of our power. We couldn’t win against the small weak organization, nor could we stop missiles hitting the north of Israel.
The war with Hizbulla is perceived by most Israelis as a failure: the hizbulla is still operating in Lebanon, the border is still not as safe, the soldiers MIA are not back yet, about 150 lives were lost, Syria is now threatening to start a war with Israel as well, and more.
Hizbulla was a growing threat to Israel since 2000, when Israel left Lebanon. It was prime-minister Barak who decided to leave the cursed country and to retreat to the international border. But in the past few years, using the violence in the west bank and Gaza, Hizbulla men have managed to prepare to a clash with Israel.
Prime minister Olmert said it was a must to have a war with Hizbulla now because of the growing threat they present. But was it the right way to tackle the issue? And more: can we win any war against terror these days? Or is it just a long lasting war?
The Israeli chief of staff, Dan Chalutz, thought Israeli air force would be able to smash the terror organization easily. It didn’t happen and the rockets were still falling inside Israel a day before the war was over. That means Israel needs to change the way it will in the future fight against terror or guerrilla.
A good friend of mine told me his story of the war: it was pure luck for him that he is still with us. The army didn’t act professionally and we were not ready for the war. The decision makers in Israel waited too long he said before they decided to have the ground force go into the combat field. And when it happened it was too late, too little and not organized at all.
Now Syrian president Asad is rethinking war against Israel, based on the outcome of the last war. For years (since 1973) Syria is dreaming to get back the land Israel has taken – the Golan Heights, during the Yom Kippur war. But till recently Israel army was perceived as un-bitten. Now, after the draw against Hizbulla, the Syrians think they can fight Israel to get back the land.
The international community was not happy, to say the least, with Israel’s response to the situation. The Lebanese were shown to the world as the weak suffering side whilst Israel was (again) the aggressor. Was it a mistake to attack Lebanon? Or is it only anti-Semitism? Or maybe Israel must understand the role of the media in today’s wars and international politics?
The hope that Lebanon as a sovereign state will disarm hizbulla was false: the Lebanese army and government are too weak to fight hizbulla, and so even the Lebanese army is taking posts in the south of the country, hizbulla is and will keep it’s regular way of life.
If to try and relate to the political situation inside Israel, the Prime Minister Olmert is having problems with his government.
The coalition made by Kadima and Labour is shaky. Many inside both these parties are calling Olmert to re-shuffle the government or even to resign. A major problem is Peretz, the Labour head, serving as the defence minister even though he is lacking any experience in that field.
Most Israelis blame both Peretz and Olmert: they both led the country into a war that cost a lot (40 millian shekels or so) and gained nothing. But at the same time no one can think about any other option at the moment to lead the country. Prime minister olmert is still trying hard to actually enlarge his coalition but it seems not to be working, as the extreme right wants to be part of a coalition with the Labour party and vise-a-verse.
And there is corruption as well. Olmert is being investigated for selling and buying properties; former justice minister Ramon (Kadima) is being charged for sexual abuse; and of course there is the president.
Moshe Katzav was a likud party member for a year, as well as a minister. He was never seen as a special politician, but made it to be a president, winning the post against Peres. He was and is a grey man, a joke for many. A couple of months ago, one of the newspapers revealed that he is involved in a scandal: he was blamed to have sexually abused and assaulted and maybe even raped 3 women in the past few years. Also, they are now investigating the president under suspicion that he was bribed to give pardons to certain prisoners who had friends in the political world.
So the general feeling is we need a change – but how? And by who? What do you think? |
