Tensions

As the media reluctantly reports the death of Israelis inside a synagogue at the hands of two palestinian terrorists, the running cliche is that "tensions" are increasing.

Barack Obama comments on the synagogue attack not by suggesting that it was a barbaric act perpetrated by a people who thrive on hatred, victimhood, and violence (much of it directed against their fellow palestinians) but rather, by using mealy-mouthed abstractions: "“I think it’s important for both Palestinians and Israelis to try to work together to lower tensions and reject violence." Yeah, murdering people in a bloody attack in a house of worship has a strange way of increasing "tensions."

David Harsanyi writes:

Nothing in history or current reality could possibly lead an honest observer to conclude that there’s a viable path to peace between Palestinians and Israel. Barring some dramatic exogenous event, this isn’t about to change. Give it up.

After the murder of five Jews Israelis (three of them American citizens and one of them a Druze) this week, “people fired celebratory gunshots in the air … and praise for God and the attackers poured from mosque loudspeakers soon after the synagogue shooting,” reported The New York Times. Fatah officials in Lebanon chimed in to let us know that: “Jerusalem needs blood in order to purify itself of Jews.” There were congratulatory message on Fatah’s official Facebook page and festive post-murder spree sweets for the kids. This celebration of death—whether dead babies or dead rabbis, it matters not—doesn’t only illustrate the colossal moral gulf that exists between these societies, it reminds us that any Palestinian government inclined to entertain a viable agreement with Jews wouldn’t last long, anyway.

Fatah, the thin thread that any workable agreement hangs on, is only in power because it refuses to hold elections. (And, to be fair, when you lose a campaign in Palestinian territories, there are no comebacks.) But even this more moderate faction brings with it archaic menu of nonstarters to the table. Arabs will not have meaningful control over Jerusalem proper. Or any “right of return.” Or the ability to control their borders as Sweden or Argentina controls theirs. At least, not any time soon. These are intractable disagreements. Every time the sides revisit the negotiations, it ends in disappointment and, inevitably, violence. And with each round, Palestinian society devolves further, becoming increasingly radicalized and violent. So what’s the point?

There is no point and never has been.

Leftists condemn Israel for "oppressing" the palestinians (who, they claim, are violent only because they are oppressed). Never mind that when given the opportunity for peace, the palestinians have rejected it. Never mind that they murder their own. Never mind that as Islamists, they reject virtually everything that the left holds dear. Fantasy trumps reality in the fevered thoughts of every anti-Israel leftist.

Now, Obama and his supporters are wringing their hands warning Israel not to be "disproportionate" in its response to the synagogue murders. Disproportionate?! Who established that rule? When an entity (the palestinians are not a country and never have been) attempt to destroy a sovereign nation, repeatedly commit acts of terror, advocate the annihilation of an entire people, the very last thing Israel should do is be proportionate.