An Open Letter to the Next Prime Minister of Israel

Despite the unfortunate circumstances which precipitated your coming to lead Israel, I would like to congratulate you on your acquiring leadership of the country.

As someone who feels such a closeness to the Holy Land of Israel, I would like to tell you what I envision as the future for Israel.

As I see it, Israel is a democracy among autocracies, the small among the big, the hunted among the hunters.

I would like to see peace in the Holy Land. I don’t relish the news of the attacks, murders, and bombings. I don’t want to hear about more katyusha rockets being fired or more buses being bombed.

I would like those within the Israeli government to read the same news I read and act accordingly for the future.

I read that the Palestinians viewed the withdrawal from Gaza as a victory on their part. They said, “See! Terrorism does work!” and they are planning more terror so that they can be even more “victorious” in the future.

I would like to see that terrorists are not given the chance to make such a statement again.

I read that Shin Beit chief Yuval Diskin reports that there is a quadrupling of Palestinian smuggling of war material since Israeli pull-back from Gaza. Around 200 rifles, hundreds of rocket-propelled grenades and two tons of explosives are now brought into Gaza every month.

I would like someone from the Israeli government to admit to that. Admitting the danger is the first step to change. Perhaps if we admit it, we can avoid another costly and deadly error of giving away land needed for our own protection.

While we’re on the topic of security, I have read that terrorist attacks and attempts to carry out such attacks are also on the rise since the disengagement. While in October 2005 there were 48 such incidents, in December 2005 there were 277.

Not only that, Mr. Diskin also said that the terrorists were utilizing the relative quiet of the past few months to rebuild their military infrastructure and expand the range of Kassam rockets. When they are done, they will be able to, G-d forbid, strike out at Israel’s heavily populated coastal plain as well as Ben Gurion Airport.

Yes, it’s G-d who protects His people and His country regardless of our foolishness, but we as people must do our best humanly possible to keep our borders secure. Making our borders closer and tighter, giving our enemies greater reach with their long-range weapons surely won’t accomplish that.
There are those people that say that the motivation for Mr. Sharon’s Dove moves were to go down in History as a peacemaker.

I hope this is untrue, as the Jews in Israel and all around the world have paid a terrible emotional and psychological price for this piece of “history.”
I have read – and seen – that the disengagement from Gaza is such a security disaster that had Sharon continued on with these kinds of moves he would have ruined his “living legacy” in any case.

Have you seen how the world took note when Ariel Sharon fell sick, may he have a swift and complete recovery, even though he headed a tiny country with less than 1% percent of the world population? Yes, the world has its eyes trained on Israel. Mr. Sharon has toadied to world opinion and done some things that damaged his own country and his own people.

World opinion should not matter, for the world would be just as pleased if the state of Israel is wiped off the map. They may not say it as openly as the Muslim population, but their quiet agreement to the terror Israel experiences says it all.

Mr. Prime Minister, learn from Mr. Sharon’s mistakes and from his successes. Go down in history as the one who helped negotiate true and lasting peace if that’s what’s important to you. But, please, try to make history by worrying about the people and security of the country you will be running, not the feelings of the world at large.

Shea Hecht