A giant magnetic puzzle of the Land of Israel is attached to the door of our home, a game called "Eretz Kir," or "Land Wall." This week, my children and I marked some of the new communities being added in northern Samaria, proudly drawing in new points of Jewish life: Sha-Nur, Ganim, Kadim and Emek Dotan.
I posted a picture on social media and received comments pointing out communities I had forgotten. The beautiful reality of Judea and Samaria reflects a revolution in communities and agricultural farms, new life emerging after years of withdrawals and retrenchment. It is settlement that goes hand in hand with security and helps maintain control of the territory.
But there is a problem. Instead of continuing along the path of building and developing communities, some people are tearing down the house around us. This week, MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) gave that problem a name, an image and a face when he decided, on his own initiative, to enter the Palestinian village of Madama, near Nablus, and take a sledgehammer to a monument glorifying terrorists.
It was a childish act that produced precisely the opposite effect from what was intended. It played straight into the hands of Israel's enemies, who are trying to portray settler violence as state violence. From there, their pernicious path to sanctions, arms embargoes, international arrest warrants against soldiers and economic boycotts is very short. But that is not all. An MK's job is not to go out wielding a sledgehammer, even if the army has failed to do its job. His role is to exercise his authority so that the IDF implements government policy systematically and as a state institution. What comes next? Will MKs start carrying out arrests in the Kasbah of Nablus? Will they eliminate wanted terrorists in Jenin?
It is enough to make you tear your hair out. Every day, we are fighting an international antisemitic campaign, something that requires intelligence, patience and meticulous work, and then along comes an MK and quite literally shoots us in the foot. Not with the antisemites, who will always hate us, but with our friends, who cannot understand what the hell is going on here.
Global public opinion matters. Diplomacy matters. Setting a personal example for the broader public matters. But Sukkot is not the only problem. In recent months, a small but genuinely lawless group has descended into behavioral anarchy and decided that it will take the IDF's place.
The big story in Judea and Samaria is not settler violence. It never has been and never will be. The story is the Jews who returned to their homeland and are making their ancestral land bloom, set against murderous Arab violence that knows no bounds. In essence, there is no difference between Ramallah and Khan Younis.
The Palestinians do not merely educate their children to hate Jews. They absorb that hatred from the womb. They worship murderers in Goebbelsian fashion, glorifying them with monuments and rallies. Their hatred runs so deep that they would rather pay salaries to murderers of Jews than fund culture and health care for their children.
Having said that, we must also say that lawlessness is beyond the pale. The State of Israel created an army to confront murderous Arab violence. Vigilante militias are not the answer, even if the army sometimes falls short. In Judea and Samaria, under Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the IDF has succeeded in reducing the level of terrorism. That achievement is the product of several factors, a great deal of hard work and firm direction from the political leadership.
There is still much to improve and much more to strive for, but we are no longer in the dark days of Central Command under Maj. Gen. Yehuda Fox.
There is a small group of young people, although unfortunately it is growing, who have decided they want nothing to do with the state. They attack innocent Arabs, throw stones, enter villages and set homes on fire, and steal vehicles. Yet if, God forbid, one of them is hurt, suddenly they will be very interested in the state, because IDF soldiers will rush in immediately to save them from murderers. This conduct is wrong first and foremost on a moral level, but it also erodes sovereignty and deals a devastating blow to Israel's legitimacy, both at home and abroad.
The army finds itself facing problems of attention, manpower and motivation. Instead of thwarting terrorism, it is forced to chase after teenagers, while reservists emerge battered and frustrated from tours of duty in the area. Who is going to be the sucker who leaves his family behind just to get into confrontations with violent Jewish teenagers? This violence must be dealt with by the community, the state, the education and welfare systems and, of course, the police. The lawlessness has to stop. The force that must prevail is the IDF, and the IDF alone.
Some people are tearing down the house around us. MK Zvi Sukkot has given that problem a face and a name. What comes next? Will MKs carry out arrests in the Kasbah of Nablus? Will they eliminate wanted terrorists in Jenin?
