"Israeli Leaders are Missing Key Point`" is the title of an article that appeared on October 23 in a leading Canadian newspaper, the Toronto Star. Written by columnist Linda McQuaig, the article refers to an iconic speech made by the late Israeli military and political leader Moshe Dayan, in 1956, as a eulogy for Roi Rotberg, a member of Nahal Oz, a kibbutz located near the Gaza border. Palestinian terrorists ambushed and killed Roi and displayed his mutilated body in the streets of Gaza.
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McQuaig`s quote from the eulogy is as follows: "Why should we complain of their hatred for us? Eight years have they sat in the refugee camps of Gaza and seen, with their own eyes, how we have made a homeland of the soil and villages where they and their forbears once dwelt."
To McQuaig, Dayan`s words indicate a sensitivity and understanding for the Palestinians that current Israeli leaders lack, a sensitivity that should encourage the Israelis to respond to Hamas' atrocities of October 7 with restraint.
In reality, Dayan's message has nothing to do with restraint. His eulogy stresses the need for vigilance and military readiness. In light of the Hamas terror attack, it is just as relevant for Israel today as it was then.
The eulogy was in Hebrew of course (it consists of only 285 words) and while the words quoted by McQuaig appear in one translation, another version excludes them.
However, there is no question that Dayan did say the following:
"The millions of Jews, annihilated without a land, peer out at us from the ashes of Israeli history and command us to settle and rebuild a land for our people. But beyond that furrow that marks the border, lies a surging sea of hatred and vengeance, yearning for the day that tranquility blunt our alertness, for the day that we heed the ambassadors of conspiring hypocrisy, who call for us to lay down our arms."
He goes on, saying that Roi's yearning for peace deafened him to the sounds of the murderers who were waiting in ambush.
The Hamas attack of October 7, took place after a period of relative calm. Several commentators (for example, Samia Nakhoul and Jonathan Saul, Reuters), note that the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, on the holiday of Simchat Torah, succeeded because, like Roi, the Israelis were lulled into a sense of complacency, encouraged by the Hamas ruse of appearing to have lost interest in military confrontation.
As I read the McQuaig column, three historical twists stood out. First, in 1956, when Egypt administered Gaza (Jordan ruled the West Bank), armed Palestinians (Fedayeen) were encouraged to attack Israelis. Today, the Egyptians, who along with the Israelis share a border with Gaza, want nothing to do with Gaza or Hamas.
Second, as anyone who has watched the recent movie "Golda" knows, Moshe Dayan was the minister of defense of Israel at the time of the 1973 Yom Kippur War when an attack by the armies of Egypt and Syria caught Israel by surprise and came close to overwhelming Israel's defenses.
Third, and saddest, is that Nahal Oz, Roi Rotberg's kibbutz, was one of the primary targets of the Hamas terrorists on October 7. While the details are still uncertain, it is clear that many kibbutz members were murdered and or taken hostage.
McQuaig may be correct in saying that it is difficult to completely eliminate Hamas, or bring Israel permanent security. However, it is also important to recognize that Hamas, like other jihadist groups, such as the Islamic State, a-Qaida, and Boko Haram, is not interested in compromise. Its primary interest is in eliminating Israel.
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