The government asserts that we must finish the job and go into Rafah. The hostages await us in Rafah. The remaining thousands of Hamas fighters must be destroyed in Rafah. The Philadelphi Corridor that has allowed the flow of arms and terrorists must be taken in the battle of Rafah.
So why aren’t we moving into Rafah expeditiously and in force? While we wait, our holy soldiers are being picked off by the enemy popping up from still intact tunnels in the South. While we wait, tens of thousands of our citizens remain in distress, evacuated from their homes. While we wait, the hostages endure the unspeakable.
We know that we cannot exist with Rafah intact. That would be tantamount to losing the war and inviting future October 7 atrocities throughout Israel. So we have no choice. We must finish this war by destroying the enemy in Rafah, the Philadelphi route, and throughout the Gaza Strip. So we must take the chance if we hope to survive.
We are waiting for American approval. This will never come. So, what is the fear if we do what is right and fight the battle that our army can win, without US permission? The hand-wringing has been going on for some time now. Oy vey. If we don’t do what the US wants, they will cut off our access to weaponry. Let’s leave aside the irrationality of that response, considering that the Biden administration has stayed the course, albeit with unhelpful interference. However, what if we were to lose our main weapons supplier because we insist on self-preservation?
Throughout history
We have been there before. Three days before the outbreak of the Six Day War in 1967, France’s Charles De Gaulle embargoed arms to Israel. At that time, France was the sole major arms supplier to Israel. There was lots of hand-wringing about Israel’s ability to defend itself against Arab aggression. Yet do we even remember all that today?
We are approaching Purim, and today is Purim Katan, marked on leap years on the 14th of Adar I. In order to strengthen Esther’s faith, Mordechai implored her to take action to rescue the Jewish people, even at great personal risk.
In exhorting Esther to take action in the face of a genocidal threat, Mordechai said: “Who knows if you have not been put in the palace for this very purpose? If you are silent now, help will come to the Jews from some other place – and you will perish!” When France abandoned Israel in 1967, the One Above ensured a replacement: the United States. And if the US abandons Israel in 2024, we must have faith that God will come to our aid again.
Our leaders have been put into the “palace” for the purpose of saving the State of Israel. Our leaders must take heart from the courage and faith exemplified by our soldiers. They know that they are fighting a holy war to protect their homes and families. There is no choice. Bibi, be a Queen Esther.
The writer holds the William F. Aldinger Chair in Finance at Baruch College, City University of New York and is proud to be an honorary member of the Netzer Chazani community and a Jerusalem resident.
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