Rewarding Bad Behavior

Rewarding Bad Behavior

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

August 26, 2005

With the surrender of the Gaza Strip by Israel, no worse message could have been conveyed – bad behavior, heinous behavior, murderous, terrorist behavior has been rewarded.

The land, inhabited by some 8,500 Israelis, did not fall into Palestinian hands due to armed conflict. The land, won in war 38 years ago, was not offered up as some bargaining chip for a promise of peace or any other promises for that matter. No, this land, land on which Jewish blood was spilled; land on which Jewish lives were lost in battle, was simple ceded – given away with the hope that maybe, perhaps, something good will come of it.

Are those who surrendered this land delusional?

Let’s revisit the philosophy of the martyred Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990) who repeatedly reminded people – supporters and opponents – that when one wins a war, the land captured is not supposed to be given back. “When you win, you win,” I heard him say around 1987-88 when he spoke at my alma mater, the University of Maryland.

Consider the great history of the United States. Did any administration since the Polk administration return land to Mexico following the war against that nation (1845-48)? No. And neither did Polk, one of our most underappreciated presidents. (Granted, that land is being lost little by little, but that’s a debate for another day.)

Nothing good can come of this secession. The message has been sent – terror works. The Palestinian people are a patient people. They only had to wait 38 years for Gaza to be delivered into their bloody hands. What will be next when terrorist attacks are stepped up? Tel Aviv? Jerusalem?

There is but one Jewish state in the world surrounded by over a dozen Arab nations seeking to increase their own odds. Israel should not help them. Let’s remember Rabbi Kahane’s battle cry, “NEVER AGAIN!”

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and political consultant living in Alexandria, VA.