Who would believe? I'm 61 years old and still a reserve officer in the Israeli army. My politics? I would welcome an independent, prosperous and democratic Palestinian state. Sharing of Jerusalem, as proposed by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, is also an option for me, provided Palestinian leaders also recognize Israel's right to live in peace - something that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and friends just can't bring themselves to say.
Guns? Over the years, I've "known a few." I've had to eat with them, sleep with them, and bring them home with me when I was given weekend leave from the IDF. But obtain a pistol license? Owing to past employment, I could easily have obtained one, but there were children at home, and I didn't want the worry. However, given the spate of stabbings throughout Israel, I am now reconsidering that choice.
In an editorial entitled "Palestinian and Israeli leaders fan the flames of violence," The Washington Post describes the Palestinians perpetrating the stabbings and attempts to crash into Israelis waiting at bus stops:
"What’s worrying is that the attackers have no organization or guides; they are 'lone wolves' acting on their own rage, inspiration from social media or the examples of those who preceded them."
No guides? Oh really? As Abbas declared on September 16, 2015:
"We bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem, which is clean and pure blood, blood spilled for Allah, Allah willing. Every martyr will reach paradise, and everyone wounded will be rewarded by Allah. The Al-Aqsa Mosque is ours, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is ours, and [the Jews] have no right to defile it with their filthy feet. We will not allow them to, and we will do everything in our power to protect Jerusalem."
The WaPo editorial goes on to say:
"Particularly counterproductive have been the fatal shootings of a dozen of the attackers by Israeli police or bystanders."
Got it: When somebody springs at you with a knife, you first determine their age, you next assess the likelihood that the attacker might strike one of your vital organs, and then - only then - do you shoot . . . but make certain to aim for their toes, so as not to further inflame tensions. Even more important, in the spirit of moral equivalence, let's all assign equal responsibility to Israel for the violence.
I'm willing to bet that the author of this balderdash never in her/his life faced an armed attacker in a life and death situation. Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt, please correct me if I'm wrong.
