-In my mind, I saw a combined Israeli naval and air operation
successfully destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities and all forces
returned safely to base. It was clear that Iran would order
its proxies on Israel’s borders to let loose with hundreds of
thousands of deadly missiles they have been stockpiling for
years. To save Israel’s population and infrastructure from this
mortal threat, a preemptive assault was launched, successfully
eliminating over ninety percent of their targets. The entire
terrorist leadership, down to the lowest level of command, was
eliminated in surgical air strikes and commando raids.
With the heavy military activity going on, massive attacks by
PA Arabs and personnel in Israeli settlements and transportation
erupted in Judea and Samaria. Quick on its heels came the Arabs
of East Jerusalem. Not to be left out of the jihad, the Arabs of
Israel joined in.
The scenario of violent Arab uprisings in Israel was not a
a figment of my Yom Kippur stupor or a faded historical episode,
but memories of a few months ago during the May 2021 pogroms.
My dream continued. As the Bible describes on a number of
occasions as a hero who arose to lead the people against an enemy,
“the spirit of the Lord filled him.”
Israeli military superiority and prowess were not the exciting
part of the dream; rather that the Israelites were finally able
to shrug off the chains of self-doubt and apologetics as a “new
spirit of God entered them.”
This time the rioting Arabs were met by confident
unhesitating Jews determined to protect Jewish life, property
and honor at all costs.
In the village of Awarta in Samaria, where the terrorists
who killed the Fogel family in the neighboring Itamar village
came, there was a bloody confrontation. Some Arabs there
approached the security fence of Itamar and began throwing
gasoline bombs. One of the residents responded by shooting
two of the attackers. Normally, this would mean the immediate
arrest of the Jew and years in jail. This time it’s different. A new
spirit entered Israel.
Instead of protecting the Arab attackers, the Israeli authorities
joined the Jews and chased the terrorists back into their village.
There, many used weapons and gasoline bombs against the
soldiers. Loudspeakers ordered them to deliver their weapons
and to gather in the town square. All unarmed civilians would
not be hurt.
Not yet aware of the renewed spirit of the Israelis, they
played by the old rules and used their families as human shields
and shot from behind them. This time Israeli soldiers acted like
normal armies and were not deterred by the old suicidal game rules.
Jewish lives now came before those of the enemy.
There was a firefight. Casualties were taken on both sides.
Many Arabs, including civilians, were killed. It did not take long
for word of the “massacre” to reach every Arab between the
river and the sea. They were on their way out.
Israeli Arabs were certain that the old rules still applied,
especially for those holding cherished/hated Israeli
citizenship. In Lod, where Arabs torched hundreds of Jewish
vehicles and homes and killed Jews just a few months ago, they
were ready for round two. Alas, they faced a new spirit. Who
knew?
This time, as the Arab mob streamed out of their mosques
screaming “slaughter the Jew!”, they were met by gunfire from
within besieged Jewish homes. They in turn let loose with
their own armory of illegal weapons just as the security forces
appeared. Unlike in May, they did not arrest Jews for daring to
defend themselves, but rather joined their Jewish brothers and
sisters in repulsing the Arab mob.
The Arabs retreated into the main mosque, dragging a Jewish
policewoman with them as a hostage. They were given a choice:
release the hostage and be tried in a court of law or be killed on
the spot and their families banished to Gaza.
They came out unarmed with white flags. One of them had
a pistol hidden, and hiding behind some others, opened fire on
the police. They responded with a fusillade that killed him and a
few near him. Some of the enraged Arabs rushed the police and
they were cut down.
Word of this “massacre” reached every Israeli Arab within
minutes. They were on their way out too.
In Jerusalem, Arabs attacked isolated Jewish communities on
the Mount of Olives and in the Old City. The same thing happened.
The new spirit. They hurriedly packed their bags.
The result of these events was a mass exodus of Arabs from
Judea and Samaria towards the Jordan border and Israeli Arabs
in every direction. It was a deja vu of 1948.
In the War of Independence, one incident more than any
other caused the panicked exodus of the enemy population;
Deir Yasin. In that hostile, armed Arab village that controlled the
entrance to Jerusalem, Jewish troops entered and demanded the
Arabs disarm. A fight ensued and some Arabs used as human
shields were killed. The story of Dir Yassin was exaggerated in
in order to stiffen Arab resolve to fight. It had the opposite effect
and thus the exodus began.
It happened again. All Israeli villages that had been previously
surrendered to the enemy in Gaza and Samaria was to be rebuilt
and expanded immediately.
We were rid of our enemies from without and from within as
the “spirit of the Lord rested upon Israel.”
The confused, apologetic devil within was purged.
Amalek down.
Based on a chapter in my book
“Jews, Israelis and Arabs"
shalompollack613@gmail.com