(JNS) When Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pulled Israelis out of the Gaza Strip in 2005, he promised it would bring peace and end the violence. He declared that if one missile were fired from Gaza, Israel would have the right to return.
It didn’t take one missile. It took more than 30,000 rockets, mortars and missiles over the course of two decades, four wars and the largest pogrom against Jews since the Holocaust before Israelis were forced to face the truth: Leaving Gaza was not a step toward peace. It was an invitation to war and terror.
For all the world’s accusations, Israel does not lust for conquest. Jews don’t fight unless they have no choice or are faced with kill or be killed.
Our faith and our values drive us to prefer compromise and coexistence. But when survival is at stake, we fight—not for empire but for the defense of our people. If Israel returns to control the Gaza Strip, that is not aggression. It is defense. No sovereign nation can allow a terrorist enclave...
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