gaza war/avigdor from moldova

the first rule regarding israel is defensive and realistic.

the last rule regarding israel is the blank page and pie in the sky ideas.

i reacted to the last war, the gaza war, by saying i wouldn't have done that.

and in fact it sounded as it meant, that i am a bystander and not a decision maker.

but i voted for meretz based on, " i wouldn't have done that"

and i'm trying to get my mind around yossi alpher's position on hamas, so that there would be a modus vivendi to avoiding battles of that sort with gaza.

i know that hardening of the hearts is a side effect of war. but my heart is not yet hardened and so that's a good thing, i think. (if my soft heart encourages the enemy..., so it's not so clear. but for my heart sake it's a good thing.)

re: avigdor lieberman's ideas.

1. redrawing israel's borders. the arabs are asking us to redraw our borders, so if the redrawn border puts your town on the other side, is that fair? it isn't fair if you have no right to move to the israeli side of the new border. it isn't fair if you are treated worse than an israeli who chooses to live overseas. if the largest loss the arabs feel for the redrawn border is the loss of medical care, then i think that can be worked out. i'm not saying that those who wish to redraw the border have taken these positions to make their position palatable or fairer, yet the position of redrawing israel's border should be acceptable on its face if handled with care.

2. loyalty oath. it is not ridiculous to want some kind of sign of understanding from the arab population for the jewish population. if citizens of israel wave the flag of hamas, it is not surprising to see politicians needle the jewish populace for the disgrace that it is willing to endure. yet a loyalty oath is a bad idea, just plain bad. there's no precedent in recent history that makes the idea any more palatable. it's a bad idea that takes advantage of a real sense of insecurity that has no magic or apparently non magic solution.