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Yesterday at Shabbat morning services our rabbi gave a sermon in which he took a rather dim and skeptical view of the Israeli invasions of Gaza and Lebanon and the American coalition's invasion of Iraq. He predicted that just as the US lead invasion of Iraq has destroyed that country so too will Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon. But he also said that while Israel in under attack we must stand with her.
In the weeks preceding the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit rifts were emerging in the Palestinian polity not just between Fatah and Hamas but also within Hamas. With the Israeli invasion of Gaza the Palestinians have closed ranks and postponed internal disputes. It seems to me that Iran, Syria, and their clients who head Hamas and Hezbollah have Israel in a no win situation. If, however, Syria can be either neutralized or kept on the sidelines, then an unofficial alliance of the Lebanse army and IDF can destroy Hezbollah's military capacity, which would shift the advantage in favor of Israel and moderates in Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.
In the weeks preceding the kidnapping of Corporal Shalit rifts were emerging in the Palestinian polity not just between Fatah and Hamas but also within Hamas. With the Israeli invasion of Gaza the Palestinians have closed ranks and postponed internal disputes. It seems to me that Iran, Syria, and their clients who head Hamas and Hezbollah have Israel in a no win situation. If, however, Syria can be either neutralized or kept on the sidelines, then an unofficial alliance of the Lebanse army and IDF can destroy Hezbollah's military capacity, which would shift the advantage in favor of Israel and moderates in Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority.
