IDF soldiers praying at the Western Wall

An IDF soldier is murdered by his Arab coworker, and his body is dumped in a village well. Another soldier is shot dead by a sniper in Hebron. A young girl is shot in her backyard in Judea and Samaria. A husband is murdered by a pair of Arab assailants, and the man turns out to be a family friend of Netanyahu himself. Yet another soldier is stabbed to death while sleeping on a bus. Hundreds of bloodstained Arab terrorists are released as a goodwill gesture to stimulate “peace” talks.

These are the recent headlines from Israel, and they all point to the same problem: Israel is being dismantled piecemeal by its enemies, who recognize that Israel has lost the will to defend itself on a day-to-day basis. Lives are being brutally snuffed out on a weekly schedule, with little to nothing being done about it.

Netanyahu is preoccupied with pronouncing upon Iran in the international media, when he should have long ago ordered the complete obliteration of its nuclear operations. He apologizes to Turkey for Israel’s self-defense, agrees to the unconscionable release of terrorists and murderers, and cancels construction in Judea and Samaria. For all of these, he engages in lame apologetics to Israelis who are aghast at his spineless dithering. He should resign in disgrace immediately, if not sooner.

What is the point of having a Jewish state if Jews are not safe and secure within it? Why do the Israeli Defense Forces exist if they hesitate to engage with Israel’s internal and external enemies with decisiveness and finality? How many Israeli civilians and soldiers need to be slain – perhaps one at a time – before Israel’s leaders experience a eureka! moment and resolve to act with resolve?

For the better part of two millennia, stateless Jews were all but helpless under Christian and Muslim rulers. Today, the Jews of the State of Israel act as if nothing has changed. Terrorists can (and terrorists do) murder Israeli civilians or soldiers only to be released shortly thereafter from Israeli incarceration due to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

It has been a very long time since Israel has had a Ben-Gurion or Begin at the helm, and a much longer time since the Jewish People has been led by a Judah Maccabee, Gideon, Joshua, or Moses.

What will it take for a people to fully and fearlessly commit to the survival of each and every one of its individual members?

There is an existential threat to the State of Israel, but it isn’t a nuclear Iran at all. It’s the internal decay of the Jewish will to live. All other problems pale in comparison. And if this problem was solved, Israel’s other problems would be dealt with, with unflinching determination, decisiveness, and finality.

Until then, Jews remain helpless in their own homeland…because if you don’t will it, it’s just a dream.