Out of Turmoil Some Clarity Emerges I have been in a turmoil about the Israeli incursion into Gaza, struggling with every emotion from rage to grief.  Likewise, I have been struggling with the actions of Hamas, endangering the lives of its own people, and the role of the U.S. government and its unquestioning  support for the state of Israel.  I have finally found some clarity on this subject.  Today is the first of a two part series.   Today the focus is on Israel.  The next blog will focus on the Palestinians and the U.S. What’s Right in Israel’s Approach It’s often said that “You can’t negotiate with terrorists.”  When people are terrified no one can make rational decisions.  Israelis are tough people but they have an underlying historical narrative of fear, based on thousands of years of persecution, which renders them acutely sensitive to threat.  If the lives of the populace are being menaced it is the role of government to protect its people, and they must take action.  Israel  determined it had to take action against the rockets coming in from Gaza fired on them by Hamas.                                                                                                        What’s Missing in Israel’s Approach Terrorists must be stopped, just as anyone committing out of control violence must be stopped. I have written about this in other blogs about the stopping function.  The problem Israel has run into with their intervention in Gaza, and in prior actions with the Palestinians,  is that they have not thought through the long-term implications of their actions nor made them part of a strategy for successfully ending the conflict with the Palestinians.  It is not enough just to stop terrorist action, because that stopping is always temporary.

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