"A Prime Minister, who is afraid of his own shadow, must look into the eyes of the parents of soldiers who may not return and tell them that we cannot accept this deal. Accepting an end of the war at this juncture would mean Hamas wins and remains in power."
You've pointed out a hard truth, difficult to swallow, but true all the same.
Eugene Sledge, in "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa", wrote of this incongruous state of the poles of the preciousness of the individual and the sacrifice of one for the survival of the whole. It is hard for those raised in the West to truly grasp.
"We received the password as darkness settled on us, and a drizzling rain began. We felt isolated listening to moisture dripping from the trees and splashing softly into the swamp. It was the darkest night I ever saw. The overcast sky was as black as the dripping mangroves that walled us in. I had the sensation of being in a great black hole and reached out to touch the sides of the gun pit to orient myself. Slowly the reality of it all formed in my mind: we were expendable!
It was difficult to accept. We come from a nation and a culture that values life and the individual. To find oneself in a situation where your life seems of little value is the ultimate in loneliness. It is a humbling experience. Most of the combat veterans had already grappled with this realization on Guadalcanal, or Gloucester, but it struck me out in that swamp."
Yet this is precisely the situation that all Israelis must grapple with. God bless them all, and Godspeed.
"A Prime Minister, who is afraid of his own shadow, must look into the eyes of the parents of soldiers who may not return and tell them that we cannot accept this deal. Accepting an end of the war at this juncture would mean Hamas wins and remains in power."
You've pointed out a hard truth, difficult to swallow, but true all the same.
Eugene Sledge, in "With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa", wrote of this incongruous state of the poles of the preciousness of the individual and the sacrifice of one for the survival of the whole. It is hard for those raised in the West to truly grasp.
"We received the password as darkness settled on us, and a drizzling rain began. We felt isolated listening to moisture dripping from the trees and splashing softly into the swamp. It was the darkest night I ever saw. The overcast sky was as black as the dripping mangroves that walled us in. I had the sensation of being in a great black hole and reached out to touch the sides of the gun pit to orient myself. Slowly the reality of it all formed in my mind: we were expendable!
It was difficult to accept. We come from a nation and a culture that values life and the individual. To find oneself in a situation where your life seems of little value is the ultimate in loneliness. It is a humbling experience. Most of the combat veterans had already grappled with this realization on Guadalcanal, or Gloucester, but it struck me out in that swamp."
Yet this is precisely the situation that all Israelis must grapple with. God bless them all, and Godspeed.