A Roadmap to Ending the Violence

Within hours of Tuesday’s horrid murder of four people in a Jerusalem synagogue, three senior members of the Netanyahu government outlined a roadmap to dealing with the current wave of Palestinian violence. The first was Minister of Internal Security Yitzhak Aharonovich. According to Aharonovich, an important milestone in this roadmap is easing gun ownership regulations in Israel thereby enabling more citizens to bear arms.

The Minister’s suggested policy is sure to increase our sense of security in these hard times. The fact that lax gun regulations increase citizens’ safety has been proven time and again. American schools, university campuses and cities are amongst the safest in the world thanks mainly to the right of Americans to bear arms and purchase semi-automatic weapons in department stores. Distributing arms to a nation that collectively suffers from PTSD and is in constant fear of its impending doom is just what the doctor ordered.

The second Minister to offer a milestone in this roadmap was Minister of Finance Yair Lapid. The Minister assured Israelis that the houses of the terrorists who had committed the murders in Jerusalem would be destroyed without delay. This is in my not so humble opinion another masterstroke that demonstrates the ingenuity of the current government. Everyone knows that destroying terrorists’ houses is an effective measure in deterring further terror attacks.

Well, almost everyone.

In 2005, an IDF special commission found that demolishing terrorists’ homes does not deter potential terrorists from carrying out attacks against Israel. In fact, the commission found that demolishing homes only increases hatred towards Israel and therefore recommended that Israel refrain from such acts in the future. Another IDF commission established in 2003 reached similar conclusions adding that demolishing terrorists’ houses only increases terror attacks against Israel. But hey, what does the IDF know about security when compared to former talk show host and current rock star Yair Lapid?

The third and final architect of our response to Palestinian violence is the head of the current government PM Netanyahu. According to the Prime Minister Israel now requires a national unity government, one that includes political parties from Israel’s left and right wing. The logic here is also not hard to follow. As the current wave of violence threatens to erupt into a full scale Intifada, Israel must form a government that will be unable to agree on any course of action, carry out decisions or successfully contend with the cause of Palestinian violence.

Now is the time for inaction!

In Harry Potter’s world of magic and wizardry there exists a creature named Boggart. This is a terrifying creature given that it always assumes the shape of that which scares you the most. Contending with a Boggart may be achieved by waving a magical wand and speaking the charm “Riddikulus”. It seems to me that our government is currently faced with that which scares Israelis the most- a third Intifada. And its response thus far is simply ridicules.