By Ira Sharkansky
JERUSALEM — A young man, Dvir Sorek, religious, a bit short of going from his Yeshiva to the army, was killed as he walked the path from the bus stop to his settlement.
It demonstrated, once again, that roadside killings in the West Bank are the most popular targets for Palestinian terrorists.
This young man was on his way from Jerusalem, where he bought one of David Grossman’s books, to be given as a present to one of his teachers. The boy’s grandfather was also killed, 19 years ago, also in a West Bank settlement.
Why Grossman? Among Israel’s most well know authors, he’s a leftist, also the father of a young soldier killed in action, and not the assumed favorite of a student at a religious academy, with long sideburns and kippah.
As much as we know, the story is that of an unusual young man, who thought outside of his box, and whose death raises once again a series of questions about us and them.
Hamas and its allies were quick to claim credit for whoever did the killing, and to incite further violence. We may never know if Hamas’ claim of origin has anything to it.
Wherever he or they came from, they remind us once again of the enmity in Palestine. Along with the accommodation of Palestinians to the Israeli realities.
The IDF and other security organizations have been heavily involved in searching for the killers. They have been found, along with some of their helpers.
Both Netanyahu and Gantz have spoken aggressively, but it’s not likely that there’ll be a major change in what Israel does.
A Palestinian wrote a recent op-ed in The Guardian, in which he laments changes that have occurred over his long life in his city of Ramallah. You can read it here. He blames both Israel and the Palestinian leadership, and overlooks the influence of Palestinian demography. Jerusalem also isn’t the same as it was 60 years ago. Playgrounds and other familiar sites change with growing population.
Worthies of the world blame Israel for the impasse, while religious settlers say that God gave it all to the Jews. The Palestinian leadership has ignored history and refused compromise, from more than 70 years ago or 52 years since the 1967 war, to now when it may be too late for a clear decision that takes the Israel-Palestinian conflict off the world’s table..
We can blame the smallness of the land, the high spiritual associations, and the crowding of people and emotions for a place to live. And the long, sad history of the Jews, plus the holding power of what is now called Zionism.
A few days after Sorek’s death, a group from Hamas entered Israel from Gaza. They were armed, and killed. Then the IDF bombed some sites in Gaza. More recently another terrorist from Gaza was killed near the border.
And this year Tisha B’Av and Eid ul-Adha coincide. Palestinians, assured that they should have a monopoly of the Temple Mount and that Jews have no claim on it, fought with police in a failed attempt to keep Jews from visiting.
Why do what they do? The imbalance in power is great. They have no chance. Perhaps some are spurred by Iran to do something. Or perhaps their own ideology keeps them active, despite the lack of a chance to change things.
Neither Israel nor the Palestinians want a serious war, although the Palestinians do what they can to keep at least a low flame under their narrative.
And to the north, we can assume that Hizbollah does not want to unleash its thousands of rockets against Israel, given what Israel can do in return.
Iran is a puzzle. Israel operates against it in Syria and Iraq. Perhaps Iran is kept quiet by heavy sanctions as well as the threats of direct action against it.
Israel is in the middle of continued small scale violence, and the threat of something much greater.
It relies on a subtle leadership, making the other sides aware of the dangers, without getting into battles that have no positive outcomes.
Currently we’re in the dog days of August. Much of the country is on vacation; much of it elsewhere.
Politics continues toward a September 17th election, looking pretty much like it did prior to the April election.
Bibi is running scared, as he should. Gantz is being clumsy. The Blue and White coalition seems likely to hold through the election. Avigdor Lieberman seems to be in control of what happens, likely to win enough Knesset seats to hold a balance of power. He’s a rightist, but not committed to Netanyahu.
It’ll be interesting to watch.
And meantime, the death of Dvir Sorek will keep us thinking for a while about our insoluble problems with the Palestinians.
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Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University. He may be contacted via ira.sharkansky@sdjewishworld.com