The well-known folk-saying “One who becomes
compassionate to the cruel will ultimately become cruel to the
compassionate”, has been employed to criticize the government for
not dealing harshly with the cruel terrorist organizations but rather
treating them forgivingly, which engenders cruelty to the general public.
In its primary context, this adage has a totally
different meaning. Originally, this saying was directed towards King Saul,
who did not properly fulfill the Torah’s commandment to battle against
Amalek until its liquidation. In the above adage, our Sages attempt to
convey that a King may not place humanitarian considerations above the
law, as the obligation to obey is incumbent upon the government just like
anyone else, and the government is not permitted to refrain from
fulfilling its obligations for any reason.
The Law of the State of Israel mandates to combat
terrorism until its demise. The government’s avoidance of waging an
all-out war against terrorism for political reasons is a repetition of
King Saul’s mistake – a mistake which cost him his throne and his kingdom.
The elected Prime Minister must learn the lessons of
the rich historical experience of the Jewish people in the realm of war
against those who threaten it with extinction and conduct peace talks only
with those among the Arabs residing in the Land of Israel who are truly
willing to recognize the existence of the State of Israel. As to all those
who want to continue the battle against Israel, it is incumbent upon us –
including, and above all, the Government and Prime Minister – to obey the
law and wage war against them until their demise. This is a precondition
for the Prime Minister to have any prospect of extricating the State from
the difficult situation in which it finds itself, since the inception of
the Oslo “peace process” in 1993.