Today is a black day for the People of Israel.

Insider reports indicated that I wouldn't be able to get much further into Gaza than I did yesterday as they seriously upped the restrictions and patrols.

For the moment I am at work watching on TV the black uniformed soldiers push there way into Gush Katif. I have other plans for later.

I couldn't help but notice, before the TV panned away from the scene, a policeman seriously choking a teenager in front of him. Non-violent indeed.

Sharon's Brute Squad - as I've heard them called.


I keep thinking that the message has been transmitted very clearly.

Non-violent protests, half a million people in the streets holding hands, huge gatherings across the country, they did absolutely nothing.

We Jews decided not to use violence, and guess what, we are being thrown out of our homes.

The Arabs use violence, and guess what, the Jews are being thrown out of our homes.

What lessons and conclusions am I supposed to learn from this experience?

Did we avert a civil war like Begin did when Ben-Gurion wanted to start one?

Yes. But to what end?

The background of Chanukah is essentially not much different then ours today.


In Hebrew, the official IDF acronym for the "illegal infiltrators" into Gush Katif is "SHa'Ba'CHim".
The real name for them is "Meshubachim" - The "Praiseworthy".
I think that says it all.