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December 7, 2001/Kislev 22, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 13
Lessons learnedEditorialThe 60th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor today comes as American forces deployed in Afghanistan are routing out our terrorist foes, and as Israeli soldiers are striking targets in Gaza and the West Bank in retaliation for yet another series of heinous attacks by Palestinian terrorists.What have we learned in the six decades since 2,400 American servicemen and women perished at Pearl Harbor? We've learned that numbers don't count. The horror of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attack is undiminished by new estimates that some 3,500 Americans may have died, rather than the originally feared 6,000. We've learned that attempting to reduce human lives to statistics implies a callous disrespect for life and disregard for the grave price of war. Grief cannot be quantified. In Israel, we've learned that the numbers game offers deadly ammunition for those seeking to justify Palestinian terror as part of a "cycle of violence." Counting casualties provides an obscene defense of "moral equivalency" for Palestinian "martyrs" who detonate loads of explosives strapped onto their backs to maim and murder blameless Israelis. We've learned that while restraint is laudable, there comes a time when it can no longer be justified, when decisive military action is necessary. Such was the case in Pearl Harbor, when an attack on American soldiers on American soil prompted our entry into World War II. Such was the case of the WTC bombings, when America was forced to declare global war on terrorism. And such is the case in Israel, when after witnessing 15 months of escalating bloodshed at the hands of Palestinian perpetrators, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has declared, "A war has been thrust upon us." Too, we've learned that the American-Israeli relationship can be strengthened by tragedy, reconstituted by shared sorrow. In a poignant moment during his New York visit last weekend, Sharon inscribed a message on the memorial wall at Ground Zero. Even as Israel was being attacked, he added his wishes for peace. |
