Penalty shootouts…writes Michael Kuttner
In the final rounds of the FIFA world cup, results must be decisive.
Michael Kuttner
No draws or inconclusive scores are allowed and in order to progress to the grand final the competing teams have to battle it out until a conclusive winner is determined.
For more than seventy years all of Israel’s opponents have been soundly defeated. Despite this impressive result, achieved with much loss of Israeli life and suffering, thanks to the intervention of biased officials and referees, namely the United Nations with international hypocritical support, a decisive end result still eludes us.
True, two “teams” have pulled out, more or less, although their supporters still harbour feelings of hate. Egypt and Jordan have officially withdrawn from the competition to eliminate the Jewish State and there are indications that some others may be having second thoughts about confronting us again.
Unresolved and still a mystery for many is why the competition to destroy Israel still rumbles on without it coming to a definitive conclusion.
The answer is simple and involves those teams ganging up against us, the UN “referees” and unfortunately the home team – namely Israel and many of its fans. Some of these in recent times, unfortunately, have been seduced into cheering for teams with terror connections and dubious aims such as boycotts, delegitimisation and foul play.
Instead of a knockout we have instead far too often allowed our opponents to take time out and then eventually regroup for another round. Rather than employing offense tactics we go on the defense and as a result find that any early advantage is frittered away by the time the UN blows the final whistle.
Some of our worst outcomes are as a result of own goals.
In 1967 we stupidly returned control of the Temple Mount to the Islamic authorities and continued the fiction that Jordan, the ethnic cleanser of Jews, was the guardian of rights at Judaism’s holiest site. Those responsible for this unbelievable gesture mistakenly thought that we would be showered with praise. All we in fact received was a red card which means to this day that Jews are forbidden on pain of arrest from uttering any prayer on Har Habayit.
The most blatantly idiotic own goal occurred when Arafat and his gang of terrorists were invited back to Gaza from exile in Tunisia. This insane gesture set the stage for future mayhem and terror. It resulted in the deaths and maiming of thousands of Israelis and the conversion of Gaza into the blighted piece of real estate it is today.
Not content with this unbelievable move our left wing players then proceeded to compound their offside moves by signing a deal in Oslo which set the stage for further fouls. These included gifting territory which immediately converted into safe havens for terrorists and a planned campaign of suicide murders, bus bombings and widespread murder. Refusing to learn the tragic consequences of rewarding terror with gestures we then proceeded to cede even more territory. Meanwhile the UN and the EU amongst others supported and financed the players involved in these outrages.
The unilateral withdrawal from Gaza is another classic example of an own goal precipitating a disastrous result. Heralded at the time by those on the left hand side of the field as a major strategic masterstroke which would finally inaugurate a messianic age of peace, brotherhood and prosperity, this insane strategy instead produced terror, rockets, tunnels, flaming kites and helium filled exploding condoms.
What lessons should we learn from over seventy years of unremitting terror against the Jewish State and its citizens?
Without a definitive and decisive knockout against our opponents we are doomed to keep repeating endless moves which will only perpetuate the problem. Playing for extra time in the hope that our opponents will finally acknowledge the hopelessness of their situation is no guarantee of a successful result. The reason is that we are not dealing with rational thinking whereby the welfare and wellbeing of a nation are of primary importance. We are facing an ideology which glorifies death, jihad and mayhem and prefers to spend millions or even billions of your money on weapons and terror rather than clinics, hospitals, schools, refugees and improved living conditions. When faced with groups dedicated to our destruction it is futile to try and appease them in the hope that somehow they will see reason.
Voices can be heard proclaiming “give peace a chance.”
We have been giving peace a chance since at least 1947 and all we have received in return is terror. Egypt and Jordan realized the futility of further violence and that is why we have a peace treaty (albeit a cold one) with them. The Hamas rulers of Gaza and the corrupt kleptocracy situated in Ramallah are still fully committed to eradicating the “Zionist entity.” The former employ terror tactics and the latter deny our historical validity as well as promote boycotts.
It is a scandal of immense proportions that the innovation nation is still struggling to prevent the arson of thousands of dunams of forests, agricultural fields and communities. The use of human shields has resulted in the wrath of the world descending on us instead of the perpetrators. One cannot win such a contest if one behaves in a half hearted manner. Of course there is an economic and ecological disaster developing in Gaza. However it is self inflicted and could be solved if those employing terror instead gave genuine peace a chance. If Israelis living in kibbutzim and moshavim near Gaza cannot live in peace, then neither should those in Gaza be able to do so. Instead of proposing pie in the sky schemes such as artificial islands, Cyprus ports and airports we should be taking the fight to our opponents and finally force a penalty shootout which ensures a decisive and permanent result.
When Chamberlain returned from Munich the exultant crowds proclaimed that peace for our time had finally been achieved. As Churchill predicted instead of averting war, appeasement had only gained dishonour and guaranteed war. It seems that neither Europe nor most of the international community has learned that lesson as current appeasement of Iran continues unabated.
The only way to achieve a decisive result in the fight against evil is to comprehensively defeat it so that it cannot again raise its ugly head.
Any other strategy as we should have learnt to our bitter cost is merely kicking the ball down the field in the forlorn hope it will somehow reach its goal.
POSTSCRIPT: Jews have faced endless conspiracy theories over the last two thousand years. Our opponents are still kicking them around. Watch the latest concerning the FIFA world cup (courtesy of MEMRI):
https://www.memri.org/tv/damascus-friday-sermon-world-cup-implements-protocols-elders-zion
