opinion
The IDF Must Make a Stand
Against Islamic Jihad
BY YOAV LIMOR
D espite the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv last week
and the alerts suggesting other terrorist
plots are underway, Israel continues to pursue a
differential and complex policy vis-à-vis Palestinians.

On the one hand, waging an unrelenting war on
terror, while on the other trying not to cripple the
Palestinian economy, allowing more than 100,000
Palestinians to enter Israel for work, and keeping
Ramadan mitigations in place.

Even before April 7’s attack, top defense and
political officials were calling for this policy to
change. These voices grew louder over the week-
end, and yet — on the recommendation of the
defense establishment — the Cabinet is unlikely
to decide on a significant policy change.

This predictable outcome is likely to earn scath-
ing criticism if, heaven forbid, another attack
comes out of Judea and Samaria and, to reduce
this risk, the Israel Defense Forces will intensify
its activities the so-called “seam zone” between
Israel and Palestinian areas in Judea and Samaria,
which has again been exposed as vulnerable.

Military forces thus entered Jenin over the
Laufer Continued from Page 17
bondage, who has ever felt constricted, stuck in a
narrow place. It is a story for all who have sought
the freedom to be their fullest selves, whether that
freedom is physical, spiritual or both.

Bechol dor vador, chayav adam lirot et atzmo
k’ilu hu yatza mi-Mitzrayim: In every generation,
we are obligated to see ourselves as if we, our-
selves, had come out of Egypt.

Core to the seder, this statement is our directive
— this is how we must experience and also teach
the Passover story and its lessons. We experience
it as our own story; it is not simply something that
happened to our ancestors, or a story of myth or
history. It is ours, regardless of where we come
from, who we are now, or where we might be
going or becoming.

The seder night is a night for telling stories, our
own and the ones we think need to be told. But to
my mind, we do not need more on our seder plate
to make that happen. In fact, I worry that, in this
case, more is less — in trying to include each partic-
ular story, we lose the universal truths. I hope that
we sit around our seder tables and talk about the
20 APRIL 14, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
weekend, stepping into a known terrorist hub
where the Gaza Strip-based Palestinian Islamic
Jihad has a massive presence.

The official objective of the raid was to map
out the terrorist’s home prior to demolition, but
this mission also sought to send a clear message,
namely that Israeli forces will not hesitate to enter
the largest terrorist hornets’ nest in the West Bank,
in broad daylight. It also sought to convey a warn-
ing to the PIJ that if it continues to target Israel it
might face a much wider military operation.

Such an operation — a smaller version of
2002’s “Operation Defensive Shield,” which all
but annihilated Palestinian terrorist infrastructure
in the West Bank — has been on the defense
establishment’s agenda for a while, ever since
Jenin’s terrorist current burst onto the surface.

Israel has so far avoided mounting such a cam-
paign, hoping that Palestinian security forces would
be able to tighten their grip on the city, and wishing to
minimize friction ahead and always-volatile month of
Ramadan. But over the weekend it became clear that
many defense officials support draining this quagmire
of terror, via arrests and the seizure of illegal weapons.

The main issue, of course, is the concern that
such an operation could ignite the rest of Judea
and Samaria, spill over to eastern Jerusalem and
perhaps even agitate the Gaza Strip, all of which
have so far remained relatively calm.

This is a standing dilemma that should not
intimidate Israel. Much as with “Operation Defensive
Shield” 20 years ago, the question defense officials
should ask themselves is not what could happen
if the IDF embarks on a wide-scale operation in
Jenin, but what will happen if it doesn’t.

As of April 9, Israel seemed insistent on walking
the same fine line. This is a highly complex challenge
given the growing terrorist alerts — a number that
always increases after a successful attack — which
is why the military is vested in shoring up defenses
across all sectors.

Passover will see Israel impose a closure on the
territories, as happens every year, but this year it
is doubtful that will be enough. Israel is rife with
undocumented Palestinians and it is struggling to
prevent border breaches. Making the seam zone
into an effective barrier again will require a con-
siderable investment. JE
plight of today’s refugees, whether from Ukraine,
Syria or Central America. I hope that we sit around
our seder tables and talk about the bravery of each
and every person who tells their coming out story
and lives their truth. I hope that we sit around our
seder tables and talk about the Palestinian strug-
gle for self-determination, the ongoing struggle
for farmworker and immigrant justice here in the
United States, the shameful history of American
slavery and its lasting legacy of systemic racism,
our own stories of immigration and exile and what-
ever other stories you and your families need to tell.

Over the course of the seder, we lift up the items
on the seder plate and tell of their significance.

What is this bitter herb, we ask? It is to remind
us of the bitterness of slavery, the bitterness of
being subject to a power we have not chosen, the
bitterness of being despised for who we are. What
is this shankbone, we ask? It is a reminder of the
power that can redeem us, the helping hands that
pull us out of our bondage, the strength of convic-
tion that we honor. These are particular items, to
be sure, but they are telling universal stories.

Why do we need additional items, when these
symbols allow us to tell the stories we want to tell?
I worry that the more specific stories we attempt
to include, the more we are excluding. What hap-
pens to people who do not see their specific story
represented on a seder plate that is groaning with
symbols of so many other stories?
One of the core lessons of the Exodus is the
impulse toward empathy. Over and over, the Torah
returns to this narrative, reminding us to protect
and love and be kind to the stranger, because we
were strangers in the land of Egypt. The Torah is
not specific; we do not name that we must be kind
to the Ukrainian refugee, or the trans teenager, or
the Palestinian farmer, or the African man who is
enslaved. Because to name one, in this context,
would be to exclude another. Our empathy, the
Torah teaches, is meant to be boundless and inclu-
sive. We are to welcome anyone — and everyone
— who feels out of place, who feels unmoored,
who has been oppressed or mistreated.

To my mind, and in my understanding of the rites
of Passover, each and every one of their stories is
already represented on the seder plate and in the
seder ritual. No additions needed. JE
Yoav Limor is a veteran Israeli journalist and
columnist for Israel Hayom. This article first
appeared in Israel Hayom.

Rabbi Sari Laufer is the director of congregational
engagement at Stephen Wise Temple in Los
Angeles.