Amona, Ehud Olmert, And Pharaoh

I imagine that Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has a headache. True, it was the heads of the settlers and their supporters that were violently bashed by police batons yesterday in Amona. Their heads and broken bones are surely aching, in addition tho their hearts. However, this is Olmert's second blow to the head since taking the reins from the ailing Ariel Sharon. He probably needs an aspirin, or even a dose of valium.

The first blow was the Hamas victory in the PA elections. I personally took absolutely no interest in those elections. I fail to see the difference between the Hamas and the Fatah. They are both terrorist organizations, murderers outside of realm of civilization. However, the starry-eyed among our nation, those that daydream while they are awake, had a real stake in these elections. For them it was important for the beardless murderers to be victorious over the bearded ones. Their first false messiah of peace, Yasser Arafat, is currently burning in hell together with his Nobel Peace Prize. Now, their second false messiah of peace, which they called in classic Orwellian "disengagement", has been proven to be a farce. We have left the Gaza Strip, but the Gaza Strip is chasing after us, reminding us every so often that rewarding terror breeds more terror. The "disengagement" was the greatest crime against the Jewish people in this century, and one of the greatest crimes that Jews have ever committed against fellow Jews. The rotten fruits of this crime, in which Olmert played a key role, are creating a stench that even the starry-eyed are having a hard time ignoring.

The second blow to Olmert's head was yesterday's events in Amona. Olmert, his henchmen, and his publicity agents disguised as journalists in the Israeli MSM, all claim that the deployment of thousands of policemen, the cracking of skulls, the breaking of bones, were all necessary in order to promote "the rule of the law." Those few houses in Amona were the symbol of evil, something that must be obliterated at any cost. Yet there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of illegally built structures constructed by Arabs in the Galilee, in the Negev, as well as Judea and Samaria. The government does almost nothing against illegal building by Arabs. The brutality demonstrated by the government has nothing to do with the rule of the law; it has everything to do with politics. Olmert thought that playing the tough guy will help his party garner more seats in the next elections. I have a feeling that the pictures of demonstrators with their faces covered with blood as the result of yesterday's government sponsored police brutality will not sit well with the Israeli electorate. I have a feeling that Ehud Olmert understands that his intransigence with regards to a compromise with the settlers of Amona was a mistake. The settlers were willing to dismantle the structures. Olmert said "No." Olmert wanted to look like a gun-toting sheriff walking into a lawless town. Yesterday he ended up looking more like the late Syrian tyrant Hafez Assad or Saddam Hussein.

It is reasonable to surmise that Olmert is now running to his political and media advisors. The words "damage control" and "creative slogans" are probably being ping-ponged back and forth between Ehud and his advisors. I have another word they might consider talking about: teshuvah. The Rambam (Laws of Teshuvah 6:3) says that G-d took away from Pharaoh the ability to do teshuvah because of Pharaoh's wickedness. I sincerely hope that Mr. Olmert will attend services this Shabbat and hear this weeks Torah portion, "Bo". I hope that he takes to heart what Pharaoh did and what happened to him in the end.