In April 2003, Israel began planning to construct a security fence, effectively surrendering land in an attempt to prevent suicide bombings. In July 2003, Israel pulled troops out of Bethlehem and released several hundred Palestinian Arab terror suspects. In January 2004, Israel freed more than 400 Arab terrorists in return for three Israeli corpses and a kidnapped businessman. In August 2005, Israel threw 7,500 Jews out of their homes in the Gaza Strip and handed over those homes to Palestinian Arabs, who proceeded to torch the area's synagogues. In November 2005, Israel allowed the Palestinian Arabs to open the southern border of the Gaza Strip, allowing free flow of material and population from Egypt.
In October 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for the destruction of the state of Israel. Thousands of Iranians rallied in the streets in support. Last week, Iran refused to freeze its nuclear program.
In January 2006, the Palestinian Arabs overwhelmingly voted for the terrorist group Hamas in their parliamentary elections. Hamas' charter pledges to fight for the destruction of the state of Israel.
Last week, the Israeli populace responded to these imminent threats by electing to the Prime Minister's office a man who has said not a word about the Iranian threat, a man who has pledged more unilateral withdrawals, a man who seeks to offer yet more concessions to an intractable and single-minded enemy.
Ehud Olmert is that man. His Kadima Party, created by recently incapacitated former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, plans "disengagement" at all costs. Kadima won 28 out of 120 seats in the Israeli Parliament (Knesset).
The appeasement-minded Labor Party finished second in the Israeli elections, garnering 20 seats in Knesset. Center-right Likud, Ariel Sharon's old party before Sharon left to form Kadima, won only 11 seats. The rest of the seats in the Knesset are divided among a hodgepodge of smaller parties with whom Olmert will attempt to create a coalition government.
Why do Israelis continue to sanction inaction and concession in the face of evil? They have no control. In these most perilous of times for the Jewish state, only 63.2 percent of voters turned out for the election; apathy reigns in a place where politicians routinely ignore the wishes of their constituents in favor of government patronage. Over the course of four decades, regardless of the identity of the Prime Minister, Israel has continuously conceded to the wishes of those who would destroy it.