"The Jewish state will no longer be trampled upon"

The quote by Ben Caspit, above and in boldface below, was the headline on Lucianne.com today. And Front Page Magazine (http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=23656) has an excerpt from the Washington Times article that contained that quote; On the Times website, you have to scroll down to where it says "The Qana Massacre", below the perfect Cox and Forkum cartoon. We need more Ben Caspits. We need another Winston Churchill, someone who will say, "Never give in" and "We shall never surrender".


From the Washington Times: Public 'won't bend' in uproar over Qana. (via TIA Daily)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20060731-103608-8953r.htm

The Israeli public, which has been united in support of the government's military actions in Lebanon, stood firm yesterday despite the international uproar over the deaths on Sunday of more than 30 children and several adults in the town of Qana.
"We won't bend," read the headline on a front-page column by the leading political commentator for the Ma'ariv newspaper.

"It's time you understood, the Jewish state will no longer be trampled upon," wrote Ben Caspit. "We won't allow anyone to exploit population centers to bomb our citizens. You can condemn us, you can boycott us, you are invited not to visit us, and if necessary, we will stop visiting you."

Three weeks into the war, the heavy civilian death toll in Lebanon has not changed most Israelis' perception of the war as an existential conflict over the right to live without the threat of Hezbollah rockets, as well as a proxy battle with an Iranian government bent on destroying the country. ...

In a defiant nationwide address yesterday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the army would continue to hit Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon despite an international chorus calling for an immediate cease-fire.

"There is no cease-fire, and there will be no cease-fire," Mr. Olmert said.

"Citizens of Lebanon, we regret the pain caused to so many of you, the fact that you had to flee your homes and places of residence and the unintentional harm to innocents, but we do not apologize for it.

"We will not give up -- not even for a moment -- our right to protect the state of Israel and defend our lives."