It was meant to be a Holocaust, but it didn’t quite work out that way

October 7 was meant to be the Final Solution, the final Final Solution, that is. Several countries, several jihad terrorist armies and their arms and agents in the West were primed and ready to go. Never again would a Holocaust fail to deliver the Final Solution. After October 7, Yom HaShoah cannot have the same meaning as before, because the sacred pledge, Never again! has already been violated. To now simply reiterate Never again! is to make a mockery both of ourselves and of our pledge. Let us at least respect this Yom HaShoah by acknowledging that Never again! had been little more that a platitude, an utterance of no practical value that would have no bearing whatsoever on whoever was determined try the Final Solution one more time. From now on, I shall never again say “Never again!” unless I offer practical measures that will ensure that no one is ever again inspired to try.

This is a practical Yom HaShoah, enveloped in practical concerns. We are in the middle of a genocidal war. The world hates us now more than ever. Several serious scores remain to be settled in our own house. We cling to hope that at least twenty Jews in Hamas captivity are still alive. Those who had attempted another Final Solution will not be vanquished until every last single one of them is dead, or every last single one of them has been expelled from Gaza.

Let us be done with the polite speak. Whom are we trying to impress? To be hated by everyone is a liberation in itself. Let us not squander the opportunities this hatred brings. But we have squandered them already.

The Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, has seen fit to "threaten" Hamas that if they do not return the hostages, Israel will add increasing parts of Gaza to the “Security Zone”. What is this? Is this annexing bits of Gaza without saying that we’re annexing bits of Gaza? If it is, then does the Defense Minister imagine the world will hate us more for being explicit about it? Former Muslims will tell you that once a group of people takes it upon themselves to kill you, there is nothing you can do or not do, or say or not say, that will alter the matter of which comes first: your timely death, or your untimely death by their hands. Therefore, there is no benefit to be had from restraint. The entire world hates Israel. What benefit is there to be had from restraint? Besides, what about us? After all we’ve been through, do we not deserve clear, galvanising, uncompromising talk to inspire the timid and sweep aside the naysayers?

Even more seriously, Katz’s threat to seize Gaza territory is an offer, rather than a threat, because we are offering that in exchange for our people whom they have violently seized, raped, mutilated, beaten and starved, and have no entitlement to, we will reward them with keeping Gaza. With this arrangement, in their eyes, the war that they started will have cost them nothing, because all they’ll have needed to do was give back what they’ve taken, what’s left of it, anyway, and they’ll have lost no territory, because we coupled the hostages to territory. So-called “security zones” can easily be clawed back without releasing anyone. Gaza has plenty of five-year-olds to send into the kill zone and Israel has a Supreme Court. Israel Katz knows this, so what is he playing at?

Furthermore, we seem to forget that in all the time that Hamas held our people, they also effectively seized both southern and northern Israel in that they expelled Israelis from those areas, rendering them refugees in their own country. The Muslims, Hamas and Hezbollah, effectively occupied both southern and northern Israel without a single terrorist being present there. In 1967, we rewarded their aggression by giving them the Temple Mount, which they effectively occupy by forcing Jews to pray there only as dhimmis; this time we are offering to reward their aggression by giving them Gaza, AGAIN.

Annexation of territory is the key, provided you remain clear-headed about it. Annex all of Gaza and call it annexation: firstly, to impress upon Hamas our contempt for their honour; secondly, to humiliate them in that they are an Islamic army unable to defend what is most sacred to them, and they could not hold with fighting what they had gained without fighting, "Muslim land"; thirdly, once so humiliated, they will lose respect, while they, in turn, will respect and fear Israel. Force them into the position of offering us the hostages to stop our driving them out. “Drive them out,” is precisely the wording we must use to compound their failure and disgrace, for Allah commands them thus:

And slay them wherever ye find them, and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter. (Qur’an 2:191)

Palestinians speak endlessly of “the occupation”. It refers to “the places whence they drove you out.” Whether in a cot, a safe room, a car, a music festival or a mother’s arms, “slay them wherever ye find them,” and even if you slaughter them all, don't worry, “persecution [occupation] is [still] worse than slaughter.” Profound humiliation means that at the end of their carrying out this commandment, they are driven out; “the occupation” is stronger than Allah. They will offer to release the captives just so the humiliation might stop. Below is one way of driving that humiliation home:

Do not mention hostages at all.

Move all the Gazans away from both the southern and northern borders of Gaza into an ever-shrinking territory in the middle of the Strip south of the Netzarim Corridor, till those on the Mediterranean side get their feet wet. Helicopters hovering nearby will pile on the pressure. If they still have not released everybody, push a little more, until those on the edge are up to their knees in water. They will be made to face exactly that which they all want to do to the Jews. From such a stark inversion of their long-held dream, they will not only profoundly appreciate their predicament, but will suffer the violation that the Jews are inside their heads and are threatening to drive out Allah. It is obvious they are about to be driven into the sea, what else? In their minds, it is only natural that the Jews would want to take this revenge for all the years that the Palestinians have promised to do this to them. Push another metre forward. Those furthest into the water will begin to lose their footing. Panic will set in. Let this panic build on itself.

When they begin to feel like those young people felt at the Nova Festival; when they are shaking with terror as the families huddled in their safe rooms shook with terror, then, over loudspeakers in the rudest and most insulting way possible, command silence. When they are completely silent, say nothing for a full five minutes. If they have not handed over the captives by this point, then, over the loudspeakers, play the song Yalla ya Nasrallah. When the song finishes, command silence again. Wait another five minutes.

Without any introduction and in a calm tone, start telling the story of Hezbollah starting from the shelling of the Majdal Shams children to the killing of Nasrallah, making sure to mention every leader killed, including Fuad Shukr, and the "heroic deeds" of each of them. Go into great detail on the pagers and walkie-talkies and on the weeping cripples in the mosques and shrines, and play Nasrallah's children's voices talking about the state of their father during his final days, before describing in detail how Nasrallah died. Tell them that the last thing Nasrallah saw before he died, was Prime Minister Netanyahu on the phone in New York, giving the order to kill Nasrallah, and add, "When Nasrallah wakes up in Jannah, he will see Netanyahu before he sees Allah." Command silence. Wait five minutes. Bring the helicopters closer.

Over the loudspeakers, play the recording of the Hamas murderer phoning his family in Gaza, drunk on just having killed ten Jews with his own hands. They all remember it very, very well, for they danced and rejoiced when they first heard it. Then they will know it is time to pay for their deeds. Then we can expect them to release everyone, and place themselves at the IDF's mercy. Hover the helicopters low directly overhead. They will fall over themselves to kiss the boots of IDF soldiers. Then we will know we have won. With all the hostages released, all that they will then be begging for, is not to be driven into the sea. They will gladly all leave Gaza right there and then.

And that, if you’re serious, is how you ensure Never again!

Picture credits:

https://www.facebook.com/ErikloeraG/?_rdr

Alisdare Hickson from Woolwich, United Kingdom - A Prayer for Palestinian Children, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=138840023

Comments:

On 25 April 2025 at 8:22, Ben Dor A. wrote:

Dear Anjuli Pandavar

Excellent ideas. I will try to translate and share it ASAP.

Shabbat Shalom 🙏

Best Regards
Ben Dor A.