Israeli Columnist Argues Terrorists Target Jews Regardless of Leadership

A column by Shimon Elkayam argues that the root cause of terrorism against Israelis is antisemitism, not the political leadership in power. Elkayam contends that attacks are driven by a desire to destroy Jews simply for being Jewish, citing historical examples from various Israeli prime ministers.

He contrasts the September 11th attacks, which killed 2,977 people, with the October 7th Hamas massacre, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and over 26,000 wounded in Israel. Elkayam lists numerous attacks that occurred under different prime ministers, including David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Yitzhak Rabin, Ehud Olmert, Naftali Bennett, and Benjamin Netanyahu, to support his claim that terrorism persists regardless of who is leading the country.

Examples cited include infiltration attacks under Ben-Gurion, coastal highway and Nahariya attacks under Begin, the First Intifada under Shamir, suicide bombings during the Oslo Accords under Rabin, the abduction of Gilad Shalit and the Merkaz Harav synagogue attack under Olmert, and various attacks during Bennett's and Netanyahu's tenures, culminating in the October 7th massacre.

Elkayam concludes by urging an end to excuses and a focus on eliminating the capabilities of "new Nazis" to harm Israelis. He suggests that military "operations" are insufficient and that Israel must focus on dismantling terrorist infrastructure to ensure security.