Ingathering of a Different Sort

As I write these lines, tens of thousands of foreigners are fleeing Lebanon. Some have already made the trek to Syria, where they await chartered flights to their homelands from Damascus. Others have taken refuge on the premises of their respective embassies (which, as well all know from the movies, are considered the sovereign territory of the country whose embassy is on the property). Yet others are being transported via massive cargo helicopters to ships waiting off of the Lebanese coast. And sadly, some never made it out.

These people are victims of circumstance. Unless they were complicit with Hizbullah during their stays in Lebanon, they had no reason to suspect that a terrorist organization would foolishly drag their country into a war, with Israel no less! But in contrast to the picture here, where solidarity groups plan to visit specifically during this difficult time, where groups of kids who came for the summer are staying despite the violence, where residents of the north are being welcomed by benevolent families and institutions around the country, where everyone except for a small group of self-hating Jews throws their full weight behind the actions of the government, where we have told the terrorists time and time again, "YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT US!," the picture in Lebanon is considerably different. People are fleeing; they are letting the fringe groups dominate the country, which has so much potential to a be a democracy friendly to Western interests.

Not so in Israel. We have too much to lose to just run away from our problems.