Fear, not Sovereignty, Breeds Violence

By Moshe Feiglin

The fear expressed by the leftist MKs toward my demand to actualize Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount is real. Many feel fear because they believe that the Temple Mount is a powder keg. But just the opposite is true. The Temple Mount (and the entire Land of Israel) are a powder keg because of our fear.

What is the source of this fear?

The fear stems from our loss of  confidence in the justice of our cause. Those who do not believe that the Temple Mount – and essentially the entire Land of Israel – are ours, those who feel that they are guests here – are constantly gripped by fear. It is this fear that invites violence.

When the Oslo Accords were signed, the accepted axiom was that the violence was fueled by despair. “If we give our enemies ‘hope’, they will lose their motivation for violence,” was the mantra of that period. Reality, of course, proved otherwise; the Oslo Accords plunged us into a horrific cycle of blood and tears.

Despair does not cause terror: Hope does: The hope for the destruction of the State of Israel.

When Israel strongly re-affirms its sovereignty – especially on the Temple Mount – it closes the window of hope for the destruction of our State. In the short term, we will bear the brunt of threats of violence. But if we remain firm, we will once again enjoy the fruits of our determination, as we did when we opened the Western Wall Tunnels and returned to the City of David despite Arab violence. The same will hold true for any future tests. Our determination will bring us both sovereignty and peace.