The death of a Border Police officer, Barel Hadaria Shmueli, during Gaza border riots last month, and the escape of six convicted terrorists from Gilboa Prison last week, both have something in common - it was caused by Israel's over-the-top generosity.
Israel is a real wonder. It was established thanks to refugees who came from all around the world, and just within a few decades, have managed to turn a barren piece of land into a powerful country.
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A Palestinian gunman shooting an Israeli sniper during a riot along the Gaza border fence (Photo: EPA)
Nevertheless, this country has many problems, the most noticeable of which is that we can't tell the difference between right and wrong.
On the one hand, we can't tolerate Palestinian women and children getting shot by our troops. On the other, during riots on the Gaza border we allow militants to get close to our soldiers, putting their lives at risk. And if we insist on being good to them no matter what, it will end very badly for us.
Also, we are very good at containing the enemy who keeps pushing the boundaries again and again, while we look the other way and ignore the threat. And if that's the government's policy, then why - for instance - should the Southern Command and the Gaza Division deal with the volatility on the Gaza border? Because the Israeli government wants to maintain peace and quiet at all costs.
But we can't really ignore these threats, and each time we do, we pay a heavy price.
For example, the accumulation of illegal weapons in the Arab sector within Israel. If we don't address the violence and murders in Arab communities, soon they will be aiming their guns at us. It already happened in mixed Israeli Arabs cities when the riots erupted last May, and it is happening now every day in the Negev and the Galilee, when criminals demand money from contractors and business owners, and if they don't receive it, resort to violence.
This leads us to the escape from one of Israel's most secure prisons on last Monday, an event that is rooted in anarchy in so many sectors of the security system.
The way Palestinian prisoners are held in Israeli prisons is incomprehensible. Does anyone really think it's ethical for the killers of our children to live a life of no boundaries? They pretty much govern themselves, allegedly sexually harass female prison guards, consume four times more water than an average Israeli and will soon have free access to 5G broadband cellular networks with video calls?
But those aren't the only benefits the Palestinian prisoners get. Just last month, Ynet's sister publication "Yedioth Ahronoth" revealed that Israel Prison Service allowed opening of bank accounts for prisoners, so they could use them to purchase goods in the prison shop. Accounts to which funds will be deposited by the Palestinian Authority and the families of the prisoners.
So, the answer is, no, it's not ethical. But, current and former chiefs at the Public Security Ministry have one goal - maintain peace and quiet at all cost That's why they also probably don't use devices to block service for cell phones smuggled into prisons.
What is also not ethical is that prisoners with blood on their hands sit in luxurious prison cells and plan an escape, the full consequences of which will not be known for awhile.
This lack of ability to distinguish right from wrong exists in quite a few other government systems in Israel. So, we must pull ourselves together, because eventually all the good we have worked so hard to build, will be triumphed by evil just because we were "too good" to deal with it.
First published: 08:59, 09.17.21