Intifada 3.0

One small city nestled in hills and surrounded by mountains is, for many, the center of the world. It is the city of Jerusalem. The prophets called it “the city on the hill.”

And what happens in Jerusalem over the next few days will, or will not, throw the world into crisis. Crisis between the world of Islam and the West. 

Tensions have been rising. There are people, individuals as well as organized groups, rooting for the tensions to ignite and light up a full-scale intifada. Palestinian leaders are stoking the flames, hoping to excite their flock and, with that excitement, force the world to recognize a Palestinian state.

The violence that they are fomenting is of a very dangerous variety. It seems that Palestinian leadership is pushing for a new Third Intifada. And it might just explode in their nationalist, political faces. And that violent maneuver might be just what it takes to unite what is now a very fractured worldwide Muslim community. Arab rhetoric is phrased in a context of cataclysm. It is phrased in terms of huge global conflicts between Muslims and non-Muslims.

The attempted assassination of Rabbi Yehudah Glick, an outspoken, right-of-center Israeli activist, in the middle of Jerusalem, just outside the center named for former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, marks a new low point for the city of Jerusalem and for Palestinian-Israeli relations.

The shooter was so close to Glick, a vocal proponent of the rights of Jews to traverse on the Temple Mount, he was able to confirm that he had the right target by asking his name. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with Glick’s political point of view, the attack set a new nadir. The shooter took aim and hit Glick four times — in the head, the neck, the chest and the arm, and then fled on a motorcycle before being killed by Israeli police a few hours later in a gunfight in his home.

As the news of the attack on Glick spread, Israelis were in communal shock. Such a brazen act of terror in the heart of Jerusalem is deeply worrisome. This heinous act was not simply an assassination attempt — it was an unquestionable expression of the desire by Palestinians to ignite another full-blown intifada.

When nighttime came, the sky was lit up with fireworks in celebration of the attack. Yes, Palestinians in Jerusalem were so elated that Glick was shot that they took to the streets and to the starlit sky to celebrate. To them it was an act of courage and heroism.

Now it remains for Israel to act with maturity. Tensions must be reduced and the parties must be moved back from the brink. Israel must ensure calm, and to do that they must utilize seasoned and well-trained police and army personnel. No hotheads and no young recruits. The Israelis must remain calm and collected. 

They must quickly disburse rioters and neutralize large, emotional gatherings, and they must even arrest organizers in advance of the implementation of actions planned in order to incite their followers. Jews and Arabs, everyone must be treated the same. All tensions must be reduced.

At the same time Israel must keep injuries to a minimum and do everything possible so that there are no deaths. That is essential. And then, after a few days of slowly reduced tension, the situation will return to normal, as normal as it can in Jerusalem.

Palestinian leadership will not partner with Israeli leadership to restore calm. That is not their agenda. Israel must go it alone. And if they do not, or should they fail, Israel and the Western world will be confronted with a crisis the likes of which they have never encountered. 

If Israel cannot bring about calm, if they cannot put out the fires that are burning, the fear of the spread of ISIS attacks in Iraq will seem insignificant compared to the Islamic attacks against Westerners and Western targets around the world. 

Micah Halpern is a columnist and political commentator. His latest book is “Thugs: How History’s Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World Through Terror, Tyranny and Mass Murder” (Thomas Nelson)