Anyone looking for a resemblance between the June 8 shooting attack at the Sarona market in Tel Aviv and the mass shooting four days later at the gay nightclub in Orlando can find it in the worn expression “getting back to normal.” In Israel and the United States, this means the normal condolence calls, the usual visits to the wounded and condemnation of the killers, the routine mouthing of hollow slogans and incitement against the murderer’s peer group. It’s back to the business of sipping coffee and lighting candles at the site of the disaster until the next attack. In a speech after the Orlando massacre, US President Barack Obama said, “We have to decide if that’s the kind of country we want to be.” He then added, “And to actively do nothing is a decision as well,” a not-so-veiled reference to conservatives’ persistent refusal to limit the purchase and ownership of guns. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a better position than Obama. Netanyahu has two options from which to choose: He can continue doing more of the same, meaning nothing, the results of which will be identical — that is, bereavement, despair and hatred — or he can take action.
Israel’s six options for peace
