NETIVOT KNOWS ABOUT 'FATIGABILITY OF THE OLIFACTORY NERVES'

By Schmoel Yitzhak

The worthy citizens of Israel's South may not know what "Fatigability

Of The Olifactory Nerves" (hereafter known as FOTON) is all about but

they certainly are experiencing it first-hand.

And it ain't funny either, unless you happen to be a card-carrying

member of Hamas or any of its splinter terrorist organizations.

By "South," I'm referring to Netivot, Sedorot, Beersheva and any Negev

area which has been targeted over the past few years by rocket attacks

from Gaza.

They are all victims of the FOTON syndrome which means if you're

embedded long enough in garbage up to your neck long enough, your

olifactory nerves (nose) hardly smells it anymore, if at all.

So it has been in Sederot, Netivot, et. al. where so many Qassam and

Grad rockets have struck that explosions are almost taken for granted.

There are exceptions, of course, as in the latest grad attack that not

only demolished a Netivot home but also hit Beersheba forcing school

closures -- sound familiar? -- and will surely produce the knee-jerk

IDF retaliatory attack against Gaza terrorist bases and/or rocket

arsenals.

Were Israeli lives not constantly endangered and large blocs of the

South not justifiably traumatised these regular Arab declarations of

war -- and precisely what they are -- could be shrugged off as routine

Hamas' intimidation tactics.

And that seems to be government policy; until a major,

death-producing, Gaza-based rocket assault occurs, the Benjamin

Netanyahu-Ehud Barak leadership will turn the other cheek after the

Israeli Air Force shoots up one of the enemy training bases or rocket

pods.

To an objective visitor from another planet, the Israeli response

would seem somewhat to the left of futile. If an intelligent Martian

observer viewed the episodes and could speak English, he would address

the Jerusalem high command with two words: "ENOUGH ALREADY!"

If asked how the American government would react if Canadian-based

rockets rained down on his native state, a tourist from Montana most

assuredly would reply that Uncle Sam by now would have devastated any

neighboring country that has done to the USA what the Gaza rocketeers

have done to Israel.

Guaranteed the governments of Yitzhak Shamir, Menachem Begin and Golda

Meier never would have waited so long without a devastating reply.

Hey; you and I know that neither Bibi nor his sidekick are fools nor

are they bashful about retaliation. Therefore we must conclude that

the general staff continues playing a waiting game in terms of going

after the Gaza goons. Surely, it must be a political reason somehow

linked to Iran, the American election; you name it.

But that doesn't do much good for the children in the Israeli South

who routinely are told they are not going to school today, tomorrow or

the next day because of another rocket attack.

Nor does it help the shell-shocked citizens of Sdeort, Netivot and Beersheva.

Fatigability Of The Olifactory Nerves may apply to garbage which

happens to be less devastating than an exploding Grad missile.

One of these days, Netanyahu and Barak will get the message and blast away

But, alas, when?