OK… I know they are Baalei Chesed. They are renowned for helping their coreligionists in a myriad of ways. They provide food and shelter and all manner of kindness to those in need. And there are many in their camp who qualify. They bend over backwards to help in any and every way they can. Their network of Chesed is widely known and respected. And it is why they are so popular among their own. Especially the devout. But despite their vaunted devotion to God, they have become an evil people in their perceived service to Him.
Hamas can do Chesed all day long for its people. It doesn’t matter. The reason their people suffer is no one’s fault but their own. They perpetuate that status with their deadly antagonism towards Israel. An antagonism that includes daily indiscriminate bombardment of Israeli population centers from Gaza. Their Chesed does not extend to non Muslims. To Hamas, we are all infidels requiring either conversion, subservience to them, or elimination. That is the nature of their hatred of the Jew - who adds insult to injury by occupying Palestine.
Let us not make any mistake about this. To Hamas and other Islamists, Jews are not only occupiers, they are infidels who have usurped what they believe is their Muslim God given right to the land. Until they achieve the goal of taking it back, they will use all means at their disposal to accomplish it. Including the rockets they fire indiscriminately into Israel. Human life means nothing to them in that goal. Not even their own.
That’s why they place their rockets bases in school yards and other civilian population centers in Gaza. They use their own people as human shields. And the devout Islamist civilian allows them to do it. They all want to be martyrs for the cause. There is no greater achievement in life than to die for God. Getting Palestine is such a goal. I will never forget the sight I once saw on the TV News of a Muslim mother expressing her joy that her son blew himself up in a suicide attack against Israel.
I know that Palestinians do suffer all manner of inconvenience and disgrace due to their situation. Israel’s need to protect itself from infiltrating terrorists causes them to have some very harsh treatment for Palestinians.
Palestinians rightfully object to being treated like terrorists. Most of them are indeed not terrorists. But Israel has no choice. The Jihadists take advantage of any laxity that Israel shows them in this regard. So Israel has to be tough.
Nonetheless, if you are an Arab and your wife and children are on the receiving end of such treatment you don’t think about why you are being treated like a potential terrorist. You look at the people treating you that way and hate them for doing this to you. No thought is really given to the reasons for that treatment. Or the fact that Israel would never treat them that way if not for the terrorists among them.
This is the propaganda of the Islamists. They call Israel oppressive occupiers - comparing Israel to the Apartheid State of pre Mandela South Africa. South Africa was a racist state. Israel not only grants citizenship to resident Arabs they serve in the K’nesset as equals – being elected by their own constituency. If there is any prejudice against them now it is because of the fallout of the overall decades long conflict. It didn’t have to be that way. If the Arabs would have accepted us from the start - Israel could have had the same relationship with its Arab neighbors that the US has with Canada.
Hamas doesn’t care about any of that. They cast Israel as modern day Nazis. Now after constantly pounding Israel with rockets (supplied by Iran) from their bases in Gaza, Israel decided to finally act and hit them back with targeted assassinations of Hamas leaders. Israel has hit other areas of Gaza where rocket launchers are located. Civilians – some of them children were killed. Hamas couldn’t wait to proclaim Israel as baby killers. But who are the real baby killers here? It is Hamas who purposely places their rocket launchers in school yards.
So as I said, I am sick and tired of these “Baalei Chesed”. I fully support Israel’s choice to attack Hamas even if it means going into Gaza on the ground if necessary. If there are Arab civilian casualties - it is on Hamas. Not Israel. It would behoove people like Egypt’s Morsi to recognize that instead of saying he saw a child victim of an Israeli attack and was sickened by it.
Speaking of Morsi, the new reality on the Middle East complicates matters significantly. The spirit of the so called “Arab Spring” definitely leans toward a more Islamist perspective.
In the past, with the exception of America, the world did in fact buy into the Palestinian narrative that Israel’s incursions into Gaza were filled with atrocities. But that is no longer the case. At least not yet.
The Obama administration is supportive of Israel’s actions now. It almost seems like the President is more supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself in this way than were previous administrations. In light of the newer reality on the ground in that part of the world, that takes some guts. And all due credit must be given to the President who as recently as this morning said that Israel has a right to defend itself against those constant rocket attacks and he therefore supports Israel’s incursion into Gaza.
What is more surprising is that even Europe has come out in support of Israel!
Could this be the beginning of a brand new day in the world? Does the world finally get it? I don’t know. But I welcome the support now… even if it disappears later. I’ll take what I can get.
Why does Europe now support Israel? Perhaps it is because of the fear of Iran. Iran supplie Hamas with rockets, many of which have far greater range than in the past. They can now reach places like Tel Aviv and even Jerusalem. Maybe that has something to do with this new support. Hamas is clearly Iran’s surrogate in the region. They have pledged to wipe Israel off the map. That falls neatly into Hamas’s wheelhouse. The thought of a country like that getting Nuclear weapons scares Europe. As it should.
Israel ought to take advantage of this new world order and clean house in Gaza. Even if and when the new world order tide turns against them. Hamas has to be destroyed in every possible way. From the leadership down to their lowliest soldier. While civilian casualties should always be minimized it should not alter Israel’s resolve to clean their clocks… and do the entire world a favor by eliminating at least one terrorist group from the map. They can cry bloody murder all they want. Every single Arab child that dies because of it is their own fault.
And I hope that Iran takes note of this. They ought to believe they are next!
It is my fervent prayer that this conflict comes to a positive conclusion very quickly with no casualties or permanent injuries to our valiant soldiers. May God protect them.
