Now, Today, In Israel

Today, I am writing a short rant to give you some context.  Trust me, I will have more on this topic later.  But now….

Two days ago, Hamas terrorists murdered 260 people, mostly Israelis and mostly Jews, attending a music festival in the Israeli desert.  To bring that home, given Israel’s tiny population compared to the United States, which is the proportional equivalent of slaughtering 10,000 people in the United States.  To put that in perspective, imagine terrorists storming in to an Oakland A’s game and killing every single attendee.

At least 150 people have been taken hostage, including an unknown number of American citizens.  If that happened in the United States there would be 5,500 hostages.

As of today, Hamas has murdered 900 people – mostly civilians.  That is the US equivalent of over 33,000 people.  To put that in perspective:  on September 11, 2001, terrorists caused the collapse of the World Trade Center I and II, resulting in  the death of 2,977 occupants of those buildings.

As of last report, 1,500 Hamas terrorists have been killed inside of Israel.  Assuming 20% casualties (an incredibly high number, in my opinion) that means Hamas sent 7,500 terrorists across the border – the US equivalent of over 275,000 enemy combatants.  Even if I am off by 75%, this invasion was not just a terrorist act, it was a declaration of war.

All or most of this murderous violence was aimed at civilians, and that means Jewish Israelis.

Before I talk about the pro-Palestinian utterings of the US progressive left, or the coming excoriation of the “over-reaction” by Israel, or the “war crimes” committed while trying to reach terrorists who hide behind children, hospitals, and schools, I want you to ponder those numbers and think about what your reaction would be if that had happened to us, here in the United States.

Add to your reflection the fact that when it did happen to us, on September 11, 2001, the United States responded by spending 8 trillion dollars, suffering some 5,000 military deaths, and causing an estimated 900,000 civilian casualties in 20 years of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

This is not over.  Not by an exceptionally long shot.