As predicted, with each passing day the hue and cry about the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza heats up. That is a good thing. It is a good thing to be reminded of the horrors of war. The death, the destruction, the inhumanity.
There are very few justifications for going to war in international law. Among those reasons are defending yourself and your people and defeating evil. That is what we, the United States and the Allies, did in WWII – we defended our citizens and fought evil.
That is what the Israelis are doing in Gaza – defending Israeli citizens and fighting evil.
The truly unfortunate reality of war is that civilians often end up paying a higher price than the combatants. Wikipedia indicates that WWII caused 130 million civilian deaths and 25 million combatant deaths, most of which occurred in China (by Japan) and Russia (by Germany). Was that too many to stop Nazism and Japanese militarism from taking over the world? You decide.
So, what constitutes a war crime? A number of offenses, but the biggest ones include the deliberate targeting of civilians and the taking and holding of civilian hostages.
The expected hysteria around potential Palestinian civilian deaths has begun – in fact, those deaths are being called a war crime before the event. That outcry is really a false flag. Those civilians are not being targeted. In fact, the Israelis have typically given the Gaza civilians advance warning regarding military intervention, and their deliberate targets are Hamas terrorists. Yes, those terrorists hide among the civilian population. And, yes, the civilian population knows this and is forewarned. Israel has informed the UN and other Palestinian agencies to move the civilian population away from northern Gaza. Hamas has told their people to ignore that warning. Who is it that is putting civilians at risk?
Outside of Israel, where is the hue and cry regarding the wanton and reckless rocket fire from Gaza into purely civilian locations in Israel? Where is the world condemnation of decades of such action? Not at the UN, already posturing to be able to condemn Israel for its actions, that’s for sure. The double standard exists as follows – anti-Israel and antisemitic organizations do not commit crimes against humanity worthy of note and action, but Israel does. The UN is virtually silent when it comes to China and the Uighurs and Tibet; they are silent right now regarding the 125,000 people driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh by the Azerbaijanis. (Note to Rep. Omar – that is what ethnic cleansing really looks like.) But they are not silent about Israel.
It would thus appear that our world organizations do not value the lives of Israelis and Jewish civilians as much as Palestinian civilians. As Dara Horn wrote, “people love dead Jews” — it is the living ones they do not care much about. That is why every time Israel does something pro-Palestinian groups do not like, Jews around the world pay the price. It is the excuse for killing Jews in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Bueno Aries, Pittsburgh and other places.
You do not need to tell Jews what this barbarism looks like. We have seen it…from the Romans, from the Crusaders, from the medieval Church, from the Inquisition, from the Russian pogroms, from the Nazis, from the anti-Israel terrorists, and from the white supremacists. And now Hamas and Hezbollah, and Fatah, and Christian Identity fanatics. We know what murdered, raped, and dismembered men, women, children, and babies look like. We know what burned bodies look and smell like. We know how cruel and inhumane and evil human beings can be. And, between the lines all the announcements Israel has made is this: NO MORE. There is no future for Israel with Hamas. And there is no negotiating with people committed to killing you.
And since the world does not seem to care all that much (with a few rare exceptions), the Israelis are going to do what they must. The status quo between Israel and Hamas is over and done. Those folks supporting Hamas, here in the US, in Washington, on college campuses and elsewhere have made a moral choice. Being pro-Palestinian is one thing, giving support to Hamas and thereby embracing murder, maiming, and raping is another thing altogether and it is unconscionable.
No one has ever asked (or demanded) of any other country what the world asks of Israel. As just one example: Hamas launched rockets that damaged the Israeli power grid. Israel cut off electricity to Gaza and therefore Hamas. Israel is excoriated and accused of being inhumane for not providing electricity to the very same forces that damaged Israeli electric generation in the first place. Huh? Like the Allies provided Germany with electricity after we destroyed their grid? Don’t be ridiculous.
However, this logic is applied to Israel all the time. Hamas launches rockets from platforms in apartment building, hospitals, and schools aiming to kill civilians in Israel. Israel bombs those locations to stop the rocket fire and is accused of targeting civilians.
This time, Israel says sorry, the world’s condemnation and premature accusations are not going to stop us from protecting our people.
Let me be perfectly clear. What is happening to Palestinian civilians is a tragedy. As a people, they should not have to bear this burden. But as a political entity shielding terrorists, there is no choice. This is now a war and there is an inevitable human cost to uprooting and removing evil. That cost has been borne too long in the Middle East by the Jews of Israel. Targeting and murdering Jews in Israel and elsewhere is due to the actions of those who claim to speak for the Palestinians, those that the Palestinians have elected, and those who have rejected peace with Israel each and every time it has been offered.
If there is to be peace, if the Palestinian people are to have what they deserve, their own state with safety and security, they are going to have to disarm the radicals among them, stop those radicals from murdering Jews, and reject the terrorists in their midst. Peace has not and cannot be achieved with Hamas.
Here are a couple of questions to ponder:
- What would happen if Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah and the various other terror groups unilaterally disarmed?
- What would happen if Israel unilaterally disarmed?
The answer to the first question: peace with the Palestinians (if the world could keep Iran from doing what they want to do).
The answer to the second question: a whole lot more dead Jews.
Understand this: Israel will do what it must to protect its country and the Jews of this world. If it was not clear before, it is clear now – Israel and Jews around the globe will not be safe while Hamas is allowed to operate with impunity.
If you are one of those who’s moral compass is already swinging towards the whataboutism and proportionate response and all the other exhortations and vocal effluvia that add up to allowing Hamas to continue and for Israel to stop defending itself, well tough shit. Israel, and most Jews, have stopped listening. Jewish lives matter too.
Adult Language Is Possible 