CONCOCTING A GENOCIDE

On 10/7/2023 demonic terrorists invaded Israel, raped, beheaded, tortured, and kidnapped civilians, and began a war that is arguably the most morally unambiguous since WW II. Universal condemnation would be the the expected outcome. And it was, for 5 minutes. In today’s inverted world, righteousness is subservient to victimhood. And when the defenders are Jews, well, they become the offenders by default.

Hamas had its tunnels, but by far its greatest weapon was world opinion. The groundwork had been carefully laid. By lobbying as victims for decades, most people were convinced of an estwhile Palestinian state that never existed. They were willing to ignore historical ties of the Jews to the land of Israel. It became fashionable to label them a “colonial” power, and depict the Palestinians as beleaguered subjects. The refusal of Egypt and Jordan to grant the perennial refugees a state when they were in charge could be buried in short-term memory and ignorance. The refusal of Arab neighbors to take them in could be dismissed, and used to reinforce their victimhood. By denying all peace accords over decades they cemented their place in history as ultimate victims. It didn’t hurt this cultivated image that Israel was affluent, educated and successful, and a potent military power. So eventually, when the Palestinians were granted the opportunity for self-governance and a potential place in the world community, they opted instead to be led by terrorists. We don’t know what percentage of Palestinians hated Jews in their hearts at this point, only that 20% of the Israeli citizenry was Arab and that it was the only Middle Eastern country in which Jews and Arabs could live peacefully side-by-side, in the sole regional democracy that permitted multi-ethnic participation. But the new leaders, Hamas, had a plan to reinforce the necessary anti-Semitism to support the extermination of the Jews, as mandated in their constitution: indoctrinate small children at a young age and educate them in hate, terror and murder. In the interim take the $ billions donated in international aid for infrastructure and use it to make a formidable arsenal of bombs to harass and maim the Israeli “overlords,” all the while faking governance and eschewing the development of a thriving economy. In such a way they could effectuate perpetual victimhood. Much of the world sympathized and lamented, and some donated. But no one, Arab or otherwise, wanted to take them in, anticipating nothing but trouble.

Trouble came on 10/7/2023, when a complacent Israel, ignoring warning signs, was attacked in a coordinated way they did not imagine was possible. To some it may seem suicidal for a limited power such as Hamas to take on Israel, but the terrorists were fueled by hatred, and knew they had several things in their favor: their extensive tunnels, the stockpile of bombs, the international perception of victimhood, and rampant, world-wide anti-Semitism.

After the 5 minutes of condemnation for Hamas’ invasion and brutality, the terrorists implemented their military and propaganda strategies, the latter arguably the more successful. They knew the hostages were not only bargaining chips, but would slow the advance of the IDF. While Hamas could callously use its citizens as human shields and propaganda tools, each death (reported or real) a contribution to the war effort, they knew Israel would be hampered by moral and public relations concerns. The Israelis’ success in prosecuting the war by dint of superior forces, fire power, and air superiority could be used effectively against them. All Hamas had to do was concoct a “genocide.”

On one level it’s surprising and another no, that the Palestinian death toll figures, released with such uncanny alacrity by the terrorists themselves, would be accepted on face value with limited skepticism. A head nod was made by the world to the fact that Hamas hid behind citizens and under hospitals, but increasingly the alarm was directed toward the escalating numbers of reported civilian deaths (how many “civilians” were “innocent” remains unknown, with a recent poll indicating 70% of Palestinians favor Hamas’ actions on 10/7). Early on we were told of Israel’s unprecedented attempts to minimize civilian collateral damage by dropping leaflets and creating safe passage corridors, despite Hamas’ efforts to hamper this. But as the war progressed in Israel’s favor, all the international attention shifted to civilian casualties, now accepted by many as “the genocide.” Calls for humanitarian aid (stolen by Hamas) and then cease-fire became more strident as Israel came closer to the end-goal of exterminating the terrorist threat. Ironically, all the earnest compassion became directed toward Israel, with not even an equivalent, much less a more forceful, call for Hamas’ surrender and the release of all hostages. The UN Security council passed a non-binding resolution directed at Israel for a cease-fire. The US abstained. President Biden placed increasing pressure on the Israelis not to make the final military push, in the view of many to shore up Islamic votes in Michigan in his failing presidential campaign. Others called for a “proportionate” response, whatever that means (it sounds virtuous, though). Cries for the elusive, repeatedly declined 2-state solution resurfaced, despite the obvious lack of any potential moderate leadership to fill the void.

The world-wide outbreak of overt anti-Semitism internationally and in our own country, especially on our campuses, was a wake-up call for me. I could no longer accept the premise that you could hide behind the term anti-Zionist. Yes, chants of “from the river to the sea” do mean exterminate the Jews. Although I still believe the US is the least anti-Semitic place in the world, it’s clear that both here and abroad the Jewish hate crimes that have been a persistent part of the social landscape are the tip of a much larger iceberg. I don’t believe all Muslims, either here or abroad, hate Jews, but I now believe a much larger proportion are Islamists than have publicly declared. Pro-Palestinian activists are all suspect as either woefully misinformed, morally bereft, or both.

Israel will continue to prosecute the war until it’s done, because it has no other choice. Its coalition government of Netanyahu and his opponents, and the Israeli people, are all on the same page. At this point, slow-walking the final stage is not garnering them favor on the world stage, so a rapid resolution would be welcome. A new Gallup poll reportedly shows a disturbing decline of Israeli support here to less than 50%. There is no bomb more powerful than propaganda.

No one is claiming the Israelis are saints; mistakes will happen, and innocents will die, because war is Hell. But if we lose our way due to moral confusion, Hell is no longer limited to the battle field.

WATCH THE CARNAGE

It’s been a tough week. While the Israelis have been literally bombarded, we’ve been bombarded with videos, many filmed by the terrorists themselves, of rape, murder by weapon and fire, and kidnapping of innocent men, women and children, and babies. The pictures are soul-numbing, and the last thing I wanted was to watch them. So I did. And so should you. Because the only way to affirm our humanity is to look evil in the face. Or we won’t face it at all.

We’re all aware of the great divide that has widened in our country over the past few decades and accelerated exponentially over the last 8 or so years. At least half the country has acknowledged the evils being perpetrated on a daily basis under the guise of the public good by the in-power Left. But nothing has highlighted our and the West’s cultural and spiritual decline as starkly as the reaction to the Hamas atrocities executed in Israel. One of the few bright spots in this ordeal has been the appropriate reaction to this war of the most radically progressive president in our history. While Biden’s pre-war policies may have contributed to the current debacle, his overt post-attack warnings to Iran and other potential bad actors, backed by the deployment of two US aircraft carriers to the region and materiel support, were welcome and necessary, both morally and to help deter a larger conflict. His unequivocal support of Israel’s right to defend itself and characterization of the offenders as brutal terrorists were also on-point. Frankly, with his history of lock-step obeisance to anything far left and extremely poor track record when it comes to both domestic or international policy, it surprised me. Unfortunately, on the left and to a smaller extent on the (predominantly far) right, there is a disturbing division in the country regarding an issue that, it would seem, should scream unity. The condemnation of Hamas’ actions has been met with a rallying by many behind the terrorist group not only internationally, as might be anticipated, but domestically as well. And anyone who isn’t alarmed by this needs to urgently reevaluate their moral compass.

In the seats of power, the usual suspects such as the Squad have made their lukewarm reaction to brutal terrorism clear. The Michigan State House legislators rejected a minute of silence for the Israelis killed and taken hostage! Even more troubling are the large protests in favor of the Palestinians and Hamas in places such as NYC and around the country. Large gatherings of radical, mostly ignorant, brainwashed students have proclaimed support of terrorism on multiple university campuses. All of this cannot be solely ascribed to ignorance, though. There clearly has been a resurgence in antisemitism, with Israel the sole nation denied an appropriate response for its own defense from an existential threat. Calls for cease-fire and drawing a moral equivalence between the brutal targeting of innocents of all ages and the unavoidable collateral damage in crowded Gaza by the IDF, a military force that routinely goes out of its way to promote civilian evacuation before attacking, is execrable. And collateral damage there will be: Hamas discourages its civilians from evacuating, while hiding themselves and their deadly materiel among them, precisely to increase collateral damage, knowing a complicit media will unfairly paint Israel in an anti-humanitarian light. Yet, given the opportunity to allow refugees from Gaza to escape via a corridor into Egypt, Egyptian authorities have refused. While 20% of “apartheid state” Israel’s citizens are Arab, no Muslim nation has accepted governance of the Palestinian people, and zero Jews are permitted to live in any of the Muslim nations.

The idea that the Israelis are “occupiers” is belied by history. The Palestinians don’t antedate Jewish residence in the land, and they are not interested in a 2-state solution. They have said as much, many times. Their goal is extermination of the Jews. In refusing the “land for peace” deal in 2000 granting land PLO leader Arafat demanded, President Clinton blamed the Palestinian leader for its failure. Gaza and the West Bank were ultimately ceded to Palestinian rule. Under Hamas, the people of Gaza became pawns for their Intifada against Israel and the West. They publicly admitted they feigned concern for governance of the Palestinian while planning the current attack to get the Israelis to let their guard down. Pipes donated by European nations for the sewer system were appropriated instead to make bombs, as a propaganda video that originated with Hamas itself demonstrates. Now pro-Palestinian voices are trying to blame Israel for turning off the power and water the Jewish state has supplied for free that the governing body of Hamas did not. This while Hamas uses its people as shields and propaganda tools because, as they’ve explicitly told us, they value death the way the Israelis and the West value life. Exposing their own children to injury and death, rather than protecting them, is viewed as “martyring” them. The supporters of Hamas either agree with this, or can’t wrap their minds around the fact that these terrorists don’t value their own children the way they do. Or they are engaging in willful ignorance. And hiding behind a shield of ignorance won’t justify or change the reality of terrorists hiding behind a shield of innocents.

The above self-deception in many of the supporters of Hamas and the Palestinian cause is fueled by the belief that no culture is superior to another. This is demonstrably untrue. (For example, Muslims, but not Jews, can worship freely at the Temple Mount. Muslims can travel without fear in Israel, but Israelis enter Muslim territory only at their great peril.) But ideology, as I’ve said many times, breeds stupidity, and stupidity makes you a useful idiot for evil.

Some will say, “But not all Palestinians and Muslims are evil.” Perhaps not. But that doesn’t prevent them from from being part of the problem. Putting aside the fact that the Palestinians themselves placed Hamas in power, where are the Muslims counter-protests in the streets against the terrorist barbarism? Where are even the rush of public statements dissociating themselves from the movement? The “good” Muslims are there, some may argue, afraid to speak out for fear of retribution. In the face of evil of this magnitude, the absence of courage is no longer an option. It seems the rise of Nazism is already forgotten. The bright side to all this, if there is one, is it is uncovering the magnitude of evil and the rise in antisemitism for all to see, and exposing the individuals engaging in it to the light of day.

So look at the videos. Sure, they’ll suck a lot of the joy out of your day. But they’ll recalibrate your humanity, rekindle appreciation and gratitude for what you have, and will support, in a small way, the millions of Jews now suffering much more tangibly and immeasurably from the loss of family, friends and countrymen. And pray for them. Let this time of tribulation strengthen your bond with those you love and your faith in God, in the end the true source of inner peace and joy.