Hamas’s intentions
We continually read of demands by president Obama, Ban Ki-moon, the liberal media, and others for Israel to “do more to protect the lives of innocent civilians in Gaza.” But has anyone ever heard these same people explicitly demand that Hamas do more to protect the lives of innocent civilians in Israel? No, of course not. But we must ask, “Why not?”
My imperative may sound bizarre. After all, Hamas is intentionally targeting innocent Israeli civilians. That’s what they do. That’s the purpose of their tunnels into Israel and of their missile attacks. If we require of Hamas that they “do more to protect the lives of innocent civilians in Israel” we are in effect telling Hamas it cannot conduct its operations against Israel on the grounds that its entire effort is intrinsically unjust. In fact, it is a war crime. And, unfortunately, the hypocritical, self-righteous individuals mentioned above are unwilling to make this requirement of Hamas.
Now, one might respond that Messrs. Obama, Ban Ki-moon, et.al., do, in fact, tell Hamas to stop firing missiles into Israel. That is true, but such a remark is not specific enough. It is perfectly consistent with a hypothetical targeting of only military targets and not civilian centers. It does not leave the listener with the same effect as the more specific version. Accordingly, it is incumbent upon the President, the Secretary-General, the media, and the other outspoken critics to say “Hamas, you must do more to protect the lives of innocent civilians in Israel. And if you violate this injunction be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
So until that one-sided demand of Israel also applies to Hamas, let us not be fooled by those hypocrites and dissemblers making this one-sided demand. Instead, let us just support the Israeli people, who overwhelmingly support the Israeli government in this war against Hamas.
Robert Lazarowitz
Iselin
comments