What other country would tolerate an enemy who indiscriminately rains down rockets on civilian population centers? What other country sustains over 2,612 rocket attacks, according to the New York Times,- which are designed to kill, maim and terrorize as many civilians as possible- and then is assailed by the international media, governments and political commentators when it targets the enemy’s firing positions with surgical airstrikes which sometimes have the regrettable but unavoidable effect of causing collateral damage?
Allegations of Israel acting “disproportionately” have taken the world by storm. The international media has reacted to this current conflict with its usual knee-jerk reaction, by condemning Israel for applying an asymmetrical response to the Palestinians in Gaza. While a disproportion does indeed exist in this low-level war, it is not the kind that Israel’s detractors are crying foul over; the disproportion here is the moral asymmetry between Hamas, who is deliberately trying to cause as much destruction and casualties on both sides, and Israel, who is deliberately trying to minimize casualties, also on both sides.
For those who have passionately criticized Israel’s use of airstrikes to target rocket firing positions, I ask this question: What would you expect your country’s leaders to do if a terrorist organization was firing rockets aimed at your house? The truth is that no country would stand by idly as its citizens suffered from a terror campaign in which a sustained barrage of rockets was being launched on a daily basis. Although Israel possesses the Iron Dome Missile Defense system, which is designed to intercept and destroy rockets, the system is by no means 100% effective, and millions of Israelis must sprint to the nearest bomb shelters whenever they hear the piercing sound of a siren. Hamas fires rockets indiscriminately at civilian population centers without regard for the age, religion or ethnicity of the potential victims. Clearly, Israel is entirely justified in using airstrikes to destroy weapons caches, firing positions and infiltration tunnels to defend its citizens from wanton violence. Hamas on the other hand Hamas views any Jew, no matter what age, as fair game for a military target; consequently, it has committed egregious war crimes by targeting all Israelis with its imprecise, unguided missiles.
For those who have assailed Israel for escalating the conflict by launching a ground invasion into Gaza, I ask this question: What would you expect your government to do if it discovered that 13 jihadists tunneled under the border armed with rocket launchers and machine guns next to a civilian community? What if some of the tunnels dug by the jihadists were found to contain tranquilizers and handcuffs, presumably for the purpose of kidnapping Israelis to be used as bargaining chips, as the Washington Post reports? Can you imagine the possibility of your family, during the dead of night, being captured, dragged down a tunnel, handcuffed and tranquilized, and then held captive for years to be used as a political pawn? These are not hypotheticals, these are facts; the Washington Post reports that heavily armed, Hamas militants have emerged three times in recent days on Israeli soil next to Israeli civilian communities.
After the “date which will live in infamy,” when Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor and nearly destroyed the entire U.S. Pacific fleet, the United States did not respond with a “proportionate” attack on a Japanese naval base. Rather, the U.S. set out on a four-year campaign which resulted in millions of dead Japanese and unbelievable destruction to cities such as Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When one has clearly been attacked first by an aggressor, one has every right- legal and moral- to continue the fight until the aggressor is no longer a security threat.
In World War Two, When Germany launched the blitz against Britain and pounded its civilians with relentless air attacks, did Germany respond with a proportionate amount of force? No way. Churchill orchestrated the greatest land invasion in history and reduced Germany to rubble, regrettably killing a staggering amount of innocent a women and children in the process.
Hamas is guilty of routinely committing double war crimes: They commit two war crimes simultaneously by firing rockets indiscriminately at civilian population centers while doing so from hospitals, mosques, schools and homes in order to bait Israel into killing Palestinian civilians; for example, the UN reported last Thursday that it found 20 rockets in a school. Hamas knew fully well that launching rockets would provoke Israel and cause innocent Palestinian children to die, homes to be destroyed and thousands of refugees to flee their homes from Israeli airstrikes. Hamas Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri went on Al-Aqsa TV and urged Palestinians to adopt human shield tactics (which is considered a war crime under international law) and stated that, “The policy of people confronting the Israeli warplanes with their bare chests in order to protect their homes has proven effective against the occupation… We in Hamas call upon our people to adopt this policy.” Clearly, Hamas has failed to conduct this war pursuant to international law, let alone to the most basic level of human morality.
Thus far in the conflict, Israel has been morally scrupulous by taking tremendous pains to avoid civilian casualties on both sides. The Israelis have shown remarkable restraint in the current conflict by telephoning Gazan civilians to warn about impending airstrikes, by calling off airstrikes when human shields form around intended targets, by dropping warning charges (so-called roof knocking) and by unilaterally declaring a ceasefire in order to allow Gazans to leave their homes and access food. They have agreed to two ceasefires, which were both rejected by Hamas, and have even provided Palestinians with medical assistance.
In sum, the international community must seriously rethink who is acting “disproportionately” in the current conflict. Rather than assailing Israel for the disproportionate loss of life on the Palestinians’ side (which is caused by the Iron Dome missile defense system and Hamas’ decision to build infiltration tunnels rather than bomb shelters for their civilians), the international community should unite in condemnation against the moral asymmetry between Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces.
This is much better that load of crap published under “Our View” (http://daily49er.wpengine.com/showcase/2014/06/05/our-view-israel-is-an-apartheid-state). Whatever commie wrote that was too cowardly to publish his name.
Hunter,
Thank you for your intelligence and courage for writing this and bringing it to the light of day at a California school.
You are a wonderful person.