For months, Hamas thugs in Gaza have fired missiles and mortars into southern Israel, subjecting hundreds of thousands of Israelis to a campaign of 24-hour terror. This was done in clear violation of an Egyptian-negotiated cease-fire to which Hamas had agreed.
As usual, the world’s reaction to this outrage was a collective “yawn.” The United Nations was silent. Major newspapers seldom reported the daily attacks. But this weekend, Israel did what any sovereign nation would do under the same circumstances: It struck back at those responsible for the aggression – Hamas, the Iranian-backed terrorist group.
As I write this, the Israeli counterattack is continuing. Israeli government officials are suggesting that their goal is to cripple Hamas. We should all hope they are successful. Predictably press reports have been distorted to make Israel look like the aggressor who doesn’t care about civilian casualties. Don’t be taken in by the propaganda. The war criminals in this conflict are the Islamic extremists who comprise Hamas and their allies throughout the Middle East, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran and his government of thugs.
Has Israel gone too far? Hamas propagandists are already screaming that the Israeli attacks are “disproportionate.” Some “mainline” U.S. religious denominations are repeating this charge, and before the day is out Jimmy Carter will be singing the same tune. They are arguing that since most rockets and mortars fired by Hamas into Israel have missed their targets, Israel should not respond effectively. But under international law, any nation can respond at a level sufficient to meet the threat.
Hamas rocket attacks are destroying normal life and have made daily routines impossible for countless Israelis whose children cannot go to school. Israel has every legal and moral right to demolish the terror infrastructure that supports the daily rocket attacks on its people. Gaza, in recent years, has been turned into “Gazastan,” an Islamic republic that educates its own children to seek death in martyrdom operations. Weapons are being stored in mosques. The only university in Gaza has turned its labs over to the terrorists, who are using them to make bombs and mortars. Gaza TV airs “children’s shows” that teach six and seven year-olds to kill Jews.
The Gaza government just instituted a new legal code based on Sharia Islamic law that permits crucifixion for certain crimes against Islam. Gaza is hell, but not because of Israel. Its conditions are unbearable because its people elected Hamas – an organization with no economic plan, no educational ideas, nothing to offer at all except to kill the Jews, kill the infidel and destroy Israel.
It is almost laughable to see demonstrations by outraged Muslims reacting to Israel’s air strikes. There was no such outrage when a Sunni extremist blew up 14 Afghan school children ages eight to ten a few days ago. Over Thanksgiving, when Islamic terrorists attacked in Mumbai, India, intentionally killing civilians, including Jews, the streets of the Middle East were calm as those murderers spread death in the name of Islam. (We now know that many of the Indian victims, including a rabbi and his five-month pregnant wife, were sexually assaulted and their genitals mutilated before they were killed.)
Israel is fighting back, and the usual alliance of Islamists and leftwing extremists are protesting. If our new president at some point concludes that America will have to fight back too, the same extremists will go after him, just as they have savaged President Bush. But fight back we must or we and our civilization will die. All men of goodwill should be thanking Israel today and praying for her success.
cross-posted Gary L. Bauer
Campaign For Working Families
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