It’s difficult to take a breath when we consider the degree of hypocrisy currently demonstrated by the American administration. This is a follow-through from my last posting on the subject.
I begin with a cringeworthy statement by Secretary of State Antony Blinken:
“…Israel is not Hamas. Israel is a democracy; Hamas, a terrorist organization. And democracies place the highest value on human life – every human life. As has been said, whoever saves a life, saves the entire world. That’s our strength. It’s what distinguishes us from terrorists like Hamas. If we lose that reverence for human life, we risk becoming indistinguishable from those we confront.”
But it’s not “As has been said…” This is a quote from Talmud (Mishna) and is perhaps more accurately cited as “He who saves one life it’s as if he saved an entire world.” This is a Jewish value and exemplified by Israel. Does he even know this?
Has it not occurred to him that Israel has done more to protect civilians of the enemy population than any other country at war ever has because we are a Jewish nation?? Just as we lend assistance at an extraordinary rate to nations in distress as a result of calamities such as earthquakes, because we are a Jewish nation. Concern for others is in our DNA.
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What Blinken was saying, and what caused me to cringe was his suggestion that it is the responsibility of Israel – because we are a “democracy” – to do even more to protect the civilians of Gaza by agreeing to a ceasefire so that more humanitarian aid can be brought in.
He’s squeezing us for political reasons and presenting it as something expected of a “democracy.” If we don’t agree, we risk becoming like Hamas, he says.
But there’s an essential flaw in his reasoning. He is focused only on Gazan civilian life and not Jewish life. John Spencer, who I’ve cited twice now, in writing about the lengths Israel has gone to in order to avoid civilian casualties, said that other nations could learn from this. But, he added, other nations are not likely to emulate this because it makes it more difficult to win the war.
Blinken does not acknowledge what Israel has done. He is ready to make it even harder for us to win, because it is the lives of civilians in Gaza he is ostensibly concerned about and not the lives of Israelis.
Consider:
[] Hamas has said that they intend to repeat the massacre of October 7, during which 1,200 innocent Jewish civilians were killed. Not just killed – raped, tortured, burned, dismembered. It is Israel’s job to make certain that Hamas can never do this again. Yet to a great extent the world seems to have forgotten what happened in the south of Israel six months ago. It is six months ago to the day, today!
[] More of our soldiers have died than would have if we had been less careful about the lives of Gazan civilians. That much is clear. We announced where we would be fighting in coming days so that civilians could flee – thereby also giving advance warning to Hamas. Sons, husbands, fathers – beautiful young men. Dead. Some of them would be alive today if we had fought differently. Every death is painful.
Today was one of those awful days on which the death of four soldiers in Khan Yunis was announced
Blinken is pushing for a ceasefire – not as part of a hostage deal as was once the case. On Friday, Hamas once again rejected a proposed Israeli deal because it didn’t include two key Hamas demands: That there be unrestricted return of Gazans to the north and the pullback of IDF troops.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/388000
And so now Blinken just wants us to cease fire and says that this can lead to a hostage deal – a very highly questionable proposition. He simply aims to shut us down.
What is more, the US has made it clear that it would seek to make the ceasefire permanent.
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If we were – Heaven forbid! – to be squeezed into a permanent ceasefire, Hamas would not be defeated, and they would come after us again.
If the ceasefire were temporary, and Hamas were given an opportunity to regroup, smuggle in more weapons, and better prepare to fight us, we would lose more soldiers and the war would drag on longer.
Not for a microsecond do I forgive Blinken for his position. Either way, it means harm for Jewish lives.
There is another dictum from the Talmud that should be cited here: “When someone is coming to kill you, rise up and kill him first.”
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We must never lose sight of the fact that Hamas is using the civilians as a weapon of war. They are totally devoid of ethics and humanity, but they are not stupid. They plant their weapons in civilian areas and try to force the civilians to remain in areas of combat. Then they heavily inflate the statistics on civilian deaths, and cry to the world that Israel is killing innocent people and must be stopped.
See the explanation by Avraham Wyner of the Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, who recently exposed the Hamas propaganda. Wyner—one of America’s leading experts on statistical science—says the numbers produced by the terror group about civilians who have died since the war began make no sense:
https://www.jns.org/how-hamas-lies-about-casualty-numbers-in-gaza/
And yet, the world, composed largely of useful idiots who care not a whit for Jewish lives, cooperates with the Hamas disinformation campaign.
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The latest on the tragic killing of WCK aid workers last week:
Unfortunately, what had happened and the ensuing world clamor (with totally fallacious charges that we killed the aid workers deliberately or don’t adhere to international humanitarian law) led Netanyahu to agree to bringing in more aid.
Among the steps agreed to were the opening of the Ashdod port for the delivery of assistance into Gaza, and opening of the Erez Crossing (which had been damaged October 7) for a new route for assistance to reach north Gaza.
The announcement from the prime minister’s office stated that this increased aid, among other aims, “is critical for ensuring the continuation of the fighting and achieving the war aims.” Read between the lines.
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See this important piece by Jonathan Tobin, editor of JNS:
“Outrage over aid-worker deaths is about saving Hamas, not civilians”
“All armies at war make tragic mistakes. But President Biden and Israel’s critics are cynically exploiting the incident as an excuse to shatter the alliance with the Jewish state…
“A mistaken strike that caused the deaths of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers who were bringing food and other supplies into the Strip is being treated as not merely a tragic accident all too common in wars, but as an act of transcendent symbolism that proves that Israel’s tactics are too brutal to be allowed to continue.” (Emphasis added)
https://www.jns.org/outrage-over-aid-worker-deaths-is-about-saving-hamas-not-civilians/
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What must be emphasized again and again is that the people of Gaza are not starving — this charge, too, is a weapon against Israel. Israel has not imposed restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
“Indeed, since Hamas launched its horrific attack on Israel on October 7, thousands of aid trucks have entered the enclave, bringing shelter supplies, medical equipment and mobile water desalination filters.”
According to COGAT, “Over the last 2 weeks, an average of 102 food trucks entered Gaza daily. This is 46% more food trucks entering Gaza on a daily basis, compared to before October 7th. There is no limit to the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza.”
https://honestreporting.com/israel-is-not-deliberately-starving-palestinians/
Each truck carries 25 tons of food and other humanitarian supplies.
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As to the findings of the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism (emphasis added):
“…The investigation found that the forces identified a gunman on one of the aid trucks, following which they identified an additional gunman. After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists. The forces did not identify the vehicles in question as being associated with WCK. Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers. The strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures.
“The investigation’s findings indicate that the incident should not have occurred. Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees. The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.”
Two officers were dismissed from their duties. Others were reprimanded.
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Israel secured results of an independent investigation, was transparent with regard to the findings, accepted responsibility, and dealt with officers who acted inappropriately.
My guess is that this will not be enough for the world.
There is yet more to come…
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Let your elected leaders in the US know that it is not only the progressive left that votes – that you are demanding support for Israel.
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Keep praying to Heaven for Israel. Pray for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, for the safety of our soldiers, and for the rescue of our hostages. Pray with a heart filled with hope.
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© Arlene Kushner. This material is produced by independent journalist Arlene Kushner. Permission is granted for it to be reproduced only with proper attribution.
