I am referring, of course, to the civilians of Gaza that the international community is terribly alarmed about. The civilians of Gaza we are accused of killing in unacceptable numbers as we fight our war to eliminate Hamas.
I want to start with a video by Noam Jacobson. He is responding to Representative Ilhan Omar (D – MN 5th ) who cried “Where is your humanity?” with regard to Gazan civilians dying in Israeli attacks on Hamas. Her challenge is to Israel, but Noam knows how to make his points powerfully:
Click on picture to view video
Perhaps the overriding message of Noam’s video is that we must ask precisely who the world is referring to when they speak of the “civilians.” The term suggests “innocents,” people who are outside of the battle. But we need to look again, more closely.
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We might start with the fact that the residents of Gaza chose Hamas in an election. In 2006, Hamas won the legislative elections run by the Palestinian Authority and assumed administrative control of Gaza. Within a year, Hamas had violently driven the PA out of Gaza and this terror group has retained complete control since. Today, well over half the population of Gaza still supports Hamas.
amas
We should not, then, think of these civilians as having Hamas rule imposed upon them against their will.
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In fact, it would be more accurate to describe the residents of Gaza as supportive of Hamas actions and sometimes complicit. According to a recent survey close to 75% of Palestinian Arabs supported the Hamas action on October 7 and said Hamas was playing a positive role.
In cases where they are actually complicit, can we even refer to them as “civilians”?
Let us consider a few hair-raising behaviors that indicate complicity – either with regard to cheering on what Hamas is doing or participating in Hamas obscenities:
[] When Hamas terrorists entered the Israeli kibbutzim and moshavim on October 7, in order to perpetrate a massacre on the innocent people there, they were followed by “civilians,” who came to participate in the attack and to loot, perhaps grab a few hostages of their own.
[] When hostages were brought into Gaza by Hamas on October 7, the residents – that is, the “civilians” – cheered and celebrated and passed out candy.
[] There was one young Israeli woman who had been raped repeatedly, and then died, or was killed. When her naked body was brought into Gaza, “civilians” spit on her body.
[] One hostage, Ron Krivoy, escaped from captivity in Gaza. He was recaptured and returned to Hamas by “civilians.”
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-775321
[] Another hostage who is now out reports that he was held for 50 days in the attic of an UNRWA teacher. He was provided meager food rations and medical attention. Is an UNRWA teacher a civilian?
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-775777
[] Yet another says he was held by a doctor, also presumably a civilian.
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In the Holocaust, there were righteous gentiles, who worked to save Jews. I have seen not a single report about righteous Muslim residents working to save Israelis. They are, it seems, with the program.
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But why are the “civilians” so thoroughly with the program? Because they have been brainwashed from childhood.
Here I turn to Ben Shapiro, who, in the video below, is discussing the totally unacceptable suggestion that the US take the civilians of Gaza. Bad news, says Shapiro, for they are profoundly anti-Semitic.
He then offers us samples of the sort of material Palestinian Arab children in Gaza and the PA areas are exposed to – hateful material that encourages killing of Jews:
Click on picture to view video
And there you have it.
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This is one side of the story.
The other side has to do with the use by Hamas of its own civilians as human shields. There is no concern for the safety and well-being of the residents of Gaza. None. Zero.
When the IDF encouraged the residents of the north of Gaza to move south before a major operation into Gaza City, and provided a safe path for doing so, Hamas tried to block the residents from leaving. They needed them in the north to serve as human shields when the attack came.
Hamas use of hospitals and mosques and schools as bases of operation and locales for storing weapons has been thoroughly documented. Hamas either assumes that the IDF will avoid attacking them if they are operating in civilian areas or that criticism for civilian deaths will be leveled at Israel.
Recently member of the Hamas political bureau Moussa Abu Marzouk stated that the tunnels were constructed (using billions intended for the wellbeing of the Gazan residents, I note) only for the benefit of members of Hamas and not the residents of Gaza.
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Does Ilhan Omar cry out to Hamas “Where is your humanity?” Of course not.
But neither does the world more broadly ask this question. Fingers are pointed at Israel.
I and my fellow-Israelis are weary of this. No, we are enraged by this.
Israel does more than any nation in the world to protect civilians within an enemy population. We never target civilians. We warn them and seek to avoid them. And sometimes one of our precious boys, one of our soldiers, dies because of precautions taken to protect Gazan civilians. We need to ask, precisely whom are we protecting and where is our limit? I would suggest we have already reached our limit.
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I write now because Vice President Kamala Harris is due here next week, sent to convince us to fight less and be “more careful” of the civilians. She is not going to encounter a positive reception; I believe I can hear the groans from members of the government here in my Jerusalem apartment.
Information is being revealed now about the atrocities committed by Hamas. So horrible that it makes one’s head spin. So unbearable to contemplate. Yet the world does not speak out in the harshest terms about Hamas. There is equivocation, and rationalization, and a desire to pretend the whole macabre episode has been exaggerated or even invented. I certainly don’t see Ilhan Omar expressing shock about this, which tells me that she is amongst those devoid of humanity.
The more evidence there is about how Hamas has behaved towards our innocent Jews, the more clarity and resolve there is with regard to the absolute necessity of taking down Hamas. Nothing Kamala or her ilk might say changes this.
And yet, sadly, I cannot say with any certainty that our government is going to tell her, Go home and don’t bother us – which is what she should be told.
We ARE going to take out Hamas. Our determination has not wavered in the slightest, and we are making good progress toward that end. I will follow with a report on this soon. On Tuesday, Head of the Southern Command Major General Yaron Finkelman stated that the use of force is at its peak. “We are in the heart of Jabalia, in the heart of Shejaiya and as of tonight, also in the heart of Khan Yunis.”
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/381469
And yet the international pressure is fierce. Thus, sometimes our government makes concessions to mollify the critics – primarily the US, and to demonstrate how good we are to the “civilians.”
The latest concession was a vote in the Political-Security Cabinet Wednesday (yesterday) evening to increase the amount of fuel permitted into Gaza. Netanyahu said that the additional fuel would be “minimal,” and is vital to preventing a humanitarian collapse and the outbreak of epidemics in the southern Gaza Strip.
Well, yea, perhaps, maybe. But the bottom line on the decision rests with this:
“Earlier on Wednesday, the Biden administration sent a message to Israel demanding that the amount of fuel entering the Strip be increased ‘now.’”
As I have repeatedly reported, the US administration is doing a balancing act, supporting Israel and also eager to show the progressives and the Muslims in the US that it is supports the “civilians.”
Our fight will be harder, as this strengthens Hamas, but the decision is calculated to insure continued American support. A wise decision? It is debatable. Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionists) and Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (Otzma Yehudit) voted against this. But keep reading.
Netanyahu did add some conditions to the agreement, including a slow incremental increase in the amount of fuel brought in – to be determined over time by the Cabinet, and the ability of the Red Cross to at long last visit our hostages. But I advise my readers not to hold their breath on this last proviso.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who expresses warm feelings toward Israel, has, regrettably, taken a position that is wrong-headed and makes our situation more difficult because of the influence he wields.
Speaking at the Reagan National Defense Forum last Saturday, Austin said, referring to civilian casualties in Gaza, “if you drive them into the arms of the enemy, you replace a tactical victory with a strategic defeat.”
Amazing that he could be this ill-informed. He has no conception of the degree to which the civilians are already in bed with Hamas.
Bless Senator Lindsey Graham (R – SC) who had this to say about Austin’s observations (emphasis added):
“He’s so naive, I mean I just lost all confidence in this guy. This is a radicalized population. I don’t want to kill innocent people, but Israel is fighting not just Hamas, but the infrastructure around Hamas.”
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And then there is secretary-general of the UN, Antonio Guterres. He is not naïve, but rather a dangerous enemy of Israel. He has now invoked Article 99 for the first time to alert the Security Council to the fact that the war against Hamas threatens international peace. He will be addressing the SC, and his goal is a vote that demands a ceasefire. A ceasefire that would leave Hamas standing to attack another day.
And here is a place where we need the US, which has the power to veto resolutions of the SC.
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Tonight is the first night of Chanukah: We light our first candle.
It is a time of miracles and I believe we will yet see a victory over Hamas that is miraculous – for we are fighting alone, without the support of the world. We are united in our determination and working to support one another with a thousand volunteer efforts, our soldiers are very highly motivated.
We are also calling out to Heaven. Our help will come from Above.
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When we light our Chanukah candles, we sing Al Hanisim:
v’al hanisim v’al hapurkan v’al hag’vurot v’al hatshu’ot v’al hamilkhamot she’asita l’avoteinu bayamim hahem bazman hazeh
And for the miracles and for the wonders and for the mighty deeds and for the salvation and for the victories that you wrought for our ancestors in their days and in this day.
Listen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW3uU0QQwjQ
And keep praying to Heaven for Israel, my friends. Pray for the strength and wisdom of our leaders, for the safety of our boys, 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.
