Hamas’ Birthday Gift to Israel
In May, Hamas gave Israel the kind of birthday present one would expect from totalitarian terrorists who will sacrifice anything…
The Canadian Jewish News
June 15, 2018
Hamas’ Birthday Gift to Israel
I n May, Hamas gave Israel the kind of birthday present one would expect from totalitarian terrorists who will sacrifice anything, including their own children and basic human decency, to advance their goal of destroying the Jewish state.
Unfortunately, rather than condemning these thugs for using women and children as shields for armed terrorists in a combined assault against a neighbouring state’s sovereign borders, the – ahem – “civilized” world blamed the victim – Israel. Particularly unfortunate was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s participation in this farce, as he should know better. His “birthday present” to Israel consisted of a naive statement saying that, “Canada deplores and is gravely concerned by the violence in the Gaza Strip that has led to a tragic loss of life,” while emphasizing that “so many unarmed people” were hurt, “including civilians, members of the media, first responders and children.”
I don’t need Trudeau to apologize for falling for this Palestinian con. It’s done and politicians rarely apologize for anything. I trust history (I wish I could add the Canadian voter) to take its revenge. I urge him, however, to re-read his statement, read how Hamas described those who were killed and issue a new statement denouncing this ploy and Hamas’ other “birthday present” – the Kite-difada – the flaming kites that have burned over 1,700 hectares of fertile Israeli fields.
Trudeau’s statement left the door open for Canadian decency to return, saying that it was “imperative” to “establish the facts of what is happening in Gaza.”
Here are the facts. Sixty Gazans were killed on the bloodiest day. Although every loss of life is regrettable, Hamas identified 50 of them as Hamas members, while three belonged to Islamic Jihad. Eight of those 50 were killed in a firefight that the IDF videotaped and posted online, which shows how few of those killed were
“unarmed” or “peaceful.”
Trudeau can follow his own advice. Having gotten “to the bottom of these events” and having “establish(ed) the facts,” he can abandon the world’s moral misfits by showing moral leadership. He should base a new statement on NATO’s rules of engagement, which Canada follows.
According to United States Air Force Lt.-Col. Bring Bengs, a legal adviser at the NATO School, NATO defines self-defence as “the use of such necessary and proportional force, including deadly force … to defend … against attack or imminent attack.” Rule 421 explains that forces can neutralize those demonstrating “hostile intent,” which is a “likely and identifiable threat recognizable on the basis of: 1. the capability and preparedness of persons which poses a threat to inflict damage; and 2. evidence that indicates an intention of these persons to attack or otherwise inflict damage.”
Here we have armed invaders crying “On to Jerusalem,” who are trained to kidnap Israelis, ignore warnings and approach the border fence. Respecting another NATO rule – “always use the correct tool for the mission” – Israel has been using sharpshooters to pick off the invaders. Given the smoke, noise and confusion, the fact that the sharpshooters were using precision instruments rather than firing indiscriminately into the crowd and that so few civilians were killed, any international investigation should hold this up as a model of how other countries should act under similar circumstances.
Meanwhile, Trudeau should lead the “civilized” world to condemn Hamas’ burning of Israeli crops – which, I regret to note, so powerfully reflects the Palestinian approach over the past 70 years: Zionists plant, sow, reap; Palestinians denounce, delegitimize, destroy.
Nevertheless, as if it were Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, the Palestinians wrap themselves in their victimhood mantle and – poof – they’re the heroes and Israelis are the villains. Shame on them for still hating our kids more than they love their own. And shame on Justin Trudeau and every other dupe who enables such totalitarian evil.
The writer is the author of the newly released The Zionist Ideas, an update and expansion of Arthur Hertzberg’s classic anthology The Zionist Idea, published by the Jewish Publication Society. A distinguished scholar of North American history at McGill University, he is the author of 10 books on American history, including The Age of Clinton: America in the 1990s. www.zionistideas.com
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