Three days
ago, on August 5, 2014, the current Gaza-Israel war looked as if it might be
about to peter out. Hamas and Israel agreed to abide by a seventh cease-fire
agreement (or was this the sixth cease-fire?). It was to be a 72-hour
humanitarian cease-fire. It was to last until 8am Israel time today, August 8,
2014.
Many around
the world hoped this cease-fire would be extended. Many hoped it would be the
end of hostilities.
Talks in
Cairo unfolded to achieve that end. Israel was reported to have accepted an
extension as early as Wednesday (two days ago) (“Report: Israel Accepts
Ceasefire Extension-- Hamas Rejects It”, Arutz Sheva), August 6, 2014). Hamas was reported to have said, no.
The talks
continued.
Early this
morning, Hamas announced its final decision about extending the cease-fire: It
would extend nothing. Even before the 8am end-time, a headline in Haaretz told
us, “Rocket fire resumes as cease-fire ends”.
Within an
hour of the end of the cease-fire, Israelis received a geography lesson. We
learned the names of many of the small Jewish communities that dotted the
landscape near Gaza. News bulletins popped up every few minutes as a barrage of
rockets was launched from Gaza at Israel.
Air raid
sirens sounded in Ashkelon, Kerem Shalom, Be'er Ganim, the Ashkelon Industrial
Area, Zikim, Karmia, Holit, Nir Yitzhak, Sufa, Netiv Ha'asara, Yad Mordechai, Mivtahim,
Yesha, Ami'oz, Ohad, Tzohar, Nitzan, Talmei Eliyahu, Barhia, Kfar Silver, Nir Yisrael,
Re'im, Hodiya, Mash'en and Nahal Oz.
In all, some
twenty-four communities (and additional residential clusters surrounding those
twenty-four communities) once again returned to life inside bomb shelters. They
were instructed to go no farther than 15 seconds away from a shelter.
During this
same post-cease-fire hour, Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted
two missiles over Ashkelon (the Iron Dome doesn’t intercept every rocket; it is
used primarily against rockets headed into more heavily populated areas).
Eleven
minutes before the cease-fire ended, Amnesty International (AI), a humanitarian
NGO that has not been friendly to Israel, published a new statement about
fighting in this Gaza-Israel war. Just minutes before new Hamas rockets poured
down into Southern Israel’s civilian population, AI declared that Israel had
committed war crimes in Gaza. By inference, Hamas had committed in Gaza no war
crimes worth mentioning. Those rockets pouring into Israel made such an
inference laughable: each one was a war crime. Couldn’t humanitarians count?
Less than a minute
after the cease-fire ended, those air raid sirens listed above began to wail.
The absurdity of the AI message was highlighted by the new rocket-fire: with an
obviousness few could overlook, Amnesty International seemed to be telling us that
it had a humanitarian duty to protect terror against democracy.
The one-hour
barrage of rockets launched by Hamas this morning at the civilian communities
listed above meant nothing to the humanitarians of the world. They didn’t care
that each rocket fired was a war crime because it had been launched against a
civilian population. They had clearly chosen to ignore those crimes.
You might
have noticed that when this morning’s barrage of Hamas rockets was fired at
Israel’s civilians, no one condemned Hamas. The only condemnation was of
Israel, by the ‘humanitarian’ Amnesty International.
Do we now
conclude from humanitarian behaviour towards Israel that any rocket fired at a
Jewish civilian is not a war crime? That would seem a reasonable conclusion,
don’t you think? How else would you explain all that humanitarian silence every
time Hamas fires rockets at Israel’s civilians?
Perhaps we
should also conclude from humanitarian behaviour towards Israel that these
defenders of human life and human dignity have now adopted the terrorist claim
that because Jews are subhuman, humanitarian law doesn’t apply to Jews. How else
would you explain the humanitarian’s blindness to Hamas war crimes against
Israel?
Behaviour
often reveals inner thought. Does humanitarian behaviour towards Israel tell us
that humanitarians now choose terror over Jews—or terror over democracy?
Humanitarian
of the world, including the United Nations, have voted with their feet and
mouths: they choose terror over democracy. They choose killers over Jews.
Indeed, they choose killers of Jews over Jews.
Humanitarians
choose to protect the terrorist, not the sovereign state that fights to defend
itself against those who would destroy and annihilate it. Humanitarians may
indeed speak of humanity and peace. But their behaviour promotes terror and
murder.
The G-d of
Israel punishes measure-for-measure: what you would visit upon Israel, will be
visited upon you, measure-for-measure. You don’t have to be a legal Einstein to
understand what humanitarian support of terror against democracy could mean for
you.
You might
want to pray to the G-d of Israel that He Judge these humanitarians with Mercy,
not Justice.
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