There is a desparate attempt on the part of the leaders of the Hamas terrorist organization to convince the world that the last five weeks of Friday protests are non-violent. The leftist media, who cover their ears, eyes and mouths when it comes to facing pure evil, are an encouragement to Hamas, whose immediate war with Israel is a war for world opinion. Hamas places civilians in the line of fire, in order to protect the terrorists who are hiding in their midst. The resultant injuries and deaths are then paraded before the cameras for the world to see. Sympathy naturally leans in favor of the civilians victims. But, their deaths and injuries need to be placed at the feet of Hamas, not at Israel. The best defense in this type of war is truth, but only if people are willing to accept it.

What the liberal, media moguls tend to gloss over is that the purpose of the so-called protest “march” is to “return”. From the “Palestinian” perspective, “return” means to cause all of the land of Israel to “return” to them. Stated differently, their goal is to eliminate the State of Israel. With that understanding, the protest marches can be seen for what they really are – violent and becoming more violent with each passing week. Interspersed with the civilian protesters are Hamas militants, who use guns, bombs, rocks, sling shots, burning tires, molotov cocktails and, most recently, they added kite bombs, which were sent over the Israel-Gaza fence in an effort to set fire to fields and local communities on the Israeli side of the fence. So much for peaceful demonstrations. Israel has no choice but to keep the border intact and prevent infiltration by Hamas terrorists. 

Of course, the big complaint is that Israel is over-reacting and that its response is disproportionate to the actions of Hamas and those pressing closer to the fence. If the threat of breaching the border increases, the response to it will increase as well. And it must be so. But, maybe it is much ado about nothing. After all, the March of Return is supposed to be peaceful, according to those who want to take over all of Israeli territory and force the Jewish people into the sea. The weapons used by Hamas are not really guns with bullets that kill, but plastic. The rocks are only paper mache. The fire bombs are only flashing electric lights. The kites do not carry real explosives, but only confetti. And the moon really is made of swiss cheese.

We will be condemned by the international community, not because we act to protect our country and our citizens, but because we continue to exist. Siding with Israel means to incur the anger of the Muslim world. So, however we respond, it will be considered to be too much, inappropriate and disproportionate. The U.N. will also condemn us. Oh, my goodness, the U.N. Of all the organizations of the world. Yes, the united nincompoops of the world will sit in judgment of Israel, the only genuine democracy in the Middle East, while democratic regimes all over Europe are endangered by the increasing influence of Islam. There are none so blind as those who will not see. 

Perhaps a succinct analysis of the situation was best expressed by Hillel Neuer of UN Watch, who made the following remark to an Israeli-born Hollywood personality who has recently generated much controversy in the media: “If 30,000 rioters were at your borders; approaching your family in Los Feliz, and they were orchestrated by a terror group that advocates the murder of all Jews, I believe you would ‘in good conscience’ support officers doing their best to protect you.” 

Along these lines, brief mention should be made of the 29th Arab Summit that took place in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, two weeks ago on April 15th. This year’s gathering was labeled named “Al-Quds Summit” (i.e., “the Holy”, the nickname for Jerusalem in Arabic). Among the many decisions that were made intended to affirm “the importance of promoting Arab joint action to address challenges facing the nation” was the following: “We reaffirm that the Palestine Cause is the entire Arab nation’s main priority, stressing the Arab identity of occupied East Al-Quds as the capital of the State of Palestine.” Note that the use of “the ‘Palestine’ Cause”, as opposed to the “Palestinian” cause is a subtle shift in terminology. At first blush, it would appear to reflect an intention to focus on territorial “return”, as opposed to the establishment of another Arab state. But, other decisions of the Arab Summit continue the “Palestinian” narrative and the demand for a separate “Palestinian” state, while condemning the decision of the United States to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It would seem wise to see whether the use of the expression “the ‘Palestine’ Cause” will continue to be used, together with the call for a “Palestinian” state. What is interesting to note is that the Arab Summit ignored the weekly so-called “protests” along the Gaza fence, leaving Hamas and its actions outside the consideration of most of the Arab states.

Hamas, in turn, realizes that its actions must remain in the headlines. It also recognizes that the only way for that goal to be achieved is through violence. As such, the March of Return cannot be non-violent. It would go contrary to the grain of the “Palestinian” charter and Hamas’s glorification of martyrdom. Even if the Gazan citizens wanted to demonstrate peacefully, the likelihood that Hamas would allow them to do so would be a non-starter. They can never take over the land of Israel by peaceful protests. Their strategy includes, among other things, that Israel must be provoked into action and that there must be innocent victims. Otherwise, Hamas’s efforts would be of no avail. The leaders of the organization would “lose face”. In this part of the world, losing face would be the beginning of the end of their influence in Gaza – a situation that they would make every effort to prevent, short of putting themselves on the front lines where they, themselves, could be injured or killed. If we think about it for a moment, we would naturally ask: Why should they be worried about potential harm to themselves, if their March of Return is really peaceful? Maybe it’s because their leaders think that martyrdom is for “the other guy”, not for those who direct them to become martyrs.

And so, Israel prepares for another round of “peaceful violence”, which will increase in intensity each week, as we draw closer to Nakba Day, which some Arabs refer to as the Day of Catastrophe, the day when Israel declared its independence, usually remembered on the 15th of May. The confrontations will only get worse.

National Celebration One Week – National Tragedy the Next

The joys of Israel’s 70th Independence Day celebration turned to mourning and shock, as only one week later, 10 teenagers met their deaths in a flash flood during a hike in the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea. Tears of joy from the week before turned into tears of sorrow. The teens were all high-school seniors, who were on a trip to the Arava Desert, as part of a pre-military preparatory program. While hiking in what is usually a dry river bed, they were caught up in a flash flood, which resulted from the heavy rains that have fallen on Israel late in the season. There was considerable concern over the cold and wet weather conditions, as both meterologists and the police cautioned against going on the trip. One of the nine girls who was killed texted some of her friends a few hours earlier, saying: “This is tempting fate. We will die. I’m serious. I can’t believe that I’m actually going on a trip in this weather. It makes no sense for us to go to a place where everything is flooded.” Words fail in the face of such a tragedy and only memories remain, until they begin to fade. The pain of sudden, unexpected loss, leaves one almost numb. But, the tears will continue. It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. If so, then 10 pictures should tell the story.  

                     Photo appearing in Jerusalem Online, 27 April 2018. http://www.jerusalemonline.com

“There’ll be a time I hear tell

When all will be well

When God and man will be reconciled

But until men lose their chains

And righteousness reigns

Lord, protect my child.”

From “Lord Protect My Child” (Words by Bob Dylan [1963])

“‘Comfort, O comfort My people’, says your God.” (Isaiah 40).

“[God] comforts us in all our affliction, so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Cor. 1:4)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing.

Marvin