On January 18, 2018, an article appeared in American Thinker, entitled “The moral inversion of ‘humanitarian groups luring the poor into death traps”. It opens with the question: “How do you say ‘chutzpah’ in Spanish?” It focused on the accusation of two “purported ‘humanitarian’ groups” that blame the deaths of border violators on the U.S. Border Police, who destroy the food and water left by these two groups for the migrants who try to infiltrate the border. The writer continues: “Providing food and water to lure people into a potentially fatal journey is reprehensible….Anyone who encourages people to violate our laws and do so in a life-threatening manner is doubly culpable in my book….We are supposed to be outraged by the sight of Border Patrol agents executing their protective function.” No one would seriously deny that the United States has the right to defend its borders against those who would illegally seek to infiltrate its territory.

Let’s move some nine thousand miles east to the State of Israel and the wire fence separating Gaza from Israeli communities in the south of the country. Tens of thousands of Gaza residents attempt to storm the fence, tear it down and infiltrate into Israeli territory where they can destroy property, injure, kill and kidnap Israeli citizens. In the process, they use whatever weapons they have at their disposal, some resulting in personal injury and others causing considerable property damage. Standing between the infiltrators and their intended goals of “returning” to themselves what never belonged to them is the Israel Defense Forces (“the IDF”). The leaders of rioters make promises to them that they can never keep and urge civilians to put themselves at risk of injury or death in their attempts to get to the other side of the fence. The IDF holds its position and repels the attempts to infiltrate Israel’s borders. Gazans are shot, many are wounded, some are killed. 

Most of the reactions by the leftist media and by many so-called democratic governments around the world, with very few notable exceptions, are “outraged by the sight of [the IDF] executing their protective function”. Some foreign, cultural functions in Israel are cancelled, diplomatic representatives are called home and countries call for the investigation of Israel’s use of “disproportionate” force. We live in a world that does not wince at applying a “double standard” whenever Israel is involved. We usually find ourselves on the wrong side of the “moral inversion”, being blamed for surviving attempts to kill us and for defending against those who would steal the land that has been restored in accordance with God’s promise and possessed after the shedding of the blood of our relatives and friends. 

The Hamas terrorist organization instigates its people to go on suicide missions against the IDF. From the perspective of the depraved leadership of Hamas, the more dead Gazans, the better. The international media thrives on pictures of bleeding bodies, but ignores pointing a finger at the ones responsible for the deaths and injuries – the obsessed leadership of Hamas – and instead accuses Israel of acting improperly and even of committing war crimes. Writers need to fill their word quota. Newspapers need to increase their circulation. Media outlets are unrestrained in accusing the wrong person, because reporters are no longer bound by ethical standards. Truth and balanced reporting, if they truly ever existed, are now things of the past.

The reasons given for the violent uprisings – not peaceful protests, but terror attacks, are without foundation. In years past, there was the “intifida” that began following a “Palestinian” accusation that Israel had “invaded” the Al-Aqsa Mosque, or was trying to “destroy” the mosque, or that allowing Jews to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem would “defile” the holy sites of the “Palestinian” people. The most recent uprisings along the Gaza fence is allegedly in opposition to the announcement of U.S. President Trump which declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and because the U.S. moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This is absolute nonsense. The recent uprisings are in connection with the “March of Return”, and have no connection with anything that the U.S. did or intended to do. The main events took place along the Gaza fence, not in Jerusalem or in the capitals of other Arab countries in the Middle East. 

Hamas leaders were so confident that the Gaza border clashes would result in victory, that they handed out detailed instructions via social media, informing the protesters which “Palestinian” leader would be giving a victory speech after the border was breached. But, the leadership of Hamas did not take part in the border clashes. They sent members of their terrorist organization, who were dispersed among the civilians. Hamas later admitted that 80% of the fatalities of the border incidents in April and 85% of those killed this past Tuesday (Nakba Day) were Hamas and Islamic Jihad military personnel. Yet, instead of reporting on these admissions, the western media continues to condemn Israel and call for the prosecution of Israel’s leaders. Major General (res.) Yaakov Amidror of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies rightly commented on this earlier last week: “They sit in air-conditioned offices in Europe and think that we’re facing demonstrations in Brussels against the central bank, and then preach to Israel about how to handle the riots.”

As David M. Weinberg, vice president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, stated  on May 18th: 

“It is stomach-churning that people call the Gaza border death toll “disproportionate.” How many Israelis have to die for the sake of symmetry and ersatz Western scruples?

“It is also annoying that Western do-gooders seem to accept Palestinian “days of rage” as tolerable behavior. As if the Palestinians can’t help themselves from throwing a tantrum. As if responsible and reasonable behavior, such as negotiation, democratic discourse and normative state-building, can’t be expected of the Palestinians.

“This is the soft bigotry of low expectations and the counterpart hard bigotry of demands for impeccable/impossible conduct from Israel. This stems, I sense, from an inability to internalize the fact that despite Israel’s Oslo Accord concessions and multiple peace offers ever since, much of the Palestinian national movement has not changed its goal of annihilating Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian state. That is, of course, the meaning of Hamas’ so-called “Great March of Return.”

“It is incredibly hurtful when people who should know better focus only on Israel’s alleged shortcomings and not on the venality of those who instigate the violence so as to generate a maximum number of casualties. This only encourages the terrorists to keep at it, believing that useful idiots in the West will act to isolate the Jewish state until it collapses.” 

Colonel Richard Kemp, a former commander of British military forces in Afghanistan, told the UN Human Rights Council last week: 

 “If Israel had allowed these mobs to break through the fence, the IDF would then have been forced to defend their own civilians from slaughter and many more Palestinians would have been killed….Israel’s actions therefore saved lives of Gazans, and if this council really cared about human rights, it should commend the IDF for that, not condemn them on the basis of lies….I ask every country in this council: You have all been telling us that Israel should have reacted differently. But how would you respond if a jihadist terror group sent thousands to flood your borders, and gunmen to massacre your communities?”

And, if that isn’t enough, here is the report from someone who was there, in real time, serving as a reservist, on the front line along the Gaza fence. Before the liberal media condemn those who defend our country, let them put on a uniform, become targets, put their lives in danger, pretend that they are defending their families and their homes, and then report from the front lines. It just might reverse their moral inversion.

“I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 62:6)

“I am zealous for Zion with great zeal.” (Zechariah 8:2)

“For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her righteousness goes forth as brighteness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns.” (Isaiah 62:1)

Happy Shavuot / Feast of Weeks / Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-16; Acts 2:1)

Bless, be blessed and be a blessing,

Have a great week.

Marvin