Massacre in Jerusalem

This past Tuesday, November 18, two Arabs entered a synogogue in the Har Nof neighborhood in the west side of Jerusalem and brutally murdered at least three rabbis and one other worshiper during morning prayers. It was reported that at least seven others were hospitalized, and that a Druze police officer was also killed. Israeli police killed the two murderers. This savage attack, using a gun and meat cleavers, did not occur in the area of eastern Jerusalem, an area to which the Arabs are claiming entitlement. During the attack the murderers shouted "Allahu Akbar," ("God is great").

This attack follows other attacks on Jews in Jerusalem, some of which used vehicles to drive directly into crowds of people. Hamas, of course, praised the attack. The same Hamas that calls for Israel's destruction; and that would likely win any election for control of the West Bank should the Arabs get a state there. (Abbas is in the 10th year of a 4 year term. You read that correctly.)

President Obama condemned the attack, noting that three of those killed also held American citizenship. Obama does not get particularly worked up when Americans are murdered by Muslims. Obama took the usual leftist equivalency approach in stating: "too many Israelis have died and too many Palestinians have died." And he again claimed another attack was due to "extremism," rather than any particular ideology. Finally, and typically, he concluded with a platitude - a lie - that Palestinians and Israelis just want to raise their families and live in peace. No. That is what the Jews want. As the Arabs frequently tell us, they value death whereas we value life.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Jordan reportedly sent a condolence letter to the families of the two murderers, saying: "I ask God to envelope them with mercy and to grant you with patience, comfort and recovery from your grief." The Jordanian Parliament held a minute of silence in memory of the two murderers.

Let me be clear. The immediate responsibility for these savage murders lies with the attackers. However, and contrary to leftist beliefs, our government's policies have consequences. Obama refuses to acknowledge Jerusalem as being the capital of Israel. Obama repeatedly calls for Jerusalem to be divided, giving the eastern part of the city to the Arabs for the capital of a Palestinian state. As if that makes any sense. And as if Israel will ever divide Jerusalem. But Obama and other Western leaders are also responsible for these deaths. Knowing that nearly the entire Western world is on their side, the Arabs are using these violent tactics to intimidate the Israelis, in the hopes that they will give up. These Arabs know that the only consequence they will suffer are some words of condemnation from Western leaders. While the Arabs were busy murdering Jews, Spain's parliament was busy joining other European countries in recognizing a Palestinian state.

In a similar fashion, Obama wants to force a "peace" deal on the Israelis - regardless of the consequences. It's not enough that Israel has Hezbollah on their north, Hamas on their south, Al Qaeda and ISIS in the bordering Sinai, and an increasingly hostile Jordan to the east. No, Israel needs to put a Palestinian state - which everyone knows will end up being controlled by Hamas - right on the doorstep of their major cities.

As Yuval Steinitz, Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister, said before this latest attack: "Someone has to explain to the Americans that after what happened in Gaza, we are not planning to commit suicide here. We will not allow what happened in Gaza to be repeated in Judea and Samaria" (the West Bank).

Amen.