Israel Under Attack - Blame Israel

On Friday, March 30, approximately 30,000 Gazans massed at the border with Israel. As it was not an entirely peaceful demonstration, with some members of the Hamas military wing trying to breach the border, and throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at the Israeli Defense Forces, Israeli forces, in return, used live fire aimed at those people. Some 16 or 17 people were killed, with as many as 1000 or so injured. Just to give some perspective to the numbers, 30,000 people at Israels's border, with Israel having 8.6 million people, would be like 1.15 million people massing on the US border; the US being a country of 330 million people.

The Palestinians refer to these yearly demonstrations at the border as their "March of Return." Hamas expects a "right of return" for the remaining survivors who were displaced in the 1948-1949 Israeli War for Independence, and for their millions of descendants. Such an influx would mean the end of Israel as the only Jewish state in the world. Make no mistake - the end of Israel is what Hamas seeks. Said the Hamas chief in Gaza: "The March of Return will continue...until we remove this transient border...our people can't give up one inch of the land of Palestine."

Trump spokesperson Jason Greenblatt said this: "Hamas should focus on desperately needed improvements to the lives of Palestinians in Gaza instead of inciting violence against Israel..." Not surprisingly, the rest of the world does not blame Hamas; rather, they blame Israel. "The killing of Palestinian demonstrators by Israeli forces in Gaza is tragic. It is the right of all people to protest for a better future without a violent response." So said Bernie Sanders, who apparently does not believe that a country has the right to protect its borders against potential terrorists. Oh yeah, no different from Bernies's attitude about the US border.

Kuwait was able to get an emergency session of the UN Security Council. Thanks to President Trump, they were unable to pass a resolution condemning Israel. However, that did not stop Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from calling for an "independent and transparent" investigation of the deaths and injuries. In other words, an investigation into Israel's actions. This emergency session was held on Friday night. Aside from Friday night being the start of the Jewish Sabbath, Friday night was also the first night of Passover, with Jews around the world celebrating our liberation from Egypt over 3000 years ago at Passover Seders. Consequently, no Jewish representatives were present to argue against Security Council action. Again, thank G-d for Donald Trump.

Not surprisingly, several European countries expressed their dismay, and even displeasure, with Israel. Turkey's Islamist leader, Recep Erdogan, condemned Israel for its "inhumane attack." In return, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu replied: "The most moral army in the world will not be lectured to by someone who for years has indiscriminately bombed civilian populations."

Some additional history. Arabs were not the only ones displaced during and after Israel's War for Independence. Approximately 800,000 Jews who were citizens of the surrounding Arab countries were either forced out or had life made so difficult they left. Most were resettled in the new land of Israel, becoming Israeli citizens. As Egypt controlled Gaza after the 1948-49 war, and Jordan controlled the West Bank, you would have to ask those two countries why they did not make their fellow Arabs citizens of their countries. Perhaps better to use them as pawns in their ongoing struggles against Israel, than to help them become citizens of Egypt or Jordan.

In 1976, Israel did take some Arab land in the area of the Galilee. Looked at in context, this was land that Israel won in the 1967 Six Day War. Looked at in further context, Israel had to fight much of the Arab world in their War for Independence. They fought again in 1956, 1967, and in 1973's Yom Kippur War. To say that Israeli leaders were concerned about the security of their people, and being able to defend their tiny country against the much larger Arab armies, would be an understatement. While some may feel the taking of land was indefensible, others saw it as protection from an Arab population continuously seeking their annihilation. As the Hamas in Gaza leader said, they are seeking all the land of Palestine. The British Mandate in Palestine included land that now makes up the country of Israel. There was never a country of Palestine. It was a geographic area controlled for nearly 2000 years by foreign invaders. Palestine was also the homeland of the Jewish people, having been displaced from the ancient land of Israel some 2000 years ago.

Finally, we need to remember that in 2005, Israeli P.M. Ariel Sharon ordered the forcible removal of all Jews living in Gaza. That territory was turned over to the Arabs. In return, what did Israel get? Constant rocket and missile attacks, and numerous underground tunnels used by the Arabs in an effort to infiltrate Israel and kill Jews. And this repeated yearly effort on "Land Day" to breach the Israeli border. Unlike our Arab neighbors, we Jews are taught that we do not celebrate any deaths, even of our enemies. But that does not mean that Israelis should not be able to defend themselves and their borders.