Proportionality

When people say Israel’s response to Hamas aggression must be “proportionate”, they don’t mean it. What they actually mean is that Israel shouldn’t respond at all.

Which is fine: everyone’s entitled to their view. But Israel’s critics should at least be honest about what they’re really proposing. And what they’re proposing is that while Israel has a right to defend itself in principle, it shouldn’t do so in practice. It should just turn the other cheek.

(The Telegraph)

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Double Standards

Israel has existed in its current format since 1948. For as long as that it has been treated differently from all other states/nations in the world. It has been held to another standard than all other states/nations in the world.

Israel is expected to accept being attacked on a daily basis without responding, or if they do respond do so ‘proportionately’ – do you expect that from Russia in Chechnya, or the US in Afghanistan and Iraq? Or the Syrian government i Syria. No, you don’t. In fact no one says anything like that to any other nation using military force to deal with their terrorists. Oh, sure, every now and then there’s a slap on the wrist issued by the UN or EU against Russia, US or some other country going after terrorists, but that’s it. But never on the scale or with the ferocity they go after Israel on how they deal with Hamas.

No one calls what the US does in Afghanistan or Iraq genocide, or claims that Russia are Nazis for dealing with their terrorists. Why is that?

I think the answer is very simple. Israel has the audacity to call itself a ‘Jewish state’ – a home for all Jews that want to live there. In the expectations on Israel to deal with Hamas differently than Russia deals with Chechnya, or the US deals with the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, lies a deep and dark antisemitism. Israel is being held to a different standard simply because its majority population is Jewish.

If you are not willing to stand up for Chechnya, the Taliban or Al-Qaeda the way you stand up for Hamas, Fatah and Hezbollah, then you really should not stand up for either. Really.

Hamas Haunting Ashkelon

JERUSALEM (AP) – Palestinian militants in Gaza have launched a rocket at the Israeli city of Ashkelon a short time after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert left the area.Israeli police say the rocket landed in an open area just south of the city. Nobody was hurt.The rocket fire came during a lull in fighting between Israel and Hamas militants. Intense violence had left three Israelis and 120 Palestinians dead, including dozens of civilians.Israel pulled its forces out of Gaza last week and militants scaled back their rocket fire. Egypt has been serving as a mediator between Israel and Hamas rulers, but both sides have denied there was an official cease-fire in place.

There has been no claim of responsibility from Gaza for the rocket fire. But Israel says it holds Hamas responsible, since it controls Gaza.

If it’s Kassam, Katushya or something else fired from Hamas controlled territory, it’s Hamas, who else would want to try and kill Israelis?