There Is No “Moral Equivalency” in the Jerusalem Synagogue Attacks by LTC ALLEN WEST (US ARMY RET)
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/there-is-no-moral-equivalency-in-the-jerusalem-synagogue-attacks
Peace in the Middle East will come when the two parties involved both seek peace – not when one must constantly defend itself against terrorist attacks. Since the original two-state solution was first floated in the 1930’s, one side has never found it acceptable and has embarked upon decades of violent aggression and terrorism in order to advocate its case. In the meantime, he other side has created a prosperous multicultural democracy and is the target of constant assaults against its innocent citizens – including, as we recently reported, the killing of a three-month-old child.
Of course Israel, the recognized nation-state, is not only targeted by kinetic attacks, it must also survive propaganda attacks as it is demonized for defending its existence. I once again ask, how do you establish a cease-fire with a terrorist group whose raison d’être is the destruction of said state?
And so the insanity continues between those referring to themselves as “Palestinians” – you can read the history of the term here – and the State of Israel.
As reported by USA Today, “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “respond harshly” after five people – three of them U.S.-born rabbis – were killed in a synagogue Tuesday by two Palestinians wielding meat cleavers, an ax and a gun. The incident was the latest violent event in the tense city where relations between Arabs and Jews have been deteriorating for weeks over a contested shrine holy to both Jews and Muslims. Netanyahu immediately ordered the demolition of the attackers’ homes, as well as homes of Palestinians who carried out several recent attacks.”
Of course the focal point for some media will be the ensuing consequences and punishment levied by Prime Minister Netanyahu – but he understands there must be consequences to the actions of terrorists.
It will be interesting to see how much we discuss the celebrations of this heinous attack, which occurred in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
As this cartoon shows from a Hamas-affiliated social media page, terrorists are wielding knives and axes while the victims lie bleeding on the floor. One of the terrorists holds a bloody ax and a knife asking “Where are they?”-to indicate that he is seeking more victims.
Why is it that the media, and the world, never condemn groups like Hamas that use its own people as human shields – as we reported here. And our own foreign policy is so insidiously misconceived that we essentially reward Islamic terrorism by giving millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars for “infrastructure rebuilding” – as we have to Hamas in Gaza.
We just endured the beheading of a former U.S Army Ranger at the hands of ISIS – now this.
USA Today says, “Four of the dead were rabbis and one was a police officer who died of his wounds hours after the attack. Three of the rabbis were born in the United States, and the fourth was born in England, although all held dual Israeli citizenship. The U.S.-born victims were identified as Moshe Twersky, 59, Aryeh Kupinsky, 43, and Kalman Levine, 55. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the British man was Avraham Goldberg, 68, who immigrated to Israel in 1993. Twersky, the grandson of a renowned rabbi from Boston, Joseph Soloveitchik, was the head of Yeshivas Toras Moshe, a religious seminary for English-speaking students. His father, Isadore Twersky, founded the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard.”
Some profess ISIS is not a greater threat beyond the region – I say that is far from the truth. ISIS is inspiring these singular jihadists to engage in attacks globally – be it England, Australia, Canada, the U.S. or Israel. Two NYPD rookie officers are attacked by an ax-wielding jihadists – no different from these two in Jerusalem. And yes, in both cases the assailants were killed but that is part of the jihadist scheme.
USA Today reports “The attack took place in the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Har Nof, which has a large population of English-speaking immigrants. Police identified the attackers as Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal, cousins from East Jerusalem. President Obama responded that the incident makes it “all the more important for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and ordinary citizens to work cooperatively together to lower tensions, reject violence and seek a path forward towards peace.”
The real policy issue should be the wholehearted denouncement and eradication of Islamic terrorism. As long as it exists, and there is no unified recognition of Israel’s right to exist, there will never be a “path to peace.” As long as we have organizations such as the United Nations, which finds it easier to condemn Israel and makes inane statements such as “Israel should share its Iron Dome system with Gaza [Hamas],” the chances for peace to take root are slim to none.
Furthermore, the longer ISIS exists, the more it will continue to inspire this wave of jihadist actions. And ISIS will continue to leverage social media to promote more of these types of attacks to advance the specter of fear and intimidation that is the essence of terrorism.
USA Today says “Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, the first time he has done so since a recent spike in deadly violence against Israelis began. He called for an end to Israeli “provocations” surrounding the sacred site known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary. Abbas said it was wrong for either side to kill civilians. However, Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas (with whom Abbas’ Fatah, the Palestinian Authority has entered into a reconciliation pact ) wrote in a post on Facebook that the incident in Jerusalem was a reaction to Israeli “crimes” and called for further attacks and bloodshed.”
So the feigned “condemnation” by Abbas means very little when in the same breath he blames the victim, Israel, for “provocations,” basically providing a justification to the actions of his own people. And let’s be honest, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the City of David, and no Islamic conquest or folklore can change that fact. Heck, for that matter, perhaps the Italians can lay claim since it was Roman Emperor Hadrian who renamed the city Aeolia Capitolina.
Regardless, one side wants no peace – they only want extermination. One side wants to survive, a promise the world made as well, but seems to have reneged upon. The sands of time are running out and there is a severe storm brewing.
I stand steadfast with Israel and so should America’s policies in the Middle East – and any nuclear negotiations with Iran by the United States shows that not to be the case with this current administration.
I send my condolences to the families of the three American rabbis who lost their lives all because we continue to acquiesce to Islamic terrorism.
Lt. Col (Retired) Allen West served 22 years in the US Army and represented Florida’s 22nd Congressional District in the US House of Representatives from 2011-2013. To hear more from Col. West, visit www.allenbwest.com.
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