Op/Ed: How Long Should Attacks Against Jews in Israel be Viewed as ‘Normal’?

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Category: Op/Ed, Legal Commentary

Published on Friday, 27 December 2019 08:56

Written by Gerald McGlothlin

Once again, Hamas and Islamic Jihad initiated rocket launches against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, forcing him off the podium, and into a bomb shelter to ride out the attack, during a campaign speech in Ashkelon, Israel. 

Once again, news outlets report the event as 'normal.' Supreme authorities of self-righteousness such as the ICC (International Criminal Court) will surely find a way to blame Israel for this, as well. 

But I ask, "What is normal about ongoing attacks against Jews in Israel for the 'sin' of existing?

This needs to stop and it needs to stop now.

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Such attacks would not be allowed against any other people or group with impunity. So, why should Jews be viewed any differently?

Instead of seeing these regular, unprovoked attacks as normal, they should be viewed as cowardly and abnormal—and evil.

And a 'normal' response against evil is to oppose that evil. Such an example of opposing evil is Netanyahu threatening to assassinate the new Islamic Jihad leader Khalil Batanai, just as the previous Islamic Jihad leader was assassinated by Israel in a targeted killing in November 2019, after a similar attack had forced Netanyahu off the stage in the month prior.

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But rather than reporting such defensive measures countering cowardice and evil as righteous, many in the media report it one-sidedly, as if Israel had targeted poor Palestinian children or hospitals, as often is disseminated by disinformation agents.

I'd like to address four questions regarding this latest escalation, along with my answers:

Q: What actually happened in Ashkelon at this Netanyahu campaign event? 

A: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was giving a campaign speech when the warning siren sounded through the city in anticipation of a rocket attack coming from Gaza. He was quickly whisked off the stage by his security regimen and escorted to a bomb shelter. When he returned, he threatened to assassinate the new leader of Islamic Jihad, who apparently was responsible.

Q: Can we expect an increase in the intensity of the violence or will it just be a continuation of the ongoing back and forth violence emanating from Gaza? 

A: It will intensify when Israel decides to change the rules of the game by ending the tit for tat violence, in which the terror organizations determine the pace and Israel just responds to each attack. That needs to change. As any good athlete knows, the best defense is a good offense. According to the words of the new Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, that change in approach may happen soon.

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Q: You've spoken about the Gaza hostilities in the South. What's happening in the North, near Israel's borders with Lebanon and in Syria, where Iran is involved? Isn't that considered to be the more serious threat? 

A: Absolutely, Iran supports the terror organizations in Gaza financially, but the greater threat is in Lebanon, where the Hezbollah have 150,000 missiles, many of which are precision-guided missiles, pointed at Israel. And of course, there is Syria, where Iran has been attempting to establish military bases. 

Q: What is Israel doing about that? 

A: Israel has been launching periodic air strikes on Iranian targets in Syria for the past two years. This hasn't been easy because of the Russian presence in Syria and the need to attack Iranian targets while avoiding conflict with the Russian forces that are allowing the Iranian troops to remain. 

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Q: With these four questions asked and answered, I'll reiterate the question again: "What is 'normal' (read that "acceptable") about ongoing attacks against Jews in Israel, simply because they are Jews"?

A: Unless you are a bigot, the answer has to be that it is not normal, that it is totally unacceptable, and it should be reported as such.

David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of the book, "Trump and the Jews" and five other books. Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children's Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack. He can be found at www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or at www.ShilohIsraelChildren.org