By Darren Mcvey
On Dec. 27, Israel began retaliating against Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip. Since 2001, over 4000 rockets have been launched into Israel, mostly fired after Israel withdrew from Gaza in Aug. 2005. Apparently reaching the end of their tolerance for attacks on kindergartens and playgrounds, the Israeli Defense Force began leveling strategic targets with airstrikes and recently mobilized ground troops in an effort to end the barrage of rockets terrorizing Israeli civilian populations.
In the usual international criticism of Israel for defending itself, there is a confounding development that can only be a product of modern foolishness. In a statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Israel received a condemnation of “excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians.” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay strongly condemned Israel’s “disproportionate use of force.” French President Nicolas Sarkozy managed to have it both ways by attacking Israel’s “disproportionate use of force” while urging Palestinians to end the rocket attacks. France must be a wonderfully magical place.
According to the international community, when the forces of anarchy attack the forces of civilization, civilization must respond “proportionately.” Such a doctrine is pure foolishness. No one ever charged the American North or the Allies with “disproportionate use of force” in their efforts to stamp out evil. And surely Sarkozy and Pillay do not mean that Israel should indiscriminately fire thousands of rockets into populated areas of Gaza. That would be “proportionate.”
Beneath all this foolishness is sympathy for Palestinians and an antipathy of Israel which my moral compass precludes me for sharing. Instead of labels such as “Strong and Weak” or “Oppressor and Occupier” guiding my moral judgments, I use the labels of “Good and Evil” and “Civilized and Barbarous.” While offensive to anyone with a distorted moral compass, any clear-thinking man would not argue with such distinctions.
All movements of righteous resistance, in history and in present, share one characteristic. The Good are always fighting for civilization. Thomas Jefferson penned the motto of all righteous revolutions before and after him when he declared that Americans were willing to die for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. Whether American Patriots, Russian serfs, or ancient Hebrew tribesman, all righteous resistance shares a love of the three values espoused by Jefferson.
Hamas, on the other hand, loves death and oppression. Evil antagonism, whether from Bolsheviks, French revolutionaries, or radical Islamists share an opinion of human life that ranges from ambivalence to disdain to hatred. In the words of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, “we have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable. The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win, because they love life and we love death.”
“Proportionate force” and “diplomatic efforts” are useless against Israel’s enemies. The time for peace is hopefully soon, but the time for defense is now. It is encouraging that Israel is fighting back against those who love death, oppression, and hatred. I hope that the United States continues to stand beside Israel and against evil.
