THE ENEMY ABOVE

The principle problem Israel faces as it seeks to protect its citizens within its own borders is not the enemy it faces on the ground, rather, it is the enemy it faces in the air. No, Hamas does not have an air force; the enemy in the air is the international meddling promoted on the airwaves around the world.

In a recent article, José María Aznar, former Prime Minister of Spain stated: “Israel's problem lies largely in the international community. At minimum, Hamas leaders know from their own experience that Israel fights with one hand tied behind its back: Israel cannot respond intensely because it would be accused of "disproportionality;" Israel cannot inflict neither much damage nor many enemy casualties because it would be accused of crimes against humanity; Israel cannot take too much time for its military response because nobody wants to see how horrible all wars are.”

Israel must constantly defend its people and property while the rest of the world debates its right to exist. Its leaders must weigh every step, every action and every response to attack against how it will be portrayed by the worldwide media. No other nation in the world is so constantly scrutinized as it seeks to protect its citizenry.

Never has a nation been treated with such insolence as has Israel. They are constantly threatened and attacked. While the Israeli government and people are not without flaws, there is no moral equivalence between a rocket fired toward a town with the intent to terrorize innocent people and a retaliatory, precision airstrike of a rocket launcher in Gaza that has purposely and continually been fired toward homes, schools and synagogues.

While both Israelis and Palestinians alike must ultimately examine the “man in the mirror”, assess their own positions and find a way to live near one another in peace, the attempt to frame terrorism and military retaliation in defense of one’s nation as morally equivalent must stop.

Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem and all the surrounding lands and peoples.