[ Apropos below:
Some 30 years ago, we were visiting Tokyo for the first time and took a half-day tour of the city to acclimatise ourselves. The assorted group of tourists came from all over the world. The guide was busy enumerating the various ethnic groups residing in Tokyo, but no mention of any Jewish people. An American voice from the back called out : "any Jews?" The guide kept asking, -"please?" after the questioner repeated it a second and third time, but still no understanding from the guide. Eventually another passenger yelled out:"there is orange juice, apple juice, all kinds of juices!"]
"DEATH TO ALL JUICE"
DAVID HARSANYI (Denver Post, USA)
In our nation, even twisted extremists are welcome to express their opinions.
Take, for instance, the young Muslim woman in Florida who used her constitutional right to tell Jews to "go back to the oven!" last week. Or the more befuddled protester in New York who brandished a sign that read, "Death to all Juice." (And I thought we Jews ran the country. Clearly, someone is sleeping on the job.)
These rare but revolting displays of hate do offer the "Juice" a valuable reminder that a secure Jewish state in Israel is a historic imperative.
Nevertheless, it is distressing to hear the large number of supposedly peace- loving critics of Israel in essence defend Hamas, one of the most virulently un-intellectual, illiberal, bellicose, misogynistic, hateful and violent brands of religious fanaticism on Earth.
That's no easy trick, mind you. After all, the magnificently overused "cycle of violence" — a platitude that shrewdly spreads blame equally among the culpable and innocent — has thankfully cliched itself to death. So now, detractors have turned to a feeble argument that claims Israel is guilty of failing to deploy a "proportional" response against Hamas.
It is said that every story has two sides. In this tale, one group has a nihilistic interest in placing Jews in ovens (though Hamas, without Iran, lacks the technological capacity to construct a match, much less an oven) and the other side has a stubborn habit of postponing this fate.
For Israel, there is no choice. There is no political solution. No happy ending. The present circumstance in Gaza refutes the Left's quixotic notion that antagonists can just, you know, hug it out for peace. It also counters the neoconservative idea that democracy will spread among people who place no value in it.
Because Gaza is free. Obviously the Palestinians cannot be placated with an independent state — a gift they never had until Israel handed them Gaza with nary a condition. But this is not a 3,000-year-old war steeped in ancient history, despite widespread perceptions. This was a 20th century battle between Jewish and Arab nationalists. It has turned into a more insidious 21st century war with Islamic fundamentalism.
Hamas will not be romanced by the idea of "building bridges" with Israel. There are not enough conference rooms in Oslo or Davos to persuade Hamas to even recognize the existence of a Jewish state. And Hamas is uninterested in ceasefires, except when it is in need of re-loading rocket launchers — supplied by Iran.
When asked if he could ever imagine a long-term ceasefire with Israel, Hamas leader Nizar Rayyan responded: "The only reason to have a hudna [cease-fire] is to prepare yourself for the final battle."
Reportedly, Rayyan celebrated the idea of martyrdom and death in this glorious battle against Jews, not only for himself, but for his family as well. The Israeli air force blew Rayyan into nano-pieces last week in what we call a "win-win" situation. Rayyan's four wives and 11 of his children unfortunately died along with him.
But make no mistake: Every Arab civilian that perishes does so at the hands of Hamas. The group provoked Israel with thousands of rocket attacks indiscriminately aimed at civilian centers. Once Israel responded — after years of warnings — Hamas placed caches of weapons near schools, mosques and homes in an effort to cause carnage on its own people. Civilian death is the point.
Most reasonable Americans will understand that Israel did not invade Gaza to terrorize the civilian population or murder the innocent. Israel is there to dismantle Hamas' infrastructure and dispose of as many jihadists as possible.
Will Israel's latest assault radicalize Palestinians even further? It's possible. But what other nation would allow a terror state to attack it on a daily basis without defending itself? The answer is none.
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