Another perspective...Why In The World Does The American Left Give Hamas A Free Pass? [View all]

[one_voice]

Since the outbreak of the newest episode of violence between Israel and Hamas, I’ve been getting a lot of grief from some people who somehow expect me to take the side against Israel that a lot of the left has as well. I’m sorry, but I obviously didn’t get the memo that just because my beliefs tend to be more on the left side of the spectrum, that automatically means I have to jump on the “Israel is a monster” wagon.

Let’s get this straight right off the bat: I support the right of both Israel and a Palestinian state to exist – and it would be possible if both sides could stop being stubborn and realize a couple of hard facts.

1. Israel is not going to go anywhere, plain and simple. Ever since the Israeli government announced the formation of the State of Israel in 1948, they’ve been under attack from a number of terrorist organizations and Islamic states – and they’re still there. I know a lot of people say that there would be peace if Israel was dissolved, but that’s ridiculous both from a political and a logistical perspective.

2. The Palestinian people aren’t going anywhere either. As much as some rabidly anti-Palestinian individuals in Israel and elsewhere have expressed their support for wiping Gaza and everyone who lives there off the map, that would be a suicidal move by Israel – even if that’s what they actually wanted to do.

While what is happening in Gaza is tragic, would anyone in their right mind really stand by and allow daily rocket fire aimed at civilians to continue? Sure, the Iron Dome stops quite a few of these rockets, but it doesn’t stop all of them. A lot of people say that firing these rockets is an act of defiance against occupation, or a way of protesting the living conditions in Gaza. That’s complete rubbish. Throwing rocks at soldiers or burning tires is protesting, firing rockets at civilian population centers is trying to kill people, regardless of whether they’re shot down or not.

The response by Israel is excessive, that I can agree on. However, if you were dealing with a government (yes, Hamas is the elected government in Gaza) which insists on provoking attacks, wouldn’t you every once in awhile respond in a similar manner? On top of that, Hamas has zero regard for the lives of their own civilians, let alone civilians in Israel. If Hamas actually cared about the people it is supposed to represent, they would be busy using the limited concrete it receives to build infrastructure instead of using tunnels into Israel for launching attacks. If Hamas wanted to make Gaza a better place, they would concentrate on attracting tourism, finance and other investments instead of attacking Israel.

*snip*

http://www.forwardprogressives.com/world-american-left-give-hamas-free-pass/