Stark Lines

Every so often I come across a situation that is gray. Where there are no stark lines between what is right and what is wrong. Most moral dilemmas can be decided fairly simply with many being “believe what your eyes tell you” simple.

Situations that are gray most often are personally interactive. Two human beings who cannot agree (a couple for instance) and when viewed by an observer, that observer can see two sides to the disagreement. Perhaps one side is being irrational and the other is being intransient. It’s the kind of stuff a decent marriage counselor or a trusted clergy might be able to guide a couple through to a truce and save a relationship.

More frequently there are stark lines. One side is the abuser in the relationship and the other side is the abused. Human beings are experts at telegraphing which they are.

There is no moral equivalency between the two sides in the Israel/Hamas debate. None.

The notorious terror group, Hamas, swept into a music festival and conducted a massacre of the innocent. There is no question of the course of events, Hamas has proudly pounded its chest all over the media, providing video and photos to document their barbarism.

Yet, there are those, mostly in the academia crowd, who continue to protest against Israel either by flat-out denying anything happened or saying Hamas was justified in its brutal and cowardly attack. The problem is that it is Hamas itself that has provided the receipts of their range of savagery. Are we being asked to ignore Hamas’ own bragging? Their own public relations campaign?

Led by an organization in this country, National Students for Justice in Palestine, they’ve managed to sponsor and encourage students at the university and lower, to take to the streets to demand justice for Palestinians and others. In explaining themselves, they provide this:

“Building on the legacy & impact of the student movement in occupied Turtle Island (U.S. and Canada), National Students for Justice in Palestine (National SJP) seeks to empower, unify, and support student organizers as they push forward demands for Palestinian liberation & self-determination on their campuses.”

Let me stop there. Could someone tell me what “Turtle Island” might be and why it’s described as the occupied United States and Canada?

They claim over 200 affiliated campus organizations. I knew when I saw the range of protests they were not spontaneous. I’ve led protests and there’s a lot of work that goes into one, much less hundreds in the U.S. and other countries.

A legal organized protest involves permits, printing of signs and t-shirts, identifying who will speak, what press gets notices, recruiting line captains to monitor the crowd and lead the march.

Anyone, regardless of their age, that denies that what happened on October 7th at the Supernova Music Festival was not a wholesale slaughter of innocents is delusional. That festival was not an act of aggression by Israel, it was a gathering of people who wanted to spend time dancing, singing and enjoying life. It was not a military battle between rivals, it was a genocide.

And it sparked wider spread murder and torture, the killing of Israelis in their homes, many of whom took to their safe rooms but were murdered none the less. The Hamas animals have ruthlessly killed babies and old women in their wheel chairs.

And now that the Israeli Army is mobilizing and dealing with the perpetrators, there are ignorant people in the dark corners and on the street corners who are perfectly willing to condemn Israel for taking a war footing.

Hamas and its dear friend Hezbollah are the Hitler’s of the contemporary era. They are not freedom fighters or warriors of justice, they are common violent murderous thugs. I, for one, will not stand for the rhetorical white washing of the bloody situation.

The terrorists have a saying “From the River to the Sea.” Which means that is what they want in Israel. I say “Drive them Down the River and Out to the Sea.” For once and for all.