(Telegraph-UK) Jake Wallis Simons - To the jihadi ear, the White House's calls for calm sound like an invitation to push the campaign for Israel's destruction one step further. Only a madman would want war. But for thousands of years, we have known that appeasement isn't the way to avoid it. The West has somehow forgotten that if you shun conflict, it will come for you on the enemy's terms. The West pays lip service to the Jewish state's "right to self-defense," but when Israel retaliates, it is accused of warmongering or genocide. In the ears of many Israelis, calls for "de-escalation" sound like requests to bare their necks for the knife. Strength is the currency of the Middle East. Jerusalem is in the very jaws of the jackal, facing attacks from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, Iraq and Yemen. Behind it all is the octopus of Tehran, whose tentacles reach as far as London. Sooner or later, the West must wake up. Nobody wants war. But how to respond when war wants you? The writer is editor of the Jewish Chronicle-UK.
2024-08-06 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive