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There Is No Moral Equivalency between Israel and Hamas

(D-NY) Sen. Charles Schumer - The notion that there is a moral equivalency between the defensive and targeted actions that the rule-of-law-based Israel is compelled to take, and the proactive and indiscriminate actions that hate-based organizations like Hamas takes, is completely unfair, unfounded and infuriating to supporters of Israel - with good reason. In fact, there is no moral equivalence between the actions and reactions of Israel and Hamas and the Palestinian community to the violence that has occurred. How did Hamas and too many diverse parts of the mainstream Palestinian community respond to the kidnap and murder of three young Israelis? They cheered. Compare that to the reaction of the Israeli people to the murder of the Palestinian teenager. Israelis were aghast. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately called the murderers "terrorists." Hamas, which has won elections with the support of the population of Gaza, is a terrorist group that remains bent on the destruction of Israel and its citizens. Without provocation, the Hamas governing authority flings rockets over the border, all over Israel, without regard to civilian lives or public safety. When Israel reacts, it does so defensively. It targets military capabilities or terrorist leaders. What other society gives advanced warnings to those shelling it, by dropping leaflets and making cellphone calls to warn the inhabitants of impending defensive strikes, to minimize the loss of innocent lives? These proportional steps clearly make it harder to eliminate the terrorists and rockets. To say that both sides are equally to blame simply lets Hamas and its leaders off the hook and encourages them to continue the violence. We can't have a double standard which fails to grant Israel the same understanding as any other country that finds itself under attack.
2014-07-17 00:00:00
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