Daily Alert Archives

Israel Has Proved that Jewish Blood Is No Longer Cheap

(Wall Street Journal) Alan Dershowitz - For centuries, Jews have been the victims of pogroms and racist violence. The murderers rarely paid for their actions. Jewish blood was cheap. The murderers and rapists who participated in the Oct. 7 massacre seemed to think they'd get away with it. They took videos of the atrocities they committed and bragged about killing Jews wherever they could find them. But this time was different. Israel fought back and made the perpetrators and their supporters pay a heavy price. After Israel suffered the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, it sent a message to those who perpetrated the mass killing. It took extraordinary measures to kill every terrorist it could who had participated in the atrocities of Oct. 7, as well as their leaders. Yet, it's unclear whether the Israeli policy will deter future massacres, because Hamas brags that it loves death as the Israelis love life. Israel must treat Hamas and Islamic Jihad the way the Allies treated the Nazis and the imperial Japanese. These terrorists must be totally defeated, and only then should their cities be rebuilt, as German and Japanese cities were. Just as peace wouldn't have been possible in 1945 if the Nazis and imperialists were allowed to survive and remain in control, so, too, Hamas and Islamic Jihad must not be allowed to survive. The message Israel has sent to the world - that Jewish blood is no longer cheap, and those who shed it will pay a heavy price - is a historical imperative. It is long overdue and made necessary by centuries of people around the world tolerating the shedding of Jewish blood without consequence. The writer is professor emeritus at Harvard Law School.
2025-09-04 00:00:00
Full Article