‘Every Israeli you know, knows someone who was murdered, kidnapped or called up’

It is a little over a week since 1,400 Jews were brutally massacred in their homes, 200 held hostage by Hamas, and over 3,000 injured. Over 20,000 people have received word that a close family member has been slaughtered. Over 2,000,000 people know someone who has been savagely murdered. Over 9,000,000 people are now asking themselves: “Could it be me next?”

Let that sink in. 

I have always been pro a two-state solution. I never wanted any occupation for any civilian population. Gaza has not been occupied by Israel since 2005. Israel controls its airspace and naval borders because it has to, as well as two other border crossings (the third is with Egypt), through which we have been providing food, medical supplies, and gas for years.

The same Israel that absorbs thousands of rockets from Gaza on its civilian population has also been supplying Gaza this whole time. In my own eyes, I saw trucks being delivered into the strip amid a deadly operation in 2014. This, while Hamas seizes funds and humanitarian aid provided by world nations for civilians, and utilises them for weapons and ammunition.

I have also seen pilots on a mission to bombard rocket launchers turn around because civilians were spotted onsite. I have seen soldiers hug Palestinian children and give them food. I have seen the most moral army in the world, within a nation that saw 10 days ago that it is not facing war or a military that is threatening land or borders, but a battle against humanity. Israel is now fighting the face of evil for the rest of the world, and rest assured, they will spare no one.

If the US had been infiltrated by thousands of terrorists from Mexico, who brutally murdered 49,650 civilians (the equivalent in proportion to the US population) – or you know what, 1,300 people is enough on its own – would they continue to supply them with humanitarian aid?

After Pearl Harbor, where 2,400 soldiers were killed by the Japanese, the US responded with a nuclear weapon that killed 200,000 civilians.

After 9/11, the deadliest attack in the history of the United States, the US began a war with Al Qaeda in Afghanistan (2001-2021), which is estimated to have caused the death of 176,000 people.

No-one celebrated or excused those attacks, but for some reason, Israel, a nation whose whole history revolves around survival and self-defence, is expected to show a proportionate response. What is proportionate in the face of Hamas or ISIS, an organisation whose sole purpose is to kill? What is proportionate when the IDF adheres to international warfare rules, while Hamas has no limits?

While Israel tries, with warnings and evacuations, to avoid civilian casualties, the terrorists hide behind children, schools, hospitals and temples. Egypt, Jordan, Iran, Syria, and Qatar are more than welcome to invite Palestinians to their countries, to help get a Palestinian administration in power. Much like the Israeli government’s treaties and friendships with other Arab nations, the nation would embrace an amicable relationship with its neighbours. We have just one condition – don’t kill our civilians.

Israel, a sovereign nation that has always been the first to send assistance to every disaster-struck area, now needs the support of the world, so that such acts of horror won’t happen to anyone else, no matter their faith, religion, or race. There is a reason why Israel has peace treaties and amendments with most of the world’s nations, while Hamas is supported only by Qatar and Iran, the biggest enemies of the Western world.

I have much criticism for the Israeli government, which I have been proclaiming for years, but I can’t help but think that while I have been protesting for a more liberal, inclusive government to take better care of my LGBTQ and Arab friends, Gazans have been protesting to kill me.

Israel has to defend its civilians and its borders. If any of the “Free Palestine” callers have any idea as to how Israel should free Palestine and continue to exist, please, enlighten me. Or better yet, get your governments to welcome Palestinian civilians, to open your gates to them. But no, no one brings them in because no one wants the terror that unfortunately follows and we are currently understanding.