Attack on Israel – it is personal

I have not written for a while, but the latest attacks on Israel have compelled me to do what I do best; stick up for the country that I visited so long ago and fell in love with so deeply.

For the past few days I have been worried sick about my best friend in Haifa. All I get to read in the main stream media are short blurbs of rocket attacks in the south. A small mention like yesterday’s lunch. Some rockets hit main highways and others reached as far as Tel Aviv. But not much “oomph” or emergency has been dedicated to Israel’s plight. I remain concerned about my friend. But I must be the only one in the western hemisphere who seems to care enough for her or Israel. Short mentions on the nightly news don’t seem to capture the fear that towns and communities are being subjected to without reprieve. The attitude seems to say; who cares, Israel is always under attack. It almost seems like the world excuses every terrorist thug in the region. Even this time around the media found a justification; IAF airstrikes killed three PIJ (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) terrorists which included their head honcho Bahaa Abu al-Ata. Once a excuse is found, the rest of the world can continue on its mundane.

The PIJ is so outrageously terror-inclined that even Hamas has problems with it. Iran backed and funded, PIJ is now the Corleone family of the Middle East. Hiding behind Palestinian causes, they have taken over some of the terror hierarchy in the region. Iran is their Godfather. They are better organized and more determined than Hamas. They also have no qualms being recognized as terrorists and openly detest Israel and Jews. Charming personalities that moved into the region without any problem, partly due to the blasé attitude of the rest of the world, and partly because not one government is ready to take on Iran on any level. Oh for a Ronald Reagan just about now.

By last count, over 400 rockets have been launched against Israel. While the havoc and destruction goes on, pinheads in Washington still rant and rave about a Palestinian state and holding funds back from Israel. Sounds familiar? The worst are none other than the pseudo Jewish Bernie Sanders, and his ethnically challenged adversary Elizabeth Warren. Both pounding the gavel on Israel’s lack of compassion in Gaza. Both obviously historically ignorant of the fact that to appease the world, Gaza was turned over to the Palestinian Authority in 2014, and has since been run by an elected Hamas government. How is that working out?

Which brings us to the current Hamas angst that the PIJ is undermining their authority by waging “war” on Israel without to some extent their consent. Hamas is not exactly in a good position to continue their campaign against their border adversary. Poor economic conditions, high unemployment, and a shattered infrastructure, has left their people poorer than they were prior to their jihad in 2014. The continual unrest among Palestinians is now shifted toward Hamas whose campaign promises went only as far as blaming Israel for their woes. But promises of rebuilding after their 2014 Jihad against Israel did not happen. Palestinians were promised restitution and a better life; instead they got electric outages, poor plumbing, and even poorer health systems. Most seriously ill Palestinians are treated in Israeli hospitals on the border.

Those in the EU, UN, and liberal leftist US are either blind to common sense or conveniently stupid to think that creating a “state” run by three major terrorist groups is a good idea. Why should or would Israel accept those terms? The undeterred funding of these groups keeps them armed and dangerous. Their main benefactor is Iran. The same Iran the EU wish to do business with. Anything for a buck or a Euro as the case may be. The PIJ does not even hide the fact that it is funded by the Iranian government. They got royally pissed that Israel managed to go after and get rid of their top three thugs. Their retaliatory attacks also managed to pin point rocket launchers manufacturing sites which were also targeted by Israeli forces and destroyed. So much for the great Iranian muscle. But this is not the end only the beginning.

The only redeeming factor is the wakeup call that Hamas has just received. If Israel managed to neutralize three of the PIJ main goons without much of a problem, there is a very good chance that Hamas hierarchy is not immune from being targeted either. According to some, Hamas is reluctant to make statements for or against the latest attacks by PIJ. PIJ tried very hard to get Egypt to include them in ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. However, Egypt was not too keen to be beholden to Tehran, but to show good faith they released 80 Palestinian prisoners, the majority of whom were PIJ. But being backed by Iran, the PIJ is never transparent. Rumor had it that while they were telling Egypt they wished to play nice and be part of their ceasefire negotiations; PIJ “officials” subtly made it known that they were more inclined toward a familiar strategy mushaghalet al adu ( engaging the enemy), which includes undetermined sporadic attacks to keep Israel “busy” and also demonstrating their independent stand on the ceasefire. This would also undermine Hamas. Was it their intention?

Hamas is looking for a public understanding and a pseudo ceasefire with Israel to at least gain some world credibility. There is also the economic side to this. Although funds continually keep Hamas in business, their beef with Israel is taking its economic toll. They are not poor by any means. According to some US intelligence sources, funding for Hamas comes from all over the Arab world, EU, and Palestinian and far left groups in the US. Filtered through the “charity” organization Dawa, millions of dollars are nebulously transferred to Hamas. In 2003 it was estimated that at least USD 50 million annually was channeled through Dawa to Hamas. This amount is only a drop in the bucket. Dawa operating in both western and Arab countries collects hundreds of millions in “charity” donations from Arab kingdoms like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. In 2010, it was estimated that Qatar had given USD 400 million to Hamas. Although the US tried to “discourage” this, relations with both countries were and still are strategically imperative to the US.

So, here I sit and wonder about my friend and all the people of Israel. All I can do is hope and pray. In the safety of my home in rural Bavaria, I wonder when others in the world will feel the same way I do. The silence of main stream media and western politicians is deafening. The hypocrisy cuts through any moral fiber of civilized politics. Everyone is against anti-Semitism but not everyone roots for Israel. The dynamics of today’s social activism stops at Israel. Is it a compliment or disdainful apathy that allows Israel to fight its own wars? Is Israel left to its own devices because it is resilient and strong enough to go at it alone, or is it because nobody cares? Is it admiration or convenient nonchalance? Is Israel a beacon of freedom in a sea of contempt and hatred, or a lost cause to terrorism that eventually will bring it to its knees? As I ponder these questions, I ask myself; am I the only one who cares?