Being Human Doesn’t Mean Being Soft On Our Enemies

This morning, I saw a picture of a Hezbollah terrorist who was killed by the IDF while trying to rebuild Hezbollah military capabilities in Southern Lebanon. The Israeli press released a picture of a young terrorist holding his infant child in his arms. This young boy is an orphan now. It’s only human to witness this and feel pain. It’s tragic to witness such unnecessary death. If his father had only chosen to live in peace, this child wouldn’t have become an orphan.

However, feeling the pain of our enemies should not make us weak. We must fight our enemies as if we don’t see their pain and feel their pain as if they were not our enemies. Understanding the terrible cost of war is important; remembering who we are fighting for is critical. We should always remember the horrors of October 7, and our mercy should go out to all the innocent people slaughtered by the bloodthirsty terrorists.

On the last day of Passover, this reminded me of an old Jewish tradition my grandmother shared with us every Passover, and that is to take out a few drops of wine, so the glass we drink is not full. The reason for this is that our celebration is not whole since many humans died as the people of Israel escaped from Egypt. This idea is amazing. The people of Israel were held in Egypt as slaves for decades. During this time, they were forced to work in terrible conditions, tortured, and murdered. And yet they remained human. And when their worst enemies were killed, they recognized the human tragedy and added this special notion to their freedom celebrations.

But staying human doesn’t mean being soft on our enemies. Jewish wisdom also teaches us that ‘He who is merciful to the cruel will end up being cruel to the merciful.’ When leaders come to decide whether to go to war or not, they first and foremost should remember their task to defend their people. When defending the free world from radical terrorists, there is no place for mercy. President Trump must remember who we are dealing with and not fall for the same old lies and false diplomacy. By attacking Iran and destroying their nuclear capabilities, the US and Israel will be securing the lives of millions.

The same is true for Israel as we fight radical terrorists in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, or Gaza. We must remember that they are trying to destroy us, and therefore, we must defend ourselves at all costs.