The ex-soldiers from UK and Canada dispel the lie of the brutality of IDF.

The contribution of the ex-soldiers from UK and Canada and an author and journalist from Canada to building the relationship of friendship and love with the State of Israel and their effort to dispel the lie of brutality of Israel Defense Force (IDF) towards the civilian population.

While watching a video depicting colonel Richard Kemp, ex-UK commander, passionately defending the morality of the Israel Defense Force, two more people came to my mind. Both are Canadians who were born in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and who contributed greatly to Canada in their areas of employment. Rick Hiller was a chief of defense staff of Canada from February 4, 2005 to April 15, 2008 and late Rex Murphy was a distinguished author and journalist. What connects Richard Kemp, Rick Hiller and Rex Murphy is their unquestionable, passionate and honest love of Jewish people and the State of Israel. I feel a desire and the need to honor these righteous gentiles by writing an article about these outstanding human beings.

Richard Kemp, ex-British Commander, in his speech to Norwegian organization ‘With Israel for Peace’ emphasized the enormous effort and sacrifice made by the Israel Defense Force (IDF) to prevent the civilian casualties during the military operations. Mr. Kemp recounts his meeting with the nine senior military officers of democratic countries, among them representatives of arm forces from U.S., UK, France and India. They were discussing and analyzing the behaviors of their military troops during the confrontations with the enemies and its effect on the local civilian population. Not incidentally, the conduct of the IDF in regard to non-combating residents of Gaza was part of the scrutiny and examination at the meeting. What all these senior military officers had in common was the admission that not one of their military forces can reach the level of humanitarianism and civility employed by the Israel Defense Forces in securing the safety of the civilian population of Gaza and in other locations IDF is fighting the enemies. Richard Kemp has interviewed an Israeli air force pilot. The pilot told he was not able to complete his mission to eliminate a target because close to the target in Gaza were civilians and the command center ordered him to return back to the air base in order to prevent civilian casualties. The pilot noted that there were several attempts to eliminate the same target but because of the presence of the non-combative population in the area of bombing he had to return to the air base without success. Eventually, the whole operation was cancelled. The safety of the civilian population is of outmost importance to the Israel Defense Forces reaffirms Richard Kemp.

Mr. Kemp pointed that in Gaza, the Israelis encounter a terrorist organization of Hamas whose main tactic is to use the civilians as human shields. The leaders of this terrorist organization desire for the Israelis to kill the non-combative population of Gaza in order to announce later an incredibly inflated number of civilian casualties. It is their main propaganda tool to gain a sympathy and understanding from worldwide media.

And this unhuman strategy, seemingly, is working well for the terrorists. The Canadian Broadcast Corporation (CBC) couple days ago in their electronically running newscast was putting a message that IDF bombed a hospital in Gaza without a notice that in this seemingly humanitarian health care institution a senior Hamas leader was hiding or, when stating the Gaza casualties, CBC is not specifying how many of the affected were Hamas fighters. This biased negativity towards Israel gives to the Canadian audience an impression of IDF as a brutal and inhuman military force when exactly the opposite is true. The same overwhelming attitude of prejudice and hostility concerning coverage of IDF and the affairs of the State of Israel in general applies to numerous media outlets such as BBC, CNN, MSNBC, newspapers New York Times, Washington Post and Guardian, among many others.

Rick Hiller, the former chief of defense staff of Canada from February 4, 2005 to April 15, 2008, whose charisma and ability to motivate the soldiers, regardless of the ranks, contributed to his popularity as the Chief of Defense Staff of Canada.   During his term as the leader of Canadian military, the troops admired Rick Hiller. Speaking of the reaction of the Canadian government to the October 7, 2023 attack of Hamas terrorists on the kibbutzim bordering the Gaza strip and on the participants of the music festival in the area, he laments: “We didn’t just fail, and are not just failing 400,000 Jewish Canadian; we’re failing 41 million people. And to me, that’s bloody unacceptable”.

Rick Hiller is also asking the Canadian politicians a question: if they were present in the synagogues and the Jewish neighborhoods during the attacks of pro-Palestinian demonstrators? Was the politician’s absence a calculated tactic to get more Muslim votes? “Where are they (the politicians) in ensuring that our police forces are enforcing the laws that are on the books right now and making sure that this kind of hatred is not only acceptable in Canada, it’s not tolerated in Canada”.   

The general stated that in view of the information the Canadian public is receiving regarding the Israeli military operations by watching biased programs of CBC or other media outlets, he is doubtful the Canadians fully appreciate the difficulties the IDF experiences in Gaza.  Rick Hiller provides an insight to the situation when civilians are present in the areas of military actions. “Any fight where there are civilians around, particularly if they’re being used as a [human] shield in many ways by one side, is going to cause the deaths of innocent civilians”. As an example, the general describes the action of the Allies forces during the WWII when, to defeat the Nazi Germany, they bombed Normandy Peninsula and “caused the deaths of 9,000 innocent French civilians during the month alone. And against that measurement, what Israel is doing has been more disciplined than any other military action that I know of”.

We were fortunate to hear the late Rex Murphy’s speech during the all Canadian rally in support of Israel in Ottawa on December 4, 2023. Me, my wife and our daughter flew from Calgary to Ottawa to be part of the rally. I have read Mr. Murphy’s articles and was always impressed by this man’s understanding of the issues he is addressing. His speech at the rally was full of admiration and love of the State of Israel and Jewish people.

During his speech at the Vancouver Hillel’s annual gala on November 20, 2011, Rex Murphy admitted that he accepted Israel as a liberal democracy and as a home for the persecuted through the centuries Jewish people later in his life. From this time on all his actions and writings are  bear evidence of the loyal, passionate and honest friend of the Jews.

Describing the response of the world in five weeks after the horrific October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and the following of the tsunami of antisemitic incidents , Rex Murphy is asking a question why” has the whole western world not been holding its breath lost in sympathetic shock for what is bitterly and correctly nominated as the worst menacing of the Jewish people since the Holocaust?” and he answers “ because it happened in Israel” and because “hatred of Jews, antisemitism is a never-dying ember”. Mr. Murphy sees Israel as the biblical Job of the nations. “Job after his immiseration, was restored. Those who hate Israel have a violently different end in mind”.

Several weeks before Rex Murphy passed away, he died on May 9, 2024 from cancer, he wrote on April 25, 2024: ” The Jews by right of suffering immeasurable, persecution without relent, as attempt at their full extermination, deserved their own place-the place of their birth, where they had been for millennia, the land of their history, and the land promised to them in the incomparable record and exaltation, the Torah”.

He concludes “Hatred of Israel is the great moral disorder of our times” and “Support for Israel is the moral test of democratic leaders and all people with thinking and fair minds”.

These all-consuming emotional and intellectual words coming from the heart of the dying man who had a clear and very sharp mind.