The IDF is Fighting for the Palestinian Future

I wrote this note to a dear friend of mine – an influential leader in the USA music industry. We spoke yesterday, and he expressed how hard it is becoming to defend Israel among music artists. In his succinct words: “December 8th is not October 8th (When Bono of U2 stood up for the victims of the Nova Festival massacre). The pro-Palestiniam movement is out on the streets en-masse. Sentiments are changing rapidly.”

I wrote to him in support, to provide him with simple, pure bullets of Truth – so that he can continue to defend our Homeland.

I know there are thousands of other Jewish and non-Jewish friends of Israel in the USA and global diaspora who are also struggling to defend Israel in her time of need. I hope this helps you, as you fight for Israel on the front-lines of global opinion.

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On another note, I wanted to provide you with a bit of context and support in your love for Israel, given all the angry voices in the media, on the streets of LA, and the public.

The notion that this is Bibi’s war against the Palestinians is misguided. Bibi is a problem for Israel in many, many ways. And he is often harmful to Israel’s image abroad. We know this here in Israel.

But this should not be confused with the IDF’s actions during this necessary defensive war with Hamas. Bibi is not waging this war — Israel is. And if anything, Bibi is often the first to fold among Israel’s leadership – often ready to back down from military confrontation if it will protect his public image and political ambitions.

I don’t know if you are aware, but for years I have worked alongside leaders from within the Palestinian community. I personally rescued a young Palestinian blogger (a wonderful young woman) who lived in Gaza and dared to blog against Hamas. I worked with Palestinian leaders and the Israeli security apparatus to have her rescued from Gaza and she was given asylum in Israel.

I speak now, firstly, from the Palestinian people’s point of view – the perspective of Palestinian community leaders who are old enough and wise enough to know the truth of things, and who are not swayed by Hamas or Fatah (the Palestinian Authority) propaganda:

1) There is no future for the Palestinian people as long as Hamas remains in power and with weapons to dominate them and hold the entire Gaza population hostage to their murderous, suicidal ambitions. Hamas must be removed for the Palestinians of Gaza to have a future.

2) As long as Hamas remains in power in Gaza, they delegitimize the Palestinian Authority and undermine their leadership in the West Bank. This denies the entire Palestinian people the possibility of ever moving to Statehood until Hamas is removed from power.

3) Hamas cannot be isolated and castrated of power through isolation. 18 years of isolation in Gaza, with the best of Israel and Egypt’s efforts to keep them from weaponizing, has proven how impossible this is. Hamas has built weapons factories that have manufactured over 10,000 Surface-to-Surface Missiles which they regularly fire on non-military Israeli populations, they have manufactured military drones, Air-to-Surface munitions, a Navy Fleet, Mortars, Automatic machine guns, bullets, and more. They must be confronted, defeated and disarmed.

4) All of Israel, in its entirety, is the size of New Jersey. Now imagine if an army of 30,000 highly trained soldiers with the above-mentioned arms took over Jersey City, took all of its citizens hostage for 18 years, and fired surface-to-surface missiles on the rest of New Jersey. And the people of New Jersey had no neighboring states to which to retreat. That is PRECISELY the situation Israel and the residents of Palestinian Jersey City (Gaza) have been facing for 18 years.

5) Israel is not displacing Gazans for Israel’s interests. Israel is creating designated safe-zones to which Gazans can flee, so they can escape being used as Human shields by Hamas. Even the Nazi’s had the pride and dignity to wear army uniforms, and meet their hated targets on the battlefield. Hamas soldiers change out of their military uniforms and put on civilian clothing when they engage the IDF, and embed themselves among civilians with the hope of them getting killed. Because they don’t care about Palestinian lives in Gaza.

6) The seemingly faceless and heartless IDF soldiers that unavoidably kill innocent civilians as they fight Hamas soldiers embedded within those citizens neighborhoods — those IDF soldiers are Jewish young men and women that would be going to college if they lived in the USA or the UK. They are innocent and idealistic, and have been raised to cherish life and ‘love their neighbor as themselves’ – the most famous of Jewish values.

Hamas turns Israel’s sons and daughters into accidental killers of innocents, and then films these deaths for the self-promotion of their own malign interests.

7) For all these reasons — for the sake of the Palestinian people’s future, Hamas must be removed. The true elders of the Palestinian ‘Chamulot’ (clans) are acutely aware that Israel’s young sons and daughters are laying down their lives in Gaza right now, to free the innocent Palestinian citizens of Gaza from a brutal, genocidal, suicidal, murderous regime. Both wise Palestinians and wise Israelis mourn together for EVERY innocent life lost in this terrible war of necessity. We mourn for all of our children and innocents in this small country – Palestinian and Israeli alike.

The only way out is through. We know this now, more than ever.

Sadly, anyone who protests this war is protesting against the valiant and brave heroes who are fighting for the Palestinian Future. Because our future is peace. And it will only come when Hamas is no more.