[NOTE: The Intramuralist experienced some unforeseen technical difficulties over the weekend. Routine postings will resume as scheduled on Wed., Oct. 18th. Our apologies for any inconvenience.]
I’ll be honest. I don’t feel quite qualified to speak on this subject. I suppose many days such could be the truth. We speak purposefully and passionately about things upon which we have a limited perspective. And may not even know it.
This feels a little different to me. It’s simply that the horror is huge and pain is so poignant. It’s hard to wrap our heads and hearts around what happened in Israel last week. Let me be unmistakably clear: what happened was nothing short of evil.
Let us add two more sentences for clarity sakes. When we say “evil,” we mean a complete, utter absence of God. And if an act or event is notably absent of God, that means it is not good, not loving, not just in any kind of way.
On Saturday, Oct. 7th Hamas attacked Israel. Israel was wrapping up their Sukkot celebration, also known as the “Feast of Booths,” a 7 day holiday of great spiritual importance to the Jewish nation. In the early hours of the morning, thousands of missiles were shot into Israeli territory. In addition to the air assault, militants made their way through Gaza-Israel barriers and proceeded to attack, kidnap and kill. Let us be blunt in order to ensure awareness of what exactly happened…
Hamas took videos documenting their actions. They took videos of beaten, naked women. Kidnapped children. Beheaded soldiers. There are numerous reports of rape — young women raped right next to the dead bodies of their friends. There were rampant murders and mutilations. And sometimes accompanying the harrowing videos, there are lengthy laughs from Hamas members, abundantly gleeful of their own activity.
Hence, let us again be clear. Hamas is a terrorist organization. It was declared a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Dept. on Oct. 8, 1997. It had published its charter 9 years earlier, in which it called for the complete destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic society in Palestine. Note: while all of Hamas is Palestinian, not all Palestinians are aligned with Hamas. Palestine is not a terrorist group. Hamas is.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is complicated. It’s indeed one of the world’s longest-running disputes. The origin of the conflict (which if interested, deserves detailed reading in regard to a long list of acts of war and attempts at peace since Israel’s establishment of statehood in 1948), focuses primarily on the pitting of Israel’s demands for national security vs. the Palestinians’ aspirations for their own state. As reported by Reuters, a typically trusted, less-biased news source, the main Israeli-Palestinian issues are a two-state solution, Israeli settlements, the status of Jerusalem, and how to handle millions of Palestinian refugees, who are said to wish to return to the area.
All that to say is that it’s complicated. It’s a tough issue. And for 7 decades, it’s been challenging to navigate, much less solve.
No matter the complexity, let’s continue to be clear.
What happened Saturday is no justification for “both-sides-ism.” This is not about being fair and balanced. This is not about examining what each did leading up to that fateful day; we recognize that both nations have contributed to conflict. However, there is simply zero justification for terrorism. Absolutely never.
(If you can stomach it, feel free to watch the videos. I repeat: “absolutely never.”)
I have appreciated Pres. Joe Biden’s strong statements since the attack. He acknowledged the attack as a day when “pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world.” I have appreciated his affirmation of Israeli support and condemnation of the Hamas attack.
I have appreciated the solid, diverse, mostly united U.S. leadership, as represented by the 392 House of Representatives members who on Tuesday introduced a bipartisan resolution “standing with Israel as it defends itself against the barbaric war launched by Hamas and other terrorists.”
I have appreciated the universal condemnation of antisemitism.
With all due respect, I do not appreciate the manipulation of news, as grossly evident, for example, by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation (and others) who’ve instructed their journalists to refrain from using the word “terrorist” in their reporting.
I do not appreciate the calls for an immediate ceasefire, demanding Israel not respond to the countless innocent who lost their lives.
And I do not appreciate those who boldly proclaim they “stand with Palestine.” Standing with Palestine is one thing. If averred in response to Saturday, that equates to standing for terrorism.
As we move forward, there are deep concerns… What happens next? Who joins in? How is Iran involved? What/if any did they finance or plan?… The $6 billion in Iranian funds that the U.S. unfroze in a September U.S.-Iran prisoner swap feels far more than fishy now.
So many questions. So many concerns going forward. It is sobering indeed.
But there are zero questions as to whether it was evil.
God be with us. Let us be clear.
Respectfully…
AR