Let’s Talk about Ceasefire 11/14/23
Before I broach the ceasefire, I want to provide an important update that has fallen through the US media cracks: this is going to be a two-front war soon. Last weekend, Israel blanketed Southern Lebanon with warning pamphlets and auto-calls, advising civilians to temporarily move north, away from the border, where Hezbollah targets are hiding. It's standard practice for the IDF, to ensure the safe passage of civilians, and absolutely above and beyond what other armies do. Rockets from Southern Lebanon continue to rain down on Israeli citizens and although Israel temporarily relocated many, they've still managed to kill civilians. Hezbollah is better funded and certainly better armed than Hamas, and the terror must stop. Israel knew this would be a marathon, not a sprint, but the start of a multi-front war is daunting, particularly when other fronts in the East and South are percolating.
Let me guess: you hadn't heard the news about Hezbollah bombing Israel? No surprise. Israel is focused on survival, not churning out slick media. Its strength has never been communications: for years, Israel has done a subpar job of managing the Iran-backed propaganda machine working against it, so much so that it almost single-handedly disproves the antisemitic trope that Jews control the media. One would hope that actual footage of Hamas committing barbaric crimes would be enough to persuade the masses of their evil, but we're experiencing a new-age type of Holocaust denial, where Jihadis tout their handiwork on sympathetic networks, while simultaneously denying it on others. It's gaslighting on a global scale. But let me be clear, these videos are also something just as sinister: they are recruiting tools. In addition to playing a masterful psychological game against Western opponents, these images are a siren's song for budding extremists. They are the express lane through the four stages of radicalization–identifying, believing, grooming, and committing acts - into the black heart of extremism.
Given that Israel will soon be fighting on two fronts, why wouldn't it consider a ceasefire in Gaza? To cede to these calls would be the absolute worst action Israel could take. I would argue that humanity requires Israel to persist, for both its citizens and the Palestinian people. We must separate the emotional from the pragmatic, the idealized version of humanity from the reality of extremism. The West cannot view this situation through its scope of Rationalist Thinking, rather the Tribal lens of the Middle East. Moreover, many in the West innately follow the Christian sensibility of "turning the other cheek." I remind you that Jews and Muslims have no relationship with that parable. In the Middle East, turning the cheek exposes one's soft underbelly.
Be wary of well-meaning but illogical humanitarians, waving the flag of conflation. Do not be seduced into thinking lopsided results are immoral; that injuries should be inflicted tit for tat. Be wary of the cries for a ceasefire, in the name of stopping civilian deaths. Never has a bucket contained so many holes. Even though Israel takes extreme care, war is ugly and civilians will die. But exponentially more civilians will die - on both sides - if we don't get rid of Hamas. Jewish and Palestinian rights are important and both worth fighting for - they're not mutually exclusive.
Here are some reasons why a ceasefire is a truly terrible idea for everyone, except our dear friends at Hamas:
ABANDONS HOSTAGES. Israel will not leave its family in the hands of murderers and rapists. It wants the 240-ish hostages back, not to reclaim Gaza territory. It forcibly removed all the Jews in 2005 and turned Gaza over to the Palestinians. Sorry, no give-backs. A ceasefire also gives Hamas time to move the hostages, however many of them are currently still alive. Make no mistake, some are dead, including 19 year old Noa Marciano, whose execution photo was released today. Hostages were not given proper medical care, or food and water. Hamas does not view these Jews as humans, rather a means to an end.
FUELS ANTISEMITISM. What other country would be asked to stop the overthrow of a terrorist group that murdered its citizens, subjugates its own people and wreaks havoc on an entire region? Not one. The calls against Israel are preu double-standard. This antisemitic sentiment is on the rise globally. On November 9, 2023, on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the UN condemned Israel 8 times, the rest of the world 0, in its usual rubber-stamping of measures proposed by Arab nations. That countries like Iran and Syria, massive violators of human rights, can Chair UN Human Rights Councils and propose measures against Israel, is the definition of absurd.
INCREASES CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. Hamas has repeatedly said that Oct 7th was just Round One. It will continue to attack Israel in perpetuity, as many times as it takes, in order to wipe it and its citizens from the Earth. You cannot negotiate with someone who simply wants you dead. And not just Israeli civilians–it wants a high Palestinian headcount, which it will further inflate, to garner media sympathy. Hamas equates dead bodies with the scale of sympathy it receives. It colocates its military assets in civilian areas. It not only blocks its civilians trying to flee south per IDF warning, but shoots and often kills them, to keep them stationary. They are captives. The IDF found dozens of Palestinians lying dead on the road south, as it escorted civilians to safety during its daily humanitarian pauses. No doubt, Hamas will blame the IDF, but the videos its citizens are posting online are finally driving critique from Arab neighbors. Hamas is willing to sacrifice an unlimited amount of Israeli and Palestinian lives, except their own and that of their families, safe and snug with their billions in Qatar. The terror will not stop until they are ousted.
STRENGTHENS HAMAS. Hamas will use this time to simply replenish depleted supplies. And by that, I mean reloading their armaments and collecting fuel from their vast hoarded reserves, so that they can launch more rockets. They will not take care of their people, as they have publically punted that job to the UN. The sooner Hamas is out, the sooner Gaza can install new self-leadership and rebuild. Hamas will continue to hurt the Palestinian people until they are gone. They are under intense pressure right now and to relent, allowing them to reposition, only extends the suffering of the people they oppress.
WEST LOSES MOMENTUM. You can neither trust nor negotiate with terrorists. By definition, terrorists are not trustworthy and Hamas cannot be counted on to keep its word. By lowering its guard, Israel would put itself in an unnecessarily vulnerable position. Hamas has broken every single ceasefire it's been a part of, including the one that was in place until Oct 7th. Hamas is the tip of the Jihadi iceberg and Israel is the lone democracy in the Middle East. The IDF is not just fighting for Israel, but the entire West. It is literally the Dutch Boy with his finger in the dam, holding back the wave of fundamental terror. If this Western stronghold falls, the Caliphate war is coming to our doors (sooner than anticipated).
Am Yisrael Chai