Robert Spencer corrects Marc Lamont Hill

Senator Rand Paul Responds to Attacks in Israel

From his Senatorial website.

Nov 18, 2014

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Rand Paul today issued the following statement in response to the brutal attack that took place in a Jerusalem synagogue, resulting in the death of three Americans:

"I am deeply saddened and alarmed by the attacks that took place early this morning in Israel. These men of faith were cruelly murdered as they were worshiping in their synagogue in Har Nof. I vow to Stand with Israel and I will continue to do all I can to protect Americans at home and abroad. This is a horrific act of violence that should be universally condemned. We must demand that Palestinian leaders stop the incitement, which they have committed in word and in deed. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Israel," Sen. Paul said.

Good. No crap about "calling on both sides" that we are used to hearing.

Easy to explain, hard to solve.

As he does with all topics, Dennis Prager brings clarity to the topic of the Israel-Arab conflict.

Once you understand the problem, it's easy to know what side to be on. If you misunderstand the problem then I can see why you might support Hamas. They have a lot of people on their side due to the underdog fallacy. Do the "have-nots" ever commit evils against the "haves"? If you answer "no", then I can understand why you might support Hamas and other Islamic terror groups.

Stop Hamas Now

Go to the Stop Hamas Now website and sign the petition. This is a letter which will be sent to everybody in leadership. Here's the text:

An open letter to America's leaders

Dear President Obama, Secretary Kerry, members of Congress, Governors, state and local officials, and our nation's business and religious leaders:

Israel has been under attack. Under attack by an enemy – Hamas - that values death over life. That uses women and children to shield its weapons and bombs. That has as its goal the destruction of Israel. And the destruction of Western Civilization.

The very same Hamas that has as a part of its covenant the destruction of Israel. The very same Hamas that cheers when Americans die and condemns America when she takes on evil around the globe.

And the very same radical ideology that led to the death of nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001. And that's behind the slaughter of Christians throughout the Middle East.

We mourn the loss of innocent life in Gaza. But those deaths are not collateral damage; they are a part of a deliberate plan by Hamas to cause the death of its own women and children, and then use those deaths to garner international sympathy.

It is a grotesque strategy. One the media should expose. And the world should condemn. One that must not happen again.

Leaders of America, please send a unified message to Israel and the world that America stands with our ally in this battle for her survival. That Hamas must be disarmed and stay disarmed. And that we stand against Hamas's depraved use of innocent civilians as human shields, and its ideology of hate and intolerance.

This fight in Gaza, in the end, is a fight between good and evil.

It isn't just Israel's fight. It's America's, too. And the civilized world's.

Moral Clarity

Charlie K brings the moral clarity, but it feels like a waste of time even as it reads like the Truth. Excerpt:

Rarely does international politics present a moment of such moral clarity. Yet we routinely hear this Israel-Gaza fighting described as a morally equivalent “cycle of violence.” This is absurd. What possible interest can Israel have in cross-border fighting? Everyone knows Hamas set off this mini-war. And everyone knows the proudly self-declared raison d’etre of Hamas: the eradication of Israel and its Jews.

Apologists for Hamas attribute the blood lust to the Israeli occupation and blockade. Occupation? Does no one remember anything? It was less than 10 years ago that worldwide television showed the Israeli army pulling die-hard settlers off synagogue roofs in Gaza as Israel uprooted its settlements, expelled its citizens, withdrew its military and turned every inch of Gaza over to the Palestinians. There was not a soldier, not a settler, not a single Israeli left in Gaza.

And there was no blockade. On the contrary. Israel wanted this new Palestinian state to succeed. To help the Gaza economy, Israel gave the Palestinians its 3,000 greenhouses that had produced fruit and flowers for export. It opened border crossings and encouraged commerce.

The reason it seems like a waste of time is that the people determined to perpetuate the ridiculous "cycle of violence" meme sound so morally superior to everyone. The sense I get from them is "Yes, yes, we know that one side may be more to blame that the other, but really, this part of the world has been fighting for hundreds and thousands of years. It's time to stop pointing fingers...." No! I want more finger pointing. What is wrong with a one-state solution, run by grown-ups (Israelis) where we recognize who's to blame for the violence (Palestinians)? And anyone who doesn't like that can move to one of the other wonderful Muslim countries in the area. If they'll allow them in.

David French explains what reasonable response should mean

David French explains why wiping out Hamas would be perfectly reasonable for Israel to do.

When an enemy force consistently and deliberately does all that it can to terrorize and kill as many of your citizens as possible, with no regard for the difference between military and civilian targets, the “reasonable” thing to do is obliterate that enemy. Destroy it. There is nothing unreasonable about self-defense, and there is nothing unreasonable about destroying an armed enemy force. In fact, our own military has a long and proud history of destroying enemy armed forces, and our nation and the world tend to achieve far better outcomes when our military is given the free hand to do the truly reasonable thing: defeat the enemy.

But since we’re defining “reasonable,” let’s also define “unreasonable.”

It is unreasonable to expect Israel to exercise more restraint than the United States would under similar circumstances. It is unreasonable to demand that Israel abide by made-up rules of “proportionality” that we’ve rightly rejected for our own armed forces. It is unreasonable to assume that the so-called “honest broker” role requires this nation to blind itself to truth and violate its own laws by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars per year to a terrorist “unity” government.

The world will never be free of violence, but a world with no Hamas would be better than a world with Hamas. That's for sure.

I've always thought the Israelis are far too nice to people who behave like wild animals.

H/T ACLJ.

Hamas Bumper Stickers

#HamasBumperStickers = hilarious new Twitter trend. I don't know why the liberals are upset about it, nor the Muslims. Hamas doesn't have anything to do with Islam, does it? Isn't it a terrorist group or something?

If peace talks are approaching, hit the bunkers

That seems to be a good take-away from this incident where Hamas killed four Israeli civilians. When you live in Israel and hear that peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians are imminent, go on increased alert and prepare to defend yourself from Hamas terrorist attacks. Or else your death might be used as a stake in the heart of the talks. You'll become a human sword, which is even worse than a human shield.

Here's the White House's response:

The White House, in a statement, condemned the attack, saying it "underscores how far the enemies of peace will go to try to block progress. It is crucial that the parties persevere, keep moving forward even through difficult times."

OK, but could be stronger. I guess they have to be diplomatic, but wouldn't it be nice if they could peg those responsible.

Despite occasional attacks, Israeli security officials say the past year has been one of the most peaceful in Israel's history. Officials credit the improved functioning of Palestinian security forces, the Israeli military's efforts against militants, and the deterrent effect they say was created by Israel's wars against the Palestinian uprising in 2001, Hezbollah in Lebanon in 2006 and Hamas in Gaza in 2009.

Maybe there's hope....

"There is no such thing as an Islamic terrorist."

Just in case you missed it. This is a companion piece to David Horowitz's exchange with a Muslim student at UCSD back in May 2010.


Uhhh, students, this question is going to be on the test from now on, so make sure you can answer it before showing up to class.

Bunch of Liars

You might have to register for PJTV to watch this video, but it's worth it. They demonstrate how Hamas is purposefully keeping medical aid out of Gaza to keep the manufactured crisis going. It's very sad that people would hurt people in the hospital just to make Israel look bad. It is also sad that mainstream media does not cover this. Unfortunately, the fact that Hamas promotes lies and propaganda is a dog bites man story.

Flotilla Choir: "We Con the World"

Thanks to Pikkumatti for pointing out this great parody. HT Powerline.

My favorite line = "Like some cheese and missiles for the kids."

Keith Pavlischek on Proportionality in Warfare and problems with "Double Intention"

This takes a good while to read, but it is worth it. The author discusses the common abuses of the concept of proportionality in just war theory to condemn superior fighting forces and their victories. I'm not going to excerpt it because Pavlischek, a retired U.S. Marine colonel, is building a strong, careful argument and it should be taken as a whole. I will say that it makes me wish all the more that people would consider how evil it is that Hamas and other terrorist groups routinely use civilians as human shields and how sad it is that this well-demonstrated fact is just as routinely ignored in the media.

Biden: "This would end tomorrow if Hamas agreed..."

"... to form a government with the Palestinian Authority on the conditions the international community has set up." This is Joe Biden on the Charlie Rose show talking about the so-called "peace flotilla" incident.

Readers know that we've taken shots at Joe Biden plenty of times here at Est Quod Est, but he is speaking the truth with so much clarity in this interview with Charlie Rose that he must be praised. He rightly points out that there are so many ways in which Hamas could deliver relief supplies that it is ludicrous to suppose that they have to sail through the Israeli's blockade. He also affirms Israel's right to search the ships based on common sense and mentions twice the 3,000 rockets fired from Gaza into Israel. Twice―that's probably more times than the mainstream media has mentioned it in the last year. I never thought I'd say I was proud of our Vice President, but I must confess that I am while listening to his proper defense of Israel. It's a welcome break from the regular talking points which comprise the tide against which he is swimming.

Mona Charen setting the record straight on the Jihad Flotilla

Yesterday Mona Charen gave us some pieces of the "rest of the story" regarding the so-called "peace flotilla". Here are some facts she lists which should cause discomfort for anyone buying the stupid line that this was some type of humanitarian cause:

Fact: Israel imposed a blockade of Gaza to prevent weapons from reaching the radical Islamic regime there that continues to make war on Israeli civilians. Egypt too has blockaded the strip, hoping to choke off weapons to Hamas, which it views as a threat.

Fact: Humanitarian relief is delivered to Gaza from Israel on a daily basis. During the first three months of this year, 94,500 tons of supplies were transferred to Gaza from Israel, including 48,000 tons of food products; 40,000 tons of wheat; 2,760 tons of rice; 1,987 tons of clothes and footwear; and 553 tons of milk powder and baby food for the strip’s 1.5 million inhabitants. Representatives of international aid groups and the United Nations move freely to and from the Gaza Strip.

Fact: Upon learning of the intentions of the Gaza flotilla, the Israeli government asked the organizers to deliver their humanitarian aid first to an Israeli port where it would be inspected (for weapons) before being forwarded to Gaza. The organizers refused. “There are two possible happy endings,” a Muslim activist on board explained, “either we will reach Gaza or we will achieve martyrdom.”

So as usual, the jihadis want to agitate and perpetuate the struggle. They don't want a peaceful resolution. The shouts of "Remember Khaybar, O Jews, Muhammad’s army will return!" should put that myth to rest—it's not the first time we've heard that, nor will it likely be the last.

The whole attack on Israel's actions from the usual suspects (mainstream media, United Nations, etc.) has the flavor of Obama's "police acted stupidly" meme from last summer. It's the knee-jerk attack on law enforcement to which the left seems to be addicted.

David Horowitz Draws Out the Truth

Mentioned on Glenn Beck's program today.



The inability to answer a straight yes or no question is so, so sad. But eventually the hatred simply bubbles up and pops the cork.