PURELY COMMENTARY

ANTI-ISRAEL MEDIA
Also, the complexities of
attempting to thwart a
terror-state’s rocket fire,
cynically launched from
the midst of a civilian pop-
ulation, have undermined
Israel’s international stand-
ing, with numerous world
leaders and opinion-shapers
maliciously or lazily compar-
ing death tolls and conclud-
ing that because Israel’s is
lower, it must be the aggres-
sor.
The likes of HBO talk
show host John Oliver,
whose views influence mil-
lions, seem to be blaming
Israel for devoting resources
to the protection of its citi-
zens, while Hamas subverts
Gaza’s resources for war
and, with heartbreaking
consequences, uses Gazans
as the human shields for its
indiscriminate rocket fire.
How dare Israel have an Iron
Dome rocket defense system,
these critics object, imply-
ing that if only Israel were
suffering more fatalities, this
might be a fairer fight and
Israel might merit less casti-
gation.
Doubtless to Hamas’ fur-
ther delight, Israel’s public
diplomacy efforts remain as
lamentable as they have been
for decades, if not more so.
Today, we lack so much as

a polished English-speaker
as our ambassador to the
U.S., and the prime minister
has no coherent frontline
English-language spokesman.
Also, the IDF has learned
little about the need for rapid
explanation and response. If
there is a military imperative
to demolish a Gaza tower
where several leading for-
eign media outlets have their
offices, it is not sufficient to
warn and give them time to
leave. It is also necessary to
immediately provide credible
evidence that the building
is indeed a Hamas military
asset.
Also, to Hamas’ delight,
the tide of hostility to Israel,
which even the best public
diplomacy could only par-
tially alleviate, is playing out
in displays of antisemitism,
deeply troubling and dis-
comfiting diaspora Jewry.
While much of the world
clamored for Israel to accept
a ceasefire, the United States,
under the Biden administra-
tion, gave Israel a few more
days to continue to weaken
Hamas militarily — the bet-
ter to try to deter it from
the next round of hostilities.
But Biden fought off a rising
tide of Israel criticism within
the Democratic Party. Five,
10 or 15 years from now, it
is far from fanciful to worry

that a Democratic presidency
would be less dependable.
IDF Chief of Staff Aviv
Kohavi has spoken in the
past of the unique challenges
the Israeli army faces with so
many active and potentially
active fronts. And that real-
ity goes to the heart of the
dangers facing an Israel that
lacks a strategy for Hamas
and Gaza.
This round of conflict
has apparently conclud-
ed. As deeply problematic,
though, it has proven for
Israel, it could have been
considerably worse. The
internal Israeli protests have
subsided though the scars
will take a long, long time
to heal, and the root causes
extend far deeper than this
conflict. West Bank vio-
lence and terrorism have
not reached First or Second
Intifada dimensions, but that
threat remains. Crucially,
Iran chose not to unleash
Hezbollah, whose missile
capabilities dwarf even
Hamas’ upgraded arsenal.

WHAT OPTIONS?
Does Israel need to recon-
quer Gaza, oust Hamas, at
a likely terrible cost, and
remain there?
Should it initiate a nego-
tiating process with the
Palestinian Authority, boost-
ing the deeply problematic
Mahmoud Abbas and seek-
ing to vindicate Palestinian
diplomacy over Palestinian
terrorism?
Would it be wise to
encourage the internationally
funded development of Gaza,
with significant infrastruc-
ture projects to rehabilitate
the Strip, giving Gazans
more to lose and thus poten-
tially complicating further
Hamas assaults on Israel?

None of these strategic
options is good. But the cur-
rent absence of a strategy is
worse. From round to round
of conflict, Hamas has grown
from a dangerous terrorist
organization to the ruler of
a terrorist state with what
amounts to an army — fund-
ed in part by the money that
Israel has allowed Hamas’
Qatari patrons to deliver. It is
increasingly dominating the
Palestinian cause, harming
Israel’s international standing
and demonstrating the capac-
ity to stoke violence against
Israel on multiple fronts.
It is indeed possible that
the IDF, as Netanyahu said,
has set back Hamas militarily
for years. But intermittent
hostilities, launched at the
enemy’s convenience, batter-
ing the Israeli home front,
with pauses in which the
enemy develops a capacity
to wreak still greater havoc,
add up to an untenable real-
ity. And when that enemy,
determined to destroy this
country, proves capable of
galvanizing a widening array
of hostile forces, it becomes
a strategic, not just a mili-
tary, threat.
The people of Israel are
indeed strong and coura-
geous, and disciplined and
resilient under relentless fire.
But our enemies in Gaza
have not yet concluded that
they’re wasting their time.
They must be disabused.
What’s required is a sea
change in which, rather
than allowing Hamas to cast
us into rounds of chaos at
moments of its choosing,
with ever-widening reper-
cussions, Israel determines
its long-term goals, sets
about achieving them, and
reasserts control of its own
reality and destiny.

HAMAS HAS GROWN FROM
A DANGEROUS TERRORIST
ORGANIZATION TO THE RULER
OF A TERRORIST STATE WITH
WHAT AMOUNTS TO AN ARMY.

12 | MAY 27 • 2021

ISRAEL MUST continued from page 6