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

