Why Criticism of Israel Most Often is Wrong

A considered overview from Roar Sørensen

Israel is experiencing its most traumatic experience since its establishment. Even the Yom Kippur War in 1973, the largest national trauma modern Israel ever underwent, fades compared to what has happened. The images are out there for everyone to see – and in spite of the indescribable horror, we should make sure we see at least some of these pictures so we realize the beastly nature of the terror organization Hamas. This is a manifestation of pure evil!
Still, many of our politicians, academics and journalists refuse to call Hamas a terror organization and have until now been flirting with its leaders. But Hamas did not change its colors a week ago – they have always been like this. Israel has fought this evil for decades – it is the extent of it that is different this time.

This tragedy is worse than the Yom Kippur War for many reasons; the immense number of murdered in such a short time; the fact that the huge majority of them were civilians, elderly, women, children and even infants; and the large number of hostages. In addition, the shock is so massive because this scenario was unthinkable. No one, literally no Israeli, imagined that such a thing could happen.
The Jews have experienced a lot of massacres throughout history. But this massacre happened in the Jewish State – the one place where Jews defend themselves. Such a thing was supposed to be impossible. The nation is therefore going through another trauma. At the same time – while swallowing their pain and fighting back their tears – they heroically fight for their right to exist in the region.
The enlightened world has so far showed huge sympathy with Israel; a rare phenomenon the past fifty years. For this, Israelis are extremely encouraged and grateful. But now, the supportive tone is shifting in certain places. In other places it never changed; for some sympathy with Israel is an impossible thought. So now politicians and journalists start comparing Israeli actions in Gaza with the Hamas atrocities. This is simply unbelievable! Either they lack knowledge about the issues – or they are incurable anti-Semites. I see no other option.

What happened last Saturday is the result of a worldview that sanctifies death. Hamas is an Islamist organization that follow a strict, but not uncommon, variant of Islam. Based on verses in the Koran such as Sura 5:33; 9:5; 47:4-9, they see it as an ideal to murder infidels. We have seen this form of Islam in action way too often around the world.
Far from all Muslims follow this interpretation of Islam, but, many in Gaza, especially those privileged to be connected to the corrupt regime of Hamas, do. Others, maybe not active supporters of Hamas, still join the masses of celebrations whenever Hamas hits at the Jews. There were large crowds that celebrated Hamas a few days ago and participated in the victory dance on Jewish blood.
It is telling that Hamas won the last election that was held in the Gaza Strip and are likely to win elections if there ever will be held one in the Palestinian Authority. This means that even if jihad against infidels may not be the main reason people vote Hamas, there is a large acceptance that this comes as part of the package. And worse still, is that this silent support often turn active when the opportunity comes.
If we compare this with the worldview and values that governs Israel, the difference is as night and day. Those values come from the Bible and verses like Psalm 34. Here it talks about the person that “desires life”, “departs from evil”, and “pursues peace”.

Judaism has many commandments, but there is one principle that for its sake you can break all the others: to save life. It is called pikuach nefesh and is at the backbone of the Jewish faith.
The euphoria we often see among Palestinian Arabs after terror attacks have murdered Jews, we never see anything similar among the Jews. This kind of behavior is unthinkable for a person who pursues life.
What has death to do with life!

The rock band U2’s lead voice, Bono, probably unknowingly, expressed Psalm 34 in his own way when he performed in sympathy with Israel in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Referring to the participants at the music festival where more than 260 persons were murdered, he said: “We sing for those, our people, our kind of people, music people, playful, experimental people. Our kind of people.”
They are “our kind of people” because the West, in spite of centuries of secularization, still carries with it enough of the Judeo-Christian values, enough of the biblical worldview that sanctifies life.
In its pursuit of life - including preserving the lives of innocents among their enemies – Israel has tried their utmost. They have suffered attacks and terror and reacted by building all kind of defense systems - all in an attempt to preserve life and avoid war! Or at least delay war as far as possible. For decades its citizens have been suffering and not seldom dying because Israels leaders refused to put an end to the attacks; the cost in civilian life among the enemy would be too high, they reasoned.

This is the reason for the security guards, the massive presence of police and military everywhere, the check posts wherever and whenever needed, the shelters on every corner and in every house, the fences above and under ground, the anti-missile systems, the barriers in the water, the laser technology and more – It is all there to avoid fighting! It is all in pursuit of peace!
And what has Hamas done? Used their creativity and the money belonging to their people to invent all kinds of methods to circumvent Israel’s barriers, to attack, murder and destroy. Why? Because this is Hamas’ reason to exist, this is their DNA and their clearly and repeatedly stated goal: “Israel exists and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it” (quote from the Hamas Charter). Pay attention to the little word “until” – They are energetically working for, praying and hoping that the “until” ends today – and if not today, then tomorrow.
What has death to do with life!

The less known and less accepted fact is that this is the goal of the Palestinian Authority too. Destruction of Israel is in the Fatah charter too – but most of all, it is what they teach the children in PA schools. They teach about a reality where Israel no longer exists. And what you teach your children, reveals who you truly are, your core beliefs.
This fact must not be said aloud in the corridors of power in Europe because then their, by now, non-sensible dream of a Palestinian state is dead, and their “moderate” hero, Mahmoud Abbas, is fake. The fact that it took five days for Abbas to react to the massacre – and then to make an empty and morally relativistic statement about “the killing of civilians on both sides” underscores that the PA’s goal is no different than Hamas’ goal; only their method is different.
When voices are heard in Europe today that compares Israeli actions to the atrocities of Hamas, they are in practice defending and excusing the massacre that happened in Israel last Saturday. The well-known formulation that “the violence between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs must end” is nothing but a justification of the Hamas horror. It expresses a moral relativism that is disgusting – but that many who lack the facts, tragically are convinced by.
Israel is not engaged in violence but in a morally obligatory, and juridically legitimate, self-defense. Neither is Hamas engaged in violence, but in terror – and terror in its most barbaric form. Calling it all “violence” is a revolting deception, and it places the parties on the same moral level. Disgusting!

For what has death to do with life!

The underdog principle which also frequently is used to criticize Israel – and in subtle ways justify Hamas, is completely twisted and wrong. Terrorists are almost always the underdog. That is why they use the cowardly method of terror. Does that mean that they are in the moral right, that they should be supported? Far from it! Those who blindly follow the underdog principle end up defending what should not – and cannot – be defended. Such as the murdering and kidnapping of women, children, toddlers, and infants. They end up defending monsters.

Truth is that there is right and there is wrong. This must be our guiding principle – not who is strong and who is weak. The strong can be right and the weak can be wrong! But those who pursue life are on the side of what is right.
Many would say they are not defending Hamas, but the human rights of the Palestinian Arabs. That is a just and noble thing to do. One could of course ask why they, in their struggle for the universal values of human rights, are indifferent to the human rights of Israelis. But still, if they really care about the Palestinian Arabs, they should have praised every action that ends the Hamas terror regime over its own people. The people of Gaza have been living under a brutal regime that prides itself on breaking human rights for the sake of Islam and uses the population for its own agendas.
What has death to do with life!

Still, the huge majority of Palestinian Arabs are civilians, and Israel does it utmost not to harm them. But the truth is that the civilians in Gaza are suffering right now. No one in Israel is happy for this, but they do what they must do to end the threat. And if Israel eliminates Hamas in Gaza, it has done more for the human rights of the Palestinian Arabs than most human rights groups.
What people often fail to see is that Hamas carries the full responsibility for the suffering in Gaza - even if the entire world will point at Israel. Proof: There would be no bombs over Gaza today, if Hamas had not attacked last Saturday. This is a principle throughout this conflict, a pattern it is easy to detect for anyone who seeks the truth. And it stems from the simple fact that Israel desires life and seeks peace.
For what has death to do with life!

So do we place no demands on Israel following the massacre? We most definitely place demands! We can expect Israel to follow international law, something they excel at – but without having a perfect record. Mishaps happen, and no country that has ever fought a war has a clean record. But show me the country that even comes close to Israel’s record in moral warfare!
We can also hope that Israel shows mercy – something they continue to do by warning Gaza’s civilians before attacking. The fact that after six days of intense bombing of terror infrastructure in Gaza the number of people that have died there is barely higher than those who were murdered or abducted in Israel in a few hours, says a lot. And probability is that most of the dead Palestinian Arabs are terrorists. I say this without knowing the exact numbers, but based on Israel’s methods as well as numbers in previous conflicts This is what it means to pursue life; you make every effort to kill only the guilty ones – you do not behead toddlers.
For what has death to do with life!

So we expect Israel to follow the law and can hope they show mercy – but do not expect them to accept every demand from the international community. Pay attention to the following: Those who say “Israel cannot” – hardly ever say anything meaningful about what Israel can! They will most certainly say “end violence and let diplomacy work”. And Israel, always seeking to avoid conflict, has tried their way for decades. It led to where we are now; the gruesome murder of more than 1300 Israelis in a few hours.

Until Israel’s critics can come up with a solution that ends the threat of terror for the Israeli civilians, their condemnations are nothing but empty words. It is one of our times’ most disgusting phenomena when our intellectual elites, for reasons I cannot fathom, criticize the culture of life and defend the culture of death.

Roar Sørensen, 18/10/2023