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PortugueseIsrael’s battle against the hybrid terrorist organization Hamas is a microcosm of the global international battle taking place in recent years between Islamist-Jihadist terrorist organizations and the culture of the West and of the democratic-liberal world. Israel once again finds itself the vanguard of the Western world as it is forced to cope with new methods of terrorism that will eventually threaten other Western countries.
This article was written as a wake-up call to the Western world – the world that believes in the values of democracy, liberalism and humanity; the world that believes in human rights, civil society, minority rights and, above all, the right of all civilians to live in security and peace regardless of religion, race or gender. Despite the fact that the number of people who hold this liberal worldview is decreasing around the world, many of us, especially in the Western world, still share these fundamental values. This article was written for Western liberals those wonderful people imbued with values and brotherly love who find themselves shocked and full of criticism for Israel when they see photos of destruction and injuries from the Gaza Strip broadcast on their television screens. These people are exposed to one-sided anti-Israel messages and commentaries by different media networks operating in the Gaza Strip that face threats, censorship and biased editing by Hamas, or that receive permission to broadcast from the Gaza Strip only after proving their sympathy and loyalty to the terrorist organization.
Modern Anti-Semites vs. Naïve Westerners
Israel’s harshest critics – those who go out into the street and hold protests, which are often violent and full of extreme hatred for Israel, can be divided into two groups: conscious Israel haters and terrorism supporters, and naive westerners. The first group constitutes the hard-core and violent basis of the anti-Israel demonstrations and is composed of two secondary groups: modern anti-Semites, who are essentially no different than the classic anti-Semitic individuals and groups that hated, persecuted and murdered Jews throughout history while blaming them for all of the world’s injustice. These modern anti-Semites added to their racist hatred of Jews an extreme hatred of the Jewish State and, therefore, it does not matter to them who they support – be it dictators who carry out crimes against humanity or terrorist organizations – as long as they seek the destruction of the Jewish State. The other secondary group of Israel haters is composed of Islamic fundamentalists who are fundamentally opposed to the very existence of a Jewish State and, in a consistent manner, support Palestinian and Shi’ite terrorist organizations that are dedicated to Israel’s destruction. These two groups seek out any opportunity to attack Israel and decry its standing in the Western world as the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. With the generous assistance of petrodollars that flow, both openly and secretly, into the coffers of these terrorists they are able to operate in an organized and networked manner in order to denounce Israel at every possible opportunity, routinely and during crisis situations.
No Point in Discourse with Israel Haters
As an Israeli and a Zionist who believes in one’s right to live and raise children in security and peace in this region, where my ancestors and I were born, I have no discourse with this group of Israel haters. Anything that Israel says or does, any fact presented to these Israel haters, will not shake their blind faith according to which the Jews are guilty and have no right to exist, neither as an ethnic national group in a Jewish State nor as individuals. Therefore, this article is not intended for modern anti-Semites and Islamic fundamentalists. Rather, it was written for members of the second group, the naive westerns that criticize Israel harshly for its operation in Gaza. These people are my contemporaries and my peer group. Had fate led me to be born not in Tel Aviv, but rather in Palo Alto (California), Montreal, Oslo or another Western city, I am certain that I would have found myself part of this group since I too believe in the values of humanity, liberalism and democracy. Members of this group, who adhere to an admirable and respectable value system, deserve to hear the facts beyond Hamas’s propaganda and the distorted accounts of various media outlets. The fact is that for the past month Israel has found itself under continued attack by a terrorist organization that is targeting the Israeli civilian population.
Hamas: No Different than ISIS and Al-Qaeda
This terrorist organization, Hamas, was established in 1987 as the military wing of the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood, with the stated goal of the destruction of the State of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic caliphate in its place. In this regard, Hamas is no different than ISIS, Al-Qaeda or other Islamic fundamentalist organizations in the Middle East who, through the use terrorist attacks and the systematic and cruel murder of civilians, seek to overthrow existing regimes and replace them with Islamic caliphates to be ruled according to Islamic law. The goal of the destruction of Israel is not a disregarded law in Hamas’s charter, which was written approximately 30 years ago. On the contrary, this goal constitutes a supreme value and the guiding force behind Hamas’s current battle being waged from Gaza against Israel and its civilians. Thus, in an interview with the leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashal, that was conducted this month in Qatar by CBS’s Charlie Rose, Mashal reiterated Hamas’s refusal to recognize Israel’s right to exist even if a Palestinian state were to be established in the future. In response to the question of whether he would be willing to co-exist alongside the State of Israel and recognize Israel as a Jewish State, Mashal answered simply – “No.”
Terror Organizations Deceive Western World
Hamas is a hybrid terrorist organization – an organization that carries out terrorist attacks against civilians under the pseudo-legitimate guise of a political organization and welfare movement. The hybrid terrorist organization cynically and dangerously exploits the fundamental values of the democratic-liberal world and, despite the fact that it is actively opposed to this value system, such an organization seeks to integrate into the political system and participate in elections. Without abandoning terrorism, the organization’s leaders and supporters demand that the democratic-liberal world treat the terrorist organization as a legitimate political movement. (Hamas and Hezbollah are clear examples of hybrid terrorist organizations that have managed to deceive the Western world. For instance, the European Union made an absurd decision that created an artificial separation and defined Hezbollah’s military wing, which carries out terrorist attacks on European soil, as a terrorist organization but exempted the organization’s other wings and leadership from this definition. This decision was contrary to the uncompromising and justified position of the British government, which was not willing to provide legitimacy to the IRA until it ended its involvement in terrorist attacks).
To read the full article by Dr. Boaz Ginor of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) in Herzliyah, Israel, click HERE.
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