The recent Gaza Hamas/Israel war had the world in an ideological frenzy – with people all across the world taking a position on the conflict. And whilst Israel is not completely innocent of any guilt or wrong-doing, the blatant refusal of the liberal media and left-wing politicians to acknowledge that this nation has a right to defend itself against terrorists, is mind-boggling. It is obvious that not only is there a political agenda against this moderate Jewish state, but also a spiritual one, (namely from Islamic enemies and anti-Semitic statesmen).
A political and military war…
When the president of the Palestinian Authority stood up at the United Nations recently and accused Israel of war crimes, it appeared that the 60 day conflict was certainly not over – at least not on a political level. But true to form, expert orator and Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, delivered an outstanding rebuttal, establishing the necessity for the world to carefully evaluate the conflict and to tread carefully in making unequivocal, moralistic judgements.
The full speech Netanyahu delivered
“Distinguished delegates, I come here from Jerusalem to speak on behalf of my people; the people of Israel. I’ve come here to speak about the dangers we face and about the opportunities we seek. I’ve come here to expose the brazen lies spoken from this very podium against my country and the brave soldiers who defend it. “Ladies and gentlemen, the people of Israel pray for peace, but our hopes and the world’s hopes for peace are in danger, because everywhere we look, militant Islam is on the march. It’s not militants or Islam – it’s militant Islam. And typically its first victims are other Muslims, but it spares no one: Christians, Jews, Yazidis, and Kurds. No creed, no faith or ethnic group is beyond its sights. And it’s rapidly spreading in every part of the world.
An Islamic goal: world domination
“You know the famous American saying, ‘all politics is local’? For the militant Islamists, all politics is global, because their ultimate goal is to dominate the world. That threat might seem exaggerated to some, since it starts out small, very like a cancer that attacks a particular part of the body. However, left unchecked, that cancer grows, metastasising over wider and wider areas. To protect the peace and security of the world, we must remove this cancer before it’s too late.
“Last week, many of the countries represented here rightly applauded President Obama for leading the effort to confront ISIS, and yet, weeks before, some of these same countries opposed Israel for confronting Hamas. They evidently don’t understand that ISIS and Hamas are branches of the same poisonous tree.
“ISIS and Hamas share a fanatical creed, which they both seek to impose well beyond the territory under their control. Listen to what ISIS’ self-declared caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, said two months ago, “A day will soon come when the Muslim will walk everywhere as a master. The Muslims will cause the world to hear and understand the meaning of terrorism – and destroy the idol of Democracy”. Khaled Mashal, the leader of Hamas, proclaims a similar vision of the future, “We say this to the West: by Allah you will be defeated. Tomorrow our nation will sit on the throne of the world”.
Hamas and ISIS share their ideals
“As Hamas’ charter so clearly states, their immediate goal is to destroy Israel, but Hamas has a broader objective. They also want a caliphate [An Islamic state led by a supreme religious and political leader known as a caliph – i.e. “successor” – to Muhammad].
“Hamas shares the global ambitions of its fellow militant Islamists, and that’s why its supporters wildly cheered in the streets of Gaza as thousands of Americans were murdered in 9/11 and why its leaders condemn the United States for killing Osama bin Laden, whom they praised as a ‘holy warrior’.
“So when it comes to their ultimate goals, Hamas is ISIS and ISIS is Hamas – and what they share in common, all militant Islamists share in common. Groups like Boko Haram in Nigeria, al-Shabab in Somalia, Hezbollah in Lebanon, al-Nusra in Syria, the Mahdi army in Iraq, and the al-Qaida branches in Yemen, Libya, the Philippines, India and elsewhere, are all working toward world domination.
They all share a fanatic ideology
“Some are radical Sunnis, some are radical Shiites, some want to restore a pre-medieval caliphate from the seventh century, and others want to trigger the apocalyptic return of an imam from the ninth century.
“They operate in different lands, they target different victims and they even kill each other in their battle for supremacy, but they all share a fanatic ideology.
“They all seek to create ever-expanding enclaves of militant Islam, where there is no freedom and no tolerance; where women are treated as chattel, Christians are decimated and minorities are subjugated, sometimes given the stark choice to convert or die. For them, anyone can be considered an infidel, including fellow Muslims.
History is repeating itself
“Ladies and gentlemen, militant Islam’s ambition to dominate the world seems mad, but so too did the global ambitions of another fanatical ideology that swept into power eight decades ago. The Nazis believed in a ‘master race’. The militant Islamists believe in a ‘master faith’. They just disagree who amongst them will be the ‘master’ of the ‘master faith’. That’s what they truly disagree about. And therefore, the question before us is whether militant Islam will have the power to realize its unbridled ambitions.
Iran pursues a global mission
“There is one place where that could soon happen; the Islamic State of Iran. For 35 years, Iran has relentlessly pursued the global mission which was set forth by its founding ruler, Ayatollah Khomeini, in these words, ‘We will export our revolution to the entire world until the cry ‘there is no god but Allah’ will echo throughout the world.’
“Ever since, the regime’s brutal enforcers, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, have done exactly that. Their current commander, General Mohammad Ali Jafari has clearly stated his goal, ‘Our imam did not limit the Islamic revolution to this country; our duty is to prepare the way for an Islamic world governmen.’
Israel is fighting everyone’s battle
“Ladies and gentlemen, the fight against militant Islam is indivisible. When militant Islam succeeds anywhere, it’s emboldened everywhere. When it suffers a blow in one place, it’s set back in every place. That’s why Israel’s fight against Hamas is not just our fight, it’s your fight. Israel is fighting a fanaticism today, that your countries may be forced to fight tomorrow.
“For 50 days this past summer, Hamas fired thousands of rockets at Israel, many of them supplied by Iran. Yet Israel also faced another challenge – a propaganda war.
Hamas uses human shields
“In an attempt to win the world’s sympathy, Hamas cynically used Palestinian civilians as human shields. It used U.N. schools, private homes, mosques and even hospitals to store and fire rockets at Israel. As Israel surgically struck at the rocket launchers and at the tunnels, Palestinian civilians were tragically, but unintentionally, killed.
A painful and awful tragedy
“There are heartrending images of casualties which were distributed, fuelling libellous charges that Israel was deliberately targeting civilians. We were not. We deeply regret every single civilian casualty.
“And the truth is this: Israel was doing everything to minimise Palestinian civilian casualties. Hamas was doing everything to maximise Israeli civilian casualties and Palestinian civilian casualties.
“Israel dropped flyers, made phone calls, sent text messages and broadcast warnings in Arabic on Palestinian television; all this to enable Palestinian civilians to evacuate targeted areas. No other country and no other army in history have gone to greater lengths to avoid casualties among the civilian population of their enemies.
New opportunities
Ladies and gentlemen, there is a new Middle East. It presents new dangers – but also new opportunities. Israel is prepared to work with Arab partners and the international community to confront those dangers and to seize those opportunities.
“Together, we must recognize the global threat of militant Islam, the primary importance of dismantling Iran’s nuclear weapons capability and the indispensable role of Arab states in advancing peace with the Palestinians.
Speaking truth for Zion
“All this may fly in the face of conventional wisdom, but it’s the truth, and the truth must always be spoken, especially here in the United Nations. Isaiah, our great prophet of peace, said, nearly 3,000 years ago in Jerusalem, “For the sake of Zion, I will not be silent, for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not be still until her justice shines bright and her salvation glows like a flaming torch” Isaiah 62:1.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let us light a torch of truth and justice to safeguard our common future. Thank you.”
Delivered at the UN, 29 September 2014
Dispelling the myth of moral equivalence in simple form by highlighting a few obvious contrasts:
Israel is simply trying to exist and defend itself, while it is surrounded by nations (as well as Hamas in Gaza) who want to see it driven into the sea. The Hamas Charter for example specifically says Israel must be destroyed.
Israel since its inception in 1948 has been willing to make great compromises with its neighbours, while many hostile Arab leaders have demanded the expulsion of the Jews from the land.
Israel has a number of times, traded land for peace, but generally to no avail.
Israel would disappear if she were to lay down her arms, but if the hostile Islamic states laid down their arms, there would be peace in the Middle East.
Israel is the last bulwark against Islamist imperialism in the region.
Israel has approx. one million plus Arab people living within its borders, while Gaza has no Jews living there.
Israel uses weapons to defend its children, while Hamas uses children to defend its weapons.
Israel made significant and notable efforts to protect innocent civilians both in Gaza and Israel, while Hamas deliberately targeted innocent civilians both in Gaza and Israel. Setting up command and control centres in or near hospitals, schools and mosques is standard Hamas practice.
Israel is shipped tonnes of food, water, medical and humanitarian supplies into Gaza, and even treated wounded Hamas fighters; Hamas executed several of its own Palestinian citizens whom they accused of collaborating with Israel.
Israel has kept every single cease fire until Hamas has violated them – and they have violated every single truce in this conflict thus far.
Israel is the only genuinely free, democratic and pluralistic nation in the region.