This past weekend, Hamas—a Palestinian terrorist group—commenced a deadly and atrocious siege on Israel while Jewish people were most vulnerable, observing a season of Jewish holidays.
Hamas militants invaded Israeli towns and military bases, killing, wounding, raping and kidnapping thousands of individuals. Hamas attacked through every avenue possible: land, sea and air. Rockets were fired from remote locations while military forces infiltrated Israel.
Hamas routinely conceals its weaponry and projectiles in civilian areas in an attempt to draw civilian casualties and further propagandize the ongoing conflict, specifically locating its military apparatus near mosques, schools and hospitals.
These heinous actions conducted by Hamas and backed by Iran, fueled by anti-Zionism and subsequently antisemitism, are unprecedented in scale but not in principle. Hamas has long sought Israel’s destruction.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has disturbingly but not unexpectedly directed his criticism towards Israel in the aftermath of these actions, reportedly asserting that Palestinians have the right to defend themselves against the “terror of settlers and occupation troops.”
Iranian officials have similarly applauded Hamas’s actions. This conflict has long rested upon a simple truth. If Hamas ceased all fighting, this conflict would have been resolved long ago. If Israel ceased fighting, its existence would be terminated.
Israel has served as and remains a vital ally in the West’s fight against terror in the Middle East. Its longstanding existence historically predated Palestine. Its Judeo-Christian values demonstrate its indespensibility to Western civilization.
It remains a beacon of faith in the world and has been threatened by Middle Eastern dangers that have long sought its destruction despite endless concessions by Israel—transferring the authority over the Western Bank to Palestine, permitting the employment of Palestinian laborers in Israel in support of the Palestinian economy, the withdrawal from the Gaza Strip—among many other concessions.
These compromises by Israel have been consistently met with ongoing violence from foreign threats, as no concession short of Israel’s total annihilation will satisfy hostile entities who have acted under the guise of self-determination.
While the Trump administration strongly stood by Israel, moving the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Biden administration’s actions have welcomed this aggression after supporting Iran and, subsequently, Hamas terror, releasing $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds.
Appeasing terrorism is inconceivably mindless. Some have defended these actions, claiming the money was not directly used to fund terror. This argument is invalid. Once Iran knew these funds would be released, this permitted the substitution of unrestricted money and subsequently allowed them to fund terror through unmarked finances. More broadly, the Biden administration signaled weakness to foreign enemies, particularly in the Middle East, as a result of the fumbled withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. This, of course, was followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s increased aggression towards Taiwan and currently an Iran-backed invasion of Israel by Hamas.
There is no moral equivalence in this conflict. Hamas has committed the most barbaric and merciless acts of terror humanly possible with their objective of Israeli extermination. Israel must meet these acts of aggression with unyielding retaliatory power and force.
The world must stand by Israel. The United States must strengthen its support for Israel and be a fierce ally to this crucial asset in the Middle East. Pray for Israel.
Michael West | Oct 17, 2023 at 10:29 am
The attack by Hamas is horrific, no doubt and any war crimes committed by them need to be prosecuted. Any war crimes committed by Israel also must be prosecuted. One crime does not forgive another.
However, it must also be kept in mind that context is everything.
Israel IS the occupation force in Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas is the Palestinian elected party. But what does that mean for an occupied land? The governing powers as we would think of are non existent. Amnesty International has brought charges of apartheid against Israel for years without response.
Again, context. Israel has a National army with full capabilities. Palestine has no such thing. Not even close. If crimes are being committed against an occupied people by the national military ,do those people have the same right to defend themselves without being labeled a terrorist nation?
The International community has been warning of this for decades due to the abuses.
Hamas wants the Palestinian land back. They have been occupied for decades with no attempt to provide them their own state. The Israeli Prime Minister has made it VERY clear that Israel is for Jews only. There is no interest or desire to insure the dual state.
Of course Hamas is “hiding” in Palestinian civilian areas. Where else should they be. Palestine does NOT have a military. They are not allowed to have one. Are their terrorist actions excusable, no. Are they allowed to defend themselves against abuses? If the answer is yes, how does anyone propose they realistically do that?
Again, the horrific crimes by members of Hamas are inexcusable. The horrific crimes by Israel are also inexcusable. There must be justice and accountability on both sides or there will never be peace.
Lee Van Brocklin | Oct 12, 2023 at 3:22 am
Funny (or maybe not) how the “brave warriors of Hamas” turn into Palestinian civilians as soon as their hideout buildings are targeted. Even in death, they hide behind Palestinians.
This article needs tags | Oct 11, 2023 at 11:55 am
This article is full of hatred and it made me (non-palestian exposed to violence in society and dealing with PTSD) very uncomfortable.
Ever since I read this piece, for the past few hours, I’ve been dealing with anxiety and flash-backs.
I feel unsafe in an environment that hate is promoted.
SC | Oct 11, 2023 at 5:34 pm
I’m so sorry that you are feeling this way, and I totally understand why you would be. Please know, for whatever it is worth, these ill-informed feelings do not reflect the sentiment of all the students here at ISU. I hope you are able to get the support you deserve.
Joshua Trier | Oct 11, 2023 at 10:05 am
Hello.
I am the original author of this opinion. For clarification, the comment written under the name “Josh” was not written by me. Any comments made by me will make clear that I was the original author and use my first and last name. Thank you.
Christian McRoberts | Oct 11, 2023 at 8:17 am
It MUST be stated that this rhetoric AND lack of research into a deep geo-political issue stemming as far back as the 1940s makes me SICK. If you completed even a modicum of research, you’d find that many of the statements you said are completely false.
It saddens me how many parties might have read this and still allowed it to be disseminated — especially at the university level.
To my Palestinian brothers, sisters and citizens, I stand by and with you. Forever and always.
SC | Oct 11, 2023 at 5:38 pm
Thank you for saying this, Christian. I agree with your sentiment. It is a shame that an academic institution would allow something like this to be published.
Caleb Weingarten | Oct 14, 2023 at 1:49 pm
We publish opposing views because we have a goal of promoting free speech and expression.
Nathan S | Oct 12, 2023 at 1:00 am
Christian, looking into your tweet history under @CHRIStalGEMZ to get a better idea of your stance around this issue I ran across something you retweeted.
It reads:
“I support Palestinians but not Hamas.” Then you stand for nothing. If you support a people being threatened with extinction then you must support their armed resistance because that is their only hope for survival. Unless you do this you only “support” Palestinians in dying.
How can someone employed by the university support Hamas? How can you support the slaughter of innocent civilians? Beheaded babies? There should be no place for that at our university.
Josh | Oct 12, 2023 at 8:13 am
This is an incoherent argument. First you claim the commenter stands for nothing and then claim they support Hamas. The tweet you quote clearly states they don’t stand for Hamas. Supporting Palestines and not Hamas are not mutually exclusive things.
Nathan S | Oct 12, 2023 at 8:50 am
That tweet is clearly criticizing people who support Palestinians but not Hamas. It makes the argument that it is necessary to support Hamas “resistance fighters” because that is the only hope for Palestinians to survive. There is no other way of reading it. It voices support for the terrorist group Hamas.
Ryan | Oct 12, 2023 at 11:28 am
Nathan, Israel is running the largest open air prison in the world, similar to the former apartheid state of South Africa. You cannot leave and if you do, it is for work. “Permitting the employment of Palestinian laborers” is a similar sentiment to “slaves were taught valuable skills.” Disingenuous.
A little about me, I have had the opportunity to attend my friend’s Bar Mitzva when we were 13. I have also led collaborative efforts in physics with Mabel, a friend who is Jewish and currently attending UChicago. Homecoming with Ben, who is Jewish, in high school. As a Christian, I have spoken to Rabbi Werner a handful of times about doctrine, the religious leader of the Synagogue back home. I have Jewish Friends. Criticizing the violence of Israel is not Anti-Semitic.
Criticizing the violence displayed by Hamas is not Islamophobic. Nathan, did you know that there are Palestinian Christians? Feel free to follow up with me. I have some Palestinian friends who would love to facetime or sit down and have a conversation.
Israel/IDF has killed 5,590 Palestinians.
Hamas/Palestine has killed 251 (2008 to 2020, United Nations). Also, based on the result of numerous UN resolutions that cite Article 49 of the Geneva Convention, the consensus view of the international community is that Israeli settlements are illegal and constitute a violation of international law.
A cornered animal is almost as dangerous as a wounded one.
Peaceful protests led to Israeli border guard shooting women, children, press, and medics (look up 42 kneecaps). Hamas killing Israeli babies is also unjustified.
No violence is justified. However, it is completely dishonest to ignore the conditions that Israel has created.
I look forward to constructive dialogue.
How's this for an opinion piece? | Oct 10, 2023 at 6:45 pm
Let me start off by saying that I am 100% full blooded Palestinian, so this topic is very important to me. To speak from my side, the US media is very biased (when has it not been) and the coverage of not only this war, but frankly any conflict that ever manages to hit the news in the US regarding Palestine/Israel is always very one sided as evidenced by this opinion piece. This topic also tends to be very heated amongst many people. Accusations fly with no context and unfortunately Palestinians tend to be heavily dehumanized. Gaza is categorized as the largest open-air prison in the world. This is interesting phrasing because 43% (almost half) of the population is made up of children. Meaning, children are born and raised in this “prison” without having committed a single crime, their only misdeed is being born as Palestinians. I see you have began the unfounded justification of what is being done to all of Palestinians over the role of Hamas. A very small minority in a very large population. People conflate Hamas, Palestinians, and Muslims together so let me shed some light on this. First, Palestinians are not only Muslims, but we also have a Christian population as well. It is disgusting to see that the idea Judeo-Christian values are valuable to the west implying that Muslims are not fit to be in the west (careful this is borderline Islamophobic). Second, there are 2 million Palestinians in Gaza alone and Hamas has a size of about 20,000-25,000. This means that Hamas is about 1% of the population. If anybody believes that the acts of 1% of the population is reason enough stop food, water, and electricity to the rest of the population, 1 million of them children, well……..that says a lot about what kind of person you truly are. Many people will begin what I call “what-abouting,” but frankly over 75 years Israel has committed many international war crimes against the Palestinians that they have never been held accountable for. Israel has thousands of Palestinians prisoners in their prisons today, over 500 of them CHILDREN. To be held in a prison as a Palestinian for an undefined amount, you crime can be as small as throwing a rock or simply existing. Every year, Israeli’s storm the Al-Aqsa mosque and beat those praying inside, kick them out, you must even get a permit to go inside your own mosque as a Palestinian. You can be kicked out of your own home at any time. Many Israeli’s live in on what is internationally recognized as Palestinian territory. One example is the town of Huwara. In this town Palestinians have even segregated roads, there are roads that they are not allowed to enter into or drive on. They have metal fencing that covers their heads because the Israeli’s that live above them throw trash down onto them. All of these do not even begin to explain the horror that Palestinians face. According to the UN from 2008 to 2023, just before this recent war started, the death of Palestinians from Israeli hands is over 6,000 many of them children, journalists, and many many of them just innocent civilians while the death of Israeli’s from Palestinian hands was about 600. This year alone, more than 200 Palestinians have been killed some of them children. I believe that that the numbers speak for themselves. Again, we can always play the game of “what abouts.” What about this? What about that? But frankly this will always lead us nowhere but into the continued cycle of war and death. Reading many articles in the past few days one quote that has stuck with me is that this attack is NOT justifiable but NOT unprovoked. The reinstatement of a very far-right israeli government has caused tensions to rise between Israel and Palestine, and even between Israeli’s themselves (those who are more liberal with those who support the far right). Obviously, you hold very far right views, which continue to sow the seeds of hate and hypocrisy. To hold Hamas responsible for their crimes under international law, we must also be willing to hold Israel responsible as well for their crimes under international law. True peace will never be achieved without both sides being held accountable. Israel can never achieve peace if Palestinians are not able to as well because frankly THEY WILL ALWAYS LIVE TOGETHER. Whether you believe in a two-state solution, one-state solution, or any other solution, Israeli’s and Palestinians will continue to exist next to each other, and no peace will be reached if any side violates the human right that the other holds, but I suppose peace is not what you actually want. It seems you only wish a “strategic partner” for the constant and truly never ending role of the US in Middle Eastern conflict.
tyler | Oct 10, 2023 at 8:52 pm
It doesn’t look like the writer ever mentioned muslims so you are just reaching. Also, the author never implied muslims are not fit to be in the west, you just made that up. Obviously a nation that has the same values that America was founded on (judeo-christian) is valuable to America, that’s common sense and what the piece actually says. You are a bad person for accusing somebody of islamophobia for no reason, and inversely, your comments are borderline antisemitic. You are right the United States media has historically been biased with regard to this conflict. They have not properly shown all of the brutal actions by Hamas for years until now. The United States media refuses to cover the fact that Israel has given warning before any missiles are sent into hostile territory for a long time. Gaza is under the control of the Hamas authority, so your argument is simply inaccurate with regard to the buzzword “open-air prison” which has floated around. You choose not to recognize the fact Egypt has not let palestinians migrate to their region and made the so called “prison” worse. In the past, as the Israel military called up landlords to warn them that they need to get innocent people out before attacking since Hamas cowardly hides their military behind these civilians, Hamas would refuse to get its people out of buildings because they want palestinians to die so that people like you believe Israel has committed war crimes. All palestinian civilians killed at this point are at the fault of Hamas who hides behind them. If somebody takes children and uses them as a shield and the children are harmed, it is the fault of the people using them as a shield, A.K.A Hamas. Lots of your information is either unverified or a consequence of Hamas actions. There is not a cycle of war, obviously and you are just saying people who disagree with you are bad when it looks like you are the bad person.
Google is our friend | Oct 10, 2023 at 11:59 pm
All such information comes from reputable sources and can be found with a simple google search. Something you can not do apparently. So one must question how reliable your opinion/facts are. In fact their not reliable at all read more later.
Unfortunately I am not allowed to enter links but if you go to
palisolidarity – peaceful friday demonstration
savethechilderen – after 15 years of blockade,
UNSCO – gaza ten years later,
prb – gaza and west bank population profile,
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(ocha) – data on casualties, you can find all statistics that I mentioned.
Back to your weird facts. Israel “warns” gaza by something called rook knocking. Look it up. Its a “warning rocket” before hitting them with another rocket. How very nice of them (sarcastic).
And by the way when you are not willing to hold the crimes of both sides accountable, and flare war and killing propaganda as you have done instead of promoting steps to take toward peace well……. I don’t know you might have to consider if you truly are as good as you believe. No innocents should be killed. Not Israeli’s and not Palestinians. They can achieve peace together if the world can stand by and hold everyone accountable to international law. Finally, it is weird you say that calling someone out for a bordering Islamophobic statement and then proceed to call someone out for antisemitism. That word is quick to be thrown around towards Palestinians when they are talking about their cause, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt. Please let me know what I said that is antisemitic and I would love to review it and see what is wrong about what I said and apologize for it.
tyler | Oct 11, 2023 at 5:10 am
First, your information does not come from reputable sources. Your comment on Gaza being “large air prisons” because of Israel is not able to be properly defended when HAMAS is the elected government of the region, yet you attempt to reapply blame onto Israel. You say “weird facts” then prove that my facts were correct by discussing roof knocking which is what I referred to in my comment. Thank you for that. You then mock Israel for attempting to give warning to palestinians when Hamas keeps their people in these buildings so that they die. The warning is a courtesy Hamas certainly has never given to Israel. And it is DISGUSTING that you are mocking Israel’s attempts to save Palestinian lives. This is just the typical mocking of Jewish people. I’m unsure why after talking about roof knocking you said “look it up” as I just educated you about roof knocking in my previous comment when I talked about Israel’s warning Palestinians through that method. It looks like you don’t actually care about looking at the root cause of the deaths of Palestinians: HAMAS. Israel should show peace through strength, as concessions have not resulted in anything but the biggest killing of Jews since the holocaust this past weekend. No innocents should be killed you’re right, and Hamas is responsible for all of those innocent deaths and any deaths from this point forward. Just as I said in my previous comment, “all palestinian civilians killed at this point are at the fault of Hamas who hides behind them. If somebody takes children and uses them as a shield and the children are harmed, it is the fault of the people using them as a shield, A.K.A Hamas.” Israel has given warning for all civilians to leave target areas. The opinions of the writer or anyone who understands that there are not two sides to this is not islamophobic as you claim, and once again, you are a bad person for accusing people who disagree with you of such a thing when there is no evidence. If you want to play that game, then the inverse is true, and you are antisemitic. Arguing that after Jews were killed in mass numbers for being Jewish and babies were beheaded, they should not respond with destroying Hamas, seems pretty antisemitic otherwise, its ignorance. Hamas has taken 150 hostages, with the Israeli death toll over 1,200, and more than 2,700 Israelis wounded. Jews are not permitted to pray at the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount. Hamas controls Gaza. Palestinians are allowed to work in Israel. Palestinians serve in Israel’s government. Palestinians have served on Israel’s supreme court.
Israel has repeatedly conceded land to Palestine. There is no prison made by Israel. Israelis have been victimized by Hamas and must fight back.
Layers of Bone in a Limited Space | Oct 11, 2023 at 1:53 pm
First, The fact you consider the United Nations, OCHA, and the Population Reference Bureau as not reputable sources says a lot about where you get your information. The “large air prisons” is the description that has been used by politicians including the former prime minister of England and human rights groups alike. Your trying to avoid addressing the horrors of Gaza is disgusting. Next, Hamas is not the elected government of the region, there are other political groups in Gaza which hold power as well. The prison that is Gaza is enforced by Israel, therefore the blame is with Israel considering they are the government that enforces this. You never educated me about roof-knocking or anything in that matter. You don’t have the capacity. You see I didn’t actually know when you were referring to roof-knocking when you said about warning the Palestinians because of how immoral it is. Fortunately, for you it just adds to your narrative to make you look like an even more repugnant human being. I can’t believe you just waxed poetry about how roof-knocking is humane of Israel. Next, no mocking of jewish people occured. Like none. Whatsoever. Accusations because you don’t like what you hear is pathetic. The root cause of the Palestinians is, listen to this: OCCUPATION. Peace through strength = war. Israel has never given concessions. Peace and war will never work together. “Warning for civilians to leave the area”, they are in an enclosed prison genius, where should they go? It is laughable to say that all blame lies with Hamas as if this conflict has been going on for 75 years since the creation of Israel. Hamas was founded in 1987. Israel has occupied Palestine since 1947. Again, you just like the author are a bad person for your continuous justification of continuous war that is all the evidence one needs. You say you understand there are 2 sides to this and yet you’ve only talked about one. I am not sure if you have any semblance of literary skills, but I clearly said the actions of Hamas are not justified but neither have the actions of Israel been for the last 75 years. Considering the long history of occupation I think it is strange of you to say that they were killed for being jewish and not as a result of an oppressive government putting pressure on Palestinians in Gaza. How is that anti semitic again, your true soul shines through. Here is some information for you, criticizing the Israeli government is not hatred on Jews. That is nothing but your ineptness coming through. Just like your last statements. The IDF has forced muslims out of the mosque and paraded groups of Israeli’s inside the building without approval of the muslims which have a right to the Al-Aqsa mosque. They don’t let many men enter the mosque and those who can enter usually women must get permits to enter. This whole Palestinians work in Israel, they can do stuff in Israel doesn’t make any point whatsoever. What is so good about these things when their land is still stolen, they are kicked out of their homes, a large part of the population lives in a prison, they are segregated on roads, homes ransacked in the night, children arrested, large majority lives under the poverty level, their water is controlled, food is controlled, electricity is controlled. I can’t truly even imagine how abhorrent of an individual you are to see none of that and only give praise to the Israeli government and to not even acknowledge the prison that is Gaza. Truly if your head was cracked open they wouldn’t find a functioning brain but instead layers and layers of bone in its place. Let me say this final thing in a way your mind can understand. Hamas = Bad. Israeli Government = bad. Occupation = bad. Peace = Human rights given and Crimes punished on both sides.
Josh | Oct 11, 2023 at 9:12 am
Contrary to comments below, I do not think you are not a bad person This is a very complex issue and I appreciate the nuanced comments.
SC | Oct 11, 2023 at 5:41 pm
I *highly* recommend that you write a counter op-ed with a more clear picture of the history/context here. Of course, only if you feel comfortable. It is obvious that you are far more equipped to write on this topic.