A Reminder: Israel’s the Victim Here

The Israeli-Hamas war is the first war in history where there’s no logic and reason among those analyzing and critiquing it. Where an overwhelming majority of the world seems to have lost any idea of what war actually is. Where the definitions of aggressor and victim have flipped. Where the typical justification for war — namely, defending yourself after an attack and/or invasion — is no longer justification. Where collateral damage…the death of innocent civilians in the aggressor’s homeland…becomes the justification to condemn the victim nation. Where the retaliation becomes a rallying cry for ceasefire, withdrawal and condemnation.

This war has stunningly placed support for terrorists and terrorism over democracy. It has left the world completely indifferent to barbarianism. It has conflated Israel’s defense of itself to genocide, like that of the Holocaust, Rwanda, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Syria, and elsewhere. And it has conflated Israel’s need to defend itself with a total disregard for humanity and human life in Gaza. But those two realities are not mutually exclusive. Israel..Israelis…can be compelled to defend itself and also care deeply about the loss of innocent life in Gaza; to strive to be as humane as possible.

Since October 7th, when Israel was attacked in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, the world has demanded things of Israel that it’s never demanded of any other nation that was attacked. And which subsequently launched a counter-offensive in order to protect itself and destroy its enemy. And it has unrealistically expected Israel to prioritize the lives of innocent Palestinians in Gaza over the lives of innocent Israelis.

Who the fuck else has been asked to do that? Name me a country that was invaded that was asked to show ‘restraint’ and deference to the suffering in the aggressor’s territory…especially when the cowardly perpetrators continue to use and abuse their own citizens as human shields. When they’ve embedded their weapons arsenals and terrorist operations within mosques, schools, hospitals and residential structures.

Show me a war throughout history — any war — even one — where innocent civilians didn’t die. Where innocent civilians weren’t injured and maimed. Where residential property wasn’t destroyed. Where the aggressor got to slink back home and call a do-over. You can’t. Because war is ugly. War is brutal. War is deadly. And that’s why wars should never be started. Especially the way Hamas started this war by spending hours and hours barbarically raping, torturing, shooting, killing, beheading and burning innocent Jews alive.

October 7th isn’t just an innocuous date on the calendar. It’s a date that will live in infamy.