By: Phil Williams
Recently, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations appeared at an emergency session of the UN Security Council and on his jacket wore a bright yellow Star of David, similar to what Jews were forced to wear when Nazi’s ruled Germany. But there was a difference between the star worn at the UN and those worn during the time of the Holocaust.
During the Nazi era, the yellow badging was intended to brand someone as loathsome and unclean. But at the UN, it was different. In the middle of the yellow Star of David worn by Israel’s Ambassador Gilad Erdan were the words “Never Again,” a symbol to the world that Israel will never again allow itself to be subjected to tyranny and terror.
The ambassador’s visible statement was timely. Amazingly enough, there are arguments being bandied about by pro-Palestinian supporters that Israel is to blame for the attacks on its people, that Israel is an “apartheid state”, that Israel is an occupier of Palestine, and most egregious, that Israel is conducting genocide. These arguments fall into one of three categories: They are either fallacious, salacious, or downright contumacious.
Fallacious means that they are based on a mistaken belief, or a fallacy. Salacious, usually reserved for sexual content, means that they are arguments bordering on the obscene, the corrupt, and indecent, appealing to the most carnal of interests. Contumacious means that they are arguments projected for the sole purpose of being stubborn, or willfully argumentative. None of which are good.
How is it that such differing narratives exist? Israel was savagely attacked on October 7, yet there are protests in the streets of New York, protests that vandalized the gates of the White House, protests on some of America’s most vaunted university campuses, claiming to be on the side of Hamas.
Is this the public view? When did antisemitism become vogue? Why would anyone join in the fallacious, salacious, and contumacious arguments that try to portray Hamas terrorists as the good guys?
It bears noting that the vast majority of Americans overwhelmingly support Israel in this current conflict with Hamas. A recent NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist national poll conducted after the events of October 7, found that roughly 65% of Americans want the U.S. government to openly support Israel. Some 23% felt we should just stay quiet. Only 8% say that the U.S. should criticize Israel.
If your sense of things has been that anti-Israel protestors represent a small but vocal minority, then you were right. U.S. public sentiment does not lean toward antisemitism or against Israel, not by a long shot.
But if we believe that the Jewish nation is on the right side of things, then how do we put that into context? Under what framework do we build our own argument to counter the false narratives that the other side is yelling in the streets? The underpinnings for my own views in support of Israel can be made from three different perspectives: The first is based on faith. As a Christian I believe the Bible to be the unerring word of God. My belief system may center on salvation through Jesus Christ, but I recognize the “chosen” status of Israel’s people. I also believe that the Bible talks of an end-of-time warfare in which the enemies of Israel will fail in epic fashion as they coalesce in an effort to wipe Israel off the map. So, in short, the first baseline for me to support Israel is because my faith leads me to do so.
But what about atheists? Can an atheist support Israel’s right to make war on Hamas? Absolutely. Adequate grounds to do so can be found in a military and foreign policy perspective. In 1948, the United States was the first nation to openly recognize the sovereignty of the newly reestablished nation of Israel. Since that time, we have forged one of our most enduring alliances with Israel. We trade technology, have arms agreements, and have pledged military support. The U.S. has openly supported Israel on the world stage. Allies do not turn their backs on allies. Meanwhile, Palestinian terrorism has been a factor in world events for decades, with groups like the PLO, Hamas, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and Islamic Jihad wreaking destruction on innocent noncombatants. Americans can easily support Israel solely on the basis of military and foreign policy considerations alone.
But then there are geopolitical premises. Arab nations are not welcoming Palestinian refugees. There is history there. In the aftermath of the first Gulf War, the nation of Kuwait expelled several hundred thousand Palestinian’s from its country because they had been largely supportive of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. In 1970, Palestinian factions in Jordan began fomenting rebellion and calling for the overthrow of the Jordanian government. They armed themselves and warred with Jordanian authorities in what became known as “Black September.” Palestinians were expelled from Jordan, but not before they assassinated the Jordanian prime minister. Palestinian militants also invaded and destabilized Lebanon causing a bloody war there. In short, Palestinian militants have sowed unrest, discord, and violence across the Middle East for decades, resulting in very little support now from most of our Middle Eastern friends and allies. From a purely geopolitical standpoint, it is not difficult to decline support for Hamas’s position.
But the arguments against Israel still remain, despite their overwhelmingly misguided fallacious, salacious, and contumacious nature. Hamas does not want peace. Hamas and its sympathizers want the extermination of Israel and Jews worldwide.
Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro said it best recently when he opined that “If Israel put down its guns tomorrow there would be a second holocaust. If the Palestinians put down their guns tomorrow there would be a Palestinian state.”
I agree with Israel’s UN ambassador, and the majority of Americans…Never Again!
By: Phil Williams
November 14, 2024
