Rant #2,144: Fight Fire With Fire

I purposely held off on commenting on what is happening in the Middle East as the U.S. opened its embassy in Jerusalem and dozens were injured and killed in Gaza protests.

I could have certainly spoken about it on Monday, and on Tuesday, I wanted to honor my daughter on her 30th birthday, so that day was out.

So it's Wednesday, and today is the day to not only talk about what is going on, but also, to address some of my brethren, some of my fellow Jews who somehow have pity on those poor, poor Palestinians.

First of all, let's give credit where credit is due. President Trump did something that no other president could do or would do, even though it has been on the table for years. He recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and then speedily, in time for Israel's 70th anniversary celebration, opened I guess what you can call something of a makeshift embassy there. It will take several years, but another, permanent embassy will be built.

With this move, Trump exposed the Palestinians--and for that matter, their handlers, Hamas--for what they truly are, barbarians, gutter rats, human garbage, call them what you like.

In a perfect world, the Palestinians would have seen that it was in their best interests to settle down, sit at the table with Israel and the U.S., and work out a plan where they would be granted their own state. They could then work arm in arm with their new Israeli friends, and build a country from scratch just like the Israelis did.

Yes, that picture is a nice one, but we live in the real world, and there is no way that this was going to happen.

Instead, the Palestinians simply continued to do what they have been doing for years, attacking Israel in any way it could. The Gaza protests simply continue this pattern, with thrown rocks, tires set on fire, pipe bombs being thrown, and general lawlessness pervasive during these protests.

The Palestinians and Hamas cannot be dealt with on a human level, and Israel will defend itself when attacked, even at the protest level.

What saddens me most is that the world does not acknowledge--refuses to, I think--that the Palestinians do not want peace, they want the annihilation of Israel. They do not want a portion of Jerusalem, they want it all.

If our stance on Jerusalem hasn't shown the world this, then the world is either blind or stupid, or is there something else going on here that no one wants to talk about ... and that is that the anti-Israeli stance taken by the world on Jerusalem really is veiled anti-Semitism.

Yes, the world would love for Israel and the Jewish people to simply go away, or be put away by their enemies.

What also saddens me is that many American Jews, who should know better, take the stance that Jerusalem should not be part of Israel, that the boundaries should go back to pre-1967, and that the Palestinians should be given what has been part of Israel for the past 50-plus years via war gains and be granted their wish for their own state.

Sorry, I simply do not buy this at all.

War gains are just that, and calling certain areas "occupied lands" is in itself repugnant, as these lands were won in war. I don't see the U.S. giving back New Mexico and Texas anytime soon to Mexico, and those lands were also won in war, too, so why should Israel give back land to the enemy who they soundly defeated a generation ago?

And for so many American Jews to have pity on the Palestinians, particularly as Trump's plan unfolded, demonstrates just how ridiculous their thinking really is.

First off, many of my brethren are so anti-Trump that anything he says or does repulses them. Second, they refuse to acknowledge the obvious, which is that the Palestinians don't just want all of Jerusalem; they want all of Israel too. They want annihilation, they don't care how they get it--sacrificing young people and children is OK--and they have a Hamas-fed hatred of Israel that borders on obsession.

If it wasn't for the gratitude of Israel, the Palestinians would have no electric power, no communication, no water system, and many would be without jobs.

What other country opens up its own hospitals to care for those from enemy groups who need such care, as the Israelis do to Palestinians?

And for so many American Jews--some who must have some self-guilt about who they are and how they fit into the fabric of the U.S. assimilation--to pretty much side with the Palestinians and call on the Israelis as the aggressors in this whole mess, well, I just don't get it.

I have seen the virulent nature of these people on Facebook. I have been thrashed by some of my fellow Jews on my stance on Israel, and one fellow lonsmen had the audacity to tell me that I should move to Israel, because apparently, since I am so pro-Israel then, in this person's mind, I would be better off there.

What people like this refuse to see is that Jewishness and Israel go hand in hand. If you do not back Israel--the Jewish state--then there must be a reason, and it is clear anti-Semitism, at least in part, that fuels this idiocy. and on some people's part, it is obvious that it is their own self hate that fuels their fire, the simple fact that they are Jews themselves somehow, they think, makes them different, makes them stand out, makes them something different from the "norm."

You don't have to agree with everything Israel does, but in certain instances, you must back them 100 percent--in particular, in events that have to do with their very existence--and with what is going on today in that region, I believe they must be backed completely.

When there are fissures in the firmament, you are going to have others who believe that now is the time to spew their anti-Semitism and anti-Israeli beliefs. "Heck, if the Jews don't even back Israel, well, that empowers me to voice my hatred too!"

I believe if that anyone--Jew or non-Jew alike--had any pity for the Palestinians, then it should have gone out the window with their recent antics.

But sensibility and reason does not exist when talking about the Palestinians, and I see that so many people and countries are against what the U.S. has done there, that you really have to ask yourself why they are so vehemently against this, and unfortunately, yes, anti-Semitism still exists.

And yes, it pains me to say this, but oftentimes, the most virulent anti-Semites can be my fellow Jews.

In 1948, Israel was given a piece of worthless land to set up a country, Forty years later, this country, built on what was thought to be dead land, is among the technological leaders of the world, is a major center of commerce and industry, and has done all of it with one single long-time friend, the U.S., standing alongside of it through thick and thin.

In recent times, this has not always been the case, but the present administration stood by what it promised.

We should all throw our political beliefs aside, because the current situation in Israel goes beyond politics. We should all back the President and his administration thoroughly on the Jerusalem recognition and embassy move, and show the world's terrorists that we will not be moved by their reprehensible behavior.

You don't have to like our President, but you have to respect what he is trying to do in that part of the world. It benefits the U.S., benefits Israel, benefits the free world, and yes, it also benefits the Palestinians.

One day, perhaps, they will see through the tire smoke and understand the hole that they are digging for themselves.

We, as a country, cannot back down from our stance, one that should have been realized generations ago but is finally coming into place now.

Let's all get together on this one. Let's lead the way. Let's show others that this is the only way to go.

Let me leave you with this quote from Social Activist Jane Addams. I think it says a lot about what is happening right now, and is certainly food for thought.

"What, after all, has maintained the human race on this old globe despite all the calamities of nature and all the tragic failings of mankind, if not faith in new possibilities, and courage to advocate them."