Kerby Anderson

Since the Hamas attack last year on Israel, the government and IDF have been fighting in Gaza. But now Israel has also had to deal with Hezbollah to the north which has fired more than 8,000 rockets at this small country. These indiscriminate attacks have forced thousands of Israelis to flee from the northern part of Israel.

Once again, world leaders are cautioning Israel to avoid escalating this conflict. But Rich Lowry argues that “the Jewish state is under no obligation to tolerate the intolerable.” Instead, the country’s leaders are to treat all these rocket attacks as background noise. No other country in the world would be expected to ignore such attacks on their sovereign nation.

Israel cannot follow these rules. Rich Lowry asks, “What other country is asked to bear the rocketing of its civilian population?” And yet, it was criticized even when it tried to minimize civilian causalities by targeting terrorist leaders through their pagers and electronic devices. The counterterrorist plan is reminiscent of something you might find in a James Bond film or a Mission Impossible film.

Rich Lowry summarizes how Israel is criticized no matter what it does. “Israel hits terrorist targets from the air — and it’s accused of war crimes. Israel goes in on the ground — and it’s accused of war crimes. Israel does neither, opting instead to target terrorists by using their own devices against them — and it’s accused of war crimes.”

Perhaps you can sense the frustration. But you also need to experience the fear. The guide we use for our trips to Israel lives in the region where these rockets are landing. Imagine how you would feel if rockets were landing in your community, and world leaders were cautioning you to show restraint. This is the situation in Israel today.