Kerby Anderson

When Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, much of the world was shocked and horrified, while other parts of our world celebrated. Everyone, it seemed, needed to make a comment. Some were insightful, many more were forgettable and even regrettable.

Some important insights came from Mark Penn, who was a chief strategist for Hillary Clinton and author of the book, Microtrends. He listed several lessons that we learned from the Hamas attack and the subsequent reactions.

“First, we learned that Hamas and much of the Palestinian movement is drenched in antisemitism, has no interest in Middle East peace, and openly preaches the annihilation of Israel and its people.” Most of us already believed that, but it is reassuring that many more Americans are now coming to that conclusion.

“Second, we learned that many of our institutions of higher learning and their leaders are the root of our society’s problems instead of the solution.” He points to university presidents unwilling to condemn the killing of children in Israel. He then asks us to “imagine how long it would have taken for these university presidents to issue statements if Israeli settlers had murdered 1,000 Palestinian families during a Muslim holiday.”

“Third, we learned that much of the political left in America lacks a moral compass.” Once again, I think many people knew this, but I am encouraged that a liberal once again is acknowledging the extremism and immorality of leftist activists.

In the rest of his commentary, he takes some obligatory shots at Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump. That is to be expected. I am, however, encouraged that what happened in Israel earlier this month has been a teachable moment for many in this country.