What people in the West don't understand is how very differently people like those in Hamas think. This errant thinking does not apply to all Palestinians - - but for people in Hamas, the death of their children is a cause for celebration. I know that sounds startling - - but it is true - - and that is why it is so hard for Westerners to understand the complexity of what is happening in this conflict.
Israel's policy and practice is compassion and caring. They warn civilians when they are going to bomb an area - - but Hamas sends the children into the fray, hoping they will be killed so they can gain international sympathy for their cause. I heard one of Israel's ambassadors state it well, when he quoted someone else who said, "They will never stop until they love their children more than they hate us." His comment stunned the correspondent interviewing him - - but it is true. In the past they have conspicuously used their children as human shields. They raise their children to believe that they will have a special place in heaven if they become suicide bombers. They lie to their children, and they lie to themselves.
I believe that the simple poem penned by Israel's President, Shimon Peres, in 2006 says volumes:
Ray of Hope
Copyright 2006 by
Shimon Peres, President of Israel
Music by Liel (born
in Israel)
Sung by Andrea
Bocelli and Liel on utube
Oh my Lord, it’s time to pray
When the new sun shines let’s make hay
So save my land from desert’s stay
Call the ocean’s salt to melt away
(Call the oceans, salt to melt away) echo in musical version
And bless streams with love’s sway
Provide my foe and friend a bloodless day
Invite boys and girls for peace to pray
Then send a ray of hope for a new way
(Then send a ray of hope for a new way) echo in musical version
The line that prays, "Provide my foe and friend a bloodless day" is profound - - and exemplifies the heart of the Israelis purest passion.
Israel's doctors provide medical care for Palestinian children out of the goodness of their hearts. That should show their good intent toward the children. And - they warn civilians when there is going to be a bombing. But - - when the mortar fire comes out of schools and mosques, and places that should be 'safe' for the civilians, Israel has no choice but to launch a counter-attack. The tunnels under the walls are there for terrorist motives - - to smuggle in weapons and sneak out through to do harm.
The American politicians who get involved are vulnerable to being swayed by the manipulation Hamas' so craftily performs. It would be easy for that to be the case if you didn't know the underlying truth. I will never forget when 9/11 happened - - the images on TV of people jubilantly dancing in the streets in Palestine because of the attacks on U S soil with the twin towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington D C. I was shocked. Even when someone is evil I do not celebrate their pain.
And, I cannot imagine a people that celebrates the death of their own children as a good thing for their 'cause'. Unthinkable!
The Bible warns that in the end of time men will call good evil and evil good. We are there! Can Jesus' Second Coming be far away?
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