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Destroying Hamas Is Not Genocide; It Is Self-Preservation
Hamas leader and Oct. 7 pogrom mastermind Yahya Sinwar addressing a rally in Gaza. Photo: Reuters/braheem Abu Mustafa
The Arab term for catastrophe is Nakba. The Hebrew word for catastrophe is Shoah — which is also used to refer to the Holocaust.
Since 1948, Israel has been nourished and sustained by the Jews who were violently evicted from Arab countries, by the Jews who fought for the right to leave the open-air prison called the Soviet Union, by the Jews of Ethiopia and more recently, by Ukrainians seeking shelter from Putin’s onslaught. Melting pots are complex. Israel is complex, but it is not an apartheid or racist country. It is not a “white settler-colonial state” that is engaged in the “genocide of Palestinians.” These are all accusations that compose the modern blood libel used to delegitimize and then destroy Israel.
The initial Palestinian catastrophe was self-inflicted when the decision was made to destroy Israel in 1948, and has been continually compounded by the catastrophic decisions of Palestinian leaders in 1967, 1973, by their rejection of the Clinton Parameters in 2000, by their green light for the Second Intifada between 2000 to 2005, and by their decision to invade, rape, and pillage Israel on October 7. The Palestinian leadership must stop making catastrophic decisions that keep Israelis and Palestinians locked in a dance of death.
Israel’s resistance to Palestinian and Arab violence has saved millions of Jews from death — from another Holocaust. This is the gas and violence that antisemites today are hysterically chanting for and salivating over (shouts to “gas Jews” ). After October 7, there were tears of joy and excitement from around the world that Hamas had delivered a blow that rocked Israel, and would force it to make concessions that would further weaken its ability to survive and thrive.
Israel resists to avoid the next catastrophe, and their resistance is called genocide.
On December 11, 2023, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) stated: “We didn’t turn out in huge numbers to elect President Biden to have him supply the bombs for a genocide.”
Israel is now defending itself in the International Court of Justice from South Africa’s accusation of genocide. The accusation states: “Israel, since 7 October 2023 in particular, has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide,” and that “Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Article II of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide ratified by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 states that the following acts constitutes genocide. (UN Genocide Prevention):
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its
physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Why isn’t Hamas being charged with genocide? Which of these five acts has Hamas not committed, and is not now committing? Hamas kills Israeli civilians, they mentally and physically torture women and children, they viciously murder women, children and the elderly, and Hamas’ brutal rape and torture of Israeli women is a way of preventing these women from having children. Their kidnapping of Israeli children is a forcible transfer. Hamas advocates for the genocide of Israelis between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. It is their raison d’être (See the Hamas Charter).
Every time that Hamas or Hezbollah launches barrages of missiles at Israel, they are in violation of the law of genocide that Israel is accused of violating. When more than 200,000 Israelis are forced to evacuate their villages to escape Hezbollah missiles, it is Hezbollah that is violating the United Nations law on genocide. The objective of the blame, shame, defame movement is to delegitimize Israel and starve it of the resources it needs to resist annihilation.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) voted “present” not “nay” to fund Israel’s Iron Dome defense system when the “Iron Dome Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022” was introduced to Congress, but she let everyone know that she should have voted no. If every one of the Hamas and Hezbollah and Houthi missiles hit Israel — instead of being knocked out of the sky by Iron Dome — would Hamas then be brought before the International Court of Justice?
Would those who hate Israel accuse Hamas of committing genocide? I doubt it.
Israel’s resistance saves lives. When the IDF destroys Hamas and Hezbollah missile launchers, it saves lives. Hezbollah’s and Hamas’ missiles deliver death and destruction to the Muslims, Christians, Jews and Druze of Israel — and even to Palestinians when the rockets misfire. The weapons of Hamas and Hezbollah kill and wound and destroy a racially and religiously diverse population. But Israel is slandered as a racist and apartheid country.
Robert Frost in his poem “Mending Wall” asks the question, “Why do Fences Make Good Neighbors.” To answer this question, Frost advises us to reflect on “what is being walled in and what is being walled out.” The context of Frost’s poem is two orchards in the pristine New England countryside, not Gaza or the West Bank. October 7 has made it crystal clear what and who is being walled in and out.
Israel’s war on Hamas is not genocide it is terrorcide. Israel should not have to apologize for wanting to live apart from terrorists. Creating a space so that you can live apart from terror is not apartheid it is self-preservation.
Charles A. Stone is a Professor at Brooklyn College, CUNY.
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United Nations ‘Condemns’ Israel for Responding to Houthi Attacks, Decries ‘Escalation’ of Violence
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to members of the Security Council during a meeting to address the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, at UN headquarters in New York City, New York, US, April 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
In its latest salvo against the Jewish state, the United Nations (UN) condemned Israel for executing retaliatory strikes against the Houthi terror group in Yemen.
“The Secretary-General condemns escalation between Yemen and Israel,” Stéphanie Tremblay, a UN spokesperson, said in Thursday statements on behalf of UN Secretary General António Guterres.
“The Secretary-General is gravely concerned about intensified escalation in Yemen and Israel. Israeli airstrikes today on Sana’a International Airport, the Red Sea ports and power stations in Yemen are especially alarming. The airstrikes reportedly resulted in numerous casualties including at least three killed and dozens more injured” Tremblay added.
On Thursday, Israel launched a barrage of missile attacks on Houthi bases in Yemen, provoking international outrage. Israel targeted a major airport in Sanaa and ports in Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib, and power stations, locations the Jewish state claims were used by the terror group to sneak in both Iranian weapons and high-ranking Iranian officials.
On Friday, the Houthis claimed responsibility for an airstrike aimed at Ben Gurion airport, claiming that the attacks were carried out in retaliation against Israel’s targeting of Sana’a International airport.
The Israeli strikes followed days of Houthi missile and drone launches towards the Jewish state’s airspace. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked the Jewish state in the year following the Oct. 7 slaughters in Israel. Officials associated with terrorist organization claims that it will continue to attack Israel until the so-called “genocide” in Gaza ceases.
In reference to the strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.”
Israeli officials have long accused the UN of having a bias against the Jewish state. Last year, the UN General Assembly condemned Israel twice as often as it did all other countries. Meanwhile, of all the country-specific resolutions passed by the UNHRC, nearly half have condemned Israel, a seemingly disproportionate focus on the lone democracy in the Middle East.
Weeks following the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel, the UN adopted a resolution calling for a “ceasefire” between Israel and the terrorist group. The UN failed to pass a measure condemning the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7.
In June, the UN put Israel on its so-called “list of shame” of countries that kill children in armed conflict. Israel is considered to be the only democracy on the list.
The post United Nations ‘Condemns’ Israel for Responding to Houthi Attacks, Decries ‘Escalation’ of Violence first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Amuggling
Smoke billows after an Israeli Air Force air strike in southern Lebanon village, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, Oct. 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jim Urquhar
Israeli jets struck seven crossing points along the Syria-Lebanon border on Friday, aiming to cut the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.
Israeli troops also seized a truck mounted with a 40-barrel rocket launcher in southern Lebanon, part of a haul from various areas that included explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 automatic rifles, the military said.
The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, said Hezbollah was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to test Israel’s ability to stop them.
“This must not be tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Under the terms of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in phases while unauthorised Hezbollah military facilities south of the Litani River are to be dismantled.
However, each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, intended to end more than a year of fighting that began with Hezbollah missile strikes on Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, from Gaza.
On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for Israeli forces to withdraw, citing what it said were repeated violations of the deal.
Israel, which destroyed large parts of Hezbollah’s missile stocks during weeks of operations in southern Lebanon, has said it will not permit weapons to be smuggled to Hezbollah through Syria.
Israel has also conducted attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthi movement in Yemen in recent days and pledged to continue its campaign against Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.
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Mila Kunis Says Husband Ashton Kutcher And Their Children Helped Her Embrace Judaism: ‘I Fell in Love With My Religion’
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis at the 9th Annual Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, California, on April 16, 2023. Photo: Cover Media via Reuters Connect
Actress Mila Kunis began embracing and feeling proud of her Jewish heritage when she met her husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, and even more so after having children, she told Israeli activist and author Noa Tishby this week.
“For me, it happened when I met my husband,” the “Goodrich” star, 41, said of her former “That ’70s Show” costar, 46, who she has been married to since 2015.
Although Kutcher is not Jewish, he was a follower of Kabbalah and was frequently photographed visiting the Kabbalah Centre in Los Angeles when he was married to actress Demi Moore from 2005-2013. Their wedding was also reportedly officiated by a Kabbalah Centre teacher. It remains unclear if he continues to follow Kabbalah. Nevertheless, Kunis joked that Kutcher is Jewish “by choice,” not by lineage, and that his interest in Judaism sparked Kunis to reconnect with her Jewish roots.
“I fell in love with my religion because he explained it to me,” said Kunis, who voices Meg Griffin on the Fox animated series “Family Guy.”
Kunis made the comments while joining Tishby to light candles on Thursday for the second night of Hanukkah. The two joined forces as part of Tishby’s “#BringOnTheLight campaign,” which is an eight-part video series on YouTube dedicated to spreading the message of Jewish resilience, pride and unity throughout the Jewish holiday.
Kunis and Kutcher together have two children — daughter Wyatt, 10, and son Dimitri, 8. The actress was born in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, and moved to the United States at the age of eight. She told Tishby that she did not adhere to any Jewish traditions while growing up. “I always knew I was Jewish but I was told to never talk about,” she said. “I think because I was in a country that didn’t allow for religion.” The “Bad Moms” star added that her children also helped her tap into the religious side of Judaism.
“I was raised culturally Jewish. So for me, it’s a culture,” she said. “And as I had kids, and my kids very much identity with the religion aspect of it, I was like, ‘Oh, I guess we’re doing Shabbat and the candles. And there are so many beautiful traditions.”
“I never lit Hanukkah candles until I had kids,” she further noted.
When Kunis lit the menorah with Tishby for the second night of Hanukkah, they called Kutcher for some help. Both women were unsure if they needed to light the candles from left to right or from right to left, and asked Kutcher for guidance.
Kunis also talked about being raised with a lot of Jewish guilt and superstition. Listing another things that are culturally Jewish about her, she shared, “I have a fear of not having enough food and my fear of somebody being hungry. The worst thing my kids can say to me is, ‘I’m hungry.’”
“Food fixes everything. You’re tired, eat some food. You’re cranky, eat some food,” she joked. “A health person would say, ‘This is unhealthy and you’re doing something wrong.’ And I understand. I’m working on it. But it’s just something that is embedded in me.”
The post Mila Kunis Says Husband Ashton Kutcher And Their Children Helped Her Embrace Judaism: ‘I Fell in Love With My Religion’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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