"Standing Strong: Defending Israel's Humanity Against Terrorism

Hello LinkedIn world,?

I do not avidly post on the likes of social media and I prefer to utilize LinkedIn for professional purposes but there are moments where silence is not an option. This is the time to be vocal. I would like to address all those that are questioning Israel’s humanity and lecturing us about false narratives. I believe that constructive dialogue and empathy can lead us towards a more harmonious world and It is crucial that we engage in these conversations while respecting the facts.?

So here goes…. Lets talk about the facts:

- Israel completely withdrew its presence from the Gaza strip in 2005, including destroying every settlement and army base and displacing 8,000 Jewish families. There has not been an occupation in Gaza for the last 18 years. In 2007, Hamas - a terrorist organization, has taken over to govern the 2.1 citizens in the Gaza strip and made its mission to destroy and commit to the State of Israel instead of serving its own citizens. The blockade of Gaza? has only been in place to inspect imports to Gaza to prevent Hamas from arming itself against us. The current situation only underscores how important this blockade has been to the security of our people- one can only imagine the damage Hamas could have inflicted had there been no blockade. Incidentally, this blockade has not prevented goods from reaching Gaza as the international press would like you to believe. Truckloads of goods of all kinds pass every day into Gaza through the various crossings. There has been no Occupation of Gaza since 2005, and there has never been a siege.?

- No Israeli, with exception of a few extremists, want an ethnic genocide of the Palestinian people. We want peace. I have two brothers who were called up to IDF reserves and are on front lines now. I want nothing more than for them to come home. I hate war. We all do. In fact, Israel has come to the table several times to try and make peace and the Palestinian leaders have again and again refused. In 2000, Israeli PM Ehud Barak offered Yassir Arafat the keys to the pre-1967 borders and he refused. I don't speak for the Palestinian people, but it's obvious that Palestinian leaders don't want peace, but power.??

- "From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free"? - Those that mean this literally, believe in the destruction of the state of Israel and the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the entire Jewish people. We all witnessed what that means last week when 1,300 innocent jews, including children, women, and elderly were raped, tortured, butchered, beheaded and and burned alive? in their own homes by Hamas Terrorists. This is what "From the river to the sea " means. It is not a statement of peace, but rather the desire for war.?

- There is no moral equivalence in the story here. Whatever cruel acts rouge soldiers and settlers have inflicted on Palestinians (I’m not saying that our side never does anything wrong) mainstream Israeli society does not celebrate the loss of Palestinian lives. We never have. Nor do we advocate killing noncombatants or civilians as a matter of policy. For those that choose to point and blame Israel for all Gazan suffering, you are choosing the facts that you want to listen to and that does not lead to any good being done in the world. Most importantly, it misses the Jewish perspective. Like Palestinians, we share a deep connection to the land that is inextricably tied to our religious, cultural, and historical identity. We are not colonizers. Ignoring that or pretending that we should or will leave the land will only lead to more bloodshed and sorrow.

- The governing body of Gaza values the death of jews more than the life of Palestinans. Hamas leader Ali Bararka said exactly that in an interview this week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzZsms0LJWQ

- The culture of Hamas praises the act of becoming a shahid. Death has a high value- the death of Palestinians for a cause and the death of Jews for a cause. We value life- both Jewish and Palestinian. It is for this reason that when faced with threats from Hamas over the past declared we spent so much time and money on defensive technology rather than doing what every other army would do- root out the threat at its core through an offensive campaign. We are doing this now because it has become clear that we are left with no choice. But we’d rather not.?

For those that are suggesting moral equivalence, you are ignoring? Israel’s attempts to save civilian lives. You are neglecting Israel’s “warning” strikes on buildings so that civilians can evacuate. What other army does that? You are neglecting all the strikes that Israel has called off because civilians were in the area. It ignores the fact that Israel has supplied Gaza with electricity, water and fuel since 2005 despite not occupying the region and despite it being controlled by a hostile power. Did Hamas use the foreign aid funds to build power plants and water desalination plants? No. They used it to manufacture arms and attack tunnels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvvqBcA-9yA But sure, blame the suffering of the Gazans on Israel. As the ruling power in Gaza, Hamas had a responsibility to protect its citizens. The UN had the responsibility to protect the interests of the citizens. But Hamas did not do this. The UN was silent about the tunnels and weapons caches under schools and hospitals. And now, after neglecting their responsibilities you turn to Israel and say that it is our responsibility? No.??????

-For those suggesting that all this Human shield nonsense is FAKE NEWS? Hamas admits such in all their interviews. Just yesterday, Hamas leaders called for all North Gazan civilians to ignore Israel's call to evacuate. Where is the humanity in that?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/10/13/israel-gaza-hamas-war-west-bank/

Documented cases of Hamas members attacking while dressed in civilian clothes from civilian areas. Rockets being stored under and fired from schools and mosques. Fake news? Sure. Believe instead that Israel wants to kill noncombatants. Believe instead that we love to see our tax shekels spent on expensive military equipment just to destroy people and property that are not a threat.?

- Where is the humanity in rape? in killing childrens in front of their mothers? in burning whole families alive? In beheading babies in their sleep?? Where were you last week on LinkedIn? Are you going to address a post to your Palestinian friends asking them to denouce Hamas? Or do you believe that the events of October 7th were justified?

- Israel has stopped humanitarian aid on condition that Hamas return the 200 women, and children that are held hostage by Hamas. Why are Palestinians not standing up to their own leaders? We do not want to withhold these supplies and we do not want hostages held. Hamas does want the hostages held and they don't really care much for the destruction of Gaza. It’s better press for them and helps fuel world opinion against Israel. It also keeps the Palestinian people angry at Israel instead of at Hamas.

Unfortunately there are not two sides here. The facts do not lie. There is a side that wants to live in peace, and a side which is unfortunately governed by a terrorist regime that celebrates spilled Jewish blood.?

At the end of all this, Israel will still be standing and Gaza will be in ruins. Israel gains nothing. Palestinians gain nothing. We do not want this. But if this is what we need to do to protect ourselves, then this is what we will do.?

I am really hoping and praying for better times, and peace for all