Why Israel had to act

From a piece by Jeff Robbins in today's Boston Globe:

"This year alone, Hamas, which expressly calls for the obliteration of Israel, has launched approximately 3,000 rockets and mortar bombs into Israeli civilian centers, always for the purpose of killing and maiming Israelis if possible, and terrifying those who are not actually hit. In the last week or so, Hamas has fired some 200 rockets and bombs into Israeli communities....In direct contravention of international law, Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, utilizing homes, schools and community centers as launching pads, content in the knowledge that if innocent Palestinian civilians are caught in the cross-fire, it will be Israel that is criticized. This amounts to a sort of Daily Double of human rights violations: the use of innocent Palestinians as human shields for the infliction of violence upon innocent Israelis."

Remember this when many "peace" activists around the world speak as if the violence in the Middle East is Israel's fault, or that it is equally the fault of both sides.

Striking back

So the Palestinian radical organization Hamas engages in terrorism against Israeli civilians--firing rockets into Israeli towns--and Israel shows these past days that it will strike back.
No one rejoices at seeing all this violence and casualties, especially at this time of year.
But how long is Israel supposed to stand for its civilians being attacked?
Sometimes a response is necessary. Let's hope President-elect Obama remembers this.

Re: the Israeli seminary bombing and what we're fighting

We discussed this issue just a bit ago, you may recall, here.
Concerning it, an always-alert e-mailer correctly notes:

Michael Savage noted that nearly every news story concerning the attack omits the ages of the victims. One hears "seminary" and thinks adults. Or else we read "8 people killed." Buried in the middle of yesterday's NY Times story on the burial of the 8 dead I learned that nearly all of the victims were 15 and 16, with one being 26

A reminder of what the U.S. is fighting against

Terrorists attack a Jewish seminary school, and Palestinian militants (who are also followers of Islam) celebrate:
"A gunman infiltrated a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem and opened fire in a library Thursday night, killing at least seven people, officials said...In Gaza, the Islamic militant Hamas praised the attack but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Thousands poured into the streets to celebrate, firing rifles in the air. "We bless the (Jerusalem) operation. It will not be the last," Hamas said in a text message sent to reporters."

The Israeli strike

Ah--so this is what really happened: "An Israeli airstrike on Syria last month targeted a partially built nuclear reactor that was years away from completion, the New York Times reported Saturday, citing U.S. and foreign officials. The report said President Bush's administration had intense discussions with the Israeli government before the strike and U.S. officials were divided over whether it would be premature."

So: 1] The reactor may have been "years away from completion"--but upon completion, it would have posed a threat to Israel's security. Why expect the Israelis to wait that long.
2] The Bush administration may have been "divided" about this, but I'm glad it has not condemned the act. 3] Could this also have been an Israeli signal sent to Iran? Makes sense to me. 4] Note: when the Israelis set out to do something? It gets done.

For the children...

Bill Crawford at All Things Conservative makes a good point (and the mainstream media doesn't talk about this nearly enough): can you imagine the shouts of outrage there would be around the world if the Israelis used child soldiers in their battles against terrorists? Of course, they don't. But look who does. Quote: "IDF troops killed two Palestinian children along the Gaza-Israel border on Tuesday, Palestinian medical officials said. The two dead were 10 and 12 years old, according to Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. A third child, 10, was seriously wounded and six other people were lightly hurt, he said.. ...An IDF spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post that terror organizations in the Gaza Strip often send children to retrieve launchers from the field after Kassam rockets have been fired, and it appeared that this is what happened on this occasion. "