The Aftermath Of October 7^th

Why is everyone talking about the Palestinians in Gaza and no-one talking about what took place in Israel on that date? War is hell, we know? Do we remember the carpet bombing of Germany prior to the surrender of the Nazis in World War II? Do we remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki that persuaded the Empire of Japan to surrender? Do we remember the rampages of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe and Germany during the conflict. We saw these efforts justified to protect the lives of our soldiers.

They tell us that the ratio of non-combatant deaths to combatants during wars is usually 9 to 1. In Gaza it has been close to 1 to 1 because of Israel’s effort to protect the lives of civilians in spite of the efforts of Hamas to place them in harm’s way in an attempt to shield their combatants. The Hamas concentrate their forces in, under, and near hospitals, schools, and religious sites. The measures Israel takes to preserve the lives of civilians cost the lives of Israeli soldiers.

We must remember that the Hamas leaders and foot soldiers are Palestinians. These are the same people that destroyed the installations that Israel left behind which could have formed an economic base for them when Israel withdrew from Gaza.

 Is it only when it is Jews trying to uproot evil to defend their future that war is not defensible? Why is it only the Hamas lies that are broadcast by the media without verification, while Israel authorities investigation statements are offered subject to verification? Why the double standard?

I recently spent an hour with an IDF officer. He shared with me a little of what he saw in the areas attacked by the Palestinian forces on October 7^th. I say Palestinian because so many who entered Israel on that date were not Hamas soldiers. So many of the Palestinians in Gaza celebrated what had been done in Israel on that day. How many are accomplices? How many Palestinians from Gaza who were granted jobs in Israel used them to provide intelligence to Hamas? That will not be repeated.

He told of the smell of rotting flesh wherever he went. He told me of incinerated bodies that could only be identified through the use of DNA after weeks of work. He saw babies baked in ovens in front of their parents, men and women serially raped and their bodies dismembered, their bodies mutilated.

We have their own evidence on their cellphones of the delight many Palestinians took in these actions. Yet the U.N. said they found no evidence of sexual violence. UNRWA was fully integrated with Hamas activities. They remain with almost full international funding. One can imagine what is happening to the hostages in Gaza every day.

What we have witnessed is a clash of civilizations. The values of those planned and executed the attack on October 7^th are not the same as those we take for granted in Western society. Those who trumpet “from the river to the sea” are advocating the genocide that Israel soldiers are trying to avert, the genocide the Hamas is promising to attempt again and again. How can Israel rest until they are entirely eliminated from the territory that adjoins Israel?

The intelligence failures of some Israeli authorities remain to be dealt with. But they are not an excuse for what was planned and transpired on October 7^th. We can expect an upheaval in Israel as a consequence that will ultimately re-shape Israel society. The internal contradictions in Israel remain to be dealt with.

The attitude of Israelis to their neighbors, former supposed friends, former supposed enemies, has irretrievably altered. The resilience of its economy is a modern-day miracle, given the hundreds of thousands of its citizens that have played a direct role in its defense while its economy continued to function and thrive.

Israel success in repelling a massive direct attack from Iran without suffering damage, and its retaliatory attack which proved Iran defenseless in the face of Israel military technology, provide a warning to allies and enemies alike.

Military authorities will be studying this exchange for decades, bearing in mind that Iran is gigantic compared with Israel from many points of view. Israel will have to alter its military stance to take into account its failures and will likely be less tolerant of the actions of Iran and its proxies regardless of The attitudes of supposed friends. Alliances in the region and elsewhere will be reshaped as a consequence of Israel’s technological superiority.

The real struggle between arrayed forces in the region , and outside it, remain to be engaged and played out. The aspirations of Islamic jihadists for worldwide domination are even now not fully appreciated. Nor are the consequences of decades of investment by the oil=rich protagonists to disseminate their advocates and infiltrate the media and institutions of higher learning. Some of these western institutions are beginning to reject further intrusion. Some are beginning to appreciate the long game being played.

In Europe some countries have been turning to the right politically as public attention is being turned to the consequences of current immigration policies. The growth of no-go zones in some countries have signaled the rise of areas where Sharia law has replaced indigenous law and order.

If taking a few hostages can bring the world to its knees, we are lost! We must do what we must to achieve victory over the forces of evil, as we have done in the past.