As Israel is defending its sovereignty with Operation Protective Edge, many in the media, in the Obama administration, and throughout the world are once again criticizing the Jewish State.  Some are asking, Is it the 1930s all over again, when the world and many in the Jewish community remained silent?  Actually, it is probably worse today, since many, including American Jews, are not remaining silent, but rather condemning Israel’s actions with their politically correct attitude.  They ignore the rockets fired, hate education, and underground tunnels built with the purpose of entering Israeli territory so radicals can murder and kidnap Jews.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appeared to criticize Israel in candid remarks caught on an open microphone before appearing on “Fox News Sunday.”  He stated, "I hope they don't think that's an invitation to go do more.  That better be the warning to them."  Then there was the FAA putting a ban on flights to Israel because a rocket fell within miles of Ben Gurion International Airport.  The media continually shows the Palestinian refugees, hardships, and civilian deaths.  Once again, Israel is wrongly seen as the bad guy.

Elliott Abrams, who advised President George W. Bush on Middle East issues and is a prominent expert, told the American Thinker that the ban was “indefensible and political.  There was no basis for this.  Let us remember that Secretary Kerry flew to Israel and landed at Ben Gurion, so how unsafe can it be?  Hamas has shot approximately two thousand rockets at Israel, and none have hit the airport.  Iron Dome does not shoot down every rocket, but follows its trajectory and shoots it down only when it will land in a dangerous place.”

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) was on the front lines, questioning the Obama administration’s unprecedented decision to cancel flights to Israel while at the same time announcing continuing aid that will be funneled to the terrorist organization Hamas.  Cruz publicly pointed out that the FAA’s decision to ban all U.S. flights to Israel amounted to an economic boycott of the nation.  The senator should be given a lot of credit for having the administration back down after a day and lift its ban.

Then there is the media, which is quick to point out how Israel bombs mosques, U.N. schools, and densely populated areas.  For example, on July 24, the Washington Post reported, “A U.N.-run school crowded with Palestinian evacuees in the northern part of the Gaza Strip came under shelling on Thursday, leaving at least 15 people dead and as many as 200 wounded.”  And “[t]he latest violence raised the Palestinian death toll in Israel’s Gaza offensive to more than 750, according to Gaza health officials. On the Israeli side, 32 soldiers, two Israeli civilians and a Thai guest worker have been reported killed.” 

But where is the outrage that Hamas is using these sacred buildings for combat?  The media is quick to discuss the deaths and hardships but forgets to mention that these places are bombed because Hamas is storing weapons and using schools and mosques as shields.  There is too much incrimination against Israel, one of the few Western-thinking countries that have decided to throw political correctness to the wind.  Abrams believes that what Hamas is doing has to be considered a war crime and should be considered criminal under Islamist law. 

Yuval Steinitz, Israeli Minister of Strategic and Intelligence Affairs, in a conference call told the American Thinker, “Hamas makes all these unfounded claims.  They complain that Israel is hurting their standard of living but have spent billions of dollars on rockets, mortars, and equipment to dig tunnels.  This is a fanatic Islamist terrorist organization that is willing and ready to sacrifice its own civilians and sacred buildings.  They force us to fight in densely populated areas.  People are claiming they don’t doubt Israel’s right of self-defense, but they also need to understand that the duty of self-defense does not disappear if the terrorists choose to attack from those buildings.  People should view the footage of the terrorists firing on Israeli soldiers from schools, mosques, and behind Gaza civilians.”

The Israeli consul general, David Siegel, feels that Israel needs a “political Iron Dome,” since it must always be on the defensive.  He points to the recent resolution by the Human Rights Council that is damaging and challenging to Israel with one-sided attacks.  “Of the 1,600-word document, the only mention of rocket fire upon Israel was in half a sentence.  No one seems to understand that the Iron Dome Missile Defense System prevented thousands of Israeli lives from being lost.  All we hear is the Palestinian collateral damage.”

Everyone needs to understand that the missiles fired by Hamas are intended to kill Israelis.  Hamas still has in its charter the desire to kill Jews around the world.  It is not Israel that should be questioned or needs to defend itself, but the horrible actions of this terrorist organization.  The culture of Israelis is to cherish life, not to use it as a human shield.  Israel should be applauded for once and for all deciding to wage a full-scale war, not a limited one.  People need to be supportive of the goal to destroy Hamas as well as to bring peace and security to Israelis, even if it means attacking the enemy in mosques, schools, and densely populated areas.

The author writes for the American Thinker.  She has done book reviews and author interviews and has written a number of national security, political, and foreign policy articles.