Three years ago, there was little sympathy for Hezbollah in its war with Israel. There was, of course, the obligatory harsh criticism of Israel by diplomats, the media, academics, and Muslim and Arab groups, for allegedly destroying Lebanon and killing innocent civilians. The charges were way overblown, if not defamatory.

In 2006, other than a rally against George Bush, a rally against Israel was the easiest one to assemble. In this country, there was a pro-Hezbollah demonstration in enemy held territory in Dearborn, Michigan, but most demonstrators elsewhere were anti-Israel, not outwardly pro-Hezbollah. . In Chicago the pro-Israel rally in the loop drew only a small counter-demonstration across the street, populated by Israel hating Arabs and a few members of the local SEIU. But this year, supporting Hamas is all the rage. The anti-Israel demonstrators in this country, and of course, abroad, were not shy to be seen as supporters of Hamas ("we are all Hamas").

And now, the international community can't wait to get reconstruction money into the hand of groups that will responsibly allocate the funds for rebuilding the homes, businesses and lives of peace loving Palestinians in Gaza. It was hard to write that last sentence without laughing. Since Hamas controls Gaza, and also controls the UNRWA, we know where American money ($900 million worth) and billions more from Europe and other donor countries will wind up: