Like so many around the world, we have prayed for peace in Israel and the now forgotten Ukrainian war. We pray for the victims and the families. We pray for the families of the hostages. I have no clue how the families of the hostages could be managing themselves at this point. I'd be curled up in the bathroom picking flowers off the toilet paper on the verge of a meltdown. I suppose God grants strength when needed, perhaps even when we don't know to ask.
We have also been talking about what is happening. My youngest pointed out something. He said [Hamas] did it on purpose for a reason. That is, there is a reason Hamas has done this horrible thing. There is a plan.
In recent years, over the last decade or so, we've seen how these things work out. Hamas or some radical Islamic group launches a random attack against Israel. Israel responds. The world piles on Israel.
This time, it's as if Hamas went out of its way to make it impossible to be that simple. In literally the worst massacre of Jews since WWII, Hamas immediately made themselves the villains in the eyes of the world. A world that has made it clear it's wanting to, waiting to, and willing to make Israel ever and always the villain.
Why? My son is right, bless his heart. You can't just say savages, barbarians, bronze age thugs. There is a method to this. What is the end goal here? When you think of how the 9/11 attacks brought America down a notch, increased divisions, and left us far worse in the world than we were to begin with, what is this about? I've said the 9/11 attacks were what Japan wanted Pearl Harbor to be but it wasn't.
So why did Hamas do this? Why did they purposefully go out and commit atrocities so heinous that many who normally wait to trounce Israel have been forced to start with condemning Hamas? What's the game plan here? Does it involve America, the world, China? It's worth pondering. I just hope our best and brightest in Washington are already working on solving what my youngest son was able to figure out.
Unfortunately I doubt the best and brightest in Washington are as smart as your son.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Hamas thought that far ahead. Or if anyone else is using them for a larger plan.
I find the old idea of never underestimate an enemy and never overestimate an ally is sound advice, especially in cases like this.
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ReplyDeleteDave:
The reason may not seem remotely sensible to anyone outside their darkened minds. Kaiser Wilhelm II thought he could easily repeat Daddy's conquest of France in 1871. Japan thought it could take us in the Pacific War. Diabolical behavior does not imply diabolical intelligence.
You make a good point. Though there was a method to their madness. Take Japan and Pearl Harbor. Yes, the Japanese high command had seriously - and catastrophically - misread the general character of the American people. But it was based on that misreading that they thought an ill-advised sneak attack would work. That's the thing here. After a couple rounds of attacking Israel, Israel responding, and watching the World drop the hammer on Israel, why this time go out of their way to say 'no, we're not just randomly firing rockets - we're freaking Nazis!'? What are they planning on getting out of it? My boys and I have tried to answer his question, and the best answer I've heard is that they are moving the bar. That is, despite Palestinians and pro-Palestinian advocates not only condoning and supporting the slaughter, but coming out and making sure we know they hate Israel because of Jews, we've nonetheless seen the usual Western response of 'let's not be hasty! Hamas is bad you know, but everyone else? I'm seeing some hippy peace lovers there' - despite the obvious. Getting people to deny reality has its long term benefits, as we've seen in recent years.
DeleteSomething I recently realized about Columbus, was that finding a trade route to India was necessary because Constantinople fell and the Turks blocked established routes. That was something I never learned, even back when I learned history and Columbus was not so hated. Interesting to me why that tidbit was never mentioned.
ReplyDeleteHeh. I've done that myself - and it's my blog. I recall someone from the Orthodox church I attended correcting an Indian activist back a couple years ago. When they were tearing down the Columbus statues here in Columbus, Ohio, the mayor attended a protest led by Indian activists. One of the activists said Columbus symbolized the beginning of the age of Imperialism that destroyed their civilization. The fellow from my Church - keenly aware of those minor historical events that we gloss over, like the fall of the Byzantine Empire - corrected her. He said long before Columbus, the Age of Imperialism was in full swing. That would be the Ottoman Empire. And it was because of them that the age of European Exploration happened when it did in the first place. If you want to tear something down, tear down something connected to modern Islam or Turkey at least.
DeleteWise man, your friend! And thank you for your understanding on my misplaced posting :)
DeleteMy comment to this actual post would be... I'm not sure who is considered "best" or "brightest" in our current leadership, but I just can't get over the absolute cluelessness on both human nature and trains of thought in Islam. My suspicion is that Iran is having internal trouble. Last year police beat a young woman to death for not properly wearing her hijab and that has stirred up problems for the regime. (Not sure if you read the Humans of NY series featuring a Persian in exile recently... oh my goodness, I'm rooting for the people of Iran! They are under an oppressive regime.) Anyway, if you are dealing with internal issues, probably the easiest thing to do is direct peoples' angst elsewhere and Jews are easy targets. Especially if you're not sacrificing anything by funding the crazies who will gladly murder innocents.
That's not a bad theory. It could be true. It's hard to guess. Again, just because they might be wrong doesn't mean they don't have a reason. Sometimes I think it's to push the boundaries. For a decade or more, when Hamas sent rockets into Israel and Israel retaliated, Israel immediately became the bad guy. Hamas was simply a rebel group fighting an oppressive government. This made it clear - along with harsh rhetoric from supporters around the world - that it's not just Israel, but those rascally Jews they hate. And they did it in a way that demands a response. Well, we're seeing the West/Left struggle to pigeon hole this back into 'Bad Israel/Oppressed non-Westerners' template. Hamas is condemned, as if it and it alone is the problem. The antisemitic rhetoric has been swept under the carpet, and most are speaking of antisemitism in the vague, generic sense - but not applying it to the Palestinians or other Arab populations. Sometimes I think that's what is up. Draw a new line in the sand and see how far those in the West will bend over to avoid confronting the obvious.
DeleteUgh! That was supposed to be on your other post about Columbus Day. Sorry... posting wasn’t working originally and I think the pages got mixed up in a refresh.
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