The fight in Gaza via Jewish eyes

The fight in Gaza via Jewish eyes

For members of Cincinnati’s Jewish community, the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas has been very painful. Because many of us have family and friends living in Israel, this is not just a news story, but a personal story. We want to share with our friends and neighbors how this conflict looks through our eyes.

One might assume that this fighting is about the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. It’s not. Israel, the United States and the Palestinian Authority all agree on the goal of a two-state solution to be reached by peaceful negotiations. While progress has been slow, there has been general calm, security and cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

However, the fighting is in Gaza, which is not ruled by the Palestinian Authority, but by Hamas. Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by many countries, including the United States, and even Jordan and Egypt. Hamas’ main sponsor is Iran, and its publicly stated mission is to destroy Israel.

In 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in a bloody coup, and has terrorized Israel and the people of Gaza since. Three weeks ago, Hamas intensified its indiscriminate firing of rockets at Israel’s civilian areas, with more than 2,900 rockets fired since July 8. Even the Palestinian Authority called this “a crime against humanity.”

After terrorists burst into Israel through Hamas’ illegal tunnels earlier this month, Israel saw no way to protect its people except to send ground forces into Gaza to eliminate these tunnels and rockets. Since then, Israel has discovered 32 concrete lined tunnels (costing $3 million each) that lead into Israeli residential areas.

Israel has tried to minimize civilian casualties by warning Gazan civilians prior to its strikes. Cynically, Hamas uses civilians as “human shields” by hiding its rockets, weapons and tunnels inside schools, homes, hospitals and mosques. This creates an impossible situation for Israel; there is no way to protect Israelis and eliminate Hamas’ weapons without a horrible price – the taking of many Gazan lives. Hamas then callously exploits Gazan deaths in its media war against Israel.

Israel would have lost many more of its own civilians but for the new “Iron Dome” missile defense system, which uses advanced Israeli technology, and was developed in partnership with the U.S. Hamas continues firing these rockets in order to unravel the fabric of Israeli civilian life by causing continual panic and trauma. Since the Iron Dome cannot be guaranteed 100 percent effective, 70 percent of Israeli Jews and Arabs (nearly 6 million people) have been terrorized by Hamas’ rockets. Children and families have 30 seconds to reach a bomb shelter. Imagine what America would do if 70 percent of our country – 250 million Americans – were under continual threat of rocket fire.

We all wish that Israel could negotiate real peace with Hamas. However, Hamas’ charter specifically rejects negotiating peace with Israel: “There is no solution to the Palestinian problem, except by jihad (armed struggle).” So, sadly, there can never be long-term peace or progress in Gaza until Gaza once again has a government that believes in peaceful coexistence.

As long as Hamas continues to attack Israeli civilians, Israel has the right and the responsibility to defend them. We greatly appreciate that all of our members of Congress have publicly supported Israel’s right to defend her people.

In the meantime, we hope and pray that our friends and neighbors can understand the terrible situation in which Hamas puts Israel and its own people, and that you will help us share this understanding.

By Shep Englander (CEO of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati) and Suzette Fisher ( president.)