Book of Days: asher553

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On October 7, on the holiday of Simchat Torah and on the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Hamas terrorists from the Gaza strip launched multiple attacks on undefended civilians in Israel. Elderly people, women, and children were sadistically tortured and murdered. There is no need to recount the details of these atrocities here; it is now known that the attacks killed more than 1,400 people, in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The Israeli Defense Forces are now conducting a massive counterattack - Operation Iron Swords - to eliminate the Hamas threat in Gaza.

The barbaric slaughter of women and children, elderly, and infants, should horrify and enrage people of every faith and nationality. The attacks were directed against Israeli Jews, but the victims included citizens of the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Thailand, Nepal, and other countries.

The defense of Israel is Israel's responsibility, but Israel's enemies are America's enemies. Hamas and its patrons in the Islamic Republic of Iran have made "death to America" a mission statement since their inception.

Being a civilized nation cannot mean being a weak nation. Cowardly savages target women and children, as Hamas does, while hiding their own military command centers in hospitals - again as Hamas does - knowing their enemies will be reluctant to strike there.

These atrocities have shown us the terrible cost of liberal illusions. Israeli "peace" activists, with eyes only for their own country's perceived wrongs, maneuvered the nation into a position of catastrophic weakness under the rallying cry of "ending the occupation".

Not a single Israeli soldier "occupied" Gaza from the 2005 withdrawal until October 7. The butchery in Israel was openly celebrated in America by leftist groups like BLM and by student groups at Harvard. Both the origins of the carnage and its aftermath show the ability of so-called "intellectual" and "enlightened" people to rationalize any depravity.

The attacks also show the importance of an armed citizenry. Israelis rightly take pride in their country's Defense Forces, but as Americans we understand that individual self-defense is a human right given by Almighty G-d. Be the State ever so powerful, it is up to the citizen to be on guard against the State's abuse of power - and against the State's neglect.

Finally, for Americans, the attacks are an ominous reminder that a nation that remains indifferent to an armed, hostile presence on its borders - or within them - will suffer grave consequences.

The weeks since the terrible events of October 7 have seen a surge in overt anti-Semitic acts, but also - especially in America - an outpouring of support for the Jewish state. Together with decent Americans of every faith and across the political spectrum, Washington County Republican Party stands in support of Israel's right to defend its people.

Also at the link: Endorsement of Donald Trump as Republican candidate, and statement against Oregon's new "disinformation" office.