Stop the Rockets
On this Shavuot, which should be a time of celebration, Israelis are under attack. Since May 10th, Hamas — a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization — and other militant groups have fired more than 3,350 rockets at Israel, targeting areas densely populated by innocent civilians. In Israel, 10 people including two children have been killed during these attacks, and countless others have been wounded. In Gaza, there have been a reported 181 fatalities, including 52 children. Hamas has not stated how many of the deceased were militants or killed by the more than 400 Hamas-launched missiles that exploded within Gaza.
The deaths of Israeli and Palestinian civilians alike are tragic. However, comparing the numbers is a false equivalence.
The numbers do not reveal how the Israeli Defense Forces, in conducting defensive actions to protect Israel's civilian population, goes to extraordinary lengths to minimize civilian casualties. Nor do the numbers reveal that the strategy of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other terror groups is to maximize civilian casualties.
In addition to Hamas's indiscriminate firing into Israel's most populous cities, the terrorist organization has a well-documented history of using Palestinian civilians as human shields, as well as storing its weapons in — and launching rockets from — hospitals, homes, schools (including UNRWA schools), mosques, and other civilian areas in Gaza. Knowing that Israel will strike militant targets to defend its people, Hamas deliberately forces its civilians into the line of fire in order to drum up international outrage and to fuel the myth that Israeli responses are disproportionate and constitute war crimes. To the contrary, a war crime is perpetrated by Hamas each time it fires a rocket at a non-military target, and each time it sacrifices an innocent Palestinian as a human shield.
Furthermore, it is deeply troubling to see the mainstream media, "influencers," and even government officials perpetuate fictitious narratives that justify and legitimize Hamas's indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Make no mistake, a property dispute in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood did not cause this terrorist violence. Hamas is firing rockets in furtherance of its fundamental goal: to destroy the Jewish State and its inhabitants. It is the responsibility of the mainstream media and others who shape public opinion to speak the truth.
Our Executive Director, Brooke Goldstein, is currently in Israel and experiencing the terror firsthand. We hope and pray that Hamas will halt its attacks and this violence will come to an end.