Here we go again. Israel, America’s truest ally in the Middle East, is under assault by terrorists, and the Obama administration is once again turning its back on the Jewish state.
With America failing to throw full support behind Israel in its time of need, the question is why the Obama administration seems to prefer equivocal statements to demanding an immediate and full cessation of Palestinian attacks and incitement.
Over the past month, Israel has been targeted by a sickening wave of Palestinian terrorism. Innocent Israeli civilians going about their daily chores are being run over by madmen behind the wheels of cars, slashed and murdered with knives and shot at on city buses. Raw footage of these barbaric terrorist attacks is widely available online, and it shocks the conscience. In recent days, the terrorist savagery has escalated through simultaneous attacks that appear to have been coordinated to occur in multiple Israeli cities at the same time.
This disgusting series of stabbing and shooting attacks has received praise by the terrorist group Hamas, which hails the ruthless terrorists as “heroes.” The Palestinian Authority has declined to denounce the terrorist attacks or call for Palestinians to halt their violence.
Just imagine if innocent Americans in the United States fell victim to a similar wave of terrorist violence. Imagine going to the grocery story and looking over our shoulders constantly out of fear that someone was going to jump out and murder us, motivated by an extremist ideology of hatred toward Jews.
No country should be subjected to such brutality. Terrorism is never acceptable, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and the Israeli people are responding as they should. In addition to Israel’s increased security measures, Israeli citizens have wisely employed personal weapons to eliminate the terrorists on the spot in efforts to avert the killing of more innocent people.
Sadly, the United States’ response to our close friend Israel, coming under fire by terrorists yet again, is what we would expect from this administration’s weak and misguided foreign policy. Rather than demonstrating full-throated support of Israel, the Obama administration has actually had the audacity to place blame on Israel, the victims of this surge in terrorism. Secretary of State John Kerry recently made an outrageous statement, seeming to justify the terrorist attacks by saying that Israel’s building of settlements had reached an all-time high, stirring frustration among the Palestinians.
The facts reveal just how absurd Kerry’s comments are and how divorced from reality this administration has grown. According to data from Israel’s Housing and Construction Ministry, there has actually been less construction activity in the settlements since Netanyahu became prime minister in 2009 than under any other Israeli prime minister since 1995. If the settlements were really the issue, then shouldn’t Palestinian terrorist activity also be at an all-time low?
The unavoidable truth is that the recent uptick of terrorism is not linked to settlements. This terrorism is pure blood lust by the Palestinians.
Day in and day out, Palestinian children are indoctrinated with a hate-fueled education, breeding a new generation of extremist fanatics determined to employ terrorist tactics. Moreover, Palestinian media is flooded with anti-Israel incitement to bloody violence.
Consider the recent words spoken by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas denying the Jewish connection to its holiest site, the Temple Mount, denouncing Israeli control of holy sites for which it provides open access, and inciting his people to violence: “Al-Aqsa is ours, the Holy Sepulcher is also ours. They have no right to dirty the mosque with their filthy feet, we won’t let them do it.”
The Palestinian leadership’s inculcation of hate is the true obstacle to peace, not settlements or whatever else happens to be the convenient excuse du jour. It is baffling and disheartening to observe the lack of empathy for the wars that continue to be waged on Israel by Palestinian neighbors more committed to butchery than being a partner for peace.
America should be standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel, offering unqualified support during this challenging time based on mutual values and shared security interests. Instead, the Obama administration appears to be making a conscious choice to create a false moral equivalence between terrorists and friends. This choice is not only deeply flawed but also highly dangerous.
Our friend Israel deserves better and shouldn’t be stabbed in the back by Palestinian terrorists or the Obama administration.
Armstrong Williams is the author of the brand-new book “Reawakening Virtues.” Find more content on RightSideWire.com and come join the discussion live at 6 to 8 p.m. and 4 to 6 a.m. on Sirius/XM UrbanView 126. Become a fan on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.