The Evil Of Hamas
“So many babies and children were beheaded that we’ve had a hard time matching heads to the right bodies.”
That was the first observation I heard this morning when I sat down for breakfast and turned on the news. It came from an Israeli pathologist, who had to help sort through the bodies of one thousand four hundred dead Israelis. (You can read more here – if you have the stomach for it.)
Not only were Israelis brutally murdered on October 7th, their bodies were defiled by radical Islamists. Some of these children were the grandsons and granddaughters of Holocaust survivors.
Virtually every Israeli woman killed, from little children to 80 year-olds, was raped. Some women were killed first and then raped.
But the evil Hamas unleashed wasn’t just confined to Israel.
Within 24 hours of this atrocity, angry demonstrations erupted in the United States and around the world. But they weren’t demonstrating against the murderers of Hamas. They were demonstrating against the murdered Israeli Jews.
Hate crimes against Jews in the United States are up nearly 400% since the massacre of Israeli Jews on October 7th. On social media, anti-Semitic messages of hate for Jews overwhelmed messages of support for the Jewish people.
Polling shows that most young Americans consider themselves to be liberal and progressive. Yet polls also show that the younger you are, the more likely you are to hate Israel and Jews.
Our corrupt neo-Marxist educational system and insane immigration policies are to blame for that.
Yes, the culture war does matter!
Biden’s Plan
Faced with the sudden explosion of anti-Semitism across the country, the Biden White House yesterday announced a new initiative aimed at fighting hate. Here’s an excerpt from Vice President Kamala Harris’s announcement explaining the new initiative:
“For years, Muslims in America and those perceived to be Muslim have endured a disproportionate number of hate-fueled attacks. As a result of the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, we have seen an uptick in anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, anti-Semitic and Islamophobia incidents across America. . .
“And so today, I am proud to announce the Biden-Harris administration will develop our nation’s first National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia. This strategy will be a comprehensive and detailed plan to protect Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim from hate, bigotry and violence. And to address the concern that some government policies may discriminate against Muslims.”
WHAT?!?
Notice the uptick of hateful incidents she cites – “anti-Palestinian, anti-Arab, anti-Semitic and Islamophobia.” Three out of four are focused on Muslims!
So, in the middle of a 400% spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes, the Biden White House thinks the problem is that too many Americans are angry at Muslims.
That’s insane!
There are no mobs marching in the streets or on university campuses chanting, “Death to the Muslims!” There are no student groups committed to the destruction of Muslim nations.
No imam has been stabbed to death. Thank God. But we still don’t know who killed the president of a Detroit synagogue.
I want to ask you again, I beg you, please pray for the Jewish people. Reach out to your Jewish neighbors. Visit your local synagogue and ask how you can help. It’s the Christian thing to do.
Biden Is Running Scared
As we and others have noted, the left is quickly discovering the limits of “intersectionality.” Liberals are getting an ugly lesson that “diversity is our strength” may not in fact be true.
So, what’s going on? Why is this happening now?
Earlier this week, the Biden White House received an ultimatum from the National Muslim Democratic Council. They demanded that Biden take “immediate action to secure a ceasefire by Tuesday, October 31st at 5 p.m. EST.”
If Biden failed to deliver, they threatened to tank his reelection campaign by withholding “endorsements, support and votes” in “Michigan, Ohio, Iowa, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, where many of our voters reside.”
And there’s polling to back it up. According to a new survey by the Arab American Institute (AAI), 59% of Muslim American voters backed Joe Biden in 2020. (Other surveys put the figure as high as 64%.) Today, Biden’s approval rating among this group stands at just 17%.
And for the first time in AAI’s history, more Muslim Americans identify as Republicans (32%) than Democrats (23%). (Presumably, that has more to do with cultural issues -- abortion and transgender extremism -- than Israel policy.)
The Biden Administration immediately swung into action.
First, it dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel yet again, presumably to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in person.
We got yesterday’s announcement of a new anti-hate initiative aimed at protecting Muslims.
Then Joe Biden flew to Minneapolis yesterday. Why Minneapolis? Well, “Little Mogadishu,” as Rep. Ilhan Omar’s district is called, was once the terrorist recruiting capital of America because of its large Muslim population.
And there Biden gave the National Muslim Democrat Council exactly what they demanded. He called for a cease-fire, only he used the word “pause.” Biden said, “I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out.”
A cease-fire, “pause,” or whatever you want to call it, means Israel won’t be able to go after Hamas. It means the hostages won’t be freed. And if having hostages results in a cease-fire, that only guarantees Hamas will take more hostages.
During his remarks, Biden also bragged, “I’m the guy that convinced Bibi to call for that ceasefire to let the prisoners out.” Just last week, Biden denied holding Israel back.
It remains to be seen how all this plays out. Jewish Democrats are furious with their “progressive” allies, like the Southern Poverty Law Center. (See next item.)
But don’t underestimate the left. For years, they kept white segregationists and black civil rights leaders in the same movement at the same time. They know how to play the identity politics game really well. But the current calls for a second Holocaust will challenge their skills.
By the way, as we’re watching Joe Biden and his National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan blow up America’s foreign policy, never forget that Jake Sullivan should be in jail. He was a major player in spreading the Russian collusion hoax.
The Hamas Squad
While the Biden White House is scrambling to appease the anti-Semitic base of the progressive left, the progressive Squad in Congress is doing its best to fan the flames.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez blasted the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) as a “racist” and “bigoted” group, adding that it is also an “extremist organization that destabilizes U.S. democracy.”
AIPAC is none of those things! It is the largest organization of pro-Israel Jewish Americans. Some years ago, I was one of the first Christian leaders to address the annual AIPAC conference and I got a standing ovation.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives held several important and revealing votes yesterday.
The first vote was on a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib for her repeated anti-Semitic statements and refusal to condemn Hamas. One hundred percent of House Democrats voted against the resolution, while 89% of Republicans voted for it.
The House then voted on a resolution vowing to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. It passed overwhelmingly – 354 to 53. But 94% of the “No” votes came from Democrats.
Lastly, the House voted to impose additional sanctions on the terrorist organization Hamas. Again, it was a lopsided vote – 363 to 46. But 98% of the “No” votes came from Democrats.
Hamas Responds
Earlier this week, I noted the futility of calling for a cease-fire or pressuring Israel to stop fighting. Well, a top Hamas leader has now weighed in, and I believe his comments deserve serious consideration. In fact, I believe they should end the debate.
Here’s what Ghazi Hamad told Lebanese media:
"Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove that country. . . We are not ashamed to say this. . .
“The Al-Aqsa Flood [a euphemism for the October 7th atrocities] is just the first time, and there will be a second [attack], a third [attack], a fourth [attack], because we have the determination, the resolve, and the capabilities to fight. . . The occupation must come to an end.”
The interviewer then pressed Hamad as to what he meant, asking, “Occupation where? In the Gaza Strip?” “No,” Hamad replied, “I’m talking about all the Palestinian lands.”
Again, the interviewer pressed Hamad, asking, “Does that mean the annihilation of Israel?”
Hamad answered, “Yes, of course. The existence of Israel is illogical. . . On October 7, October 10, October 1,000,000 – everything we do is justified.”
In other words, Hamas will continue attacking Israel until Israel is annihilated.