Trying to play both sides in a fight is always dangerous. This is especially true when the lines between sides are clearly delineated. Now is the time for every individual, every organization, and every country to take a stand in the war against the evil of Hamas, terrorism, and hate. Do we side with Israel, whose IDF has correctly been called “the most moral army in the history of the world” and who has for over 70 years attempted to make “land for peace” deals to bring lasting peace to the Middle East? Or do we side with Hamas, a terrorist organization that in its own charter of 1988 calls for the obliteration of every Jew worldwide and publicly claims in that charter that the only reason to sit at peace negotiations is for subterfuge to weaken its enemy? Do we side with an organization that committed the heinous depravities of October 7, where its members beheaded babies, kidnapped and raped women, and tortured and killed civilians?
The choice really is that simple. Civilization or barbarism? Hope or hate? Life or death?
But for many of the Western world leaders, it seems that rather than take a stand for morality, they'd prefer to waffle and try to play both sides.
Take the most recent United Nations resolution, which calls for an immediate cease-fire — an action that would surely lead to a repeat of October 7 by allowing Hamas to regroup and reorganize. Even Hamas leadership has claimed that they will repeat that horrific day again and again until Israel is destroyed. While the UN condemns Israel, this same resolution makes no mention of the horrors that Hamas perpetrates. It is simply another UN resolution against Israel. It’s not a surprise, given that from 2015-2022, the UN had 140 resolutions against Israel, while it had just 68 resolutions against all other countries combined over the same period. According to the UN, Israel has committed more than twice as many human rights violations as every other nation (Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, et. al.) on the planet. The U.N.’s Jew-hatred is visible and virulent.
But Australia, Canada, and Japan, all of which have claimed to support Israel and previously condemned Hamas, all voted for this resolution. Britain and Germany, which have both claimed that they want to crack down on terrorism and destroy Hamas, abstained. Only ten countries, including the United States, voted against the resolution, which is a manifest support of Hamas and their depravities.
The reasons are clear and can be seen most easily in the words and actions of both Australia and the United States. Australia, in a joint statement with Canada and New Zealand, condemned “Hamas’ heinous acts of violence” and called for its “immediate removal and dismantling,” yet it voted in favor of this pro-Hamas/anti-Israel resolution. While on the one hand, the Australian government repeatedly called for Hamas to lay down its arms and stipulated that there is no place for Hamas in governance, its actions at the UN say the exact opposite. Poignantly pointed out by Jeremy Leibler of the Zionist Federation of Australia, the inconsistencies of the Australian government are too blatant to continue ignoring. At the end of the day, on which side of the conflict do they stand: Israel or Hamas?
It’s not just Australia that is trying to play both sides. All of the West seems to be attempting the same dance. While Germany has made it clear that any group affiliated with Hamas will be arrested or deported, they abstained from the UN vote. Both Canada and Japan have longstanding bilateral agreements with Israel but despite internal governmental objections, both countries refused to vote against this anti-Israel resolution.
And then there is the United States. On the one hand, the U.S. voted against the resolution and recently completed a sale of tank shells to Israel. Sometimes, Biden talks about how supportive the U.S. is of Israel's right to defend herself and to fight as she sees fit. But hours later, he or Secretary Blinken will give a speech telling Israel how they need to fight the war, when it must end, and how the U.S. has limited patience for this war. Even in their qualified support of Israel, they are trying to please both pro-Israel and pro-Hamas supporters in the U.S.
The cause for these mixed signals to Israel is easy to understand. Each of these governments knows who Hamas, Hezbollah, and similar groups really are. They know that these groups worship death and want not only the destruction of Israel but of the United States and the entire Western world in favor of a global Islamic theocracy. But they are also aware of how the media and academia have manipulated many of their citizens to not only support Hamas but to demonstrate and march for Jewish genocide and the destruction of Israel. In an attempt to get voting support from both sides, these governments speak in contradictions and political double-speak.
I suggest that the government leaders take a lesson from a classic movie and choose to take a side. For their own sake and the sake of the entire world.
Every person I knew in the 1980s loved the original Karate Kid movie. A feel-good story about an underdog’s victory, the film had a magical quality due largely to the engaging performance of Pat Morita as the enigmatic Mr. Miyagi. The martial arts sensei had a sense of humor that espoused wisdom that transcended fighting and held true for every aspect of life. One of his great quotes about life was, “Walk on right side of the road, safe. Walk on the left side, safe. Walk in the middle, sooner or later you get squished like a grape.”
Western leaders need to realize the wisdom of Mr. Miyagi. The time is now past when governments can say they support Israel in one breath and then condemn Israel in the next. As demonstrated by Mr. Liebler’s public letter, sides must be chosen. Either the West publicly admits the dangers of Hamas et. al. and support Israel unconditionally, or they choose to support Hamas in its war on Israel and the West. The longer that each of these governments tries to stay on the fence, the closer they come to creating their own destruction.
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Some people think this is a war between Israel and Hamas, Jews and Arabs, or victim and perpetrator. It is not.
This is a war of good versus evil; of hope versus hate; and it is a war for the survival of Western culture against an Islamic theocracy. The war in Israel is the front line, and it is already spreading to the rest of the world. Each government needs to recognize this and take a stand.
Walk in the middle, and sooner or later you get squished like a grape. If the beauty and richness of Western culture are to survive, if freedom and liberty are to triumph over depravity, if life and the promise of the future are to be victorious over a cult that worships death and longs for a return to the barbarism of the past, then the choice is clear. The waffling must stop, and the civilized world must stand unconditionally with Israel.
The stakes could not be higher. The time is now to act for the preservation not only of Israel but of the values that have allowed the United States and Western culture to thrive.
It is Hanukkah, a time to bring light to darkness. We must choose the light of liberty over the darkness of terrorism and hate.
I pray that our leaders choose wisely. For the sake of Israel, the United States, and the world.