I DON’T GET IT!

Reflections from a friend of mine

I am now 68 years old. I am probably slowing down a bit so please bear with me as I share some of my frustrations with you. I just don’t get it.

My parents and teachers of blessed memory taught me to distinguish between right and wrong. It wasn’t very difficult. Most of it was actually straight forward, even intuitive. The principles I learned as a kid provided me with the tools to overcome the moral and ethical challenges I faced on my journey through life. I was taught to love, not to hate. I was taught to tolerate what I didn’t like. I was taught to respect my fellow man and made aware of my duties to society. I was taught the sanctity of human life.

It seems that not everybody was as fortunate as I was. Too many people, even those who claim to be intelligent, thinking and progressive, were born to different parents and taught by different teachers. They have been taught to hate and that tolerance is not a virtue. For them, human life is merely a commodity. Their distinction between right and wrong is dramatically different to what I was taught.

I read that Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has condemned Israel for not sharing its life saving Iron Dome air defense system with those who fire missiles at Israel’s civilian population with the sole intention of killing and maiming as many Israelis as possible. Does she require that my tax dollars be spent on protecting those committed to killing me? I don’t get it.

In the same way that capital cities around the world compete with one another to host quality marathons and gay parades, so do they strive to host increasingly violent anti-Israel demonstrations supporting Hamas aggression against Israel. Self-styled leaders of the International Community use hate speech to condemn Israel’s actions to defend herself. This hate speech provides the legitimacy for the racist slogans used on the banners at these demonstrations. I don’t get it.

The death toll in Syria is rapidly approaching 200,000. Surely that’s enough to warrant a demonstration in at least one of the world's capitals? I don’t get it.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan uses the most disgusting inflammatory and blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric against Israel. Who would have believed we would be subjected to this abomination less than 70 years after the Holocaust? The International Community condones his comments by its deafening silence. Has anti-Semitism become politically correct? Surely not. I don’t get it.

Qatar finances state of the art Islamic terror infrastructures.  I would have thought this is wrong but Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. I don’t get it.

After finding missiles stockpiled in their schools, UNWRA advises Hamas this is against the rules. Either store them elsewhere or use them now! A UN clinic was booby-trapped and claimed the lives of Israeli soldiers entering the building. Shouldn’t UNICEF be concerned about the Hamas use of children as human shields? I thought UN agencies had humanitarian responsibilities. I don’t get it.

The UN hasn’t missed an opportunity to claim there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If there are shortages of food and medical supplies and the housing, education, transport and social service infrastructures are sub-standard, how did the Gazans manage to construct such a sophisticated network of terror tunnels? The video footage now available has to be seen to fully comprehend this. How were they able to stockpile more than 9,000 missiles and other military hardware? I don’t get it.

Whatever steps Israel takes to defend her civilians are considered by the International Community as being contrary to International Law or, at best, disproportionate. How does the International Community expect Israel to defend the lives of its citizens against missiles and terror tunnels? I would have thought that proportionate was what it takes to achieve the objective. I don’t get it.

So many NGOs have been established to promote human rights. Why do many of them support movements like Hamas whose charter is genocidal and advocates ethnic cleansing? Surely that’s wrong. I just don’t get it.

Am I missing something? Is it because we are Jewish?