First, I was shocked at the surprise, the scale, intelligence lapse, and the ingenuity of the invaders.

Soon I was enraged at the savagery. Attacks on civilians is nothing new to Israelis, but the brutal murders of the most vulnerable children and elderly changes our view of what the Israelis are up against. No cause justifies this depravity.

When support for Hamas emerged from our most exalted universities shock and rage turned to depression. Students in America are supporting a level of Jew hatred that would have made the Hitler youth blush.

The microscopically thin line between Anti-Zionism and Anti- Semitism, if it ever existed, was just erased. The left which values gay and transgender rights and women’s rights openly supports the Islamic world which tolerates none of these values and opposes the only country in the Middle East where these values exist. There is only one value they share: the hatred of Jews. Let any Anti-Zionist rant long enough and ‘Jew’ will replace ‘Zionist’.

Academic and media sources which have championed climate change and varieties of ‘social justice’ with absolute moral supremacy that tolerates no dissent suddenly calls for ‘context’, restraint, and moral relativism when 1300 Jews are sadistically slaughtered.

We could revisit the history that brought us to this point but as the Soviet joke goes. “The future is certain; it is only the past that is unpredictable.” We face a cultural and religious conflict that undermines modern liberal values.

The Palestinian minds and most of the Arab street in the Middle East have been poisoned by generations of vicious Anti-Semitic indoctrination. Wiping out Hamas will not change this, though that is the next logical step, and it should not stop with just neutralizing their leadership and destroying their supplies. There is a next level of poisoned minds ready to replace them and they should also be fearing for their lives. It is worth noting that half of Gaza is under 18 years old.

Financially supporting Gaza or the Palestinians without forceful oversight of how that money is spent is just another level of support for these terrorists. Money is fungible.

There are a lot of lines to be drawn from past actions to October 7. Thinking as Americans do that rational self-interest and incentives will yield rational results is our Achille’s heel. Hatred of this nature does not need a reason; it only needs an excuse. Yes, Iran needs to be addressed, but carefully and methodically to contain the coming war as much as possible, but even eliminating Iran will not change the hatred that drives this conflict.

From the WSJ: “…hardened authoritarian ideologues understand each other better than pragmatic Americans, with their eyes on balance sheets and cost-benefit analysis.”

We have learned that the victor in these conflicts is not always the superior force, but the one who controls the timeline. Americans want their victories fast and cheap and this enemy will not be accommodating. Israel has no choice. Their enemies can lose a 100 wars; Israel can not afford to lose one.

If Israel and the Jews disappeared tomorrow, do you seriously think this hatred will dissipate and they will peacefully attend to the grinding work of building a civil society? Who will they then blame for their dysfunction and misery and how will they react? Do you think their animosities will be contained in their region?

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