Half-truths and anti-Semitism

I was irate after watching the late CNN news on July 10. Anderson Cooper pretended to deliver a factual report about Israel’s bombing of Arab residences, with a slight nod in the direction of fairness by reporting that Israel gives warning to the families in those structures that they will be attacked momentarily and should seek safety.

Cooper and all those responsible for the “news” on CNN should explain exactly why Israelis are bombing innocent, peaceful families. Cooper only presented half the story and the half he presented is anti-Semitic, Jew-hating Arab propaganda!

The truth — and CNN and Cooper know it full well — is that those family-loving, peaceful Gaza terrorists place their rocket-launching batteries in the midst of residential neighborhoods!

Khaled Kazziha and Josef Federman of the Associated Press wrote on July 11, that “Hamas intentionally uses civilian areas, including homes, mosques and schools for cover during fighting.” Provocation invites retaliation. If the barrage of rockets aimed at now the most vulnerable Israeli cities would come to a halt the bombing would stop. It is the flash of the rocket launch that brings defensive action. 

The Israelis have always gone to war with one hand tied behind their backs, literally bending over backward at risk to themselves being as surgical as possible with their weapons.

But it is the Arabs who are killing Arabs. They have two clear choices: Just stop sending rockets into Israel and retaliation ends. If that doesn’t feel good then, at least stop placing rocket launchers in homes, yards and streets directly among their own citizens. 

Traditional military practice, which has been the strategy of warring parties throughout history, removed citizens/noncombatants out of harm’s way. The Arabs are making theater out of the death of a child in order to show the world how inhumane the Jews are. It also provides ready-made propaganda footage with impactful news value, showing that the girl’s life was not lost in vain.

The Arabs underscore in blood Golda Meir’s painful words: “We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children and we will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.” 

Steve Sherry

Kansas City, Mo.