Double Standard
By Adina Fink
I am an eighteen year-old girl. I don’t claim to be a political expert, and I don’t claim to understand everything that goes on in this crazy world. I know I am naïve.
But I am also passionate. I am moral. And I was raised to know the difference between right and wrong and to stand up for what I believe in.
I believe in the State of Israel, and I believe that the State of Israel has a right to exist. Furthermore, the State of Israel has a right to exist in peace, with a sense of security, and without tragedy befalling our people time and time again because there is someone who disagrees with my belief.
I don’t expect the world to share all of my beliefs. I understand that there are multiple opinions and multiple ways to live your life, and that what I think is right can be completely wrong to someone else, and that that’s okay. But when it comes to the existence of a group of people, whether a nation or a race or a religion, we need to draw a line.
You don’t have to like these people. You don’t owe them anything, and so you don’t have to like them, or interact with them, or even respect them. But you DO have to allow them the right to exist. You owe them that much.
And yet, I’m not just talking about the Palestinians. I’m not just talking about Hamas and Fatah and Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad and ISIS and Iran and Turkey and Egypt and Syria and Lebanon. I’m talking about Germany, and France, and Ireland, and the EU, and the United States. Because when you condemn any action Israel takes to defend itself, you are essentially telling them that they should keep quiet and go like sheep to the slaughterhouse.
When you condemn the fact that Israel arrests Palestinian terrorists and limits their family’s visiting hours and their TV privileges, you are telling us that these terrorists deserve to live a life of luxury or even freedom. Terrorists’ freedom results in the death of Israeli citizens.
- No one would ever criticize the United States government for arresting the men who tried to bomb JFK airport’s fuel line, or the man who was arrested trying to blow up the Federal Reserve building in New York. No one complains of these people being given life sentences. But when a terrorist is put in jail in Israel, the world cries out, “Injustice!”.
When over 29,000 inmates of the California prison system went on a hunger strike, the world ignored it. But when 63 Palestinian prisoners went on a hunger strike, the world cried, “Torture! Set them free!” Is American blood really more valuable than the blood of Israelis?
When the United States military hunted down Saddam Hussein and his supporters, killing hundreds of civilians in the process, the world applauded, saying, “Whatever is necessary to eradicate terrorists!” When Israel accidentally kills civilians in attempt to eradicate terrorists, the world cries, “Massacre!”
When Egypt closed the Rafah Border crossing on the border to Gaza after Islamic attacks on security forces in Sinai, the world nodded in approval. But when Israel closed the Kerem Shalom Border crossing following rocket fire from Gaza, the world cried, “Human rights violation! Detainment!”
When al-Qaeda members crashed planes into the twin towers, the world cried, “Terrorists!” But when two Arab terrorists enter a synagogue and gun down thirteen people before Israeli police eliminated them, the CNN shouts, “Bloodshed! Palestinians killed!“
When the United States eliminates ISIS militants, the world applauds and shouts, “Continue!” But when Israel eliminates members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, the world cries, “War crimes!”
When terrorists fire rockets from Gaza, the world says nothing. But when Israel responds to the rocket fire in an attempt to protect its civilians, the world calls for restraint. And when the rockets fired from Gaza strike homes and hearts in the south of Israel and kill innocent Israeli citizens, the world remains silent. But when Israel, after dropping pamphlets warning everyone to evacuate, bombs a building being used to store weapons, the world cries, “Genocide!”
When terrorists succeed in killing Israeli civilians, they sing and pass out candy in the streets. But when the IDF accidentally kills civilians in an attempt to eliminate a terrorist, the entire country mourns the loss of innocent blood. The Palestinians celebrate bloodshed and aim for maximum casualties, Israelis mourn bloodshed and do all they can to minimize the loss of civilian blood. And yet, only Israel is condemned.
Israel creates missile shields to protect human lives, and the world scoffs, “Overreacting.” Gaza uses human shields to protect missiles, and the world cries, “Self-defense!”
When the US government repeatedly rejects proposals to free Jonathan Pollard, the world agrees, shouting, “Justice must be served!” But when Israel refuses to release Arab terrorists from their jails, the world cries, “Cruelty!” Jonathan Pollard was arrested for espionage. The terrorists sitting in Israeli jails were arrested for murder. And yet the world believes that the spy deserves his life sentence, while the murderers deserve to walk free.
When the United States arrests illegal Mexican immigrants and sends them back to Mexico or to prison, the world nods and roars, “Enforce the law!” But when Israel arrests illegal Palestinian immigrants, some of whom are even bearing weapons, and sends them back to Gaza or Jordan, the world roars, “Discrimination!”
When Palestinian terrorists refuse to return Israeli bodies to their families, the world shrugs. When Israel refuses to return terrorists bodies to their families, the world cries, “Barbaric!”
When NATO launched their offensive against the criminal regime of Yugoslavia, killing hundreds of civilians in the process, the world nodded in approval. But when Israel tries to topple the Hamas regime, the world points and shouts, “Mass murder!”
When Israel increases the army budget and develops new weapons and technology, the world cries, “Beware!” When Palestinians use construction materials and other goods to build missiles and terror tunnels, the world cries, “Send them more!”
And I, as an eighteen year-old girl, see this, and I cry, “Double standard!” But nobody hears me, and the world is silent.
And so I cry louder, “DOUBLE STANDARD!” But it’s still not enough. The world is blind, and the world is deaf. What will it take to make the world see that if they don’t condemn the terrorist attacks, then they condone them? What will it take to make the world see that Israel is not the bad guy? What will it take to make the world hear me, screaming, “Save my people! Save my land! Doesn’t anyone care?“
How many more tears will it take to make the world hear me cry, “DOUBLE STANDARD!” How much more blood must be shed to make the world stand against terrorism, instead of against Israel? How many more lives will it cost until the world can no longer turn a blind eye, a deaf ear?
If it is tears you want, Israel has shed plenty, and we are still not done crying. If it is blood you want, go to the Gush Etzion Junction, or to the Tel Aviv train station, or to the Kehillat Yaakov synagogue, where the blood of Dalia Lemkos, Almog Shiloni, Rabbi Twersky, Rabbi Kupinsky, Rabbi Levine, Rabbi Goldberg, and Zidan Seyf is still fresh, still crying in pain. If it is lives you want, go visit the graves of Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaer, and Naftali Frenkel, see the site of the Re'im massacre, or walk among the thousands of graves on Har Herzl.
And if all of this is not enough for you, take my tears, my blood, and my life…because I would rather die for my country than live without it.
Reprinted with permission. Read the original article HERE
