Finley: What it means to stand with Israel

No equivalency. No equivocation. No excusing evil. Not this time.

There's no room for a "both sides" take on the horror that rained down on Israel on Saturday. This is not just one more incident in a never-ending conflict.

The Hamas terrorists killed hundreds of Israelis, wounded thousands and carried dozens of Jewish hostages into the Gaza Strip. Most of the victims are civilians, many are children and old folks. Estimates are that at least 3,000 rockets were fired.

Put that in an American context, weighed against Israel's much smaller size and it exceeds 10 times the destruction carried out by al-Qaida on our soil on 9/11.

The surprise offensive is the largest against Israel since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, when its Arab neighbors tried to drive it into the sea. No coincidence this invasion occurred on the 50th anniversary of that war.

For Jews, it is impossible to see the Hamas assault as anything less than a modern-day pogrom. Hamas invaders dragged Jewish families from their homes, slaughtering some and herding others across the border to face a dark fate.

Remember those photos of bloody bodies lying in the streets, the video of the young Jewish boy being tormented by children goaded on by his Hamas captors, of accounts from teens who begged for their lives as madmen rampaged through a late-night concert.

Keep them fresh as Israel gears up a counter offensive that will test the world's resolve to "Stand with Israel." Because this won't be easy to watch.

A massive ground invasion of Gaza will certainly follow the airstrikes that have already begun. The density of the territory and the reality that Hamas is deeply embedded in the civilian population assures the next phase will be brutal.

Standing with Israel requires an understanding that Israel will never be safe until Hamas is destroyed, along with its rockets and leadership. That's what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meant when he pledged an "unprecedented response" in his declaration of war on Hamas.

Hamas has invited unimaginable suffering on the Palestinians in the weeks ahead. Innocent people will die and their homes will be destroyed. Extracting Hamas from Gaza, as painful as it will be, is necessary not only for the safety of Israelis, but also for that of the Palestinians. As long as Hamas exists, Palestinians have no hope for a secure and healthy future.

Standing with Israel will also mean containing Iran. In his strong warning to other forces against joining Hamas, President Joe Biden did not mention Iran by name.

But Iran is the Great Evil behind this attack. No smoking gun is needed to prove that — Hamas publicly thanked Iran for providing the money and material that enabled this nightmare.

Less than a month ago, the Biden administration unfroze $6 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for the freedom of five American hostages. The White House insists the money was for humanitarian aid and didn't finance this weekend's terrorism.

That is offensively naive. Money is fungible. Dollars directed toward food and medicine free up other dollars for missiles and bullets.

The U.S. must go the United Nation's Security Council and demand the full sanctions regime be resumed against Iran, including reimposing the arms embargo forbidding it from purchasing weapons.

Iran is a terrorist state that won't be contained with diplomacy alone. Pretending its aim is anything less than the obliteration of the Jewish state is dangerous and ignores both the Iranians' words and deeds. Iran must not be allowed to achieve nuclear capability.

As for Israel, the divisions that have developed among its people since the return of Netanyahu as its leader will be quickly closed by its resolve to defend itself.

That resolve must be shared and sustained by the rest of the civilized world, and particularly by Americans. The inevitable cries of a disproportionate response must not be heeded.

Israel must not be forced to turn back from the mission of destroying Hamas.

X (formerly Twitter): @NolanFinleyDN

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