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February 13, 2012
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Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
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January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
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January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
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Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 24, 2004
/ 2 Nissan, 5764
Yassin's death is justice long overdue
By
Jonathan Tobin
Justice delayed results in truth denied
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
To listen to much of the commentary from world leaders and American editorial
pages this week, Israel's killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin was a
crime that would set back the cause of Mideast peace. But the truth is, the
three missiles fired from Israeli helicopters that ended Yassin's life was merely
a case of belated justice.
Yassin was a 67-year-old quadriplegic, a fact that aroused sympathy for him,
as well as revulsion against Israel's actions from many. Far from being a
victim, Yassin was the most important leader of a movement that has killed
hundreds of Jews in cold blood. He was the Palestinian idealogue of mass murder who
bore responsibility for countless crimes committed by others in the name of the
radical Islam he championed for decades from the confines of his much
photographed wheeled perch.
Given the misleading language that is often used by the media to characterize
Hamas, it is probably not surprising that Yassin's death would be the cause
of so much pointless criticism. Though it has taken on a quasi-governmental
role in Gaza, Hamas is neither the religious nor social-service agency it is
often described as.
The Washington Post editorialized on March 23 that Yassin's killing puts off
the day when Hamas will morph into a peaceful Islamic group. This is a
farcical notion. Hamas is already a movement with a clear purpose — the destruction
of Israel by armed force, the expulsion and/or murder of its Jewish population
and the establishment of a radical Islamist state over the territory that
would remain, including areas under the administration of the Palestinian
Authority. The idea that Yassin was a force for moderation within Hamas is equally
comical. Hamas was and is a group without a "moderate" wing even by the
distorted and violent standards of Palestinian society. Compromise with Hamas is
impossible.
While it might still be possible for some to pretend that Palestinian
Authority leader Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement is a peace partner, no sane or honest
person can harbor the same illusion about Hamas. As such, Israel not only had
the right to pursue Yassin, it was duty-bound to track down him — and every
other active member of Hamas — just like the United States hunts down members
of the equally despicable Al Qaeda.
There will be many who will seize upon the successful dispatch of Yassin and
see it as an understandable rationale for future Hamas terror. But to accept
this premise is to fall into the trap of blaming the victim — Israel — for
having the temerity to defend itself. Like all previous Israeli acts of
self-defense, this latest one is not part of a mythical "cycle of violence" that
Israel is helping to perpetuate. Neither this incident nor the deaths of any of
Yassin's henchmen was the motivation for any past or future terrorist attacks.
Hamas' murderous rampages are based in its belief system, not on any individual
act of Israel. The only driving force behind Palestinian terrorism is Arab
rejection of the right of the Jews to live in peace and sovereignty in their own
homeland.
Some in Israel will question the wisdom of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and
his decision to launch an attack on Yassin now that he's announced a plan for
withdrawal from Gaza. They question whether the cost of Yassin's death to Israel
will be worth it. I don't know the answer to that question. But let there be
no doubt as to the justice of this act, or that foreign criticism of Yassin's
killing is rank hypocrisy.
History will deliver its own verdict on Sharon's judgement. But despite the
culture of appeasement of Islamic terror that reigns in Europe and the rise of
international anti-Semitism, Yassin's death proves again that as long as a
Jewish state exists, it's no longer possible to murder Jews with impunity. And
for that point alone, Sharon will deserve credit.
We are told by some experts that Arabs now have a greater motivation to kill
Jews.
That's laughable; Hamas needs no new excuses to go ahead with their
depredations anymore than they did in the past when they have killed hundreds.
Also ridiculous is the idea that Yassin's death will undermine America's war
on terror because now moderate Arabs will be less inclined to work against
Hamas' spiritual cousins in Al Qaeda. Americans should stop kidding themselves
about there being a difference between the two. The Europeans already
understand this and seek to appease both in a vain effort to stay out of the fighting.
Americans need to understand that a real war on Islamic terror that grants
immunity to Hamas is a sham.
Whatever happens in the coming days, Palestinians should think more clearly
about the costs to themselves of their passion for the spilling of Jewish blood
that Yassin helped inspire. Let those who would follow his path, including
those who seek to murder Americans in the name of Islam, draw the proper
conclusions from Yassin's fate.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading." Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Jonathan S. Tobin is executive editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.
Let him know what you think by clicking here. In June, Mr. Tobin won first places honors in the American
Jewish Press Association's Louis Rapaport Award for Excellence in Commentary as
well as the Philadelphia Press Association's Media Award for top weekly
columnist. Both competitions were for articles written in the year 2002.
Jonathan Tobin Archives
© 2004, Jonathan Tobin
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