Hamas is an international terrorist organization with global reach and global ambitions. It is funded by Iran with the publicly stated goal of killing Jewish people anywhere in the world and destroying Israel. These are indisputable facts that are easy to verify by reading the words published by Hamas, and by listening to the speeches given by Hamas' leaders. Yet, there are politicians, media members, and other public figures who persist in blaming the victim as Hamas attempts to commit genocide against Israel--and, make no mistake, Hamas' goal is genocide: the annihilation of the Jewish State and the Jewish people.
Avi Mayer's Newsweek opinion piece Why Are They Fighting in the Middle East? Because Hamas Is Dedicated to Killing Jews cuts to the heart of the matter:
Israel and Hamas are not equal. One is a liberal democracy that, however imperfect, is governed by the rule of law and conducts itself according to exacting ethical standards. The other is a terrorist organization that has murdered and maimed thousands in accordance with a charter that openly calls for genocide. One goes to unprecedented lengths not only to defend its own civilians but to protect those on the other side, as well, sacrificing military objectives to minimize casualties. The other will stop at nothing to kill as many civilians as possible, often sacrificing its own civilians in the process. One views any civilian casualties as a terrible operational failure. The other views civilian deaths—on either side—as a great operational success. One is fundamentally moral; the other utterly amoral.
Maybe you know nothing about Israel, Hamas and/or the Middle East, and you do not care to know anything about Israel, Hamas, and/or the Middle East. How does any of this affect you or impact your life? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would reply, "In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be...This is the inter-related structure of reality." Perhaps those high-sounding words do not move you because they do not place food on your table or shelter over your head, but isolationism has proven to be deadly not only for the initial victims who are ignored but for the world in general.
Isolationists
on both sides of the political aisle do not understand the inherently
expansionist nature of evil. Appeasement does not work because
totalitarian leaders and regimes are never satisfied; they will continue
to seek to expand their sphere of influence until they are defeated.
Read about Adolf Hitler and Josef Stalin if you do not understand or
believe this.
Or, consider a more recent example. Remember when the Taliban initiated a reign of terror in Afghanistan, including eliminating women's rights, and destroying ancient Buddhist monuments? Many people felt that the U.S. should not get involved or take sides. Then, Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda--sheltered and supported by the Taliban--hit the U.S. with the 9/11 attacks.
Some people who are not isolationists hesitate to speak out or act because they pretend that it is not clear who is right and how is wrong. When people try to pretend that it is not possible to determine who is right and who is wrong, and/or when people say that what happens on the other side of the world does not matter, they are making a deadly mistake. The barbarians who are attacking innocent Jews in Israel will not be satisfied if they achieve their goal of destroying the Jewish State, so even if you don't care at all about Jews you should be upset, concerned, and outraged not only by Hamas' war against the Jewish people, but also by American politicians and media members who refuse to educate themselves about what is happening and stand up for the Jewish State when it is under siege.
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