I survive this maddening world by reading Bari Weiss's columns and her insight to find a path through the minefields of hypocrisy. However, the inclusion of Andrew Sullivan's article "How Many Children is Israel Willing To Kill" is not just challenging but highly provocative and, yes, even insensitive.
I survive this maddening world by reading Bari Weiss's columns and her insight to find a path through the minefields of hypocrisy. However, the inclusion of Andrew Sullivan's article "How Many Children is Israel Willing To Kill" is not just challenging but highly provocative and, yes, even insensitive.
Every child killed is a stain on the fabric of the civilized word. Period. Despite the "innocence" inherent in newborns, maybe that innocence is depleted in short order. Nature vs. Nurture!!! The Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gazan Palestinians, and indeed in much of the Muslim world, have TV cartoons, children's books, school texts, summer camps, etc. that malign the Jews in general and the Israelis in particular. In fact, it would be unusual to find Israel on any of their maps and similarly even reference to the word Israeli would be unlikely. Zionist entity and occupier is what you will find. In the West Bank and Gaza, non-functioning explosive vests can be found in most clothing stores, including clothing stores just for kids. YOU WILL NOT FIND THAT IN THE ISRAELI SCHOOL SYSTEM, clothing stores, etc. Palestinian/Gazan children are indoctrinated and brainwashed with Hamas ideology very early in life; they lose their developmental years of childhood very early. On that basis alone, the Gazan children who are being dying are just chronological children; they are adolescent and young adults in the Hamas culture. If they were considered children by Hamas, missile tunnels and explosive supplies would not be found inside schools, among other so-called civilian sites. If they were children or just kids, mothers would weep and mourn their deaths rather than thank God for their martyrdom as Shaheeds. (By the way, Mr. Sullivan, using the words "willing to kill" means intent, and you should know better than that!!!)
So Israel is not willing to kill children, despite children dying, and just the title is highly prejudicial and inflammatory. Israeli children in the most part have bomb shelters to go to, both in schools and homes. Gazan children do not have bomb shelters because their parents did not demand bomb shelters while Hamas was boring tunnel systems to protect themselves and wage war. Gazan parents are sacrificing their children for the ideology of Hamas, which cares not one wit for anything but the slaughter of Jews.
So is Israel bound to spare Gazan children who have been abandoned by their parents and their own society? They do try but fighting in the dense neighborhoods of Gaza against Hamas terrorists without artillery and air force bombing of potential munition sites and Hamas bases that are located within civilian buildings, including schools and hospitals, would require a much different kind of warfare, and Andrew Sullivan should know what that entails.
I suppose Sullivan believes that because Hamas lives in crowded areas (all of Gaza), Israel’s response to avoid casualties among civilians could only be no bombing and just sending foot soldiers…. to be slaughtered by Hamas popping out of tunnels?
Indeed, how do you identify civilians? The children are no longer children (the babies still ARE!!) and the adult Hamas soldiers can remove their bandanas and become civilians; in fact, many have done so. Furthermore, if you view the videos of 10/7, taken by the Gazans themselves, you notice many Gazans crossing the border without being in uniform...the so-called civilians....who plundered, raped, slaughtered, beheaded and desecrated bodies and burned babies in ovens. So, a further question for Mr. Sullivan (and for the ICJ) is how do you differentiate bad civilians from good civilians?
The war WAS conducted with the utmost goal to prevent a civilian death toll by dropping leaflets, making phone calls to Gazans and warning them, and making it known beforehand where the Israel military was going. That made the Israeli army death toll higher and gave enough time for Hamas and its leaders to hide and empty supplies from the store rooms of Shifra Hospital.
Shame on Mr. Sullivan for his article which was nothing more than the age old trope of Jews killing gentile babies to use their blood to bake matzah; now in our modern age the trope is elevated to killing gentiles to harvest their organs.
Also I am shocked at Bari for including this article at this time. Her referral to Sullivan, and providing a link to his screed, at a 100-day “yahrzeit,” is for me similar to inviting Nick Fuentes and Kanye West to speak at Yad Vashem on Holocaust Memorial Day.
I survive this maddening world by reading Bari Weiss's columns and her insight to find a path through the minefields of hypocrisy. However, the inclusion of Andrew Sullivan's article "How Many Children is Israel Willing To Kill" is not just challenging but highly provocative and, yes, even insensitive.
Every child killed is a stain on the fabric of the civilized word. Period. Despite the "innocence" inherent in newborns, maybe that innocence is depleted in short order. Nature vs. Nurture!!! The Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gazan Palestinians, and indeed in much of the Muslim world, have TV cartoons, children's books, school texts, summer camps, etc. that malign the Jews in general and the Israelis in particular. In fact, it would be unusual to find Israel on any of their maps and similarly even reference to the word Israeli would be unlikely. Zionist entity and occupier is what you will find. In the West Bank and Gaza, non-functioning explosive vests can be found in most clothing stores, including clothing stores just for kids. YOU WILL NOT FIND THAT IN THE ISRAELI SCHOOL SYSTEM, clothing stores, etc. Palestinian/Gazan children are indoctrinated and brainwashed with Hamas ideology very early in life; they lose their developmental years of childhood very early. On that basis alone, the Gazan children who are being dying are just chronological children; they are adolescent and young adults in the Hamas culture. If they were considered children by Hamas, missile tunnels and explosive supplies would not be found inside schools, among other so-called civilian sites. If they were children or just kids, mothers would weep and mourn their deaths rather than thank God for their martyrdom as Shaheeds. (By the way, Mr. Sullivan, using the words "willing to kill" means intent, and you should know better than that!!!)
So Israel is not willing to kill children, despite children dying, and just the title is highly prejudicial and inflammatory. Israeli children in the most part have bomb shelters to go to, both in schools and homes. Gazan children do not have bomb shelters because their parents did not demand bomb shelters while Hamas was boring tunnel systems to protect themselves and wage war. Gazan parents are sacrificing their children for the ideology of Hamas, which cares not one wit for anything but the slaughter of Jews.
So is Israel bound to spare Gazan children who have been abandoned by their parents and their own society? They do try but fighting in the dense neighborhoods of Gaza against Hamas terrorists without artillery and air force bombing of potential munition sites and Hamas bases that are located within civilian buildings, including schools and hospitals, would require a much different kind of warfare, and Andrew Sullivan should know what that entails.
I suppose Sullivan believes that because Hamas lives in crowded areas (all of Gaza), Israel’s response to avoid casualties among civilians could only be no bombing and just sending foot soldiers…. to be slaughtered by Hamas popping out of tunnels?
Indeed, how do you identify civilians? The children are no longer children (the babies still ARE!!) and the adult Hamas soldiers can remove their bandanas and become civilians; in fact, many have done so. Furthermore, if you view the videos of 10/7, taken by the Gazans themselves, you notice many Gazans crossing the border without being in uniform...the so-called civilians....who plundered, raped, slaughtered, beheaded and desecrated bodies and burned babies in ovens. So, a further question for Mr. Sullivan (and for the ICJ) is how do you differentiate bad civilians from good civilians?
The war WAS conducted with the utmost goal to prevent a civilian death toll by dropping leaflets, making phone calls to Gazans and warning them, and making it known beforehand where the Israel military was going. That made the Israeli army death toll higher and gave enough time for Hamas and its leaders to hide and empty supplies from the store rooms of Shifra Hospital.
Shame on Mr. Sullivan for his article which was nothing more than the age old trope of Jews killing gentile babies to use their blood to bake matzah; now in our modern age the trope is elevated to killing gentiles to harvest their organs.
Also I am shocked at Bari for including this article at this time. Her referral to Sullivan, and providing a link to his screed, at a 100-day “yahrzeit,” is for me similar to inviting Nick Fuentes and Kanye West to speak at Yad Vashem on Holocaust Memorial Day.