The Bookworm Beat — Operation Protective Edge edition

Israel has destroyed 31 tunnels. With her purpose in entering Gaza over, she’s pulling out, leaving a three-day ceasefire in her wake. It remains to be seen whether Hamas will lose patience before the three days are up.

At this point, Hamas has pretty much shot its bolt. Although the deaths of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer, and Eyal Yifrah are unbearably tragic, they did not die in vain. It was the search first for them and then for their killers, that led an impatient Hamas to begin its rocket barrage against Israel. That escalation led to a state of war that enabled Israel to find the tunnels through which Hamas planned to stage a mass terrorist attack on Rosh Hashanah.

Now, Hamas has no tunnels and no weapons, and it’s lost many of its allies in the Muslim world. Moreover, no matter what Gazans say to the media about everything being Israel’s fault, I have to believe that, behind closed doors, the Gazan population is beginning to realize that Hamas is not their savior but, instead, leads inextricably to their destruction.

Sadly, the usual cast of stupid people and Leftists (but I repeat myself), isn’t learning the same lesson the Gazans have learned. They’re still talking about proportionality and how unfair it is that Israel has the means to defend herself against genocidal killers. What I’ve noticed on my “real me” Facebook, though, is that Jews at home (myself included) are talking back.

While the war may be winding down, the news about the war marches on, and I’ve got some good links:

Hamas Speaks — and yes, it does deliberately use civilians and their bodies to advance its war effort

The biggest news of the last 24 hours is the fact that the IDF captured and made public a Hamas handbook from the Shuja’iya Brigade. What’s fascinating about this book is that it makes explicit something that, previously, one could only extrapolate through data: Hamas intentionally uses civilians under its control in order to deter Israeli fire and increase Hamas’s propaganda standing:

In a portion entitled “Limiting the Use of Weapons,” the manual explains that:

In a portion entitled “Limiting the Use of Weapons,” the manual explains that:

The soldiers and commanders (of the IDF) must limit their use of weapons and tactics that lead to the harm and unnecessary loss of people and [destruction of] civilian facilities. It is difficult for them to get the most use out of their firearms, especially of supporting fire [e.g. artillery].

Clearly Hamas knows the IDF will limit its use of weapons in order to avoid harming civilians, including refraining from using larger firepower to support for infantry.

The manual goes on to explain that the “presence of civilians are pockets of resistance” that cause three major problems for advancing troops:

(1) Problems with opening fire
(2) Problems in controlling the civilian population during operations and afterward
(3) Assurance of supplying medical care to civilians who need it

Lastly, the manual discusses the benefits for Hamas when civilian homes are destroyed:

The destruction of civilian homes: This increases the hatred of the citizens towards the attackers [the IDF] and increases their gathering [support] around the city defenders (resistance forces[i.e. Hamas]).

It is clear that Hamas actually desires the destruction of homes and civilian infrastructure, knowing it will increase hatred for the IDF and support their fighters.

Far from Hamas intimidation, Indian news outlet reports honestly about Hamas’s use of civilian population areas

An East Indian newscaster, once safely out of Gaza and away from its intimidation, released footage showing that Hamas has indeed been setting up its rocket launchers in densely populated areas, precisely as Israel has said it does:

This report is being aired on NDTV and published on ndtv.com after our team left the Gaza strip – Hamas has not taken very kindly to any reporting of its rockets being fired. But just as we reported the devastating consequences of Israel’s offensive on Gaza’s civilians, it is equally important to report on how Hamas places those very civilians at risk by firing rockets deep from the heart of civilian zones. (Emphasis added.)

I’ve included the video here, but you should check out the whole article.

Young Israeli soldiers lured into booby-trap when they try to rescue a Palestinian child

It’s not just that three beautiful young men died at Hamas’s hands, it’s that they died thinking that they were going to rescue a Palestinian child.

Bret Stephens turns to Pakistan to expose the world’s double standard about Israel

The fact that the world has a double stand when it comes to Israel — Muslims killing Muslims is boring; Jews killing Muslims is a moral outrage! — doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate it when someone publishes a piece that perfectly articulates that double standard. Bret Stephens is one of those perfect articulators, especially since he’s unearthed a story out of Pakistan that reads precisely like the situation Israel faces — and no one cares. (If you can’t get through the pay wall, do a Google search for the article, and you might get it.)

The Europeans will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz

It was years ago that I first heard the expression “Europe will never forgive the Jews for Auschwitz.” It struck me as an entirely accurate way to explain the hostility to Israel that characterizes so much of Europe. After all, Auschwitz didn’t just kill Jews, it revealed that Europeans, for all their slick, glittering, refined culture, are — or rather, can be — debased, immoral, cowardly killers under the skin. Those of us who are not in thrall to poor Anne Frank’s whistling-in-the-dark declaration that all people are “good at heart” understand that it’s not just the Europeans who have monsters lurking right under the surface. We all do. It’s just that the Europeans proved this premise first.

Even though I’ve never doubted the truth of that statement, for some years, a handful of people have always accused me of exaggerating when I said that Europe could never forgive the Jews. They pointed to other reasons that could motivate Europe’s anti-Zionism. One of those other reasons, of course, is the rising Islamic population in Europe. (I doubt though that this wildly, vocally, actively anti-Semitic population would have been welcomed if Europeans had forgiven the Jews.)

All of the above is to introduce Roger L. Simon’s post explaining that Jews around the world are at risk in part because Europe cannot forgive the Jews for Auschwitz.

A courageous French Imam calls Hamas on the slaughter of its people

I mentioned in the introduction that people on Facebook are speaking up when others write in terms attacking Israel’s current operations in Gaza. One of my aces in the hole when I speak up is the fact that Hamas is so horrible, even Arabs are pulling back, realizing that Hamas does nothing to advance either the Arab or Muslims causes. One French-Moroccan Imam (and do remember that France is one the epicenters of Muslim/European antisemitism) spoke explicitly about Hamas’s failings. You have to read the whole thing. It’s amazing.

The New England Patriots have got themselves a new fan

I like American football a lot, but I’ve never been particularly interested in the New England Patriots. I am, and always have been, a 49ers gal. However, having heard about the letter that Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft wrote to Max Steinberg’s family, after that young American man (and Patriots fan) died volunteering with the IDF, I will surely root for his team whenever it plans — even if it plays against my own 49ers:

And sometimes a picture explains it all