War “Crimes”

Israel and its military are accused again of war crimes during the recent operations in Gaza, and all the “justice lovers” in the world demand actions against Israel. For Israelis these demands are not new – we are used to them. They are a part of a continuing international anti-Israeli campaign carried out by people who either do not know much about Jewish history or just deny it in order to conceal the basic truth, namely that Israel is constantly under threat by all of its neighbors, including those who after many years of hostility finally surrendered and agreed to sign peace agreements with her. Should Israelis believe in those agreements when on any occasion those countries are the first to accuse Israel? Would you believe in a peace agreement with Al Qaida? Would you, whoever you are, agree to constantly be bombarded by missiles against innocent civilians and children?

For years when we asked these questions we were told that “we hold Israel to higher standards”. Does that mean that we should not respond at all to any attack or threat against us by people who proved in deeds that they are willing to sacrifice their own lives just in order to destroy ours? Our answer is clear – we are not willing to accept those hypocritic demands. Our lives are as important to us as yours are to you and whoever threatens them for whatever reason will pay with his own life.