Does the Washington Post back Hizbullah & Hamas?

Just in case you thought the international community had finally begun to see the light and recognize the justness of Israel's cause – think again.

In a piece appearing in yesterday's Washington Post, veteran op-ed columnist Richard Cohen published a screed so offensive, and so outrageous, that it should prompt every clear-headed individual to shun the American capital's paper of record and cancel their subscriptions forthwith.

Believe it or not, Cohen's article begins by embracing the central tenet of Hizbullah and Hamas ideology: namely, that the State of Israel has no right to exist.

Here is how Cohen himself put it: "The greatest mistake Israel could make at the moment is to forget that Israel itself is a mistake. It is an honest mistake, a well-intentioned mistake, a mistake for which no one is culpable, but the idea of creating a nation of European Jews in an area of Arab Muslims (and some Christians) has produced a century of warfare and terrorism of the sort we are seeing now."

Yes – you read that correctly. Cohen believes that "Israel itself is a mistake", and heaps the blame for everything that has happened since 1948 squarely on the shoulders of the Jews.

Sound familiar? It should – because that is exactly the same message being promulgated by Hamas fanatics, Hizbullah thugs, and their paymasters in Teheran. The only difference is that Cohen's diatribe appears in English (perhaps it was translated from the Arabic...).

In case you had any doubt about what Cohen thinks of Hizbullah rocket attacks or Hamas suicide bombings against innocent Israeli civilians, here is the vaunted journalist's take on the subject: "There is no point in condemning Hezbollah. Zealots are not amenable to reason. And there's not much point, either, in condemning Hamas. It is a fetid, anti-Semitic outfit whose organizing principle is hatred of Israel. There is, though, a point in cautioning Israel to exercise restraint -- not for the sake of its enemies but for itself."

Thanks for the advice, Dick. I'm sure your forbears are shepping nachas (i.e. taking pride) to see you defending the murderers, rather than their victims.

Finish the job in Lebanon

Here's a pop quiz for you.

Who said the following: "We'll take all the necessary measures to end the Katyushas. The fate and the situation of our residents is at the top of our concerns. Hizbullah has brought a tragedy upon Lebanon ... It will cause great damage to Lebanon. If the government of Lebanon wants to ensure its existence, it must remove the hand of terrorist organizations from the trigger."

If you said Ehud Olmert or even Ehud Barak – nice try, but incorrect.

In fact, the quote dates back to April 12, 1996, and was made by then-Prime Minister Shimon Peres.

He made the remarks after the launch of "Operation Grapes of Wrath", when Israel launched a major military operation to stop Hizbullah terror attacks against the Jewish state.

Why is this relevant?

Two reasons come to mind.

First – it is worth remembering that Hizbullah's assaults on northern Israel are nothing new. The Lebanese terror group has been terrorizing thousands of Israeli civilians intermittently for years, making it all the more important that Israel finally quash this terror group once and for all.

Second, it should serve as a cautionary tale about the dangers inherent in half-hearted measures or incomplete operations. Had Israel stuck to its goal ten years ago and truly dismantled Hizbullah, the current chaos would not be happening.

Instead, Israel halted the operation prior to achieving its objectives, and relied on a series of "understandings" reached through international mediation to bring about an end to Hizbullah attacks.

Let's hope Israel doesn't make that same mistake again.

Remember who killed 241 US servicemen in Lebanon?

As the TV screen fills our living rooms with frightening scenes of rocket strikes throughout northern Israel, it is hard not to shake the feeling that we have seen all this before.

Once again, Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon have been launching indiscriminate attacks against Israeli towns and villages, injuring dozens of innocent civilians and killing at least two people.

And once again, Israel now finds itself being drawn back into military action across its northern frontier.

To its credit, the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken the offensive, holding the regime in Beirut responsible for allowing Hizbullah to turn southern Lebanon into a launching pad against the Jewish state.

Thus far, strategic military and infrastructure sites in Lebanon have been hit, as have Hizbullah offices located in Beirut.

Media reports have also shown plumes of smoke and fire rising from the fuel storage containers at Beirut's international airport.

Watching those scenes immediately brought to mind the following photo, which shows a cloud of smoke rising over the US Marine barracks in Beirut after it was blown up by Hizbullah terrorists back in October 1983.

A total of 241 US servicemen were killed in that gruesome attack, which was one of the first suicide bombings to take place in the Middle East.

As international criticism of Israel's actions in Lebanon is sure to mount in the coming days, it is worth recalling the photo above – if only to remind ourselves, and public opinion, that Hizbullah is not just an enemy of the Jewish people, but of the entire Western world, too.