The Lessons from the Latest Attacks in Israel

This article first appeared in the Times of Israel Blogs.

It's been a busy month in Israel as far as Palestinian terror arracks are concerned. On March 22, in the city of Beersheba, a lone attacker went on a car-ramming and stabbing rampage that killed four people (three women and one man) before he was shot to death by an armed civilian who was at the scene. The suspect is believed to be linked to ISIS, and his act was praised by Hamas, the terror organization that rules Gaza.   

That incident was preceded the previous weekend by two separate stabbing incidents by lone attackers, one of whom was arrested and the other shot and wounded by police.

Then, Sunday night, two gunmen attacked police in the city of Hadera, killing two and wounding several before they were shot and killed by two Border Patrol officers who were having dinner in a nearby restaurant. Both of the dead terrorists are believed to have been linked to ISIS. Their act was praised as a "heroic operation" by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The victims were two young officers, both 19, one male and one female.

What lesson should we learn about these incidents? It is the same lesson we should have learned decades ago. It is the lesson we should have learned after the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. It is the same lesson we should have learned after the Achille Lauro incident in the 1980s. It is the same lesson we should have learned after all the sky-jackings, the suicide bombings of buses and pizza parlors in Israel. I could go on and on.

One lesson is for those in the US who want to disarm society and leave people defenseless in the face of all the violent crime that plagues us. Israel has proven that an armed and properly trained public is vital to public safety. In one case, it was a nearby bus driver who ended the rampage in Beersheba. In the other case, it was two officers having dinner in a nearby restaurant and fortunately armed, who ended the attack in Hadera.

Even more important, however, the incidents this month, just like the thousands of previous incidents should illustrate clearly to us who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. Note that the attackers identify with ISIS. Note that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad praised the attacks as "heroic".

"Heroic".

As if attacking innocent civilians, including women, is an act of heroism. It is an act of barbarism. There is something dreadfully wrong with a mentality and a culture that salutes the killing of innocent men, women, and children. Oh yes. They kill children too. 

And this is what you have on the Palestinian side. Don't think that this is just Israel's problem. These barbarians go after civilians from other countries too. In the Achille Lauro incident, they threw an elderly Jewish American man named Leon Klinghoffer overboard in his wheelchair. An act of true heroism, indeed. I could go on and on. 

And this is the cause that is championed in universities all over the US, Canada, and Europe. The Palestinian cause. It has infected our campuses with Jew-hatred for years now, much of it personally witnessed by this writer. From there, it has metastasized into society at large, spurred on by people in Congress like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, both anti-Semites.

Former President Donald Trump, to his credit, cut off Palestinian funding. President Biden, regrettably, has restored it. It would be nice to think that Biden would reconsider his decision, but I won't be holding my breath.