Don’t blame Israel, and keep the pressure on Hamas

The brutal murder of 6 Israeli hostages, including an Israeli-American on Saturday, August 31^st is another example of Hamas barbarism since they murdered more than 1,200 Israeli civilians on October 7^th, 2023.

Sadly, a great deal of outrage following this latest mass murder has been directed at Israel’s government and not the Hamas terrorists who perpetrated this despicable act.

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, who pressed the Biden-Harris administration to keep schools closed for a prolonged period of time during the COVID pandemic, waded into this foreign policy debate by criticizing Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Weingarten said, “anger must be placed at Netanyahu’s feet” for his alleged “refusal to consummate” a ceasefire/hostage release deal.

After spending nearly two weeks on beaches in California and Delaware, while claiming he was working non-stop to reach a hostage release deal, President Biden joined the chorus expressing displeasure with Netanyahu. Biden’s criticism ignores the fact that Israel put forth a hostage deal in April and agreed to U.S. hostage release proposals in May and August. Hamas rejected those initiatives and continues to object to any proposal that allows Israel to monitor passageways that have been used to smuggle weapons to the Hamas terrorists.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley took Biden to task for his criticism of Israel. “For Biden to claim Israel isn’t doing enough is a win for Hamas, plain and simple. It’s beyond dangerous and shows that Biden/Harris don’t know the difference between good and evil,” Ambassador Haley said.

After claiming for days that Israeli bombs had killed the hostages, Hamas issued a statement acknowledging they had executed them and said they would execute more hostages if Israel used military force to rescue them.

Our hearts go out to the families of hostages who have been killed and those who remain in captivity. However, blaming Israel for the impasse in negotiations risks encouraging the Hamas terrorists to drag their feet and hold out for an outcome in which Israel is pressured to capitulate to their unreasonable demands.

Israel has long sought to live in peace with their Palestinian neighbors. However, Hamas and their sponsors in Iran are committed to Israel’s destruction. They want to kill Jews and Christians alike, and cannot be allowed to maintain control in Gaza. Standing for justice means standing with Israel, and the United States should be clear about supporting such a policy.