This week, Jews all over the world marked Passover, the celebration of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. As we congregated around seder tables to read from the “Haggadah” – the compendium of texts telling the story of the exodus – we said the following words: “And this (God’s blessings and the Torah) is what kept our fathers and what keeps us. For not only one arose and attempted to destroy us, but in each generation, they stand to destroy us, and God saves us from their hands.”
The Dee family, a family of seven originally from Great Britain but now from Efrat, Israel – the so-called West Bank, the heart of Biblical Israel – undoubtedly said the same words. Then, on Friday, Rina Dee (15), Maia Dee (20) and their mother Lucy (48) went on a drive through the Jordan Valley on the way to Tiberias, just miles from where Joshua would have brought the Jews across the Jordan River. There, they were attacked and shot to death by a Palestinian Arab terrorist who riddled their car with 20 bullets.
Hamas, the governing Palestinian party in the Gaza Strip and a powerful force in Palestinian Arab areas of Judea and Samaria, celebrated the murders. “We congratulate the Jordan Valley operation and warn the occupation against continuing its aggression against our Palestinian people and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque,” they said. Meanwhile, husband and father Rabbi Leo Dee gave a eulogy for half of his family: “Let the Israeli flag today send out a message to humanity which is: We will never accept terror as legitimate. We will never blame the murder on the victims. There is no such thing as moral equivalence between terrorist and victim.”
Sadly, the media played the moral equivalence game, treating the murder of two sisters and their mother as yet another round in the supposed “cycle of violence” between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. Of course, in that “cycle of violence,” Palestinian Arab terrorists target innocent civilians and then hand out candies when they achieve their evil goals, while the Israeli Defense Forces seek to root out and destroy terrorists. But to the media, it’s all the same. “Daughters of British rabbi die in West Bank drive by shooting,” touted The Sunday Times (U.K.), leaving no explanation for who had committed the shooting or why. “Two British sisters killed and mother injured in West Bank shooting,” tut-tutted The Guardian; “2 killed in West Bank after Israel strikes Lebanon, Gaza,” the Associated Press lied by omission.
The Biden administration has been little better. In recent weeks, as terrorism metastasized, the Biden administration urged Israel to “de-escalate,” as though any state could ignore its moral duty to defend its citizens from routine acts of terrorism. Instead, the Biden administration summoned Michael Herzog, Israel’s U.S. ambassador, to stress “the importance of all parties refraining from actions or rhetoric that could further inflame tensions leading into the Ramadan, Passover and Easter holidays.”
This vile moral equivalence motivates terrorists to murder civilians and step up other violence. After all, there’s no downside. When the media treat legitimate self-defense as terrorism and terrorism as legitimate self-defense, terrorists thrive. And they are thriving today, raising the specter of violence all across Israel: 18 civilians have been slaughtered by terrorists in Israel since Jan. 27. As terror increases, the necessity for larger-scale intervention grows, too. Then, the same media and Left-wing governments will decry the “cycle of violence” again, fostering yet more terrorism.
In every generation, the story is the same: In each generation, there are those who seek to destroy the Jews, and in every generation, through the grace of God, they fail. But that doesn’t relieve those who retain any measure of decency from standing up against evil terrorists. The alternative is apathetic complicity — and that apathetic complicity costs lives.
Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.
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What Mr Shapiro said is all true. Israel is their land, has been for a few thousand years and they have a right to defend it. Even since 1948, as many times as they have been attacked, they are still a nation, miraculously so.
We need to stay away from rewrites of history.
And as a believer in Jesus as the messiah, I understand that Jews are still God’s chosen people. Perhaps you could read a Christian bible and see why I say that.
Also, I’m glad that God will be my judge in the end.
Ill consider moral equivalence when jewish mothers strap suicide vests on their kids and then celebrate their deaths. Until then its homicidal maniacs insisting all jews leave or die. I marvel at israeli restraint. If it was up to me…..
Arafat was the only one allowed to strut through UN building with pockets bulging with pistols He was the one who refused any offer that was put on the table because that would be the end of a cash cow.Sent the youth on suicide missions while mothers cheered What can come from that mentality
Excellent article by Ben! I stand with Israel. Their restraint amazes me, but they do have the right to protect themselves. They are in no way terrorists as the Palestinians call them….a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
Fortunately, all Arab terrorists and their supporters will get their final judgement at God’s Throne at the end of the millennial reign. Let’s see who gets the last laugh.
… it’s the English, who taught them to do that! Romanticized by David Lean, T.E. Lawrence taught the Arabs, blowing up passenger trains is how they get they want. Important lesson, the Arabs never forgot that –
Love how Christians always “stand with Israel” when they’re killing Arabs. So you’re cool with the fact that they don’t believe Jesus was the Messiah? Or you still think they’re going to h*ll but you just don’t want to tell them?