the truth about Hezbollah

Last night I was invited to attend a meeting at the Jewish Community Center here in Windsor. The purpose was to educate anyone who wanted to learn about what exactly is happening between Israel and Lebanon (or, to be far more accurate, Hezbollah), and how it is affecting Israelis, thousands of whom are displaced, living in bomb shelters (without air conditioning), separated from their children, etc.

It was an excellent evening and I wish I could have taken everyone with me. One thing particularly stuck out to me: in news reports, I have consistently seen the civilian death toll in Lebanon--highlighted, underlined, and shouted from the rooftops. What is not so stressed is the fact that Hezbollah deliberately operates out of civilian homes; that they choose not to wear uniforms so they are indistinguishable from civilians; in fact, that they deliberately put civilians in danger--that they are using human shields, which is a war crime. The fact is, Hezbollah does not care if Lebanese innocents die. Why? Because, as the speaker last night said, "Hezbollah knows that in order to terrorize Israel, Israeli civilians must die. But it also knows that in order to demonize Israel, Lebanese civilians must die."

Israel, on the other hand, has gone to great lengths to preserve human life, even sacrificing the essential military element of surprise in order to issue warnings, drop leaflets, and otherwise let the Lebanese know that they're coming.

I'm well aware that those are real people dying over there, on both sides of the border, and it's tragic. It's too easy to lose sight of that in the midst of political rhetoric and the heated taking of sides. Frankly, though, to side with Hezbollah and in fact aid them by condemning Israel is to show a horrifying disregard both for the truth, and for human life.

A Jewish friend of mine posted this this morning--a letter that she wrote to her family on what is happening in Israel, and a revealing article on the incredible media bias against Israel. It's worth a read.