As we pass the 60 day mark since the barbaric Hamas attack on Israel’s south, this is an opportunity to reflect on how much has changed over the past two months and what still remains unchanged. First, a clearer picture has emerged of the level of atrocities committed on October 7: 1,200 dead (⅔ of them civilians), thousands wounded, and 250 were taken hostage (more on the hostages below).
One motif that has emerged is an overwhelming number of stories of incredible heroism displayed by civilians and soldiers amidst the chaos. Two examples: 1. Eran Shapiro, an unarmed participant at the Nova music festival, protected a large group of fellow revelers and managed to throw 7 grenades back at his attackers before being killed by the 8th grenade. The video was caught on a dash cam and can be viewed here [link] ; 2. This video of medics repeatedly driving into the war zone with inadequate protection to save lives. [Link]. There is no doubt that this would have been even more catastrophic if not for the countless acts of heroism.
While 137 hostages still remain in Gaza, Israel was successful at securing the release of over 100 hostages - mainly women, children, and foreign workers - in exchange for releasing convicted terrorists at a 3-1 exchange ratio as part of a multi-day cease fire. When Hamas broke the ceasefire and wouldn’t continue releasing more hostages, Israel renewed fighting inside Gaza and is continuing to make significant progress in destroying Hamas. After effectively gaining control of Hamas government facilities in Gaza City, the IDF is now moving on the central city of Khan Younis.
Unfortunately, the military successes have come at a very steep price, with more than 80 Israeli soldiers killed and hundreds more wounded. Israel has a large reserve army, so many of those killed are middle-age men with families and careers. One example is the death of Maj. Moshe Leiter, a 38 year-old father of 6 who was on the verge of becoming a medical doctor. His father, Dr. Yechiel Leiter, addressed the CPAC Israel delegation in Summer 2022 (pictured at left). He recently appeared on the Mark Levin show to talk about the loss of his son. [Link]
The Biden administration rightfully received strong kudos immediately after the attack for standing strongly with Israel. However, in recent weeks Secretary Blinken has made comments which many Israelis have perceived as unfairly tying Israel’s hands and forcing Israel to endure an impossible double standard when it comes to minimizing Palestinian civilian deaths. Hamas is responsible for all of those deaths, as was eloquently shared by Sen. Marco Rubio in this video [link]
Unfortunately moral relativism has taken over many American Universities. This is not news to us at CPAC, but never has the craven behavior of leftists on University Campuses been as stark as their alliances with radical muslims who are literally on camera killing, maiming, butchering hundreds of people.
Israel has vowed to hunt down and kill Hamas leadership wherever they are in the world. Hamas is just one symptom of a radical Islamist belief system which threatens the west on numerous fronts, most orchestrated by the state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. As Americans, let’s pray that Israel succeeds in sending a strong message to the radical islamists that terror doesn’t pay and that good will prevail over evil.
