A Wake Up Call To The West

Israel is a nation which stands at the crossroads of the world, on the edge of man’s wilderness, where G-d placed us. It is the bridge between the darkness and light.

The only democracy in the Middle East, where you are able to have free elections, able to truly express who you are and to have true freedom of speech.

Whilst not perfect, as no other nation is, Israel is a leading example that the rest of the world should follow.

It is a place where you don’t have to live in fear if you have a disability, if you are gay or if you share a different view from the government. Tel Aviv has been called the “gay capital of the Middle East.” Only a few hundred miles down the road, in Gaza, a leadership in their 20th year of their 4-year elected campaign sits. A leadership who historically have pushed their own people off buildings for being gay (recently, a Hamas commander named Mahmoud Ishtiwi, who was accused of homosexuality), who brutally punish those that speak out against the government and above all, who has no motive other than to create a caliphate aligned with their cause, under the watchful eye and control of a far larger and more dangerous nation, seen to be the snake at the top of the chain, the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

Over the past 18 months of the conflict, despite Israel facing a battle for its existence, we have seen constant calls by Western leaders condemning Israel for their operations in Gaza, most recently in the past week. Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, David Lammy called Israel’s new operation “Gideon’s Chariots” “morally unjustifiable, wholly disproportionate and counterproductive”, leading him to cancel talks on a trade deal and summoning Ambassador Hotovely to the ministry to explain her government’s actions. 

The only question I have for Mr. Lammy is do you truly understand why Israel is conducting this operation in the first place?

As world leaders focus on blaming Israel for the lack of a ceasefire, Hamas rejected another ceasefire proposal this past weekend which Israel had accepted. The proposal included the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners, 125 of whom are serving life sentences. Yet, judging by the narrative of the Western world, it was Israel who was to blame for there not being a ceasefire?

As well as this, Prime Minister Starmer, President Macron, and Prime Minister Carney have also condemned Israel for ‘starving the Gaza Strip.’ Are they aware of the amount of aid which has entered the Gaza Strip in the past 18 months? 

Sudan, a country with a population of 50 million, 25 times the size of Gaza, has received fewer than 1,500 truckloads of aid in two years. In comparison, before the war began, 72 trucks of humanitarian aid entered Gaza daily. After the IDF stepped foot into Gaza in November 2023, this number increased to 170 trucks per day, reaching as much as 92,000 truckloads in the past 18 months. One must ask the question of where has this aid disappeared to?

Just six months ago, the humanitarian coordinator in the Strip, Muhannad Hadi said, “Last week, one driver was shot in the head and hospitalised, along with another truck driver. This Saturday, no less than 98 trucks were looted in a single attack.” 

Videos emerged over the weekend showing Palestinians running to the aid, shouting to the camera, “Trump feeds us, while Hamas starves us – take note everybody!”

This situation is symbolic of the situation going on in Gaza right now. Whilst the world continues to claim that Israel is breaking international law in Gaza, ‘bringing Gaza to the brink of starvation’ and resolutions are passed in the United Nations calling for an immediate ceasefire, Khameini, Abbas and many others watch on with smiles on their faces, knowing that this poorly educated world is falling into their trap. 

So, I ask you Prime Minister Starmer, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, President Macron, Prime Minster Carney and many more to provide an alternative which doesn’t end with the destruction of the State of Israel? 

And rather, I suggest that you open your eyes and realise that once and for all that you are being used by a Jihadi terrorist agenda, who openly praised you last week, that is not just causing the death of Palestinians and Israelis but is the reason that we are in this tragic situation in the first place. 

Recently released hostage Eli Sharabi spoke of the constant terror which he faced, 20 metres underground. Eli who lost 30 kilograms whilst in captivity, recently stated, ““People should really think when they open a fridge at home, it’s everything. It’s everything to open a fridge,” he said. “That’s what you dream of every day. You don’t care about the beatings you get, and they beat you, they’re breaking my ribs, and I don’t care, give me another half-pita.” 

Where is the so-called morality from the world that we live in? Where is the outcry for people like Eli?  Have we forgotten what happened on October 7th?

There is nothing but silence. Nothing but criticism of a nation who has dropped over 7 million flyers into Gaza, made over 70,000 direct phone calls, sent over 13 million text messages and left over 15 million pre-recorded to notify civilians to leave their combat areas. And not only this, they have set out hundreds of evacuations plans on end to ensure that civilians are able to leave the area safely.  

Has Russia done this for the Ukrainian civilians whose cities and innocent civilians it continues to rain hellfire on? Did the United States do this in Mosul? Did Assad do this when he launched chemical weapons on his own people in Syria, enabling them to move to places of safety?

In the eyes of the world, Israel is held to a standard which is seen as unrealistic, a level which is not expected of any nation in this world, let alone a nation who had 1,200 innocent civilians murdered, raped and taken hostage purely because of who they are. Israel is fighting a war for its survival, against an enemy who has built an underground world, in an arena which is more than double the size of Mosul. 

Have we seen any protests on the streets of London, Paris, Berlin about the ongoing crises in Congo, on the Uyghurs, Sudan (where over 8.2 million have been displaced creating the world’s largest refugee crisis? Where are “All Eyes” on Haiti where gang violence is paralyzing the country? Mexican drug cartels? Boko Haram in Nigeria? 

In the long-term, we must strive to create a world of peace, a world where Israelis and Palestinians are able to live side by side with nothing but feelings of mutual respect and understanding for each other’s place. This goal will only be achieved once Hamas has been completely eradicated, and the Palestinians, through education and understanding, are truly dedicated to living alongside the Jewish State. By continuing to go down the path we are going, we are allowing Hamas to succeed in its strategy of using the Palestinian people as a pawn to gain attention and sympathy from the international community, which will only allow them to prosper and gain a stronger foothold on the world.

Israel stands on the front line in the battle against a radical axis that sought not only to wipe the Jewish state from the map, but Western civilisation.

So here is a message to the leaders of the Western world and beyond, I want you to listen and I want you to listen carefully, because I won’t warn you again. If all of you do not quickly wake up and realise this reality, then it won’t be long before these forces show up on their door and repeat the atrocities of October 7th.