OrilliaMatters welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to Expressing grief, love isn't 'hate speech or retaliation published on Oct. 15.
Valerie Kitchen says that Israel's response to the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7 2023, is unjustifiable because it was an assault on innocent people.
Hamas terrorists launched an unprecedented surprise attack on a Jewish holy day, which killed "some 1,200 civilians" (US Department of Defence) who were innocent, and from other countries attending a music concert.
According to Human Rights Watch, Hamas committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity in this attack. A total of 251 people were taken hostage, with 97 remaining in captivity. And just like 9/11, there are videos of Palestinians in Gaza celebrating and passing out sweets as their sons texted their mothers, boasting that they killed Jews, including women and children.
Israel was completely justified in their response against Hamas; Israel has the right to defend their civilian population.
Now that Hamas is effectively eliminated, these so-called innocent Palestinians have the opportunity to prove their innocence by using the resources the world provides them to build a thriving society instead of depriving their citizens to rebuild a military infrastructure to commit genocide against Jews who have had a continuous presence between the river and the sea for over 3,000 years.
This claim is supported by historical documents as well as archaeological discoveries. Judea and Samaria were renamed the "West Bank" in December 1948, and it is time to retire the name "West Bank" to reinforce the historical reality of Jewish presence in the land.
A recurring theme among pro-Palestinian supporters is that the civilian death rate is high. The United Nations acknowledges that the Hamas-run health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in reporting deaths.
Another theme is Israel's attacks on protected objects such as hospitals and schools. While the International Criminal Court recognises many civilian zones, such as hospitals and schools, as protected objects, the ICC makes an exception that if a protected civilian object is used for acts harmful to the enemy, the protected civilian object can lose its protected status under international law and be considered a legitimate target.
There is a burden of proof on the attacker, and Israel has provided an abundance of proof that Hamas was responsible for these normally protected objects to lose their protection status.
I will give credit to the pro-Palestinian rally organizers in Orillia because at least a Canadian flag was not flown upside down and burned to the chants of "Death to Canada". There do not seem to be any reports of antisemitism as a result of this event.
But I find it hard to tell the difference between a pro-Palestine supporter and a pro-Hamas supporter, and I think pro-Palestine supporters need to respect that perception especially since there are pro-Hamas terror groups here in Canada, such as Samidoun.
Randy Baker
Orillia
