Most voices in the international community are slow to condemn Palestinian terrorism against Israel. They prefer to wait for the Israeli response so they can appear “balanced” by criticizing both sides. They consistently fall into the trap of equating the consequences with the crime.
Such was the case with US Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who twice hedged her condemnations of Hamas terrorists raping Israeli women during an interview on Sunday with Dana Bash of the CNN program State of the Union.
“The rape, of course, but I think we have to remember that Israel is a democracy. That is why they are a strong ally of ours, and if they do not comply with international humanitarian law, they are bringing themselves to a place that makes it much more difficult strategically for them to be able to build the kinds of allies to keep public opinion with them,” Jayapal said.
To summarize, Jayapal thinks that Israel is violating international law in its war on Hamas, and that makes Israel just as bad as Hamas, even in the aftermath of its atrocities against Israeli civilians.
Bash noted that she had asked about the rape of Israeli women by Hamas, and that the congresswoman had responded by pointing out why she thinks Israel is wrong.
Instead of actually addressing the issue on the table, Jayapal doubled down, because for her and others of her ilk, Israel’s enemies cannot be condemned without equal or greater condemnation of Israel.
“I said it’s horrific, and I think that rape is horrific. Sexual assault is horrific. I think that it happens in war situations. Terrorist organizations like Hamas obviously are using these as tools, however, I think we have to be balanced about bringing in the outrages against Palestinians,” Jayapal insisted.
You’ll notice that in addition to seeking “balance” in her condemnations, the congresswomen also subtly excused the rape of Israeli women by saying such things happen in war.
Only, Israel wasn’t at war on the morning of October 7.
Hamas launched a surprise terrorist attack on a peaceful Shabbat morning. And proceeded to commit every sin in the book against men, women and children.
No doubt that were the roles reversed, if Israelis had descended upon an unsuspecting Palestinian population and tortured, raped and murdered the women, Jayapal’s response would be very different.
Bash was not impressed. Not by Jayapal, or by the many women’s organizations, including UN Women, that have shown their true colors as antisemitic bigots.
“I’ve seen a lot of progressive women, generally speaking—they’re quick to defend women’s rights and speak out against using rape as a weapon of war, but downright silent on what we saw on Oct. 7,” she said.
It’s true that Palestinians are suffering, and that a very great many have lost their lives in this war. But that is entirely on Hamas. If it had not attacked on October 7, no Palestinians would have died. If it use the civilian population as a human shield, no innocent Gaza civilians would have died. If Hamas laid down its arms today and released the remaining Israeli hostages, not one more person would die.
The reverse cannot be said.
The death and destruction are the direct result of Hamas’s actions. Every crime has consequences, not only for the criminal, but also for those related to and around him.
Most people understand this. It’s only in the case of Israel that they insist on a different set of rules.
