After numerous unheeded warnings to Hamas to cease and desist, Israel launched a surgical air strike on Nov. 14, killing Ahmed Jabari, the Hamas mastermind who was behind the rocket attacks and many other attacks on Israeli civilians. Instead of getting the message, Hamas — incredibly — called Jabari’s elimination an “act of war,” (as if rockets were an act of friendship) and has intensified the rocket fire into Israel. In turn, Israel’s air force is targeting Gaza’s government enclaves, rocket launchers and weapons stores, which have been deliberately located next to residential buildings. Sadly, innocent civilians on both sides are paying the price for Hamas’ explicitly declared goal of eliminating Israel. Most of the democratic world community has expressed support for Israel’s action. President Obama’s administration has issued the following statement:

“There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We support Israel’s right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties. Attacking Israel on a near daily basis does nothing to help Palestinians in Gaza or to move the Palestinian people any closer to achieving self-determination.”

A spokesman for the German government stated, “Hamas in Gaza is responsible for the outbreak of violence… The Israeli government had the right and obligation to protect its population.” The EU’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, asserted, “The rocket attacks by Hamas and other factions in Gaza, which began this current crisis, are totally unacceptable for any government and must stop… Israel has the right to protect its population.”  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called for “an immediate cessation of indiscriminate rocket attacks by Palestinian militants targeting Israel.”

As predicted, SJP has sprung into action now that Israel is fighting back. Its UCSD Facebook page calls for a vigil for Gaza, stating, “We call upon the community to come together to be in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s resistance to Israeli aggression.” Apparently SJP, which touts itself as a human rights group, has no problem with rockets targeting Israeli civilians. It seems only to have problems with the Jewish nation’s efforts to defend itself.

— Ron Evans 
Professor of Mathematics