I think there's no better day than Valentine's Day to ask yourself a personal question about hatred: how much do you suffer from the hatred that you feel for others? And how much does it make your logic twist and carry itself away to self-destructive thoughts?
I'm asking because this is what popped to mind while I was going over some American readers' comments about the terror attack against Israeli diplomats in India and Georgia yesterday. What most of them said was that Israel "deserves it" because it was responsible for recent assassinations of nuclear scientists in Iran. Somehow, it just didn't make sense to me. But then again, prejudice and hatred do not bring on acts of sense.
I guess if you hate Israel strongly enough, you can twist the facts and make sense out of anything. Let me explain.
- Let's just hang a moment on the difference between an attack targeting a diplomat's wife, and an attack against a man of a certain profession. In the terror attacks in India yesterday, the wife is the one who got hurt, right after she dropped her kids off at school. As for what happened in Iran -- the assassinations of the nuclear scientists were targeted at specific people who had decided to devote their lives to the development of mass destruction weapons, at the service of a mad tyrant. Moreover -- these scientists are people who use their knowledge and skills in order to be a part of a project that is a very big threat on no other than... you. Yes, all Americans, including the ones behind the hateful comments who appear to think "it's only fair."
- Some of the comments said Israel "had it coming after bragging about the assassinations in Iran." Bragging? Yes, I know that's what the speculations are. But Israel never confirmed being behind these actions, and no-one proved that it was. So is it also possible that the CIA might be behind this, for example? And if it was, and there was a retaliation terror attack on an American Embassy -- would you still think it was "only fair"? After all, President Obama is conducting a huge global campaign against the nuclear armament of Iran, and for a good reason. I'll elaborate in point number 3.
- Iranian leaders call the U.S. "the Satan" and dream about its abolishment, just like bin Laden did. In their minds, the U.S. is the source of all evil, and only stands in their way. Do you realize the nuclear missiles Iran is developing could destroy major parts of America, and that Obama is uniting European and other powers for an immediate boycott on Iranian oil, because he understands what a big threat a nuclear Iran will pose not only on the free western world, but on American citizens?
- As much as some might like to think differently -- Iran is not "the enemy of Israel." It's true that its leaders are extremely anti-Semitic and want to "wipe Israel of the face of the earth." But Israel is just small change as far as Iran is concerned. It's a clever PR tool that is used, knowing how much antagonism there is towards Israel in the world today. This tool is so effective, that it makes people forget some basic facts: Iran is an autocratic, fanatically religious country in which women are stoned to death for adultery, thieves get their arms chopped off, and people who dare to speak their minds are brutally executed in a public square. It is a ruthless country to its own people, and it funds a large part of terrorism all around the world. Iran's leader is very ambitious -- he longs for a nuclear bomb first and foremost so he can threaten the free world. Yes, Iran is after the big money and not the small change. It wants nuclear arms in order to gain power that can be truly fatal for America, not for little Israel, which is just a pebble that stands in its way.
So for all those whose hatred is so blinding that they can't see what they're rooting for, maybe for the sake of Valentine's Day you'd like to take a five-minute break from hating, and ask yourself a simple question: when you say things that legitimize acts of terror executed by America's sworn enemy -- whose side are you really on?