First responders or genocide perpetrators – Israel can’t be both

It’s probably fair to say that people who devote their lives to helping those in need, by performing selfless acts of charity, do not also moonlight as serial killers in their spare time. 

The comparison is no less absurd when it comes to the claim that Israel is guilty of having perpetrated a mass genocide in Gaza, when everyone knows its documented history of being the world’s first responders anytime natural disasters strike– even to its enemies. 

Now, as the unsubstantiated Hamas-estimated number of 70,000 Gazans, supposedly killed, since October 7 is declared as a reliable figure, one might come to the conclusion that Israel has a deceptively split personality.

By day, they invent life-saving treatments, which benefit all mankind, while by night their blood thirsty, sinister side emerges as they carry out the plan to annihilate the Gazan population.

In the weekend magazine section of the Jerusalem Post, Gill Hoffman, Executive Director of HonestReporting, rightly suggests that the IDF should hire a PR firm, ensuring that its audiences abroad are exposed to the most favorable and accurate portrayal of what is taking place as it relates to Israel’s continued fight for its survival.

Hoffman is right, because perception is just as important as the facts on the ground. When it comes to the actions of the IDF, outsiders must feel assured that their defensive actions are warranted as well as measured in a way that maintains the belief that all they do is driven by a high level of morality.

This is important, because everyone knows that the Jewish state starts with the disadvantage of being unfairly judged, even before they choose their military options. Consequently, they must act with great wisdom and cleverness, so as not to provide the ammunition of criticism by a world who is not our loyal fans. 

It’s all too easy for our detractors to accuse us of evil doing when they are primed to already believe the worst about us. Given that understanding, Israel must remind a forgetful public who we really are and what we’ve done in the past, lest they forget and assign an undeserved image to the one country who has an over-developed sense of empathy to tragedy.

Of course, that comes from our own history as a persecuted people, who have suffered at the hands of those who hated us just for the ethnicity into which we were born.

Perhaps that is why so many within our ranks have chosen the professions of doctors or lawyers. While one endeavors to save lives physically, the other fights for the rendering of justice to be enacted. Both reveal a deep inner desire to preserve the rights, dignity and well-being of the individual.

In fact, there is probably something in the DNA of Jews which is completely antithetical to the destruction of others and the disregard of their pain. The State of Israel is no different than the individuals who comprise the collective.

When confronted with the tragedy of other populations, their first consideration is how they can be of help. Wasting no time, gathering a group of first responders, they quickly mobilize well-trained doctors, nurses, builders and anyone whose expertise can aid in the needed restoration of all that has been destroyed.

But since all of those massive efforts seem to be forgotten facts, conveniently swept aside in favor of doing damage to the Jewish homeland, it might be the best defense in restoring Israel to her rightful place of being the nation with the biggest heart!

Ever since 1953, Israel has come to the aid of those in need. That year, when Greece suffered a devastating earthquake, the fledgling Jewish state, only five years old, sent Israeli Naval ships to provide medical treatment for survivors.  

Again, in 1975, an IDF team was dispatched to Vietnam and Cambodia, to medically care for the many displaced persons in refugee camps, following the war.

In September 1985, Mexico City was also the recipient of much-needed help after four earthquakes hit the city, causing much devastation. The same IDF, today accused of war crimes in Gaza, sent a 350-person delegation of medical and search and rescue teams, just three days following that disaster.

Similarly, in December 1988, Armenia was blessed to receive IDF rescue workers, along with medical supplies, at a time when 80% of the population was left homeless. 

Once again, in 1989, as the Romanian revolution was taking place, the IDF sent a team of doctors and surgeons there, accompanied by eight tons of humanitarian aid and needed medical equipment.

This help extended into the 90s, including Croatia, where a civil war was taking place.  It also happened in Argentina as they suffered from Hezbollah terror attacks. Help was also sent to the Republic of Congo during the Rwandan Civil War, not to mention Nairobi, Kenya, following a devastating car bomb explosion near the US Embassy. 

Macedonia, India, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Albania, Honduras, Equatorial, Guinea, Thailand, Cyprus Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Japan, Bulgaria, Ghana, Philippines, Nepal and even New Orleans were also helped after the year 2000.  

Perhaps, most telling was the assistance rendered to Turkey and Syria, during their severe earthquakes, two nations who have been extremely hostile to Israel.  

With such an impressive history, spanning nearly 70 years, running to render manpower, know-how, equipment and aid of every type, to so many nations throughout the world, is it possible that any of the libelous genocidal accusations have any truth to them? 

Such vile actions are not consistent with seven decades of empathetic behavior, displayed by caring and compassionate individuals who are dedicated to making sure that human suffering is alleviated.

But it’s not enough to recall these genuine acts of kindness and heartfelt regard just once. This ongoing pattern of generosity, support and unending service must be our constant mantra to a world that would prefer to paint us as oppressors, whose evil is boundless. 

Otherwise, our public relations image will be hijacked by those who hate us and are vested in a new makeover, meant to smear and mark us as the world’s worst offenders when it comes to the treatment of humanity. Nothing could be farther from the truth, because when it comes to helping others, it’s clear that Israel wins the prize!