Hamas: Murder, Inc.

My Israeli friend and colleague, Daniel Jackson, has written two accounts of the recent Hamas attacks inside Israel, one of which took place literally down the street from Daniel's home, and the other against a rebbe known well by his family.

A resumption of violence against Israel by Hamas was bound to happen, but I am unhappy that they struck so close to my friends. But this seems to be starting off with the same old pattern: Small strikes (unless, of course, you are one of the strikees) that probe Israel's vulnerabilities and just as important, its response.

The question is, since Hamas has already said, "We did it," why has Israel not already retaliated against Hamas inside Gaza? I mean, is there some minimum threshold of dead Israelis that has to be passed before Bibi will decide enough is enough?

Suppose that on Dec. 7, 1941, a Japanese midget sub had sneaked into Pearl Harbor and sunk the destroyer USS Shaw. But suppose that was the only attack of the day. If Franklin Roosevelt was like Israel's leaders or like President Obama, he would immediately take to radio to say that the US government would continue its peace talks with Japan and the sinking of Shaw served only to increase our resolve to continue the peace process.

Then, on Dec. 14, a lone Japanese bomber flies across Pearl and blows up USS Arizona. No matter, insists Roosevelt. Our resolve to have peace with Japan is unshakable. The peace process will continue!

You see my point - when would it become evident that the Japanese were not actually interested in peace? At what point would the president absorb the fact that his country had been attacked incrementally, but nonetheless devastatingly?

So Israelis must be wondering - and Daniel would know this better than I - if Hamas killed 400 Jews in one fell swoop, would that evoke retaliation? If so, then why not four?

Oh, I know the answer: the "peace process." And our president, ever seeing events through the lens of how they reflect on him personally, remains lost in neverland of political fantasy: "Obama Says West Bank Attack Shows Terrorists Want to Undermine Peace Talks."

Political naïf that I am, it seems to me that the attack shows that Hamas wants to kill Jews, same as they always have. Even CNN gets it: "Hamas pledges to continue targeting Israelis."

But what do I know? Nope, the murders were merely a political act, you see - stopping Barack Obama's program. And here I thought they was just murders, pure and simple, done by Hamas, today's main Murder, Inc.

End note: Here is a headline for you: "Hamas leader rejects compromise, peace with Israel." Quick, when was this headline written?

a. This week
b. Last year
c. 2004
d. 1995
e. All of the above

The correct answer, of course, is "e."

Hamas' murderousness has nothing to do with the "peace process." They simply want to eradicate Israel as a political entity and kill or expel every Jew who lives there. That's actually in Hamas' charter.