International reactions to the recent Hamas-organized Gaza border aggression against Israel have followed the predictable script.

The purpose of Hamas’ “March of Return” was to erase the border and flood Israel with Gaza Arabs. Israel did what it had to do to defend its border and its citizens. The international community, however, turned reality upside down, portraying Israel as the “villain” and the Palestinian attackers as “victims.”

The attack on Israel’s border also destroyed whatever remained of the cherished leftist fairy tale of extremists on both sides undermining peace.

The European Union, especially, again found itself on the wrong side of history. Its foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini summarized the endemic international hypocrisy against Israel with the Orwellian words: “Freedom of expression and freedom of assembly are fundamental rights that must be respected.”

Threatening Israel’s internationally recognized border and attacking Israeli soldiers with machine guns and Molotov cocktails hardly qualifies as “freedom of expression.” And the only “freedom of assembly” that Gaza’s terrorist regime permits is violent incitement against Israel and Jews. By contrast, the EU and most of the world ignore the Kurdish people’s freedom of expression and national freedom, as well as that of countless other oppressed nations worldwide.

Once again, Mogherini emphasized the EU’s longstanding anti-Israel policy of “do as we say, not as we do.”

“The EU mourns the loss of life,” she said. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims. The use of live ammunition should, in particular, be part of an independent and transparent investigation. While Israel has the right to protect its borders, the use of force must be proportionate at all times.”

What is the “proportionate” response to Islamist machine guns, Molotov cocktails, and rocks according to the EU? In the case of the EU itself, the answer is obvious. Nine terrorists were killed during and after the Islamist terrorist attacks in Paris in 2015. France also bombed Islamist targets in Syria.

The same year, Danish police killed an Islamist radical who murdered a Jewish security guard and another civilian in Copenhagen. In July 2016, German police killed a 17-year-old Afghan Muslim who attacked train passengers in Würzburg with an axe and a knife. During the London Bridge attack in June 2017, British security forces killed three Islamist terrorists. In March 2018, French police killed an Islamist extremist who attacked a supermarket in the French town Trèbes. The list goes on, and so does the hypocrisy.

Neither the United Nations nor the European Union called for an “independent and transparent investigation” in any of these cases. Only Israel is accused of “disproportionate” force, despite facing far more serious and frequent threats than any other Western democracy.

The same international community that demanded Israel retreat from Gaza now hypocritically attacks Israel for defending its border with Gaza against Hamas, an Islamist enemy openly seeking Israel’s destruction. Israeli civilian lives in border communities would have been seriously threatened if even a small number of armed terrorists had managed to penetrate Israel’s border with Gaza.

Israel does not only have the right, but the duty to defend its citizens — like any country in the world.

The pope joined the international linguistic pogrom against Israel by claiming that “defenseless” Arabs are killed in the Holy Land. In reality, at least 10 of the 17 killed Gazans were armed Islamist terrorists. However, in the international “Blame the Jews” game, there is little demand for verifiable facts.

Hamas systematically and cynically exploits this to the limit. Gaza’s Islamist rulers reportedly sent a 7-year-old Arab girl to the border, hoping that Israeli soldiers would unintentionally kill her and cause international condemnations of Israel. Thankfully, Israeli soldiers discovered the girl in time and took her out of harm’s way.

While extremists exist in all societies, their respective status differs dramatically. In 1994, the Jewish extremist Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 Muslim worshipers in Hebron. An overwhelming majority of world Jewry condemned this heinous terror attack. On January 29, 2017, the Christian white supremacist Alexandre Bissonnette murdered six Muslim worshipers in Quebec. The overwhelming majority in Canada and the free world condemned this heinous terror attack.

While extremists like Goldstein and Bissonnette are despised fringe elements in the Jewish and Christian worlds, extremists are in power in much of the Islamic world and looked upon as role models by millions of Muslims. There are no city squares or streets in Israel named after Baruch Goldstein. By contrast, the “moderate” PLO names city squares and streets after terrorists who murder Jews.

Israeli children are taught a spirit of mutual respect and coexistence. By contrast, Hamas and the PLO brainwash their children that Jews are “sons of apes and pigs” and that Israel must be destroyed.

In Israel, children dream about becoming pilots, sport stars, or entrepreneurs. In the territories ruled by PLO and Hamas, terrorists who murder Jews are praised as “heroes” and their families receive cash stipends.

It is therefore hardly surprising that many brainwashed Muslim children dream about becoming shahids or “martyrs,” who die while murdering Jews.

Daniel Kryger is a writer and a political analyst. He lives in Israel. You can find more in-depth articles on Israel and the Middle East at en.mida.org.il.

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