The bodies of Eden Yerushalmi, Carmel Gat, Almog Sarusi, Alex Lubnov, Ori Danino and Hersh Goldberg-Polin—hostages who were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip—were discovered this past weekend.
All of Israel wants our hostages back. All of Israel has had enough bloodshed and murder. As we face enemies on every border devoted to our destruction, we must all realize that this is, in fact, a game-changer.
America, especially now, must stand with Israel and stop pressuring the Jewish nation. Just as Washington would respond anywhere else in the world to the murder of Americans, there must be a full destruction of Hamas. America must not permit a double standard for the murderer of Jewish Americans.
Goldberg-Polin was a 23-year-old Israeli American who went to a music festival to dance, got attacked, ran for his life, had part of his left arm blown off, was kidnapped, and then held in dark tunnels and murdered before they found him. This young Jewish man was murdered by Hamas, and the Biden-Harris administration must respond forcefully to the killing of Americans as they always have. And if they do not, this administration can only be called antisemitic.
If the response is to urge Israel to capitulate to terror and more talk about a ceasefire, one can only say that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris believe it’s OK that Jewish Americans are murdered at music festivals. Israel was attacked, and Biden’s America has urged capitulation to the enemy. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushes for a ceasefire as Israel continues to fight in Rafah and all the places America urged us not to fight. Unacceptable.
Against that backdrop, let’s review previous acts of terror where Americans were killed and responses under Democratic presidents.
In August 2014, James Foley, a journalist was beheaded by ISIS, and then-President Barack Obama condemned the act, calling Foley’s killing “an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the world.” Obama vowed to “do what is necessary to see that justice is done” and emphasized that ISIS would be “taken down” for their actions. In response, the United States ramped up airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and began planning a more comprehensive strategy to combat the group.
In September 2014, following the beheading of journalist Steven Sotloff, Obama reaffirmed his commitment to fight ISIS. He said, “We will not be intimidated,” and reiterated that the United States would “continue to take action” to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIS. The United States continued and expanded its military operations against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq.
In February 2015, after ISIS announced the death of humanitarian worker Kayla Mueller, Obama denounced the killing and vowed that the United States would “do whatever it takes” to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The United States continued and expanded its military campaign against ISIS, including increased airstrikes targeting ISIS strongholds in Syria and Iraq. The operations aimed to degrade the terror group’s capabilities and weaken its control in the region. The United States worked with coalition partners to strengthen their anti-ISIS efforts through enhanced intelligence sharing and support of local forces fighting domestic terrorism. This included increasing pressure on the group through coordinated international actions.
America has taken military actions, and increased security measures and public declarations aimed at both directly retaliating against and deterring more terror in response to the murder of Americans.
The Biden-Harris administration must urge more and stronger attacks on Hamas. Louder. Now. Today. What is America doing to ensure the safety of the remaining hostages? And it also must broadcast louder that with these murders, Hamas has more to lose.
Why hasn’t America loudly encouraged a Palestinian civil war in Gaza? Why doesn’t Washington put bounties on the heads of Palestinian leaders to stop the murders of U.S. Jews and others? All Jewish Americans must also ask themselves where America’s outrage is for this innocent young man who has been murdered.
It is clear that Israel can only rely upon Israel to take clear action. It is clear that “Never again” is a promise that only Jews can ensure is kept.
