Horrific deeds and words

Carmel Pine Cone—Dec. 8, 2023

“From the river to the sea” is not just a phrase. It is a call for the extermination of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. That region has a long and complicated history and without truly understanding what has transpired there over the last 5,000 years, saying so is ignorant. Those chanting this call for genocide, along with all of the other propaganda that incites violence against Jews, indeed are antisemitic regardless of their denials.

When one takes the side of the racists, they are no different. “Yes, Hamas did a terrible thing … BUT”? There is no but. These demonic savages carried out the most depraved actions and there is no reaction too strong against them.

The selective outrage by those taking the side of Hamas is extraordinary hypocrisy. I have not seen many demonstrations against the Saudis murdering 300,000 Yemeni citizens, or the Syrians’ civilian death count of the same number, and where are the calls to stop the Sudanese slaughter of their people? The glaring difference in outrage is that Israel is involved. That speaks loud and clear to me.

In the history of civilization, the battle against profound evil, as in this conflict, has often proven essential for survival. Were there calls for a cease-fire after Pearl Harbor? Should we have just left Germany alone during World War II or ignored 9/11? The answer then was no and the now is the same.

I do, however, agree that Jimmy Panetta has no business calling for a ban on this or any “hate speech.” All speech is protected by our First Amendment rights, even words that offend and we do not like to hear. In spite of some in our government and media attempting to strip us of our free speech rights over the last three years, but for now, we still have them and even the wicked have these rights.

Lauren Cohen, Monterey