Useful idiots, single move chess players, and hypocritical politicians interpret active self-defense, as an act of aggression. A country like Israel, always under the threat of annihilation, while being isolated by a UN majority of Islamic states, left-leaning thinking, and other anti-Semitic regimes, is naturally sensitive to public opinion. It tries to avoid a perception of an aggressor; it thinks twice and even more than twice, before resorting to a policy of active self-defense. And when active self-defense is exercised, it is a last resort.
This was the case of the “Humanitarian” flotilla. Israel has no choice but to impose a blockade on the Gaza strip. Hamas, the rulers of the strip, declared war on Israel. They have been practicing their form of Jihad against the Jewish population. Hamas showered Israeli towns with thousands of missiles prior to Israel’s active self-defense act of Operation Cast-Lead in 2009. Although that operation contributed to a relative calm in its aftermath, the International community condemned Israel for exercising its right to defend itself.
Many international leaders support Israel’s right to defend itself. They say so on TV. But when Israel exericuses that right, the same leaders cry—“Aggression!” They do so because it seems politically convenient. Speaking from both sides of their mouth on an emotional issue helps with popular support. This is especially true since the majority of the world’s population and its leaders hate the Jewish people, hate the Jewish state, must maintain economic growth that require steady, uninterrupted flow of oil, believe in the rights of the Palestinians to the land (this is another myth that I will write about), etc.
International rules of law must be modified and clarified to recognize that active self-defense is self-defense. It is an act designed to thwart aggression rather than to exercise it. The blockade on the Gaza strip is precisely that kind of an act.
It is self-defense.
Dr. A. Perry
www.aviperry.org