Goldberg Brings It Home, but Friedman Falters

1. "Israel Says Hamas Is Damaged, Not Destroyed"; By Steven Erlanger and Michael Slackman; A6
2. "Hamas Fighters Display Mix of Swagger and Fear"; By Taghreed El-Khodary and Sabrina Tavernise; A12
3. "Israel Halts Ship to Gaza, Iran Says"; By Nazila Fathi; A12
4. "Israel's Goals in Gaza?"; By Thomas Friedman A33
5. "Why Israel Can't Make Peace With Hamas"; By Jeffrey Goldberg; A33
   

Fortunately, both Steve Erlanger and Nazila Fathi report on the connection between Hamas and Iran.

Taghreed El-Khodary offers an account of a Hamas operative, or “fighter,” as she refers to him. He is a low level operative, as "senior fighters are mostly in hiding...Many have not moved for days, staying in basements or bunkers.” Man, these guys are not only cowards, but hypocrites. 

El-Khodary reveals her own cyncism about operatives, such as this one, who say they are fighting for Islam. Her concluding line, “Then he left to go get paid,” indicates that, despite the rhetoric, those who shoot at the IDF do so for money. 

Two op-eds appeared – one by Jeffrey Goldberg, the other by Thomas Friedman. Goldberg’s editorial successfully demonstrates the general intransigence and entrenched anti-Semitism of Hamas, which means that Hamas is and will continue to be off limits for negotiations. Goldberg exposes readers to the wicked, unsound mind of Nizar Rayyan, a former leading member of Hamas. His worldview consists of a volatile mixture of jealousy, paranoia, and hatred. 

Like Erlanger and Fathi, Goldberg reports on the relationship between Hamas and Iran, united across the Sunni-Shiite divide by hatred of Israel. “Like Hezbollah, Hamas believes that God is opposed to a Jewish state,” writes Goldberg. His conclusion, however, is unoriginal and flawed, as it places pressure on Israel to help Fatah instead of encouraging Fatah to reform itself. “The moderate Arab states, Europe, the United States and, mainly, Israel, must help Hamas’s enemy, Fatah, prepare the West Bank for real freedom,” he argues.

Although it appears adjacent to his own op-ed, Thomas Friedman does not appear to have internalized the forceful conclusion of Goldberg’s editorial and consequently provides no basis for his own view – that Hamas will concentrate on state-building rather than on Israel’s destruction. “Hamas has to signal a willingness to assume responsibility for a lasting cease-fire...That’s the only deal. Let’s give it a try,” Friedman writes.

Like Christopher Columbus, Friedman stumbles upon a discovery without being aware of its significance. He quotes Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s statement after the 2006 Lebanon War to prove that Israel won. Nasrallah did, indeed, regret his decision to kidnap Israeli soldiers at the northern border, but what his acknowledgment demonstrates is not that Israel won, but that Hezbollah has a twisted relationship to truth. 

Hezbollah declared victory, even as Nasrallah made this statement. Among terrorist Islamist groups, statements are made exclusively for the sake of propaganda, not truth and honesty.