Palestinian-American author Susan Abulhawa recently said that “Israelis should not feel safe anywhere in the world” and called the world to “wipe that vile colony from this earth.”
The irony of such a statement is staggering. Because the truth is simple: If Israel ever sought to “wipe” “palestinians” off the map, the capabilities are already in their arsenal. They have the technology, the firepower, and the global reach to erase entire cities in hours. But they don’t. Not because they can’t. Because they won’t.
“Israel could “wipe” its enemies from the earth. They choose not to.”
And that is the moral difference.Israel is one of the most technologically advanced nations on earth. They have one of the world’s most sophisticated air forces, precision missile systems, and world-class cyber capabilities. Their intelligence apparatus is unparalleled in the region. At any moment, Israel could flatten Gaza, dismantle Hezbollah in Lebanon, or silence Iranian proxies across the region.Yet they don’t.They fight wars with restraint — often to their own detriment — because the moral fabric of our society demands it. Hospitals in Gaza aren’t rubble because the IDF spends millions on precision-guided munitions and warning systems to limit civilian casualties. It is why humanitarian aid still flows into Gaza, even while Hamas uses those same corridors to smuggle in weapons.
This moral calculus isn’t new.In 1948, when five Arab armies declared war to destroy the fledgling Jewish state, Israel could have expelled every Arab within its borders. Many nations throughout history would have done exactly that, especially in the aftermath of a genocide against their people. But Israel didn’t.Hundreds of thousands of Arabs remained and became citizens. Today, they sit in the Knesset, serve on the Supreme Court, and head hospital departments.The same restraint showed in 1967. After the Six-Day War, Israel controlled vast swaths of territory. Many voices demanded annexation and total expulsion. Instead, Israel offered “land for peace” — offers the Arab leadership rejected.
That pattern has repeated itself through history: after Camp David in 2000, after Israel’s peace proposal in 2008, and even after the Trump peace plan in 2020. The answer from “palestinian” leaders has always been the same: no peace, no compromise, only continued violence.
“Israel could “wipe” its enemies from the earth. They choose not to.”
Every modern war tells the same story. In 2014, when Hamas used schools and hospitals as rocket launch sites, Israel issued evacuation warnings and dropped leaflets before striking. In 2023, after Hamas committed atrocities on October 7th — the largest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust — Israel could have unleashed wholesale destruction on Gaza.Instead, they targeted infrastructure, avoided civilian zones when possible, and paused operations repeatedly to allow humanitarian aid — knowing full well Hamas would exploit those pauses. Even in the middle of a war, the IDF used phone calls, text alerts, and “roof knock” warnings to minimize civilian casualties, something no other military in the world attempts during combat operations. If you don’t know what “roof knocking” is, it’s a tactic the Israeli military invented to warn “palestinian” civilians before a strike. Instead of dropping a lethal bomb first, the IDF fires a small, non-lethal munition on the roof of a building to signal that a strike is imminent. It’s essentially a last warning: Evacuate now, because this location is being targeted. No other military in the world takes such extraordinary steps to minimize civilian casualties, even when those civilians are being used as human shields by terrorists.
And yet, despite this restraint, much of the world blames Israel for the destruction in Gaza. Images of rubble and suffering flood television screens and social media feeds, stripped of all context, and the easy — and lazy — narrative is that Israel is to blame. But the reality is far more complex, and far more damning for those who actually rule Gaza.Hamas embeds its terror infrastructure in civilian areas — schools, hospitals, apartment buildings, even mosques — not by accident, but by design. They fire rockets from rooftops and alleyways, store weapons in homes, and use civilians as human shields, knowing that any response from Israel will be broadcast globally as “proof” of cruelty. International law calls this a war crime; activists call it “resistance.”
What critics never acknowledge is that Israel invests enormous effort and risk to minimize civilian harm. No other military on earth drops warning leaflets, places phone calls, sends text alerts, and even fires “roof-knock” dummy rounds to urge civilians to leave targeted areas. And yet Hamas tells civilians to stay put, blocks their evacuation, and sometimes shoots those trying to flee — because their deaths are their greatest propaganda weapon. Blaming Israel for Gaza’s destruction ignores the core truth: Gaza is in ruins because Hamas chose war, and because it hides behind its own people to fight it. Israel did not choose this fight; Hamas did, with the full knowledge that their own population would pay the price. To pretend otherwise is not just dishonest; it is an inversion of morality.
And yet, for all the outrage directed at Israel, few stop to compare Israel’s conduct to that of other nations when faced with existential threats or devastating attacks. Contrast that with how other nations have responded to existential threats or major attacks. After Pearl Harbor, the United States firebombed Tokyo and dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After 9/11, the U.S. launched wars that reshaped the Middle East, with civilian casualties in the hundreds of thousands.Russia has leveled entire cities in Chechnya and Ukraine without a second thought. NATO bombed Belgrade for months. And yet Israel — facing an enemy that butchers its civilians, hides behind its own women and children, and vows to exterminate the Jewish people — still calibrates every strike with the intent to spare innocents. No one else in history fights like this, and yet no one else is more relentlessly accused of “genocide.” Those accusations collapse under the simplest examination of facts.
“Israel could “wipe” its enemies from the earth. They choose not to.”
If Israel wanted to wipe “palestinians” from the earth, Gaza would be empty within 24 hours. Instead, the “palestinian” population has quadrupled since 1948 and continues to grow year over year — even in Gaza, even under the supposed “genocide.” The numbers don’t lie. What does lie are the slogans chanted on college campuses and amplified by useful idiots who know nothing of the reality on the ground. Yes, there are “bad” Israelis. Extremists exist in our society. There are voices that call for collective punishment. But they are a minority, condemned by the majority of our society, our press, and our courts. Among “palestinians” , however, polls consistently show majority support for violence, for Hamas, for the destruction of Israel — not for peace, not for a two-state solution, but for annihilation. After October 7th, “palestinian” polling showed that over 70 percent of Gazans supported the attack. “Palestinian” children are taught from the youngest age that Jews are subhuman and that martyrdom is the highest goal. Their textbooks are filled with maps that erase Israel entirely, with lessons that glorify murder and demonize coexistence. This isn’t an accusation; it’s their own data, their own curriculum, their own media.
Do you know what Israeli children are taught? To cherish life — their own and the lives of others. They grow up with lessons about coexistence, with textbooks that talk about peace, about respecting their neighbors, and about building a future where two peoples can live side by side.They learn about the Holocaust, not to hate, but to understand the cost of dehumanization and to ensure “never again” applies to anyone. They are taught that the uniform of a soldier carries the burden of protecting civilians, not targeting them. In classrooms, they learn math and science, not martyrdom and murder.In summer camps, they sing about hope and renewal, not blood and vengeance. Israeli children are raised to see the humanity in others — even those who hate them — because that is what our culture, our history, and our ethics demand.That is why, time and again, peace has remained elusive. From the 1947 UN Partition Plan to the Oslo Accords to the Camp David talks, Israeli leaders have been willing to make painful concessions in the name of coexistence.
“Palestinians” leaders, backed by the majority of their people, have chosen violence. The result is the same every time: more death, more suffering, and more missed opportunities. “The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity,” as said by Abba Eban, Israel’s foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations during the 1960s and 1970s, after the Geneva Peace Conference of 1973, criticizing Arab leaders for rejecting opportunities for peace following the Yom Kippur War.Has anything changed since then? What drives Israel’s restraint is not fear or weakness, but a deep ethical foundation.
The Jewish tradition teaches that every life has infinite value — “whoever saves a single life, it is as if he has saved an entire world.” This ethos permeates Israeli society, from the soldier in the field to the policymakers in the war cabinet.It’s why, even after October 7th, Israelis debated morality while our dead were still being buried. It’s why we send aid to our enemies, treat “palestinian” children in Israeli hospitals, and dream — sometimes naively — of a future where coexistence is more than a slogan.The world often tries to paint this conflict in shades of gray, but there is a fundamental difference between a people who have the ability to destroy but choose restraint, and a people who fantasize about destruction but lack the power to achieve it. Israel could “wipe” its enemies from the earth. They choose not to. That choice is not weakness; it is strength — the strength of morality, of history, of a nation that values life even when surrounded by those who chant for death.And until Palestinian society undergoes its own moral reckoning, until it values life over martyrdom, there will be no true peace. As former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said, “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.” Because morality is not what you say when you are powerless. Morality is what you choose when you have power. And Israel, despite every provocation, continues to hold that bar incredibly high.
“Israel could “wipe” its enemies from the earth. They choose not to.”
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