fbpx

Contemplating hypocrisy and double standards

[additional-authors]
October 22, 2014

Hypocrisy – the ability to do certain things and then criticize others for doing the exact same thing, is part of being a human being. We do it constantly, and in the age of social networks –we have no shame in sharing our hypocrite thoughts with the world. We try to hide it behind principals like “humanitarianism,” or “justice,” and mostly we succeed. It is only when we are under a threat that the masks come off and our true self, of which we are sometimes unaware, is being revealed.
As these words are being written, a threat in the form of an Islamic terror organization is nearing the west, taking over our deepest fears as its leaders plan to take our developed world back about 1,000 years. With videos of beheaded Americans and Europeans, plots to commit massive terror attacks on trains and busses and plans to “destroy the west,” the Islamic State imposes an actual life threat to the people of the western world.


This recent threat is perhaps the perfect example of people's hypocrisy, because now we watch as decision makers who had various “moral issues” with the way Israel operated in Gaza this past summer, do things much worse in the name of “self defense.” Thing is, though, that while the people at the United States government came to know their inner hypocrites, it seems as if the European Union has yet to comprehend the threat Europe is facing, or perhaps they just fear their hypocrisy would be exposed. As the Islamic State continues to spread across European cities, with more people joining their forces, EU decision makers choose to keep looking down on Israel instead responding properly to the terror threat. They know that the day they fight the Islamic State would be the day they’ll be forced to expose their double standards when judging Israel on its battle against Hamas in Gaza.


It was only three months ago when President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry on the one hand, and European state leaders and the European Union on the other hand, looked down on the Israeli army, shaking their heads in disappointment and asking Prime Minister Netanyahu to make more effort in trying to avoid civilian casualties. Other “White House/ EU sources” were repeatedly quoted saying the warnings IDF soldiers give Gazans to evacuate before bombing a house, or the many missions aborted after civilians were discovered near the targets, are simply not humanitarian enough. The fact Israelis were constantly and directly attacked by Hamas was less of an issue to them, considering the fact Israel has a strong army and the Gazans are defenseless and abandoned even by their own government.


Now, the United States and Europe are under a threat. Unlike earlier this summer, when a terror organization threatened their ally far-far in the Middle East, they are now facing an actual, direct threat. Though still, coming from far-far in the Middle East and not yet on their doorstep, the U.S government and the UK try to eliminate the threat at its own field. “Prophylactic counter terrorism,” if you please.


The Islamic State is a very intimidating threat to the world, and terror must be stopped – we can all recite this sentence in our sleep. The U.S and UK governments are now doing “whatever it takes” in order to neutralize this threat, even things they were rather uncomfortable with during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. There’s no doubt the U.S and UK armies are taking measures in order to avoid civilian casualties while trying to stop the terror organization that seeks to “destroy the West,” but at the same time, reports regarding civilian casualties are making their way to the news. Moreover, the “>announce a ban on all Israeli dairy products from over the pre- 1967 lines, instead of dealing with the terror threat at their doorstep. They know that the moment they will react, take actual actions against the Islamic State, would be the moment their double standards would be exposed. They know that the day they would try to stop this terror organization would be the day they would act like, if not worse than the country they like to criticize so much.


 

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Difficult Choices

Jews have always believed in the importance of higher education. Today, with the rise in antisemitism across many college campuses, Jewish high school seniors are facing difficult choices.

All Aboard the Lifeboat

These are excruciating times for Israel, and for the Jewish people.  It is so tempting to succumb to despair. That is why we must keep our eyes open and revel in any blessing we can find.  

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.