By Mark David Blum, Esq.

Let us talk about a hypothetical world for a moment. In that world there is a guy who every time he gets a chance, he walks up and slaps you across the face. At first, you turn the other cheek, but he still walks up and slaps you. You try to stay out of his way, but he hunts you down, sneaks up, and smacks you good. Then you try slapping him down to the ground but he just gets back up and slaps you again across the face. Your friends come around and smack him down but he still comes back and smacks you again. You call the police and he is put in prison, but the moment he gets out, he again comes right up to you and slaps you in the face. During his incarceration, his friends come around and smack you in the face.

Does anybody in the end fault you when one day you pick up a shotgun and blow the guy’s face off? When is enough, enough?

This is the best analogy of what I see as being the conflict between Israel and the terrorist hoards that haunt her borders. Israel has honored every agreement, has pulled out of the Sinai, the Gaza Strip, and nearly all of the Golan. They have offered peace, traded prisoners, and bent over backwards despite the endless blood being spilled. I have not always supported Israel’s actions. Her policies of collective punishment offend me. Throughout most of her history, she has dealt with enemies, real and perceived, with severe and swift action. A lot of the bad blood and hate that permeates the world, Israel has brought onto herself by her own heavy handed actions.

I just returned from New York City where I stood for a long time pondering the hell that must have been the morning of 9-11. More than just a passing prayer was said as I stared at Firehouse 10; across the street from the footprint. I remembered how I felt that day and hated what my country has turned into as a result.

When the United States learned that Al Qaeda was behind the 9-11 attacks and we learned that Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Ladin were given safe shelter in Afghanistan, our nation knew exactly what to do. We bombed Afghanistan, wiped the government off the face of the earth, and rid the entire country of as many supporters as we could find. There are still troops in that nation still hunting and still killing.

Nobody dared accuse the United States of excessive force in Afghanistan. If anything, we hollered for more force, more dead, and the smoking smoldering corpse of Bin Ladin. The world stood solidly behind us. Even America was politically united on this goal.

Since 1973, the question of the existence of the State of Israel has been resolved within the Arab world. Jordan has made her peace. Egypt has made her peace. Saudi Arabia and the other Arab states have stopped their intended military interventions.

Starting in 1976, the Palestinians became the patsies used by Arab nations tried to advance political aims that could not be gained on the battlefield. Over and over again, Israel was provoked and when she responded, the Palestinians and Arab world would point a finger at Israel and say “shame”.

A couple of months ago, Israel honored her agreements and pulled out of the Gaza strip. She took down her settlements and fought her own people to pull back and make peace with Palestinians. Despite a criminal terrorist organization being the winner, Israel still encouraged and supported free elections. No Arab state has ever done such a thing for these people.

Yet, that was not good enough as not one day passed since the pull out of the Gaza, that Palestinians were not lobbing shells into Israel. Then, for no good reason, armed intruders from Gaza crossed the border into Israel and kidnapped a soldier. Two days later, under the cover of 40 rockets launched over the Lebanese border, and an armed ground assault, several Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush and 2 were kidnapped and taken back into Lebanon.

If these were American soldiers and this happened on American soil, we would not be having this discussion. Lebanon would already resemble the surface of the moon.

So why are we listening to the demands of the Arabs that Israel cease fire? Why are claims of over reaction and excessive force even being considered? It infuriates me to see a situation where someone walks up to you, throws mud on you, and then publicly humiliates you for being so dirty. From this seat, it was Hezbollah and the nation that gives them sanctuary that started this fight. Israel is not being dirty; but responding.

I am no fan of war or killing and many know my views are not really Israel-friendly or even U.S.-friendly on the subject of foreign policy. I have hated how we handled Iraq and the rest of the so-called ‘War on Terror’.

Today I am glad there are nearly 200,000 American troops parked on both sides of Iran’s border. A chance like this will not come again.

We must give the same right to Israel that we claim for ourselves. If you substitute Hezbollah for Al Qaeda and Lebanon for Afghanistan, you will have to agree.

It is time to green light the Israelis to end this war of attrition once and for all.

No more and never again.