As regular readers of Listen Up will be aware, I have been out of the country for the past month taking a break from my articles on Doppler. It almost worked! Readers will also know that I made an exception a couple of weeks ago when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel.
I did so because I was mortified not only by the brutality that occurred in Israel but also because of the antisemitic demonstrations that quickly broke out in many parts of the world including, sadly, Canada. Seldom had I felt so strongly that those who have the ability to speak out, no matter how limited their capacity, should do so. After several weeks of reflection, I still feel that way.
Let me start first with the reaction of some readers to the picture that was posted at the top of my October 15th article. It showed a picture of a young Israeli woman only partially clothed, taken hostage, and being paraded in the back of a vehicle by Hamas terrorists. We thought hard about posting this picture knowing that it was already in the public domain. We also were aware of how upsetting this picture would be to some people, especially those who had their own experience with sexual assault.
But it was a picture taken in real-time. It spoke a thousand words about the reality of sexual assault and the terror perpetrated on Israelis by Hamas. That picture spoke the stark truth about what was happening, and we believed it important not to hide the truth but rather expose it, fully realizing that sometimes the truth hurts.
In responding to one individual who wrote to us opposing the picture that was posted, we replied in part as follows. “Let’s be clear, these atrocities (by Hamas) are what started this war. It is the responsibility of a news organization to tell the truth and not avoid it. Otherwise, perpetrators of these atrocities go unpunished, or the truth never gets out. In our view, there is too much of that lately.” We stand by that statement.
Shortly after writing my previous article, I noted to a friend that I thought it would not be long before public sympathy turned away from Israel and toward the Palestinians. That this is happening in some measure now, is not a surprise to me.
There is of course a long history of tension and strife between Israelis and Palestinians. Neither side has anything to boast about in relation to the turmoil that has infected that part of the Middle East for decades.
As well, the media is now flooded with pictures of innocent Palestinians suffering terribly, as a result of the war between Israel and Hamas. It would take a very hard heart not to feel huge concern and sympathy for these individuals.
Consequently, there is a loud cry for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, including a resolution from the United Nations. How good it would be if it were that simple.
One of the complicating factors here is that Hamas is not just a recognized terrorist organization, it also politically controls the government in Palestinian territories. So, it is not just a terrorist organization that is at war with Israel, it is the Palestinian government as well. They are allowing strikes on Israel from their territory, and they are protecting Hamas terrorists.
Hamas makes no bones about how far they will go to destroy Israel. Their mantra is that every Jew must die. They will use their own people as shields to accomplish this. They want Palestinian people to suffer, and they want the world to feel sorry for them.
Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh has said this. “We need the blood of women/children and the elderly of Gaza so as to wake up our revolutionary spirit.” How much clearer can he be than that?
This morning, I saw online a church notice board that said this. “The world is asking Israel to show mercy. When will the world ask/demand the same from Hamas?” Good question!
Sadly, however, there can be no answer. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority will never show mercy as long as Israel exists. Israel, on the other hand, will fight to the finish to maintain its sovereignty.
That being said, how would a truce or a ceasefire work? It is hard for me to come to grips with that. Would we simply return to the status quo and wait for the next attack? Would terrorists go unpunished? What would be the outcome of a ceasefire?
Certainly, a pause in hostilities from both sides is necessary to bring badly needed supplies to innocent Palestinians. The challenge, however, will be to get those supplies directly into the hands of those who need them and not have them hijacked by Islamic terrorists for their own purposes.
There is nothing good that can be said about war. It often has a conclusion but never, to my knowledge, a truly happy ending. History will also tell us that smaller wars will often lead to bigger wars. The potential for this in relation to the Middle East conflict is growing, with Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey lining up on one side and the United States, Britain, Canada, and other Western countries lining up on the other.
A non-military solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be a diplomatic nightmare, but somehow, it must be accomplished. There can be no doubt about who started this most recent war. The challenge now, however, is to find a way to stop it in a manner that protects the sovereignty and security of Israel before the entire conflict gets globally out of hand.
Surely, there are people that can accomplish that. Otherwise, we risk all hell breaking loose.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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In reference to Rafael’s comments.
What are you talking about ?????????
Hugh, I must applaud you for getting it right! You understand. My husband & I are Jewish and full time residents of Bracebridge. I’ve been living in BB since 2002, my husband since ‘86. I have been to Israel many times and I have cousins living there. As with all Jews globally, we are devastated by the massacre of our brothers & sisters in Israel and have been feeling isolated due to the scourge of Antisemitism that has again reared its ugly head. We are experiencing a modern day Holocaust but the Nazis today are Hamas and anti-Jewish protesters worldwide. Your words give us strength as do the words of comfort we have received from those non-Jewish neighbours and friends who have reached out to us. Israel has been attacked numerous times by the enemies which surround her and she always prevails. We pray that the IDF completes its objectives to dismantle Hamas & bring home the remaining hostages. Only then can Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in a long term peace. ❤️🇮🇱
David O. Harrison: Yours certainly is the Biblical reason for the situation, but the recent attack by Hamas is the reason for the situation now. Gaza is a huge prison, full of people that it’s so-called government doesn’t give a damn for. They are simply a mass to hide under or behind while the destruction of Israel is planned and attempted.
Israel is not the only country to close borders to Palestinians. Egypt built a wall just as Trump wanted for the Mexican border. No one is even suggesting that Egypt should allow people released into Egypt through the Rafah crossing.
When Palestinians, in whatever guise. PLO, PLA, Hamas, Hezbollah, Fatah, insinuated themselves on sovereign nations such as Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, nothing but strife and war ensued. Some of us can remember Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize. For supposedly terminating a war he had been as much responsible for as anyone.
Hamas and Hezbollah are terrorists and killers with no respect for the so called ‘rules of war’. They need to be rooted out under the same flag. The suffering of their own people is just another price they are more than willing to pay.
The rest of the world can only imagine the suffering of Gaza. But their ‘government’ cares not.
Mr. Mackenzie, I extend a HUGE THANK YOU for your call-it-like-it-is, honest post.
At a time when expressions of raw hatred, blatant racism, support for crimes against humanity including but not limited to such savagery as brutal murder of babies, children and elderly along with rape and calls for genocide, unfortunately can be found everywhere, your stance is a truly refreshing beacon of light. I am so very grateful to you for raising your voice in support of values which we Canadians hold dear including decency, humanity and respect.
As a proud Jewish citizen of Canada and resident of Huntsville, it is extremely comforting to know that there are brave people like you, not afraid to publicly express strong opposition to terror and calls for racist cultural genocidal annihilation.
I am aware that the history is long, complicated and painful for ALL involved and feel it is important to separate the Palestinian quest for freedom from the actions of Hamas. One can certainly feel compassion for those Palestinian people who truly want peace AND also think that the terrorist actions of Hamas are unacceptable. They are NOT mutually exclusive!
I am quite sure that there are many people who share your disgust for the savage inhumane actions perpetrated by Hamas, but are afraid to express their feelings.
Martin Luther King Jr. said “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”
This serves to underscore why voices of reason such as yours, are so very important, meaningful and NECESSARY at this time.
In the name of all that is good and decent, please continue to strongly denounce the horrible, barbaric and evil acts of terrorism that occurred on 10/7, the victim-blaming that continues to ensue and the damaging silence from the majority of the global population.
We CANNOT STAY SILENT when terrorism raises its head. We must stand in solidarity with all victims and those fighting it. Thank you for choosing to stand strong alongside those which certainly will be proven to be on the right side of history.
Bev Belanger,
You ask, “Will humankind ever evolve?” We can also ask parallel questions, “Why is there evil in this world?” Or, if God exists, “Why does He allow evil?”
When God created mankind, He created us with freedom of choice. How could love exist apart from such freedom? But, there is a flip side.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE = THE FREEDOM TO DO GOOD AND THE FREEDOM TO DO EVIL
Each one of us has these freedoms.
Let’s suppose that there is no God, then where does the concept of morality, right or wrong, come from – pain and suffering are just reactions to external stimuli and are of absolutely no consequence. Why do you or I have empathy for the suffering of millions of people thousands of miles away?
It is then logical to ask, “If God exists, why doesn’t He put an end to evil?”
This is where it gets very personal… God could put an end to evil, but then how would He have to deal with you?
* Should He take away your free will and make you a mindless zombie, an automaton?
* Should He immediately punish you every time you slip up?
* Should He make an exception to His holiness and perfect sense of justice just for you? [This would, of course, make God’s justice imperfect.]
* Should He “…cast you out into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth?”
* Or would you rather He make a way for every one of your sins, past, present, and future, to be forgiven and atoned for all eternity?
God thought the latter to be the better option, so He made it possible for everyone to make that choice. Yes, even for members of Hamas.
Nope, I can’t condone the one sided slaughter of people by a Goliath of Israel/US. I don’t care what your Bible said eons ago! Religion has killed enough innocent people throughout history. Will humankind ever evolve?
Hugh. I often don’t agree with your thoughts but this time we are in complete harmony. Thank you for such a well written and thoughtful commentary.
Responding to Raphael Mendell, you note,
“…it is important to understand that when you keep 2 million people under the conditions in which Gazans and living and deny them the most basic human rights, forcibly steal their lands and homes and subject them to systematic violence they are going to turn to extreme elements for solutions particularly when other actions have failed.” This is a falsehood perpetuated against Israel. History tells a completely different story.
Gaza is a historic land, first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis chapter 10, verse 9. In Deuteronomy, we read that it was inhabited by the Avvites, who were then conquered by the Caphtorites. Subsequently, Gaza was promised by God to Joshua and the Israelites. Joshua left a few surviving Anakites in Gaza.
What follows are some of the additional Bible references to Gaza (there are 21). You will note that while it was in Israeli hands there was peace… not so with other occupiers of the land:
Does this sound familiar? “They (the Midianites) camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys.” Judges 6:4
This could have been taken straight out or recent headlines, “Then the Philistines seized him, gouged out his eyes and took him down to Gaza. Binding him with bronze shackles, they set him to grinding grain in the prison.” The story of Samson, Judges 16:21
“For he (King Solomon) ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had PEACE on all sides.” 1 Kings 4:24
When Egypt attacked Gaza, “This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza.” and “Gaza will shave her head in mourning; Ashkelon will be silenced. You remnant on the plain, how long will you cut yourselves?” Jeremiah 47:1-5
“This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not relent. Because she took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom. I will send fire on the walls of Gaza that will consume her fortresses.” Amos 1:6-7
Is not this prophecy being fulfilled before your very eyes? From the book of Zecharia, titled, “Judgement of Israel’s Enemies – A Prophecy: “Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted.” (Ashkelon is a town in Israel immediately north of Gaza.
Respectfully, recent history sadly shows that the Gazans’ misery, is mostly self-inflicted.
It’s unfortunate that this commentary suggests that the brutal attack on Israeli civilians on October 7th was the start of this conflict or that the Israeli’s and Palestinians have had “tensions” in the past. These statements are gross mischaracterizations of what is happening in the region.
While there is no justification for terrorism on the part of Hamas, it is important to understand that when you keep 2 million people under the conditions in which Gazans and living and deny them the most basic human rights, forcibly steal their lands and homes and subject them to systematic violence they are going to turn to extreme elements for solutions particularly when other actions have failed. Organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah wouldn’t have influence if people, living where they operate, were not in such dire straits.
Killing civilians in terrorist attacks is outrageous and vile but is killing civilians, specifically children, in retaliation doing anything other than making the situation more unstable and perpetually forcing people to turn to those promising freedom at the barrel of a gun?
Hugh,
Thank you for your thoughtful commentary.
There seem to be two voices in the world today, sanity and insanity. Mostly the latter.
The UN is insane for refusing to pass a Canadian resolution to condemn the violence perpetrated by Hamas. Can you believe that?!
The Palestinian people (those who claim to be Palestinian but technically are not) for having refused to accept a two-state solution when it was offered to them by the UN in May 1948. The Jewish Palestinians accepted this offer and on May 14, 1948 the nation of Israel was reborn. The Palestinian Arabs refused to accept the two-state solution and attacked Israel the very next day, trying to destroy it.
The Gazans were insane for not having built their region into a thriving community once all the Israelites had left the area, instead they destroyed just about everything of worth that was left to them and elected Hamas, an organization hell-bent of Israel’s destruction, to lead them.
Anyone (the Arab states) who think they can defeat Israel, who have lost fourteen consecutive attacks against Israel since 1948, has to be insane to think another attack will have a different outcome.
I could go on, but we know clearly from Biblical prophecy, that peace will not come anytime soon. Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply living with their head in the sand.
God will defend His chosen people and He will not change His mind.
Those who go around waving Palestinian flags and berating Israel for their legitimate response to being attacked needs to get an education. Did anyone notice that Hamas is still launching rockets into Israel every day? Why? It is certainly not for self defence. These are evil people (Hamas and every one of their supporters) and they are ultimately responsible for every single dead and injured child in Gaza.
Thank you Mr. Mackenzie for your honest words. I believe the situation is going to get quite a bit worse before the end of the war. I hope all the readers believe what you wrote and that this madness and hatred doesn’t land here.
Excellent Commentary, Hugh.