The Long Arm of Jewish Justice

by Michael Freund
The Jerusalem Post
March 24, 2004

The world was made a whole lot safer this past Monday, when 
Israeli helicopters eliminated Hamas arch-terrorist Sheikh Ahmed 
Yassin in a pre-dawn strike in Gaza.

The removal of this villain, whose warped ideology brought about 
the deaths of hundreds of innocents, was a heroic and just act, 
one that should be celebrated as an important milestone in the 
global war on terror.

Despite his innocent demeanor, Yassin was a monster, an evil man 
hell-bent on sowing death and destruction. As head of Hamas, 
he spent the past decade disseminating hate, dispatching suicide 
bombers and targeting innocent Israeli men, women and children.

Don't fall prey to the media’s attempts to label him a "spiritual 
leader". There is nothing spiritual about a mass murderer of Jews 
and there is nothing holy about someone who sent Palestinian 
children to detonate themselves as human bombs.

Yassin was a menace both to Israel and the West. Under his 
tutelage, Hamas carried out some 425 terror attacks in just 
the past three and a half years, killing 377 Israelis and 
injuring over 2,000 others. 

He brazenly declared that "all Israeli people are targets" 
(The Washington Times, June 12, 2003), and insisted that, 
"All of Israel, Tel Aviv included, is occupied Palestine. 
So we're not actually targeting civilians" (St. Petersburg 
Times, August 11, 2001). 

Yassin rejected Israel's right to exist and repeatedly called 
for the destruction of the Jewish state. Just three months ago, 
in a December 2003 interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel, 
he denied the possibility of co-existence, telling his interviewer 
that if the Jews insisted on having a country of their own, 
"They could set up a state in Europe". 

Less than two years ago, shortly after Palestinian terrorists 
carried out a bomb attack at the Hebrew University, Yassin told 
the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera that, "Israel was born in 
violence and it will die in violence. The Jews have no right to 
the land of Palestine".

Yassin was an equal-opportunity hater, directing his venom not 
only at Israel, but also at the West. Last year, after the 
US invasion of Iraq had begun, he repeatedly called on the Iraqi 
people to carry out suicide attacks against British and American 
forces. At a March 28, 2003 rally in Gaza, Yassin urged Iraqis 
to "continue their jihad, and to use all possible means to 
achieve victory against the British and American enemies".

Though they would never admit it, the Palestinians themselves 
will also benefit from Yassin's demise, if only because he 
can no longer spread his poisonous and lethal philosophy among 
them.

But despite his horrific record, much of the world was quick 
to condemn the killing of Yassin, with everyone from UK Foreign 
Secretary Jack Straw to Kofi Annan to the Japanese government 
coming down hard on Israel for having the nerve to defend itself.

But let them say what they wish, because it matters not one whit. 
The fact is that we can all take pride in this bold demonstration 
of sovereign Jewish power, in the ability of the State of Israel 
to hunt down and punish those who would follow in Hitler's 
footsteps.

Israel's critics must finally realize that the era of pogroms 
is over, that the Jew will no longer cower in fear from his 
adversaries, or seek protection from others. We have returned 
to the world stage, we have every right to defend ourselves, 
and that is what we shall do. 

The long arm of Jewish justice took care of Sheikh Yassin, 
and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon deserves nothing but praise 
for having the courage and the good sense to do so.

The elimination of Sheikh Yassin is on par with the capture of 
Saddam Hussein and the removal of Taliban leader Mullah Omar 
from power. It marks a turning point in the war on terror, 
the purging of yet another fanatical chieftain from the world 
stage. 

And it also signifies Israel's determination, like that of 
Washington, to confront its enemies and take the war to their 
own backyards, if need be.

Let the cynics and naysayers grumble all they wish. There is 
never a "wrong" time to eliminate a killer of Jews, or to 
strike a forceful blow against terrorist thugs. Whatever the 
diplomatic or security fallout might be, Israel has done the 
right thing, at the right time, and to the right person. 

On Monday morning, shortly after Yassin was killed, his associate 
Ismail Haniyeh confirmed his death, telling reporters that he had 
always hoped to die as a "martyr". 

"This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about", he said.

This is one case, at least, where we can all be grateful that 
the Hamas leader's dream has finally come true, courtesy of 
the IDF. 
------------------------
The writer served as Deputy Director of Communications & Policy 
Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office under former premier 
Binyamin Netanyahu.