from my blog at http://theatleeappeal.com

Israel finds itself in a very tough situation right now regarding Iran. Here is a country whose president has vowed to "wipe Israel off the map" and is just days away from a functional nuclear reactor, thanks to Russia. Funny how the only country to have a massive nuclear screw up (Chernobyl) is helping one of the most radical leaders behind Kim Jong Il build a nuclear facility. But that is besides the point. Israel is constantly bombarded by the U.N. and other world leaders for daring to stand up for itself. Israel is completely surrounded by Muslim countries, and let's just face the facts, Muslims hate the Jews. So, does Israel defend itself and destroy this nuclear reactor and have the entire world (maybe even Obama's America) condemn them, or do they sit on their hands and pray that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn't "wipe them off the face of the earth" in order to please the rest of the world?

Earlier this year, Israeli Defense Forces stopped a flotilla bound for Gaza and a fight broke out in which 9 Turks on board were killed. World Net Daily reported back in early June that the U.N. Security Council, more importantly with the approval of Barack Obama, condemned Israel's actions. Gaza has been under Hamas rule for nearly 3 years. Hamas is an internationally recognized terrorist organization and is living next door to Israel. This would be the equivalent of a small Nazi Germany being next door to Israel in the 1930s and 40s. So adding up those quick bits of information would quickly let you know that Israel doesn't exactly have the State Farm "like a good neighbor" guarantee working in their favor.

So what happened in this incident? The Huffington Post, a well known liberal think tank, claims that the "intention of the activists on board the ships was to break the Israeli blockade." And that," the activists were like the civil rights demonstrators who sat down at segregated lunch counters throughout the South and refused to leave until they were served. Their goal was not really to get breakfast. It was to end segregation." This is one of the worst analogies I've ever seen. Israel has a military blockade in the Mediterranean Sea to keep other Islamic countries from sending weapons into Gaza for Hamas. It's that simple. Youtube videos of the incident clearly show Israeli soldiers being attacked as soon as they boarded the ship. There goes your claim that these were simply "peace activists". When you operate a blockade, and a ship wants to come through, you inspect the ship. It's normal protocol. Instead, the Israeli soldiers who boarded the ship to inspect for weapons were assaulted and they rightfully defended themselves.

What are some other attacks carried out by the Arabs towards Israeli civilians? In July this year, the AP reported Hamas launched rockets from Gaza towards Israeli communities. These other instances were reported from the Anti-Defamation League: In July of 2008, in two separate instances, Arab men drove bulldozers through pedestrians in Jerusalem killing 3 and wounding 82 people. 7 teenagers were killed and 9 others wounded in March of 2008 by an Arab man who opened fire at the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem. February of 2008 saw Hamas kill one and wound 40 by a suicide bomber in a shopping center in Dimona. Three people were killed in a suicide bombing by an Arab man in an Eliat bakery. Hamas militants entered and killed 2 students in a Kfar Etzion high school. In April of 2006, Hamas cheered a suicide bombing at a bus station in Tel Aviv which killed 9 and wounded 40. And in December of 2005, an Arab man blew himself up at a mall in Netanya which killed 5 and wounded over 50 others. This same article highlighted over 150 attacks committed by Arabs towards Israeli citizens this past decade. http://www.adl.org/Israel/israel_attacks.asp. What is a small nation surrounded by enemies to do?

Many in the world community claim Israel is killing civilians in response to these attacks. You can go back to 2001, where the Telegraph.UK reported over 100 signatures at the Geneva convention in Switzerland were collected condemning Israel for "indiscriminate and disproportionate violence". Not a word was reported about the attacks carried out against Israel. However, what do you think is going to happen when the people who are shooting at you, happen to be shooting at you from a school or neighborhood? In January of 2009, an Israeli air strike hit a U.N. school along the Gaza strip. The AP reported worldwide condemnations towards Israel for the attack. Israel, not backing down, simply said (paraphrased), "Look. Hamas has been launching these rockets at our civilians from this school. We had no choice but to take the school out. If you want to condemn someone, condemn Hamas for using their own people as human shields."

Now we get to focus for a moment on Iran. Iran having nuclear capabilities in not necessarily the only thing that Israel has to worry about. It's the fact that Hamas has very strong ties to Iran. The Christian Science Monitor released an interesting article back in January of 2009. They reported that Egypt's foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, accused Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah of "working together in the fighting over Gaza to provoke conflict in the Middle East." Now it is interesting to note that Egypt has a blockade in the Suez canal similar to that of Israel's. This same article quoted The Australian that "An Iranian freighter carrying weaponry for Hamas has been blocked by Egypt from entering the Suez Canal, amid concerns that Tehran is trying to supply the Palestinian militant group with missiles capable of striking Tel Aviv." The Hudson Institute reported that in 2006, Hamas announced Iran had given over $100 million to their organization. Also highlighted in this article, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal went to Iran just after Hamas took control of Gaza and said, "Just as Islamic Iran defends the rights of the Palestinians," he said, "we defend the rights of Islamic Iran. We are part of a united front against the enemies of Islam."

Back to the dilemma. Israel is basically staring down the barrel of a .45 at this point. A nation that has a president who has sworn to wipe you off the map is just days away from having a nuclear facility. This same country is also an ally of your neighbor who has been launching suicide attacks and rockets at you for as long as you can remember. If Iran is able to develop a nuclear weapon, what do you think would stop them from getting that weapon in the hands of Hamas? But, if you attack Iran's nuclear facility, do you face crippling sanctions from the rest of the world as they clearly do not want you to defend yourself? Time is running out on Israel to take pre-emptive action. Sadly, their greatest ally - America - is turning a cold shoulder.