They came, murdered, pillaged, raped, butchered, incinerated and then paraded with pride their dastardly deeds as trophies

By Jonathan Feldstein

Recently, my social media has been overwhelmed with videos filmed by people on safari tours in Africa, capturing the moment when carnivorous animals attack, kill, and devour their prey.  Clearly these videos of the wild enjoy a popularity but I could hot help comparing the savagery of what transpires not in Africa but on my soil – Israel – and not by animals but by people; more specifically our neighbors. Are there parallels when one species behaves savagely in accordance with nature to survive and the other seems to survive as a savage because that is today sadly their nature?

This week Israel is grieving. Not again, but still. Even more. This week marks 11 months since the inhumane Hamas massacre in Israel, murdering 1200 people in the most unspeakable ways, raping and sexually mutilating many, burning people alive, and executing parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. The terrorists kidnapped more than 250 people from dozens of nations (of whom 101 remain in captivity in Gaza).

Last week, 48-72 hours before their potential rescue by the IDF operating in Rafah, Hamas terrorists executed six of the hostages, shooting them multiple times at close range. They even filmed their victims before, documenting their crime for all to witness. They brazenly released this footage one by one to take pride in their cruelty, and to increase the suffering of the families and indeed all Israelis.

There has been no shortage of grief over 11 months, for the 1200 victims slaughtered on October 7, the 250 plus kidnapped, hundreds of soldiers killed in combat to defeat Hamas and rescue the hostages, and scores of civilians killed since as well.  Tens of thousands of rockets, missiles, and drones are still being fired from Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Iran, and even still from Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

In Judaism, 11 months marks the end of a stage of mourning, specifically for a parent.  Hundreds of thousands or Israelis and others from dozens of nations are mourning still: a parent, grandparent, son or daughter, sister or brother, spouse or fiancé, cousin, uncle, or aunt, best friend, classmate, or neighbor. While grief and mourning are personally profound, the difference nationally is that our mourning and grief have not only not ended, but continued, deepened, and impacts us all.  Every time the name of a soldier killed in battle is “cleared for publication,” when a child is killed by a terrorist rocket, or when the body of a hostage is recovered from a terror tunnel, we as a nation are deeply impacted.

Simply, there is no end in sight for the mourning. That was made evident this week as six more human beings who were executed, and whose bodies were recovered and returned home for burial.

Of more than 100 hostages still held in captivity, more than 30 of the remaining hostages are known to be dead, their remains inhumanely held by Hamas terrorists, to inflict the maximal suffering and psychological trauma on all Israelis.

In addition to their cruelty which they engage in as if it is an act of worship, Hamas terrorists and their Iranian Islamic patrons celebrate the social divisions created in Israel by the steadfast pursuance of the dual goals of defeating Hamas and rescuing all the hostages. Some stand firm that all the hostages must be brought home at any cost, as if Hamas is actually interested in making such a deal, while others stand firm that Israel must continue to defeat Hamas in any way possible.  

The divisions in Israeli society are depicted in many ways from regular social protests to public disagreements in the government. This week, in response to the execution of the hostages, a national strike took place across Israeli schools, malls, public transportation, the airport, municipalities and more.  The pain is deep and how Israelis are approaching a solution has become divisive.

All the while, the Islamic terrorists in Tehran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Hamas leaders in high rise luxury hotels in Qatar and underground tunnels in Gaza, celebrate and do everything possible to avoid releasing any hostages, dead or alive, as evidenced this week. Make no mistake, the Islamic terrorists want nothing to do with a ceasefire or releasing hostages for cruelty is their currency.

DEFINING DIFFERENCE

Back to the deluge on my social media of videos on Africa depicting lions, leopards, hyenas, crocodiles, and other predators out for the kill. Yes, they stalk far weaker species than themselves but they do so out of instinct, not to amuse but to survive. They do not set to intentionally inflict pain or misery but to seek food; it is the way of nature.

Since October 7, many have referred to Hamas and other Islamic terrorists as “animals”, but that is a misnomer, if ever there was one. The terrorists from Gaza are not animals; such name calling would be an insult to the animals I see on the social media.  These erroneously-named Hamas “animals” massacred, raped, mutilated, incinerated, executed, and kidnapped not for survival, but to inflict hateful terror. They also relished in their  killing orgy and then proudly paraded their ‘prey’ back in Gaza  – those dead and barely alive – that others may share in their ‘booty’.

Unlike the animals in the wild I see on social media, the so-called ‘animals’ that went on a bloody  rampage of murder and pillage on October 7 2023, may share the same DNA biologically with the human species but that is where it ends. This was not nature but nurture, their cruelty towards Jews and the sheer enjoyment and pleasure they derived from it, was something inbred, taught from their parents, grandparents, sons or daughters, sisters or brothers, spouse or fiancé, cousins, uncles, or aunts, best friends, classmates or neighbors. Evil is tragically inherent today in their culture and is compounded by the lack of self-realization and self-recognition of its consuming power.

For the survival of humanity and western civilization, Hamas and other Islamic terrorists are dangerous predators that need to be eliminated, not negotiated with.

About the writer:

Jonathan Feldstein ­­­­- President of the US based non-profit Genesis123 Foundation whose mission is to build bridges between Jews and Christians – is a freelance writer whose articles appear in The Jerusalem Post, Times of Israel, Townhall, NorthJersey.com, Algemeiner Jornal, The Jewish Press, major Christian websites and more.

While the mission of Lay of the Land (LotL) is to provide a wide and diverse perspective of affairs in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world, the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by its various writers are not necessarily ones of the owners and management of LOTL but of the writers themselves.  LotL endeavours to the best of its ability to credit the use of all known photographs to the photographer and/or owner of such photographs (0&EO).