Not that anyone old enough to remember could ever forget
what happened that day. But many people have forgotten who did it—and why.
There was a moment of national unity when Americans seemed
to understand that radical Islam represented a movement so determined to carry
out its religious mission that its adherents were willing to go to the greatest
lengths imaginable to succeed - including sacrificing their own lives. That was
precisely the thinking of the terrorists who carried out the attacks of 9/11.
It was a carefully planned and executed mission to strike at
“the Great Satan”—the United States of America—whose values and culture were
considered anathema to radical Islam. And among those values was America’s
support for the “Little Satan,” Israel.
I remember thinking at the time, “Finally!”
Finally, Americans would be awakened by this mass murder
perpetrated in the name of Islam to what Israelis had already understood for
years. And for one brief moment, there really was a sense of national unity on
that issue.
But to my great dismay, it did not last long.
On the very day of the attack, the late Peter Jennings, then
the anchor of ABC News and someone whose sympathies toward the Palestinian
cause were well known, asked the question, “Why do they hate us?” It did not
take long for the discussion to turn toward an explanation that American
support for Israel was at least partly responsible.
A few weeks later, I recall a woman who was a family member
of one of the victims saying that she did not blame Islam for what had
happened. There was, she argued, a larger picture that had to be considered in
order to understand why the attack took place.
In essence, she was rejecting the notion that this was an
attack inspired by Islamic ideology.
Today, even using the phrase “Islamic
terrorism” is considered by some to be racist—as though 9/11 had nothing
to do with Islam.
Then came October 7, 2023.
Israel had its own version of 9/11.
Once again, there was a moment of unity. Everyone, it
seemed, understood that a fanatic Islamic organization – Hamas - had carried
out a horrific massacre of Israeli civilians. The sympathy expressed by most
Americans was genuine.
But once again, it did not last.
In relatively short order, UN Secretary-General António
Guterres declared that the attack “did not happen in a vacuum.” That comment
watered down the horrific nature of the October 7 massacre by assigning some of
the blame to the victim, Israel.
Now Israel’s response of declaring war against Hamas - is
routinely described as “genocide” by large numbers of people, mostly on the
political left, although some on the far right use the same language…
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