Thomas Friedman’s advice to Israel – spoken like someone who lives abroad

The title of Thomas Friedman’s article, alone, is enough to make your blood boil if you are Israeli. His ill-informed advice entitled, “It’s Time for the U.S. to Give Israel Some Tough Love,” displays an unbridled chutzpah for all to see.

Supposing that he is “reading the mood of Israelis correctly” inasmuch as their desire to have the remaining hostages returned trumps all else, including continuing the fight to oust the Hamas terror regime forever, he assumes he accurately speaks for every Israeli. 

As someone who lives in Israel, I can claim that he does not read the mood of Israelis correctly! While there is no question that, understandably, the families of the hostages would be willing to make just about any deal put before them in order to have their loved ones returned, that is not true of all Israelis who also share their grief and want them returned, but not at the price of keeping Hamas intact and having to relive this nightmare on a daily basis.

Friedman, indeed, speaks as someone who lives abroad because he doesn’t have to worry about running back and forth to a bomb shelter as an endless barrage of rocket firase continues to be launched into Israel, even after 80 days into the war. He never had to worry that savage terrorists would parachute their way into his neighborhood, burn whole families alive, bake babies in ovens, hack off the breasts of women and play with them like a football. 

Friedman has no first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to share a border with barbarians who have no regard for their own people, let alone anyone else’s. He is very much out of his depth when it comes to putting himself in our shoes, because he’s never had to walk in them, so he should spare us advice that he wouldn’t take in a hot second if he had to live under the kind of threats we have endured. 

Suggesting that the U.S. employ “tough love” is tantamount to saying that Israel needs a time-out because we have transgressed. This so-called guidance not only accounts for a real lack of understanding, but anyone who would encourage ending the war, at this juncture before the evil is totally eradicated, puts themselves on the wrong side of morality, humanity and sane thinking. Israel, as do all sovereign countries, is obligated to protect its citizens who are in danger of annihilation, and anyone who says otherwise is in no position to claim any high ground or dare to brazenly suggest that stopping midway is the best strategy to ensure safety and security for all.

The absurd proposal of a “total Israeli withdrawal from Gaza” would have Hamas scrambling to return to their positions at lightning speed, despite the precondition that, in return for a release of all our hostages, we will enact a permanent cease-fire” under international supervision including U.S., NATO and Arab observers. Wow, what a deal of a lifetime! The same corrupt UNRWA-style workers who aided and abetted Hamas terrorists will be the new border guards who will guarantee that all remains quiet on three fronts. 

Doesn’t Friedman understand that Hamas is unable and unwilling to return all the hostages? No one knows how many are even still alive. And of those still breathing, word has it that there is a fear that the monstrous, inhumane acts that were done to them while being held against their will, is not the kind of testimony that Hamas is too keen on getting out, especially to those who back them as freedom fighters that are acting within their rights. 

Other hostages have simply disappeared as Hamas has freely admitted losing track of their whereabouts. Israelis suffer day and night just thinking of the indignities which these poor, innocent people have had to endure at the hands of soulless murderers who are demonically possessed.

Friedman’s concern over the “vast damage inflicted by Israel in Gaza’s main urban areas,” where he believes thousands of Gazan civilians have been killed, may be laudable, but what about the bloody morning of Oct. 7 when Hamas terrorists initiated the massacre which then set off a chain of events that resulted in the death of Gazan civilians, as happens in war. But, in this case, it was a war for which Israel didn’t ask nor one that could go ignored.  

By setting up shop in hospitals, schools, nurseries and other public venues, it was Hamas who contributed to the death of thousands of their people (if one can even trust the numbers coming from a terror organization whose members would kill their own mothers). Friedman should carefully consider a childlike belief when accepting that the numbers of war casualties being reported reflect an accurate and honest accounting.

Lamenting over the “humanitarian disaster” which Hamas itself has created, why doesn’t Friedman demand that the vast sums of money which were sent to them, be made available to put up all 2 million Gazans in 7-star luxury Qatar hotels just as their leadership is presently enjoying? And why doesn’t Friedman ask what Hamas did with the $30 million it was receiving from Qatar, the $120 million it was receiving from UNRWA, the $50 million from the European Union and the $30 million from America, all sums on a monthly basis?  

Wasn’t that money intended for Gazans who are now homeless and starving? How depraved does one have to be to not understand what’s going on here? And if you do, how do you align yourself with massive corruption, the likes of which is unrivaled in all of history?

While he expresses concern that Israel will be mired in Gaza, the very thing for which Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis pray, Friedman may have underestimated our own prayers to the God who claims to live in our midst. Some of us think that He has the last word regarding what happens to His homeland.

Friedman’s binary choice which he lays out for Israel by saying they can own Gaza forever or get out and let Hamas hold the bag and deal with their angry citizens who will be left homeless. My guess is that Gazans won’t scream too loud when faced with the choice of remaining silent or being slaughtered.   

But what about Israelis who are still spending too many hours in their bomb shelters? What about the hostile aircraft which continue to daily invade our airspace? And what about terrorists who attempt to breach our borders because those things are still happening. Should we just hope for the best?

Friedman’s suggestion that Israel “coolly and rationally think through its options,” is the kind of unsolicited advice that often comes from people who lack real understanding and nuance possessed by seasoned experts who have devoted their lives to military strategy and tactical fighting in the most dangerous area on the planet.

Here’s my advice for Friedman. He should concentrate on subjects with which he has personal dealings rather than opine on how to eradicate the greatest evil the world has ever witnessed, because this is clearly not his strength.

Those who live abroad should have enough self-discipline and common sense to keep their unwanted advice to themselves, because, in the end, it is the Israeli people who have to live with the consequences for good or for bad.