Old and busted: “Never again!” New hotness: “Baby, one more time…”?

An invasion by Hamas and Gaza into southern Israel on October 7 brutally savaged unarmed civilians, killed over 1400 and counting, and included widespread rape, pillaging, and kidnapping hostages. It was the single largest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust. It stripped away the deceit that Hamas had any interest in peaceful co-existence with Jews or a Jewish state, a fact that Hamas spokespeople laughing declared afterward. Israel declared war on Hamas as a result of this barbaric slaughter.

For the most part, the American people and its elected representatives have stood behind Israel and recognized that Hamas cannot exist near Israel. Unfortunately, their staffers want to go back to the status quo ante of Hamas’ existential threat, and worse. In an unsigned letter that claims to represent over 400 congressional staffers, these anonymous malcontents excoriate their bosses for supporting Israel and demand that they pursue an immediate cease-fire instead:

NEW: More than 400 (anonymous) congressional staffers signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and saying they are "profoundly disturbed" that their bosses' "shows of humanity" for Israelis have barely been extended to the Palestinian people." pic.twitter.com/CGSDZeAbGz

— Alex Seitz-Wald (@aseitzwald) October 20, 2023

Read the full letter here. Revel in the gutlessness of this passage in particular:

We sign this letter anonymously out of concern for our personal safety, risk of violence, and the impact on our professional credibility on Capitol Hill. We are worried that we could lose our jobs — ones we fulfill with unwavering commitment and profound patriotism — for publicly signing on to a plea for a ceasefire in a conflict that has taken more than 5,000 innocent Palestinian and Israeli lives.

We need to scold our bosses for taking public positions that are costing lives, the letter essentially argues, but not if it costs us anything! Their “unwavering commitment and profound patriotism” apparently only arises when they don’t have to put their name to a position. For a bunch of people — maybe 400, but I’d guess more like 14 or so — who want their bosses to cut against the will of the electorate in public, they sure set one hell of an example. We’ll get back to that in a second.

The entire letter represents gutlessness and ignorance to boot. It talks about “the status quo of occupation [and] violence” without recognizing that (a) Gaza hasn’t been occupied since 2005, and (b) the violence has originated from Gaza since the Gazans elected Hamas as its government in 2006-7. Israel ended its occupation in 2005; both Israel and Egypt have partnered on a containment strategy since Hamas took power. Both have tried without success to cut off missile supplies from Iran and other weaponry, with which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have constantly bombarded Israeli civilian centers for the entire 17 years.

It also ignores the clear declarations by Hamas (and PIJ) that their purpose is not self-determination, but the annihilation of Israel and Jews. This letter not only never addresses that, it reads like an artifact of the left-wing blindness that allowed Hamas to fester for this long — blindness in the US, EU, and Israel too. It assumes that Hamas will want to become a ‘pragmatic partner in governance’ if just given enough aid and sympathy. Gaza has received billions in aid, including from Israel over the last 17 years, as well as numerous opportunities to negotiate peace and co-existence.

Hamas gave its answer on October 7th, which was the same answer it has given all along — and the same answer that Hamas enshrined in its charter. And it’s worth noting that the letter doesn’t even discuss a return of the hostages until the last paragraph, and even then only in a trade for a complete cessation of hostilities on Israel’s part. Not mentioned: the missile bombardments still taking place from Gaza.

While the letter writers proclaim their courageous patriotism anonymously while demanding their bosses change positions publicly, the American public appears to support what their elected officials are doing at the moment. A Quinnipiac poll this week echoed polls from CNN and the Washington Post/ABC in showing tremendous support for Israel against Hamas, and overwhelming bipartisan support for military support in the war too:

Voters (76 – 17 percent) think supporting Israel is in the national interest of the United States.

Republicans (84 – 12 percent), Democrats (76 – 17 percent), and independents (74 – 19 percent) think supporting Israel is in the national interest of the United States.

Voters (64 – 28 percent) approve of the United States sending weapons and military equipment to Israel in response to the Hamas terrorist attack.

Republicans (79 – 19 percent), Democrats (59 – 29 percent), and independents (61 – 32 percent) approve of the United States sending weapons and military equipment to Israel.

This is why elected officials publicly stand behind Israel. And it’s also why the gutless wonders among their staffers hide behind anonymity, and why their fellow terror apologists hide behind face masks at protests. Or at least why the smart ones do.