The greatest challenge in this conflict is our own desire for love and resolution without recognizing that underlying extremist actions are due to deep seated beliefs about the inferiority of their chosen enemies, and the absolute necessity of their enemies destruction in any manner or deception possible. Extremist indoctrination begins at extremely young ages, setting it and making it impossible that such people will ever cease affronts towards the hated. (whether physical or by conveying dysfunctional perceptions).

Logically, had Hamas stopped firing rockets and opened talks about fair responsibilities between neighbours and to its own people, in the first place, there would never have been a need to respond in self-defense. Who in their right mind would not expect an equal or stronger response when firing at someone. Is it not common knowledge that when you punch someone to excess you may expect a stronger punch back because the person you punched wants you to stop hurting them. Perhaps this was the actual intent: Disrespect a people so much that your very purpose in live is to harrass someone so much until they hit back; and then, of course, blame them because, after all, everyone knows they are the problem. Have you not been told this since you were 3 years old?

If someone was constantly firing shots at your house, and your life became one of endless harrassment and dodging, and then you discovered that the source is the person crossing your lawn with their “grocery bags” for him and his extended family, would you not want to put a stop to the items in the bag that were fired at you and your house? How would you ensure that the innocents in his extended family still got their food, but the shells he fired were stopped. Please don’t fault the fired at for not coming up with the perfect solution on how to defend themselves. The problem needs to be stopped at the source. The source is where the hatred originally omits from. It does not emit from the object of hatred. That source also posions and damages the peoples closest to it.

Hamas has been firing it’s “pin pricks” for 8 years at the Israeli people, their children, their schools. For years these people haven’t had the peace to drive in the street or go to school without being on alert for a bomb siren. Could you live like that? Think about it. And think very very carefully when anyone with a title reduces such offenses to a “pin prick”. Deep hatred towards the Jewish people and its spread by indoctrination and our tolerance and apathy towards that indoctrination has been going on for centuries. Who can blame the jewish people for finally maturing and standing up for themselves and demanding that it stop. Relatively speaking, they’ve been peaceable and pliable for centuries. Only a peaceable and pliable people could possibly be subjected to the murder of 6 million of its members within 5 years or less. Not to mention the ongoing dogma.

One cannot expect to consistently push and indoctirnate hatred without eventually having those who are hated begin to push back. Dr. Tarazi’s use of the term “pin prick” enormoulsy betrays and diminishes the long history, and ongoing lifestyle actions of hatred and indoctrination against Israelis or jewish peoples by extremist Islamists. It is also a reflection of Dr. Tarazi’s perception as developed by every input he has ever received in his development as a person. The presentation of this article takes advantage of our own western belief system and deep desire for the greater good by responding with resolution and love. Although I truly belief at the very core of my own upbring that there is a way, what still comes to mind is that, yes, indeed, love is a weapon.