What It Really Means to Protect a Child
Looking beyond slogans in the Israel and Palestine conflict
This is a guest post from the JPF family by author Man of Truth and first appeared on JPF Medium.
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The Simplified Narrative Is Not Enough
When it comes to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, I constantly hear people accusing Israel of genocide, labeling it a child-killing terrorist state. Their argument often begins and ends with one harsh image: dead children.
Yes, it is true. Israel flies warplanes and bombs urban areas. And yes, more than ten thousand children have tragically died in these operations. That is a devastating fact.
Do I accept this? Do I wish for this to happen? Of course not. No sane person would. But unlike most people shouting online, I look at these events from a completely different perspective.
What It Means to Truly Protect Children
I do feel bad. Truly. No child deserves to suffer, especially in war. But as a parent, your first responsibility is to protect your children as much as you possibly can. And when war breaks out, when bombs are falling from the sky, there are really only two immediate options:
Run as fast and as far as possible
Find shelter underground if available
But the truth is, protection does not start when the war begins. It starts long before that. There are many things a society and a parent can do before the conflict escalates:
Elect peaceful and rational leaders, especially when your potential enemies are far stronger militarily
Teach your children how to stay safe during conflict
Keep them away from terrorist groups that often use children as shields or propaganda tools
Educate them to think critically, to read, and to integrate with the rest of the world rather than filling their minds with hatred
Stop feeding your society a steady diet of victimhood and vengeance
The Shelters That Were Never Used
And here is one more critical question. Gaza has over four hundred fifty kilometers of underground tunnels, a massive hidden infrastructure. If those tunnels exist, why were they not used as shelters for civilians during wartime? Why were children left in exposed buildings while those tunnels were kept for weapons and fighters?
If Hamas sees itself as the heroic defender of its people, why did it not prioritize the safety of those very people?
I am a father too. You do not find yourself in the middle of a war like this overnight. You see it coming. And if you cannot stop it, then you run or you hide. There is no other way.
So why did many Palestinians not run or hide in time? Have you ever thought about that? Why did they not take action before the bombs started falling? Or if they did think about it, why were they unable to act?
There are only two possible answers. Either Hamas did not allow them to leave, or they chose to stay , even at the cost of their children’s lives.
When Childhood Is Already Taken Away
Let us be honest. We have seen this before. In Gaza, there have been moments when, instead of mourning dead children, parts of that society celebrated. We have seen families rejoice when their sons died as suicide bombers in Israeli cities. We have seen radical groups like Hamas recruit child militants, and when those children died, their families called them martyrs.
We have even seen schools in Palestine where very young children perform plays that glorify stabbing, shooting, and killing.
When a child is raised like that — taught to hate, to kill, to die — what exactly is left of their childhood? What is the difference between living and dying, when their innocence has already been erased?
The truth is, the children who died in Gaza were not just victims of war. They were victims of their society and of the decisions made by their own parents.
And who would not mourn that even more deeply?
The Burden of Choice and Consequence
So yes, my heart breaks for the children who are dying. But I cannot place all the blame on Israel and its military. The society surrounding those children made choices. They supported and empowered organizations that repeatedly attacked Israel. And when those groups committed atrocities on October seventh, the consequences were inevitable. The giant woke up.
And some of the very same parents who are now crying for their children were dancing in the streets just days earlier.
Tell me, is that really how you protect your child?
All beings with a nefesh/soul mourn children killed in war. And at least most of the adult casualties as well. But with the 'palestinians', and a good portion of the Islamic world writ large, we have a death cult. Many (not all) only value their children as tools, slaves, or props. As little not-toy soldiers who will take up the flag of murder and kill Jews and then (and only then) the rest of the infidels. We have burkha-clad (and often VERY well fed) "mothers" (it feels like a 1984-esque curse to say it) chanting "Death to Israel! I want my son to be a martyr!!!!" and then wailing like a stuck pig when Lil' Achmed gets what he deserves as he tries to stab an Israeli soldier.
I'm not sure the world has seen a such cult of death, truly a cult of child-sacrifice, since the days of Ba'al. These monsters don't care for their "beloved" children any more than I care for a spent shotgun shell. ALL they care about is killing Jews. More than peace. More than land. And certainly more than their own children. One wonders if the children of the billionaire leaders, living the life of luxury in Qatari hotels, or the Ayatollas, or the insanely ranting imans, all of those whipping the feral animals into a frenzy, would put a stop to this carnage should their own children somehow end up at the business end of a bullet. All at once.
No, that’s not how you protect your children, that’s how you sacrifice them. Islam is just re-hashed paganism. They sacrifice their children for their god. Their god is, in all actuality, Satan; and Satan hates Israel and the Jewish People. Here is an excerpt of Revelations, a book in the New Testament, which is often thought of as antisemitic; but is really very pro-Jewish:
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet and upon her head, a crown of 12 stars: and she being with child, cried travailing in birth and pained to be delivered. And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and threescore days.
And there was war in heaven: Micheal and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found anymore in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was casted out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brother is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman,and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Rev. 12