There is no moral equivalence between the IDF and Iran’s terrorist proxies

One year on, the horrors of October 7 must be remembered

Tomorrow will mark one year since the October 7 massacre. Understandably, much attention will be focused on the military strategy of Israel’s attempt to secure its survival and security, the exact nature of its response to Iran’s latest outrage and its rightful efforts to defang Hezbollah and Hamas. Attention, too, will be drawn by the horrifying display on our capital’s streets yesterday of banners and placards declaring support for these terrorists.
But time should be taken, too, to remember why Israel is fighting. This is not a war of choice, but of necessity. A year ago, 1,200 people were murdered, and 251 hostages kidnapped by terrorists who had devoted themselves to the calculated destruction of a nation and people. Some 97 of those hostages remain unaccounted for, with one third believed to be dead. It was the worst single day loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust.
Those in the West who mouth the words “never again” before turning on Israel when it attempts to turn the phrase into a solid fact should reflect on precisely what those words mean. No country could tolerate the outrages perpetrated against Israel on a monthly basis, the barrages of rockets fired indiscriminately against civilian targets by Iran’s proxies.
That Israel has managed to minimise casualties through its development of its own defences does not in any way lessen the repugnance we should feel at the actions of these terrorists; they are intended to wound and kill, and it is only through the ingenuity and application of the Israeli people that they do not more often succeed in doing so.
There is no moral equivalence to be drawn here; the Israel Defence Forces have gone to extraordinary lengths to minimise civilian casualties, even as the forces arrayed against them have gone to extraordinary lengths to do just the opposite, deliberately targeting civilians while using their own people as human shields.
That so many in the West have lost sight of these fundamental truths brings shame upon us all. Too many politicians are desperate to pressure Israel into a ceasefire that will not bring the conflict to an end, but will merely give Hamas and its allies a chance to rearm.
Tomorrow, as we remember the dead of October 7, the hostages and the families awaiting their return, we should remember too why Israel is fighting. And we should remember why we owe it our support.