Hinkle substitutes inflammatory rhetoric for facts and reporting. The dead and mangled people of Gaza were forced to be shields, he claims. The primitive rockets coming out of Gaza are part of an existential threat to Israel and have nothing to do with the 1.5 million people pushed into what can best be described as a concentration camp. Criticism of Israel’s violation of international law is part of a “wave of anti-Semitism worldwide.“ Why talk about the facts when one can wave the bloody shirt?

Over the weekend Israel announced a unilateral cease-fire. Hamas initially maintained it would continue its attacks, then switched gears and said it would suspend them for a few days. Few observers hold out much hope that the cease-fire will last long, and for good reason: As Hamas leader Khaled Meshal said not long ago, a cease-fire is merely “a tactic in conducting the struggle [against Israel]. Hamas is known for that.“ Hamas might have switched tactics, but it has not changed its ultimate goal one iota. It still lusts for Israel’s annihilation.

Last week the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution endorsing a cease-fire in Gaza. The content was one-sided, as usual. It did not call on Hamas to halt its rocket attacks against Israeli civilians as a condition for the suspension of Israel’s anti-terror offensive. Despite assurances that it would oppose statements that failed adequately to censure Hamas, the U.S. abstained on the motion. By not exercising its veto, the U.S. allowed the resolution to pass 14-0.

On Nov. 14, I was touring Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon, Israel, with Ellen Chernack, the executive director of the Jewish Community Federation of Richmond, when we came under attack from Grad rockets sent from Gaza. I was there in my role as a vice president of the federation and because of my professional interests. As an emergency room doctor who now teaches health care policy at VCU, I had helped organize conferences in Israel and Richmond on disaster-planning—and Barzilai hospital, unfortunately, offered a unique perspective.

Another Israel-Arab war has erupted and again Western supporters of both sides have divided into predictable camps. Israel supporters cite the indisputable fact that missiles launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza have been slamming into Israeli towns at increasing distances and with increasing accuracy. Palestine supporters cite the continuing siege of the Gaza Strip, which is dependent on Israel for electricity, fuel, and even basic foods.

If there is anything more dispiriting than the monomania of terrorists bent on the destruction of Israel, it is the perspective of those in the West who behave as though some moral equivalence existed between the two sides.

With more than 350 people killed in Israel’s deadliest attacks against Palestinians in decades, Virginia’s congressional delegation is split on whether the bombardment of Gaza is justified.

Israel is acting in self-defense, as any country in its position would. If Gaza had not served as a launching pad for terrorism, then Israel would not have struck at the source.