The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set news policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
Colleen O’Neal of Bangor has a bachelor’s degree in Intelligence and a master’s degree in homeland security.
First, I would like to offer my sincere and most heartfelt condolences for the loss of Israelis during the most egregious and barbaric attack against the Jewish people during my lifetime.
I want to address those of you protesting in favor of the Palestinians. Do not be a follower; be a leader. If you are not in favor of Hamas and its barbarous acts of decapitating babies, raping, torturing, and murdering women, and taking hostages as human shields, then why protest? Why pick this time when Israel has suffered the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust? Where have you been since the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty? Where have you been since the Oslo I Accord or the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty? If you have been so concerned for Palestine, where have you been, and why protest now?
I, too, am concerned for the people of Palestine. War does not discriminate, and there will be collateral damage on both sides. However, the Palestinian people did not perpetrate this attack. This attack was planned by and executed under the terror group Hamas. Their butchery was deplorable, and Israel has every right to defend itself.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization has stated it is fully prepared to back Hamas. Let’s be perfectly clear. Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran want nothing more than to have every Jew removed from the Middle East. Moreover, some in these groups also want death for every American.
Do you think these terrorist organizations and state supporters of terrorism are watching your protest? They absolutely are.
How do terrorist groups get support? They search for followers.
This year, 160 people whose identities match those on the terror watch list have been stopped at the U.S. southern border. The ones that have escaped are likely now in the U.S., looking for followers and support.
I would never tell anyone not to protest. We have the privilege of living in the United States, where countless military men and women have fought and died to give us tremendous freedoms not seen in other countries.
However, I would ask you to do your research and not just mindlessly take someone’s words. Know precisely what you are protesting for and know what the short and long-term implications of what such a protest could bring.
Complacency and ignorance are never an excuse.
Don’t be a follower. Be a leader.