ISIS is to America as Hamas is to Israel

Strong words must be followed by strong actions, namely total destruction of the cancerous cells and all the metastasizes,
Bishop Tutu and ex president Carter are living in a cloud , even to mention that Hamas should be legitimized , and be granted international recognition. It would be better for Tutu to continue praying for peace and for Carter to tend his peanut farms.

What a total disappointment Obama and Kerry have been in world affairs.
How is it 3 US representatives were at the funeral in Fergeson but far less at the funeral of our high ranking general who lost his life in Afganistan?
How is it that Obama intercepted and is delaying the ordinary flow of hellfire missiles purchased by Israel when needed so desperately for defense? Was this meant to pressure Israel into accepting outrageous peace proposals?
How is it the the US does not strongly veto the latest UN resolution against Israel? Is it because Israel can no longer count on solid US support?
How is it that the FAA declared that no American planes could fly into Israel for at least 2 or more days? Is it because the US doesn't understand what this unnecessary precaution how hurtful this was to Israel's economy? How is it that our beloved journalist was beheaded when there was a clear chance to go into Syria and rescue all journalist hostages? Is it because Obama's ego would not have been able to cope with a "Carterism" of the rescue mission failed?
How is it that we keep giving Iran more opportunity to "fiddle with its nukes" while the door opens for the world to burn?
What can we do henceforth to move back to American exceptionalism?

Alan Dershowitz wants us to think that ISIS is to America as Hamas is to Israel. He revels in making the terrorist problems of the Middle East a threat to Americans.

It makes me think of two words: Lavon Affair.

The dear Bishop Tutu sells himself to whomever has his price. He went to Canada and barfed his ignorant comments about the oil sands for something like six figures. Ignore him. People who sell themselves are sometimes referred to as prostitutes.

If Islamic State is a 'cancer' which implies invasive surgery to remove it, what does that make Hamas? Diabetes, that Israel will have to learn how to live with?

There is absolutely no doubt, as has been proven over the ages that ISIS and Hamas have to be eliminated at all costs.
Hate is hate and we all know when threats are forthcoming you have to take them seriously.
The consequences of these radicals remaining on earth will always present a danger to mankind.
Unfortunately there is no other choice. Anything less will achieve a temporary solution.

All sorts of learned Western "experts" attempt to get their clueless Western heads around the nuances that supposedly differentiate between the various flavors of Jihadi Islam, while the truth is very simple - they're all the same. The common denominator of all of these most dangerous Islamists is their belief in the sanctity of Jihad - holy war against the "infidel"; ie: anyone who does not meet their private criteria of the perfect Moslem (including other Moslems). As long as Westerners continue to play "spot the difference" between myriad of Islamic offshoots, ISIS will continue laughing all the way to the bank. The only way that Western civilization can defend itself is by jettisoning some of the more ridiculous aspects of liberal Political Correctness and realize that it is not "racism" to identify and target the enemies of mankind; ie: any person anywhere who exhibits the symptoms of Jihadi Islam.

While I agree with everything Professor Dershowitz says as far as he goes, I hope he sooner or later takes the next, short, logical step to so many of his articles. If both Hamas and ISIS are authentic representatives of core Islamic beliefs, as they repeatedly claim, why can we not, at long last, begin to debate the moral legitimacy of the religion itself. Is it not, finally, time to recover our Common Sense and denounce the religion which is the cause of so many types of atrocities – not only human, but political, philosophical, cultural, and others?

People like to have a clear view of the cause of a great political, cultural, and looming military crisis. And since, despite the growing violence throughout the Muslim world, of which ISIS is only the most brutal example(and the most proud of its behavior), we continue to honor the Great Taboo against criticizing the religion which is the cause of this burgeoning crisis, it makes a sort of sense that criticism becomes irrationally deflected onto Israel as the supposed cause of all the region's problems.

Of course there is the added appeal that Israel is not going to hurl blood-curdling threats at Europeans, send suicide bombers, or videotape beheadings in response.

But perhaps even more important, Israel's unashamed self-defense is a standing rebuke to the continuing pusillanimous attempt of most of Europe's elites and government officials to try and appease their Muslim 'neighbors'. Which goes on even as those Islamists work tirelessly to set up little Gazas in most of their own cities, from Oslo to Barcelona, from Manchester to Athens.

On the other hand, if we stop confining our criticism to the myriad individual acts of indiscriminate violence in Muslim countries, and finally look at the creed in whose name all of them are committed, consider what a vast virgin field becomes available for commentary, debate, and political enlightenment.
Let us therefore at long last, unshackle and disenthrall our minds from the pernicious, self-inflicted wound of refusing to debate the moral worth and moral legitimacy of the doctrines of Islam.

Thank you Mr Dershowitz, for putting forward a common sense response to the violent, political filth that is disturbing our world in a clear and succinct manner. How refreshing.

Mr. Dershowitz fails to recognise a crucial difference between ISIS and the Palestinians, whether under Hamas or Fatah: they are under occupation. International Law allows peoples under occupation (including illegal blockade) to resist that occupation by violent means. In case Mr. D. thinks that the Law in this case might "be an ass", then my guess is that he would still regard the often extremely violet actions of, say, the French resistance in WW2 or the Afghan resistance against Soviet occupation in the 1980s as, if not always justified, then at least defensible. Israel must move towards ending its occupation.

West Bank belonged to Jordan, not the Palestinians. They never owned anything.. Why did they not demand the West Bank to be their homeland from King Hussain? They said it was their land, that it belonged to Jordan and not the PLO. When Israel defeated Jordan in 1967 Jordan did not want the West Bank back and told Israel to keep it.... and they did. It is not occupied land, period.

1. 'There has to be a common effort to extract this cancer so it does not spread. One thing we can all agree on is group like (ISIS) has no place in the 21st century'.
It is for the people of Iraq and Syria to deal with ISIS, not the USA nor EU.

2. 'Obama..urging Israel to accept that terrorist group, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, as part of a Palestinian unity government. I cannot imagine him urging Iraq, or any other Arab country, to accept ISIS as part of a unity government'.
If Hamas requests to be part of the Palestine unity government ,it is up to the other Palestinians to decide. If the unity Palestinian government excludes the destruction of Israel on its agenda, then negotiations with Israel are possible.

3. 'Hamas has probably killed more civilians — through its suicide bombs, its murder of Palestinian Authority members, its rocket attacks and its terror tunnels — than ISIS has done. If not for Israel's Iron Dome and the Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas would have killed even more innocent civilians'
It is the IDF and the Israeli government that have saved more civilians, fortunately the Gaza rockets are little more than fireworks.

4.'Hamas terrorists have slaughtered innocent babies in their beds, teenagers on the way home from school, women shopping, Jews praying and students eating pizza'
Of the 2000 deaths in Gaza, a high percentage were civilians , without Israeli intention.It is the intention which should be highlighted.

5.'The Hamas Charter does not limit its murderous intentions to one country. Like ISIS it calls for a worldwide "caliphate," brought about by violent Jihad'.
First time I have heard mention of Hamas calling for a worldwide caliphate brought about by violent Jihad, how come it has not been mentioned before. In making a comparison with Chamberlin's and Churchill's response to Hitler, it is not the Nazi claim that was significant, it was the Nazi ability to put their claim into effect.

6.'Just as ISIS must be defeated militarily and destroyed as a terrorist army, so too must Hamas be responded to militarily and its rockets and tunnels destroyed'.
Who should defeat ISIS, why the USA? Israel must defend itself against Hamas as it sees fit, maybe there is another way than continuous warfare,maybe not

7. 'There can be no compromise with bigotry, terrorism or the demand for a caliphate. Before Hamas or ISIS can be considered legitimate political partners, they must give up their violent quest for a worldwide Islamic caliphate'.
ISIS does not have military bases worldwide, nor a massive arms industrial complex to back up its claims, if the people of Iraq and Syria wish to set up their caliphate in that area, so be it but let them invite Hamas to join them there.

I respect and agree with Dershowitz wholeheartedly about who Hamas is and why they are the last hope of Palestinians in search of peace and healthy statehood. But...Israel, one of the most innovative and unique nations in the world's history, needs to be able to figure out ways to win this war without killing so many civilians. I know that Hamas would sacrifice every Gazan child to make Israel into a pariah state. But Israel should not walk so predictably into that trap. Walls, blockades, destruction of tunnels, commandos taking out Hamas leaders, mine the boundary on the Gaza side, etc etc, but please consider a different approach to the air war. Generations of terror grow in the rubble, and too many people have died. I am not 'blaming' Israel for aggressively defending its tiny and surrounded borders. I just believe there are minds in Israel that can advance beyond the typical bombardment approach if Likud and the right-wing were not so rooted in their bellicose ways. They speak the language of 'revenge' too often. Leave that kind of talk to Islamic extremists for whom no one but those of their religion and language are good enough. Dershowitz's generalities are not up to the man's brilliant and precise legal complexity.

Mr. Dershowitz has articulated that which I have been thinking and discussing with others. I thank him for sharing his written words and thoughts. The United States government cannot expect Israel to exercise restraint in dealing with Hamas to any greater extent than does the U. S. in dealing with its terrorist enemies.

And here is the problem, Former President Jimmy Carter and Bishop Desmond Tutu have gone even further, urging the international community to recognize the legitimacy of Hamas as a political party and to grant it diplomatic recognition. While there are fools such as these two there will be no let up in the worlds escalating terror expansion, the problem is that they have such de-facto image with so many -usually left politics - and people tend to look for the easy way out, regardless of the consequences that are pre-destined to come from such actions of leniency for such terror groups. unless the worlds authority's wake up and see just what will eventuate OUT OF SO MUCH OF THE ISLAMIC TERROR -AROUND THE GLOBE- THEN WE WILL ALL SUFFER MUCH TERROR. Now of course many will condemn me for saying -Islamic terror- but please explain to one and all, just who is causing so much terrorism around the world if its not terrorists calling themselves Islamic fundamentalists, USING SOFT WORDS DOES NOT STOP HARD PROBLEMS.
rod qld aust

Would not his comments be applied to the Israeli efforts, (without the help from other nations) to eradicate the Hamas "cancer" which confronts Israel?

The west is still sleeping at the switch. Did Obama just discover America? No one knew about terrorism and its many faces!!!! It cannot happen to us, right?

"So too with ISIS and Hamas. They must first be defeated militarily and only then might they consider accepting reasonable diplomatic and political compromises. Another similarity between ISIS and Hamas is that if these terrorist groups were to lay down their arms, there might be peace, whereas if their enemies were to lay down their arms, there would be genocide."

That does seem to be the case. The ISIS sort of ignorance is beyond negotiation.

While Prof. Dershowitz correctly links Hamas and ISIS, it is important to understand that there are many other such groups worldwide that fit under the terrorist umbrella of radical Islam. Hezbollah, al Qaeda, Boko Haram, and Abu Sayyef may have different names but they all have the same goal: the destruction of Western civilization and the creation of a global caliphate with sharia - strict Islamic law. Freedom loving countries must form a support group for mutual protection against the vicious brutality of radical Islamic terror.

This argument covers most areas in a concise and direct way letting an uninformed reader understand the parallel between ISIS and Hamas. I may have added how the word of both cannot be trusted and how Hamas has now admitted the murder/kidnap of 3 Israeli boys after denying it to the World. I suppose I would have also added that an FBI investigation is taking place for Foley but not Naftali Fraenkel. Why, because he is an American Jew in Israel and it will involve Hamas??
I am doing my best to convey accurate info on Israel and Hamas in Social Media.

It appears Ken Roth has admitted his biases for Hamas and against Israel but will not recuse himself from the HRW investigation of Israel.

Regards,
Yaakov Holansky

Military defeat must precede reconstruction, just as it did in World War II. And reconstruction begins after unconditional surrender, just as it did in the postwar period. And it takes decades to build a free society that can have free elections.
Dirty deals with quick fixes yield violent cultures. The dual standard by which the world judges Israel is a consequence of jealousy and hatred; it is antisemitic.

Asking ISIS to give up arms and their ideology for recognition is asking them to commit suicide. There is no "half-way". It is all or nothing and once that is understood everything once problematic falls into place.

There shall not ever be peace while our Islamist friends allow these radicals to shoot infants through the head and blame it on Israel. I would never accept a Jew shooting a child through the head but I have seen enough videos to turn my stomach as to was the Muslim Fundamentalists would do for exposure. They are sick!

I was blissfully unaware that Isis was targeting the USA with rockets as Hamas is targeting Israel. One is pure speculation and the other is very much a reality.

What Mr. Obama and his European friends should do is to reverse policy and shelve the current disputes with civilised people in order to convene a meeting of heads to initiate the annihilation of this group because Libya, Russia. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria are not going to invade the west but ISIS will, even if surreptitiously.

These people are following the Koran in their own way and that means death by any means, no logic, no particular reason, they are mad dogs, they do not fear death, they are even looking forward to it. We should not be upsetting the rest of the world arguing over something we can't carry through.

While Obama referred to ISIS as "cancer" he referred to Hamas as "extremely irresponsible." Obama should understand that when he adapt that kind of double standard, he cannot expect that his call for the international community to unify in fight against Islamist savages to be taken seriously.

It is no wonder that two of the biggest Jew haters since Hitler would like to see Hamas recognized. I love that cartoon at the end. What do a few more Jewish lives matter? In the end, Israel will have to stand alone, as usual. They are probably on ISIS' list of targets. They figure to let Hamas soften them up, then they come into Israel and finish the job.

What would President Obama and the US's response be if a US citizen would be beheaded by Hamas? Would the response be the same as with the beheading of James Foley by ISIS?

Guess what? Hamas executed three teenagers, including one who was a US citizen.

Is the US saying that shooting a civilian teenager in the back of the head is acceptable but, beheading a US journalist is not?

They are each equally as brutal, perpetrated by vicious, bloodthirsty terrorist groups. The double standard is stinging.

Ask Obama if he would negotiate with ISIS as he is requesting of the Israelis to negotiate with Hamas. Both are cut from the same cloth.

I think if there is a cessation of Arab lands being grabbed by Zionist settlers then there may be a start to peace but as long as the absorption of Arab land into a greater Israel then there will be eternal conflict in the middle east.

Like the Israeli Defence Force, sensible people worldwide have no other option but to save themselves and their countries by adopting a hard line. The cancer that is Hamas and Isis must be destroyed. There is no other alternative.

It has long been obvious that, based upon historical experience, whether in the 19th Century (the Civil War in the United States), or in the 20th (WW II, with respect to Germany and Japan), that a decisive military defeat, necessarily if tragically accompanied by substantial casualties, and humiliation of the enemy regime and its replacement, is the only way in which a heavily armed and determined ideologically driven force can be defeated and replaced. Alan Dershowitz has it exactly right.

Finally, finally, finally, Alan Dershowitz has articulated extremely clearly and lucidly the scope and dimension of the issue with Hamas.
Notice, however, that it has taken the US President far too long to begin to understand what Netanyahu and all Israelis have understood for a very long time.
Maybe there is hope that US policy with respect to Israel vs Hamas will become more realistic, and more supportive in every way of the necessity, the urgent necessity and not just desirability, to either eliminate Hamas as the malignant cancer that it is, or to force its total surrender.
Or, is President Obama still applying the double standard: One for the USA and a different one for Israel?

You cannot isolate and compartmentalize terrorism - it is global and the entire ideology must be discredited

Obama tried to distance the violence of ISIS from Islam. He also tries to isolate and compartmentalize his war on terror. First it was one man in one group - bin Laden's Al Qaeda. When bin Laden was killed Obama wanted to wash his hands of the war and pronounce all terror groups targeting Israel first as viable partners for peace.

Obama is first and foremost a Muslim apologist - he will not say that there is a problem with Islam - a growing problem in the present day. It is a problem that has metastasized with political tentacles reaching the White House. Obama will not admit to a connection between Islam and terrorism and so, as a result, the ideology cannot be discredited.

So Obama looks for causes instead of solutions. He can tackle the situation by coming up with facile and fake causes (such as Israel's insistence that it defend its people against terrorism of Hamas and Israel's technical advantage) but he dare not tackle the source of the jihad - the propaganda and violence coming from a belief in the word of the Koran to the letter and passed down to the "believers."

Yes, Hamas and ISIS are one and the same; in fact, jihad, under whatever the name given to the group (Shia or Sunni), is universal - the terrorists from one group mingle with and fight for each other. How many Hamas fighters are now in Iraq and Syria as mercenaries for their brothers-in-jihad? How many will return in the revolving door of freedom offered to jihadists by western nations?

We have the situation of recruits going from America and Europe to that region but nobody is saying how many foreign fighters are in Gaza too. We know that ISIS is in Gaza so why isn't Obama up in arms about his ISIS target du jour when they are in Gaza? There is certainly an army of propaganda fighters for Hamas in the form of the UN, the unions, certain church groups, the EU, etc. These ancillary terrorists form an army lending credibility to the Jew hate that is masked as concern for so-called "Palestinians" and Gazans.

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. All terror groups are the same and must be eliminated not only militarily but also in the halls of our government administrations and legislatures.

It could be that Hamas is the only Muslim organisation that is not critical of American policies. ISIS has made it clear where they stand concerning America. Another journalist looks likely to lose his head for American procrastination.

In the above article, Mr. Dershowitz asks: "Why then the double standard regarding ISIS and Hamas? Is it because ISIS is less brutal and violent than Hamas?"

I wonder if the above contention -- that "ISIS is less brutal and violent than Hamas" -- is a typo, because it just doesn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the article's presented thesis.

But that issue, and the other issue that I raised in a prior post, aside, I would think that any group -- whether ISIS or Hamas or others -- that, as a core-component of their philosophies, espouse the infliction of torture, murder, and other such savagery, on innocent human beings, must be viewed as unacceptable and must be relentlessly quelled and brought to justice.

To Mr. Dershowitz --

I must take issue with your above statement that "it matters little to the victim's family whether the death was caused by beheading, by hanging or by a bullet in the back of a head":

IMO, the form and degree of brutality, and the physical and psychological pain that it inflicts on the immediate victims and, by extension, on their love ones, makes a BIG difference to the immediate victims AND to their loved ones.

Or is it your thinking that "torture" -- especially the type, degree, and intensity of that "torture" -- is inconsequential and has no impact -- or SHOULD, in your view, have no impact -- on anyone victimized by it?

I would like to see Kerry sitting down with ISIS and negotiate.

Obviously Hamas cannot be negotiated with. All negotiation is to their benefit. They said clearly and their actions prove that they do not want peace with Israel. They want Israel's destruction and the death of all Jews.

Clearly, Bibi and the Israeli government are not fools. They know this. I therefore cannot for the life of me understand why Israel plays Hamas' game. Hamas decides when to negotiate, when to fight, when to ceasefire. Israel dances to Hamas' tune. Israel needs to do the entire job and get past Hamas, the sooner the better.

UNRWA should be held totally responsible for the Gaza war. He knew that Hamas stored rockets in homes, hospitals, mosques schools.

Chris Gunnes admitted that UNRWA found rockets hidden in schools and handed those rockets to the "government" which is Hamas.

Chris Gunnes is the guilty party and should be hanged by the ICC for all the help he has given the Hamas terrorists.
He knew about where the rockets were being stored. He knew about the tunnels and what their purpose was.
He knew that Hamas has received billions of dollars to build hospitals, homes, schools etc. He knew where that money went. He knew that Hamas leaders have stolen hundreds of millions from their people to enrich themselves.

He knew that the money sent to Gaza was to build hospitals, schools, homes etc. He knew that the money "disappeared" with his blessings.

The most evil man wearing a clerical collar, is TUTU.
He supports every cause to destroy Israel and every Jew.

It is time for the world to wake up to this evil little man.

He has to have his picture in every newspaper in the world.

He has to have his say.
And what he says is pure evil. But as yet, the world has not woken up to who this little evil man is.
History will record his evil ways.
He should have been defrocked long ago.

What he is doing and saying is against God's will.

As has been mentioned whether their aim is to kill Jews or American citizens it doesn't alter the fact that as far as the Jewish nation is concerned they want to annihilate the whole race. How do you stop the killing? I am afraid the cancer has already spread. Beheadings and shooting of Isis whether in Syria or Iraq is rife. Shooting of rockets and kidnapping in Israel seems to be a normal event. How on earth do we stop the terrorism? What is the solution without further bloodshed? We and the Christians in Syria and Iraq want peace and I am sure the general consensus is for World Peace! We pray for peace! Amen!

The use of double standards is indeed the 21st century's appeasement process in full swing.
Israel is urged to accept/recognise/legitimise Hamas in the hope that this will deflect/appease the murderous intentions of IS;Boko Haram; Al Shabbab; AQ, etc.
Israel takes the rap while the west pontificates self righteously about Hamas' entitlement to diplomatic recognition and a place at the UN, while IS and co carry on doing what they do best.
What, if any, are the doctrinal/political/ideological differences between IS; Hamas; Boko Haram; Al Shabbab; AQ etc?
Do they sing from the same sheet?
Do they share the same sources of funding, intelligence, IT ?
Do they cooperate?

I wonder what the reason could be for this inconsistency in attitude of John Kerry and the world. Antisemitism and antizionism combined?

That's what they aspire to be. In the game "Dungeons and Dragons", there are always somebody who wants to play the "Orcs". And there are some who extend their multiculturalism to embrace "Orcs and trolls".

But humankind has rejected to embrace those anti-humans. We fight them to extinction! To be "inhuman", is not to belong to ordinary human values like love, kindness and being mercifull. We have the right to fight against evil, or people aspiring to be "Orcs"!

The "Orcs" in the north are "IS" and the "Orcs" of the south are "Hamas".

It's only obvious that Hamas and ISIS are bed partners to those suffering immediately (bombs, suicide bombers, beheadings, rockets, et al) from both of them. And even then I suspect the NYT and White House spinners, cutters, and other furious fates will find a way of blaming Israel for whatever their blindnesses has bought them.

Obama's behaviors suggest he's committed to the Moslem Brotherhood 'take' on Islam and the Mid East. as 'moderate islam' and it's never clear when moderate islam jihadis become immoderate islam jihadis. the red lines are written in invisible ink, and only candle light, flames, or other heat might one day reveal them. If you dare wait. For the next gaza lie, the next isis beheading of journalists out to discover and tell the truth.

Good luck

ISIS is to world as Hamas is to Israel.

The Arabs commonly known as Palestinians have unwisely elected leaders who have chosen to educate their youth to hate Jews and to use concrete to build tunnels instead of mosques, schools and homes for the people. It will take only re-education of the youth (and eradication of the Hamas leadership) to allow peaceful coexistence. The people of ISIS are religious fundamentalists (like the rulers in Iran) who also require elimination. Thereafter, comparisons are meaningless.

"So too with ISIS and Hamas. They must first be defeated militarily and only then might they consider accepting reasonable diplomatic and political compromises..."

Israel has defeated its enemies in 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973, in Lebanon, and in Gaza now for a third time. Each time, it is the losers who incongruously sue for the terms of surrender, and then on to resume their murderous ways.

Only when the medieval troglodyte mindset of Radical Islam gestates its paradigm shift, and finally evolves a modern consciousness, will it then abandon the hopeless and murderous struggle to force its brand of intolerant fascism on the Free World, and join the rest of Mankind at the table of Civilization. This will take at least another generation, 40 years of wandering in the desert of meaningless violence, until the old guard finally dies off, allowing the new generation to finally taste the fruits of Freedom and Liberty.

It's true that the only solution is military defeat of Hamas and ISIS. ISIS is thousands miles from the US, does not shoot thousands missiles into US and will not be able to exterminate the US population unless they politely request it. The US is free to use any force against ISIS, while Israel is systematically condemned and blackmailed by the West and the US. US under Obama whom you supported all the time will do everything possible to prevent defeat of Hamas and maximally weaken Israel.

No one has the right to use violence. Both Israel and Hamas have no right to ignore Peace. It is the responsibility of the International Community to ensure that there is Peace peace in the world. No one has the right to ignore.

In Para 5 did you mean "...because Hamas is less cruel..." rather than the reverse, as written?

That would make more sense, in this context.

Thank you for drawing attention to the "double standard".

Successfully fighting back against the rampant anti-Semitism masquerading as anti-Zionism in the media needs all the truth, eloquence and authority that can be mustered. Alan, you retired at the right time!