It’s civilization vs. pre-civilization barbarism, and the stakes couldn’t get any higher.
Imagine that you could create a happy and peaceful society, but to do so you had to “torture to death only one tiny creature. … Would you consent to be the architect on those conditions?”
That hypothetical question comes from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel “The Brothers Karamazov.” Israel has been asked a similar question, but it’s not hypothetical.
Hamas recently released a video showing terrorists holding captured Israeli babies and children, according to The Telegraph.
WARNING: Some viewers may find the following video disturbing.
BREAKING: Hamas publishes footage of its fighters keeping Israeli children as human shields in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/AvhLj3WOwH
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 13, 2023
The video shows men in fatigues and tactical vests essentially babysitting hostage children.
One of the captives, maybe 4 years old, sits in the lap of a terrorist who rocks a baby in a carriage. Another terrorist cradles a baby in one arm and totes an automatic weapon in the other.
In another clip, a man with his face covered addresses the camera in Arabic as he holds a child in each arm.
The intended message of the video is clear: The children taken hostage are alive and being taken care of — for now. If Israel invades Gaza, they will be in grave danger.
As The Telegraph reported, “it is feared that more than 100 Israeli hostages will be used by the terrorists as human shields.”
The terrorists coddling child captives in the video might also be trying to soften their image on the world stage in response to the devastating stories of Israeli babies murdered by Hamas.
“See? We’re not that bad,” they seem to be saying. It’s a lie.
Israel faces a nightmarish choice. The fire and fury needed to meet Hamas and defeat it will also put Israeli hostages — some as young as 9 months old — in danger.
Fighting an enemy who has no honor, no restraint and no sense of decency is a grim proposition. When they dangle innocent young children in front of a camera to send a warning, it’s even grimmer.
In Dostoevsky’s novel, the answer to the terrible question of sacrificing a child for the greater good is “No, I wouldn’t consent.”
It’s not so easy in real life.
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If the Israelis threw up their arms and called off the attack in return for the hostages, it would give the green light to terrorists to continue targeting their country. In other words, Hamas would win.
You can’t negotiate with people who employ such barbaric tactics to terrorize their enemies and their own people. They can’t be trusted. The god they serve can be none other than the Prince of Lies.
And that’s what it boils down to: This is a war between good and evil. The stakes can’t get any higher than that.
Israelis are facing some very difficult choices. Keep them in your prayers.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.