Does Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times really understand what he's advocating?

Israelis running to the bomb shelters [Image Source]

It's difficult to know where to begin. 

For years, Nicholas Kristof, a renowned opinion columnist at the New York Times, has been akin to an idol for me. His op eds move me, sometimes to the verge of tears. He genuinely cares for the neglected, forgotten and desperate and proves that repeatedly. He buttresses his writing with action: projects and fundraisers that produce tangible benefits for the subjects of his pieces.

But when he tackles the current, tragic situation in Israel he misses the mark [see "The ‘Unshakable’ Bonds of Friendship With Israel Are Shaking" from May 19, 2021 and "What Your Taxes Are Paying For in Israel" from May 12, 2021]. 

And that both angers and frightens me. He is accusing Israel of war crimes and urges US sanctions. Et tu Nicholas?

My murdered daughter Malki and me, 2001

Israel is fighting a vile, ruthless and blood-thirsty enemy in Hamas. I have suffered and continue to suffer from it every single day. In 2001 Hamas operative, Ahlam Tamimi, now living free and protected by Jordan's King Abdullah II, snatched my angel, Malki, from us in the Sbarro massacre that murdered 15 men, women and children. 

Tamimi publicly bemoaned the fact that "only" eight children were among the victims [video]. She was funded, instructed, sent and is - to this day - lauded by Hamas.

That is the very enemy that Israel is again battling. And has been for decades. 

It is a terror group that stockpiles missiles and launchers in residential buildings. It does so precisely to produce the op-eds that Nicholas Kristof has been writing during this war: harsh rebukes of Israel for bombing buildings that house residents, including children. 

Just as Hamas desired for my Malki to die, so does it desire for its own children to die. How else does one interpret its decision to endanger Gazan children by effectively using them as human shields?

Kristof's other arguments are immaterial while he ignores the above reality. Because it is crucial. Israel cannot defend itself against missiles and launchers housed amongst families without endangering those families. That is what Hamas wants and has accomplished. And it has garnered invaluable, immeasurable and unprecedented support by doing so.

From influencers like Nicholas Kristof.