A Bar-Ilan University law professor has issued an open letter to actress and former UNHCR special envoy Angelina Jolie, calling on her to support Israel's military incursion into Gaza for the sake of Israel, Gazans and the world.
"The only way to get rid of the cancer called Hamas is by a significant military intervention, including by ground forces, just like the allies did to get rid of the Nazis in Germany and the militant rulers of Japan in the 2nd World War," Prof. Arie Reich, law professor and vice rector of the university wrote. "Unfortunately, there were many civilians killed in the course of the liberation of Europe and Japan, much more than what is anticipated in Gaza. But after those military interventions, we achieved peace in Europe and peace in the world, and the citizens of both Germany and Japan can enjoy a much better life in a free democratic society that they did not enjoy before.
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"So if you, Angelina, are truly interested in promoting peace and human rights, you ought to support the military intervention that Israel has now embarked on in order to restore peace and quiet," he wrote.
The letter was in response to a post shared by Jolie on Instagram and Facebook in which she said she "spent the last weeks sick and angry at the terrorist attack in Israel," including the lives lost, the children orphaned and the hostages. However, she said that even though "what happened in Israel is an act of terror … that cannot justify the innocent lives lost in bombing a civilian population in Gaza that has nowhere to go, no access to food or water, no possibility of evacuation, and not even the basic human right to cross a border and seek refuge."
Jolie said that "anything that can prevent civilian casualties and save lives must be done."
In response, Reich said, "Unfortunately, to sing songs of peace will not do the job, as was tragically experienced by the thousands of Israeli participants of the Nova peace festival of song and dance, hundreds of whom were massacred on October 7 and others kidnapped and raped.
"To extend a helping hand to the Gaza inhabitants, like the members of Kibbutz Be'eri did, by setting up an organization that will provide medical treatment to Gaza children in Israeli hospitals, and provide them with employment, that too didn't really do the job," he continued. "They, too, were butchered and burnt alive by their Gazan neighbors."
He added that the inhabitants of Gaza have where to go: the southern part of the strip. He said that the majority had left for the humanitarian corridor and that those who did not "have done so by their own free will, probably because the Hamas has called upon them to stay, or because Hamas prevents them from leaving. You see, they need them as a human shield."
Hamas HQ under Shifa Hospital
He referenced the release over the weekend by the Israeli army of footage and images that proved Hamas uses Al-Shifa Hospital in the city center as a command and control center.
"In the bunkers, they have huge amounts of food and gasoline that could easily feed the inhabitants left in northern Gaza, but they have no intention to share [with] them because starving Gazans serve their purpose," Reich contended.
"So, if some civilians that you call innocent choose to stay, does that mean that Israel has no right to take measures to protect its population and to once and for all eradicate the terror organization that rules Gaza and has as its goal to destroy the State of Israel and kill all its inhabitants?"
Reich told The Jerusalem Post that he wrote the response, which he posted on his own Facebook, to "make a small contribution" and to "do my share" for Israel's public image.
He noted that he does not think Jolie is "a bad person" and that she "certainly is not an antisemite." But he said it was important to him to share his open letter, that he is working to get to Jolie directly, to stress that Israel acted "exactly like international law requires."
Jolie served for over 20 years with the UN Refugee Agency as UNHCR special envoy. In her role, she raised awareness and support for refugees - including Palestinian refugees.