I am losing faith in the world. Every day I see statistics such as “113 Palestinians killed, 3 Israelis killed” being used to suggest that Israel is the aggressor and Gaza the victim of gratuitous Israeli violence. The numbers and one-sided analysis make me cringe, and not because I am surprised that much of the world still harbors prejudices against Israelis and Jews. We are used to being hated. We know that we will always have enemies.

What makes me so sick is the realization that our supposedly knowledgeable society can make the simplest of errors in reading data. In the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, many assume that just because there have been more Palestinian deaths than Israeli deaths, Israel must be the source of aggression. It is a classic non-sequitur.

So many are conveniently forgetting the nature of the IDF’s Iron Dome project. The Iron Dome is a defense system against rocket offensives. It uses radar technology to detect rockets being launched from the Gaza strip. Then Israeli Tamir missiles intercept the rockets headed towards populated areas. Rockets headed towards open fields are not targeted. Israel takes great measures to protect its citizens, and in this conflict force has been used solely for the purpose of disarming terrorists behind rocket launchers.

Does Hamas take any real measures to protect the Palestinians of Gaza? No. In fact, Hamas places its arsenals in residential areas, forcing Israel to strike rocket stockpiles in Gaza neighborhoods. Nevertheless, Israel sends warnings to residents near these arsenals at least 24 hours before an attack, giving them the time and location of the imminent air raids and warning them to leave for their own safety. And yet Israel is the malicious aggressor? Where is the logic?

written by Ayala Schnaidman