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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Sometimes, one side is right and the other is indisputably wrong

Oct 11, 2023 | 6:13 AM

ONE OF THE BEST comments on public reaction to the terrible attack on Israel by Hamas came from Canada’s UN ambassador Bob Rae in the first hours after it was launched.

Rae, surely one of the most candid and articulate spokespersons when it comes to Canadian values, said this: “Those who are so quick to turn to ‘both sideism’ and ‘whataboutism’ should absorb this picture of an Israeli woman being driven in an open-air cart through the streets of Gaza. What ‘context’ justifies or excuses this cruelty?”

Since he made that comment, there have been many more videos and reports on news sites and social media that are even worse — people being grabbed as hostages, blood-stained walls, piles of bodies, beheadings and now threats of live-streamed executions.

Some will quickly point out that there are many disturbing images of the results of Israel’s counterattack as well. Bob Rae — who, by the way, has Jewish roots — also once said that no death is less than another.

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Around the world, there have been pro-Palestine rallies praising the Hamas attack on Israel and condemning what they call Israeli colonialism.

This, predictably, has resulted in clashes with pro-Israel rallies, raising tensions even more.

Certainly, there are legitimate grievances against Israel. Two sides, politically, to the conflict. But how can the wanton murder of men, women and children, of young people and old people, possibly be justified under any circumstances?

How can such inhumanity be defended no matter the reasons? The Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda, the atrocities of ISIS and so many more were all defended with “another side.”

But some things just aren’t acceptable, ever. Those who now decry the death and destruction rained on Gaza by Israel must ask themselves, who was the cause of it? Whose actions brought it about? And to what possible end? Hate is no justification.

Two sides? Sure, but sometimes the simple fact is, one is right, the other is wrong.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.