September 1, 2014 --

Throughout the course of the recent fighting in Gaza, radio personality Geraldo Rivera indicated impatience with Israel for defending herself against an enemy intent on her obliteration. Rivera constantly referred to civilian casualties, refusing to denounce Hamas for using civilians as human shields. (When Hamas resumes its Jihad against Israel, will it surround its convoys invading Israel with buses carrying women and children, so that Rivera can accuse Israel of war crimes if the Israel Defense Force fires on the invading Hamas convoys?) Rivera's calls for peace between Israel and Hamas suggested that Rivera wanted to see Netanyahu tell Hamas he would accept its terms to end the fighting.

Rivera's tone was markedly belligerent after ISIS slaughtered James Foley. This time, Rivera called for all-out bombing of ISIS, saying "ISIS is different [from Hamas]. ISIS has declared war on the United States." So -- because Hamas has not, for Rivera, declared war on the United States and merely is waging Jihad against Israel to wipe her off the map and put an Islamic State in her place, Rivera claims authority to advise Israel how it may defend itself against enemies seeking its destruction. In this regard, certainly, Rivera is not alone. If Israel accepts the invidious counsel of people like Geraldo Riverea, it will, of course, be exercising its right to be destroyed.