Murder of Three Israeli Teens by Hamas

May the Almighty comfort the families of Gilad Shaar (16), Naftali Frenkel (16)and Eyal Yifrach (19) among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. As Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, the founder of the yeshiva where two of the martyrs studied, has said, they were murdered only because they were Jewish, and therefore died, as they lived, l'kiddush HaShem, for the holiness of God's name.

Unlike the so-called "martyrs" of the Islamist world, they did not commit suicide or die in the attempt to kill others.

I am grateful for the condemnation of their murders by the United States government and by President Obama. However, actions speak louder than words. With three boys murdered (including an American citizen) and rockets launched from Gaza raining down on Southern Israel, the U.S. is calling for "restraint." Since Hamas will not restrain itself, in effect, the U.S. is calling for Israel not to take steps to defend its citizens. Noah Pollak, in an article in the Weekly Standard, describes the situation better than I can.

The test for the Administration's sincerity will be whether it continues to deal with a Palestinian Authority that incluces Hamas, with the blood of a 16-year old American boy on its hands, in its coalition.