To the Editor:

French President Francois Hollande is correct to describe the barbaric attacks in Paris this month as an “act of war”.  WJW identifies the need to confront the evil these atrocities represent (“The real fight against evil”, Editorial, Nov. 19).

The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and its affiliate, the JCRC, link the Paris attacks to the continuing carnage in Israel (“In The News”,www.washingtonjewishweek.com, Nov. 19). As they state: “Radical Islamists are a global problem posing a threat to the entire free world, as evidenced by the horrendous attacks in Paris last week and in Israel today.”

The murderers responsible for the Paris atrocities swear allegiance to the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The radical Islamist entities that promote barbarism in Israel go by many names: Hezbollah, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hamas and, yes, even the Palestinian Authority that, through unrelenting incitement, is the driving force behind the reign of terror in Israel. What’s more, every one of the above-noted terror organizations has American blood on its hands.

The international community rightly stands foursquare with France through intensified efforts to eradicate the Islamic State. Yet, the free world does next to nothing to wholeheartedly support Israel in its efforts to overcome the Islamist-inspired barbarians arrayed against it. Far worse, Western nations give aid and succor to the radical Iranian state and extensive financial support to P.A.leaders — in effect subsidizing their campaign of incitement against the world’s only Jewish state.

We must ask ourselves why there is a different standard in the free world when it comes to standing with Israel. At a minimum, we must all vociferously demand an end to the world’s double standards that effectively deny the Jewish people and their nation-state the fundamental rights and privileges that are granted to other nations.   

Marc Caroff

President, Louis D. Brandeis Chapter

Zionist Organization of America