Dan Sullivan Call To Action - Palestinian Terrorists Attack

I know first hand the generational impact of war and the haunting nature of bearing witness to human cruelty. Both my father and father-in-law saw combat in Europe during WWII. They never spoke much about it. That was the greatest generation, after all. Their forbearance also reflected that stiff-upper-lip facade they so well perfected. They tried to spare themselves and us the pain of reliving what could only have been a nightmare. If only In reality, they relived it every day, often, sadly, without the benefit of having an outlet for those painful memories. And we didn't hear the first-hand accounts of those horrible events that defined the 20th century.

Luckily, historians and filmmakers pried loose the details of the second war to end all wars, because every generation needs to bear witness to the horrors that man is capable of inflicting on his brother ever since Cain killed Abel. To say that was as painful as it was enlightening to observe these recorded events, as it was for me when I was young, understates the necessity of learning of history's darkest times. Even though these events were often distanced by the black-and-white footage or the black-and-white print in the texts, their memory remains indelible.

Recently, I again was called upon to document the horrors of mankind. This week, along with many legislators, I saw a private screening of first-hand footage taken by the Palestinian terrorists of their kidnapping, rape, massacre, and immolation of innocent Jews on October 7th. I will not be able to accurately describe what I saw.

You might think you could envision such depravity. I assure you that unless you liberated a concentration camp or escaped the killing fields of Cambodia, I can't believe you can even imagine the level of inhumanity exhibited by these gleeful murderers who boastingly filmed their rampage against the elderly, women and children.

These butchers found both common cause and shared excitement with the Nazis my father and father-in-law fought. I never thought that I would be called to bear witness to such events during my lifetime. Could not the world skip at least one generation from direct exposure to such evil? Apparently not.

So, when you read about armchair critics lecturing Israel not to defend the Jewish people, tell these know-it-alls that they don't know it all. Unsurpassed evil came to Israel on October 7th. Israel must eradicate that dark force or the Jewish people and the world will know no peace.

The world, sadly, is a harsh place. America was established and flourished through the taming of that harshness. But evil still awaits us just outside the gates of our paradise. I've seen it breach the walls of the Holy Land. Either we support our Jewish brothers and sisters in their fight for their existence, or we'll be fighting the same enemy seeking to do the same to our children. The defense of freedom requires collective resolve and action.

There's a reason these terrorists chant death to Israel in the same breath as they proclaim death to America - because both countries share a culture that values life and liberty. They don't. And both countries are willing to stand up for these beliefs as interconnected nations in the fight for life and liberty. We won't beat the terrorists merely because we're right. We'll win because all of humanity is relying on it.

The atrocities witnessed with both the Nazis during World War II and with the Palestinian terrorists on October 7th serve as a powerful reminder of our enduring struggle for humanity's soul and the imperative to stand against evil wherever it manifests. It's a sobering yet necessary call to action for all who cherish peace, justice, and the sanctity of life. May God continue to bless America and our dear friend the Jewish state of Israel.

State Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro, represents Senate District 20 in the Legislature.