The word Hamas means “zeal” in Arabic and “violence” in Hebrew. The group lived up to its name, zealously firing thousands of rockets into Israel over the course of the latest Gaza conflict. If it were not for the miraculous Iron Dome missile defense system deployed by the Israelis, the rockets could have killed hundreds or even thousands of innocents. Yet, somehow, the group has found a small but obstreperous gaggle of congressional apologists in Washington. The very existence of a “Hamas caucus” is beyond odd given how positively Americans typically view Israel and how much terrorism is reviled by both Democrats and Republicans alike.

If you read the accounts of how this most recent round of fighting began, many reporters have parroted the line that Israel was evicting Arab residents from their home in Jerusalem. This, in turn, was said to trigger Hamas. The group began firing rockets at Israel, Israel responded, and all hell broke loose.