As Israel pounds Gaza with a might that can only come from thousands of years of rage, U.S. aid and a fearless army, it's time to step back and ask ourselves what, exactly, is supposed to happen after this assault?
The blogosphere and platforms like Twitter and Facebook are buzzing with commentary -"I'm protesting for human rights in front of the Israeli consulate" said one Facebook user on his status update, while another user urged everyone to "stop the anti-Israel rhetoric," to which someone replied "God forbid they should get rid of the terrorists...permanently!"
Ah, so Israel is going to get rid of the terrorists...permanently? And in a matter of weeks, no less, which would render Operation Iraqi Freedom moot and, really, we should all be thanking Israel for doing the job that thousands of dead Americans and trillions of our dollars just hasn't been able to do? Even though Israel was supposed to wipe out the terrorists during the surprise siege on Lebanon in 2006 and come to think of it, for the past 60 years of its existence, Israel has been at non-stop war with...everyone.
So what makes the recent assault on Gaza so poignant? What makes the rising death toll of women, children and, yes, militants, any more compelling than other reports of carnage from this part of the world?
As we enter a new year and rally behind a new world order that's hopped up on hope, my wish is for a more fair assessment of the Israel situation, one that doesn't just pit Israel against terrorists and therefore justifies widespread killing. Yes, it's absolutely and unfortunately true that Israel has suffered countless terrorist attacks and that the Jewish people continue to be the targets of violence around the world, but where does this violence come from? Is it anti-Semitic to even ponder the thought that the bulldozing diplomacy behind the creation of the state of Israel did disenfranchise a large group of people who, perhaps, have a reason to be angry?
Violence begets violence - so when does it end? And how many more nations need to be embroiled in this mess?
Yes, the world needs a safe and stable Israel - the country remains a beacon of democracy in a region of dictators and repression. But the world also needs for Israel to set an example and reject its trigger-happy ways that make the world question the legitimacy of its pursuits.
I agree with this entire sentiment.
ReplyDeleteGCL:
ReplyDeleteLong time no speak!
You are far off the mark in this one. Think of it this way. Six million Jews died in the Holocaust. According to you, there "must have been a reason." You fail to realize some people hate just because they are taught to hate from birth. That is the only reason, and the reason why we have an intractable problem with regards to the Israeli Arab conflict.
A longer time frame of the conflict can be found on the Myths and Facts website.
To give you a long story short: there have been pogroms and attacks against Jews for thousands of years. But specifically, these attacks increased during the 20th century, under the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. After the Holocaust, Israel was offered a state, as were the Palestinians, by the UN. The Palestinians, under the Mufti (who was an architect for Hitler's Final Solution), rejected the partition plan. This plan was to have an Israel on land which was majority Jewish due to immigration before and after the Holcaust.
Instead of accepting this state, the Palestinians (a people which did not exist at the time, and are not a seperate ethnicity from Jordanians any more than New Yorkers or New Jerseyians are seperate ethnicities) waged war upon Israel, and attempted a genocide after the Holocaust...and lost. Prior to the Israeli Arab conflict, 'refugees' were not defined as people who are part of a group that attempted a genocide and then lost.
Since 1948 (the founding of the state), the Palestinians and Arabs in general have refused to accept any state of Israel on any land at all. Instead, there has been constant terror attacks against Israel.
In 1967, there was an attempted annihilation of Israel, which was defeated in the Six Day War. This is how Israel won the Sinai, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza. In response, Israel attempted to give this land - won in a defensive war - back. All they wanted was peace and recognition. Instead, in Khartoum, they got the famous "three Nos" - no peace, no recognition, no negotiations. source
Since then, the jihad has not ceased. The 'two state solution' was proposed first in Oslo, only to find out that Arafat did not truly intend two states - he wanted jihad. (Abbas has not proven different) And Hamas is even further radical.
The past eight years have witnessed eight years of rockets against Israel, and nary a response. Finally Israel is defending itself, and doing so in the most pinpointed way possible.
I say this war is not only justified, but necessary. If Israel does not go after Hamas in Gaza, and fails to defend the South of Israel, they lose all right to call themselves a state. The primary duty of a state is to defend its citizens.
To sum up, if you want to know the root of this conflict, read about the history of jihad. That is what this conflict is about.
Book recommendation for you:
ReplyDeleteJihad and Jew Hatred.
Please read this book and consider the history it outlines.
I answered to Red Tulips in his/hers own blog the following:
ReplyDeletePerhaps you didn't quite understand the timeline in the Wikipedia's article about the Mufti. There is no evidence that he was involved as an "architect for Hitler's Final Solution". He was used to disturb the Britains, an then for some minor tasks for the SS. The Germans had no other needs for him because they had their own architects.
You span the bow between the Holocaust and the hostile Palestinians, but you forget that it was their land and their home, which was "offered" to the Jews. I wonder to find out with which justification this land was offered to the U.N., it was in history lost with the fall of the Israeli Kingdom, and the U.N. would have the same right today to give back, say, Hungary to Austria, or Macedonia to Bulgaria. The Hungarians would not be pleased, and the Macedonians also not amused. The U.N. did not own the country and the Jews also didn't. So, if you would be a inhabitant there, would you be pleased that your country isn't yours anymore ? The so-called Palestinians refused when the Jews offered to fight against the British protectorate in common (!). This is, because they knew that the Jews would make their own state there and not, like the colonial powers, only protect their interests.
There is also no evidence that the land was in "majority jewish before and after the holocaust". How can you claim this ? Do you have the complete inhabitant statistics of the time ?[…]
You span the bow between the Holocaust and the hostile Palestinians, but you forget that it was their land and their home, which was "offered" to the Jews. I wonder to find out with which justification this land was offered by the U.N., it was in history lost with the fall of the Israeli Kingdom, and the U.N. would have the same right today to give back, say, Hungary to Austria, or Macedonia to Bulgaria. The Hungarians would not be pleased, and the Macedonians also not amused. The U.N. did not own the country and the Jews also didn't. So, if you would be a inhabitant there, would you be pleased that your country isn't yours anymore ? The so-called Palestinians refused when the Jews offered to fight against the British protectorate in common (!). This is, because they knew that the Jews would make their own state there and not, like the colonial powers, only protect their interests.
There is also no evidence that the land was in "majority jewish before and after the holocaust". How can you claim this ? Do you have the complete inhabitant statistics of the time ?[…]
To get their country, the Jews didn't hesitate to act terroristic. Also, they dispersed directly and indirectly about 750000 Palestinians (of approx. 1,4 Millions) from the region until 1948. Is that enough reason to be hated ?
(All Values taken from Wikipedia)
I wrote a reply on my blog, but here is a copy of the reply:
ReplyDeleteKnossos,
There is in fact plenty of evidence that Haj Amin Al Husseini was involved in Hitler's Final Solution. I read an entire book to that regard, David Dalin's book Icon of Evil.
It is true that the Mufti was not the only architect of Hitler's Final Solution, but he was one of the architects.
The 'Palestinians' did not have some sort of inherent and inalienable 'right' to the land which would prevent two states from forming. In fact, there is a great deal of evidence that most of the 'Palestinians' in 1948 were recent immigrants, drawn there by the higher wages the Jews were paying.
There was a census taken in 1947, and in fact the land offered by the UN was majority Jewish. This is a historical fact. citation (see my blog for the actual citation)
The 'Palestinians' never had a state to begin with, and never had some sort of 'inherent' right to rule over Jews. The Jews, on the other hand, did not desire to have Arabs as second class citizens, and famous Zionists such as Henrietta Szold and Martin Buber called for a bi-national state.
It was the Arabs who made a bi-national state simply impossible. There were pogroms and massacres of Jews starting the 1920s, and ratcheting up until the 1948 war. This war would have been unnecessary, should the Arabs have accepted the UN partition plan. Only they rejected this plan, and tried to annihilate Jews after the Holocaust. In no other situation on earth are 'refugees' so beloved and sympathized over, when these 'refugees' are 'refugees' because their leaders attempted genocide - and lost.
This 1948 war, which was won by Jews, has never been accepted as a defeat by the Arabs. And thus in 1967, there was an open build up of armies and calls for the total annihilation of Israel ("pushing it into the sea"). The world stood by and did nothing, yet Israel won the war anyway due to ingenuity.
To blame the victim - i.e., Jews, is deplorable.
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As an aside - I want to add that in fact more Jews from Arab lands had to flee for their lives than 'Palestinians' who fled from Israel. Moreover, another important thing to note: many of the Arabs who fled in fact were openly at war with Israel, and thus suffered due to their own actions. Many others fled because their leaders told them to flee. Still others did in fact flee because the Haganah forced them out. That is sad that some were forced out. But this happened at a time of worldwide populations transfers - the Greeks and Turks, Hindu and Muslim Indians/Pakistanis, amongst so many others. And of course there is also the larger number of Mizrahi Jews, forced to flee for their lives from Islamic countries. And no one cries for the Greeks, Turks, Indians, Pakistanis, or Mizrahi Jews. No one cares, and there is very selective indignation.
That alone is enough to make one quite cynical of the intentions of those who cry for the so-called 'inalienable rights' for the 'Palestinian' refugees who are refugees due to a war their leaders themselves instigated.