I don’t have any kind of built-in emotional connection to Israel. To me it’s just another country. A country where I have relatives and friends, just like Argentina, Chile, Germany, Russia or Ukraine. In a way I am grateful that I didn’t end up there – seems like whole city blocks picked up and left my city and now reside somewhere between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Great many of them became proud patriots, served in the military and now are seeing their children in the uniform.
When I was growing up® we didn’t talk much about Israel, not too many people did. Although in the beginning the Soviet Union supported the establishment of Israel, once they aligned themselves with the USA, they were always cast as evil and blood-thirsty American marionettes.
Signed “In his own image”.
Inscription on the back “World Zionism” , on the flag “Long Live Great Israel”.
Inscription on the bayonet “Israel”.
In bloody letters “Lebanon”.
Title “Wings of a Hawk”, on the helmet “Israel”, on the wings “US”.
We often saw Yasser Arafat French-kissing various leaders; we were supposed to sympathize with the plight of the Palestinian people against American-financed Israeli warmongers, murderers of the freedom-loving hard-working Palestinians but something seemed out of place. Many of the Israeli “bloody murderers” used to live around the corner, or grew up with our parents, went to work with our grandparents and have never been known to “murder” anything bigger than an occasional chicken. We just shrugged it off and went on with our lives, once in a while hearing whispers about another acquaintance joining the “bloody Israeli clique” for some reason taking their piano with them, probably to entertain Palestinians while they work.
During many years of Israeli-Palestinian conflict no matter how successful the military operation, Israel always lost the PR war. So much for the Jews controlling the media. The news are available for those who want to know but while the bloody and dead Palestinians are always front page news, bloody Israelis may get a mention somewhere in the back of the paper or not at all. I am sure you are aware of the current events, but did you know about almost daily rocket attacks of the civilian areas in the South of Israel this year during the truce and in the previous years which finally caused Israel to respond with its own air strikes. How many of these pictures have you seen:
These are not today’s photos, these bombings of the civilian areas are so routine in the Southern areas of Israel that some kids grew up without knowing life doesn’t automatically come with sirens and bomb shelters.
It’s hard to imagine what could be the goals of the Palestinians who day after day shoot home-made rockets into the neighboring country which just happens to supply their territory with electricity and other necessities, other then a total destruction of said country. It’s hard to understand why does the world community expect the country whose citizens are being bombed to exercise some kind of restraint. Where was the world’s outcry when these rockets were fired? Where was the UN when the rockets and military supplies were placed around civilian areas? Where were the demonstrations when Palestinian rockets killed their own children?
With the beginning of the “Operation Cast Lead” some Russian-Israeli blogs tried to explain the situation by hypothetically placing it in a more familiar context. Let’s say some people in Tijuana unhappy with the Treaty of the Guadalupe Hidalgo start their morning by shooting a dozen rockets into San Diego area, not causing massive death and destruction but a steady stream of injuries and property damage and occasionally killing a person or two. Citizens of San Diego spend their days mapping bomb shelters and determining the kind of weapon by the sound it makes. How long will the United States “exercise restraint”?
Do I feel compassion for the Palestinians? Not really. Victims of their own propaganda, financed from the outside they couldn’t have expected any other outcome. Using human shields only turns away potential supporters and seeing their disregard for the lives of their countrymen as well as Israeli civilians it’s hard to feel sorry for them.
After years of planting lead in Israeli soil, hearts and minds it’s harvest time…
Just to play a little devil’s advocate: you do know that both sides repeatedly broke the cease-fire throughout its length, right? The Israeli government’s policy of assassinations continued right through.
I know, but for example, before the latest outbreak they killed three people for “trying to plant explosives at the border”, sounds like a good reason and pretty believable.
Tough subject, and no easy answers. They have been killing each other in the middle east for as long as I’ve been alive. They have been killing each other for centuries, so long in fact there is no telling who started the killing, or what it was really over, other than little strips of land. As always it will be the poor and the young who pay the ultimate price. Good post.
I don’t know what’s taken me so long to get into your blog but I apologize for not spending more time in it sooner. Great post. Informative.
Tough subject. We are so zionist in this part of the world. I only have 1 friend who is openly argues the Palestinean point of view.
“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land…You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.” Ezekiel 36
It does not matter who invades them, how big their armies are, what kinds of weapons they have. This Israel will survive.
Burrowowl, can you cite a specific Israeli violation of the (after all, unofficial) cease fire? Dozens of rockets were fired into Israel throughout the six months… Hundreds over the years. Israel has acted with remarkable restraint.
@MV: like I said, just playing devil’s advocate. Lots of sides are involved in the mess over there, and just about all of them have a pretty long list of legitimate gripes.
@Rick: Much as I hate to play search-engine-monkey for people (you could look this kind of stuff up on the Internets, you know), here are a couple of examples that a very brief trip to Google yielded:
Jerusalem Post regarding November 4 airstrike
New York Times regarding November 16 airstrike
Mail & Guardian regarding December 20 airstrike
Just like the case of Hezbollah snatching a couple of soldiers sparking off a ground war recently, this looks to me like another case of Israel and its neighbors taking an ongoing low-grade conflict and inflating it into a massive crisis out of the blue. Business as usual. Somebody’s always screaming bloody murder over there. Mostly on account of all the bloody murders, but hey.
Thousands of rockets have been launched. There have been more than 10,000 rockets launched into Israel from the Gaza strip since 2001. Look it up, it’s a fact. Gaza was once part of Egypt, the West Bank was once part of Jordan, is there any doubt WHY these two countries don’t want to be involved with the “Palestinians”? Just look at Iran, Syria and Hizbollah (in Lebanon), they use the “Palestinians” as lap dogs to do their dirty work so the world can point the finger at Israel. Where do you think the money comes from? The material to make the rockets? The “Palestinians” are a product of sinister, evil Arab leadership that intends to keep them uneducated, keep them poor, keep them desperate and have them fight the proxy war so they (Iran, Syria and Hizbollah) can keep the blood off there hands. The US gives a great deal of money\relief to the “Palestinians”, ask them how that is working out for them…better yet, ask the Widow Arafat how she is enjoying the BILLIONS of dollars Yasser stole from HIS people while encouraging them to fight and die for this bullshit Jihad. He ended up very wealthy, the people he led ended up very dead.
As far as Israel goes, well said, Mike.
One day you will have to do a post on the magical thinking that has all sides convinced that spilling blood in the name of their particular imginary supernatural being is somehow helpful to the “return” of that land to its “rightful” owners.
One of the articles linked actually says:”The army said it identified a rocket launcher and fired in his direction.” which is different from “randomly shooting at civilians without aim”. Makes sense.
Burrowowl, in each example you link above, either the truce had already expired at Hamas’ request, or Israel was responding to an actual or alleged attack by Hamas first.
@mv: they aim those rockets about as well as they know how. They’re basically home-made, you know. I don’t think Hamas has the best targeting technology available at the moment. Don’t you think if they could land ordinance on Netanyahu’s left butt cheek that’s exactly what they’d do?
@rick: chicken, egg, whatever.
The palestinians elected Hamas. You get what you vote for.
Don’t forget, Hamas never ceased fire. Never. They exist to make war. They call for genocide against Israel. This is the result. Sad for the Palestinian people, who have been so badly used and abused, yes, by Israel, but also by their Arab-Muslim brethren.
Fantastic Post!
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