Betraying its beginnings
It breaks my heart to see Israel lose all sense of perspective in responding to the Hezbollah attacks. After centuries of oppression, pogroms, the Holocaust, the Jews got our own country. But it's beginning to look more like an oppressor than the oppressed.
To respond to the capture of two soldiers by bombing civilian areas and airports is simply wrong. It's outrageous. As of July 19th there had been 25 Israeli deaths, about half of them military, and 230 or more deaths in Lebanon. Shouldn't a Jewish country remember that "an eye for an eye" means "don't do more harm than was done to you"?
When Israel was attacked in the 6 day war of 1967, its decisive victory made us so proud. At last, folks said, we're fighting back and defending ourselves. Outnumbered, Israel was David beating Goliath. And if Israel wound up controlling some Arab territory, well, hey, they started it.
But did anyone making decisions think that 39 years later Israel would still be in control of any of that territory, policing a hostile Arab population? With Israel bombing airports, bridges and a Christian neighborhood in Lebanon, Golda Meir must be spinning in her grave. It's a shame. And Israel was not supposed to be like this.
Occupation isn't working (either for Israel or for the United States) because it doesn't work. The people whose home is occupied are naturally going to resist, and the longer the occupation lasts, the more just their cause appears.
The Zionists claimed that we Jews had a right to return to the land we were dispersed from 1900 years ago. If that makes sense, then it also makes sense for the people who were turned out in 1948 to have some rights. The partition was drawn largely according to land ownership. Most of the land allocated to the Jewish homeland had been bought by Jews. Much more land went to Jordan than went to Israel. Both groups have legitimate claims to land.
Many of the Arabs who left Jewish territory in 1947-48 did so with the aim of "driving Israel into the sea" --so I was told in Sunday school. though that account is disputed. Under those circumstances, it's understandable that Israel would refuse to let them return after the war. Those who were displaced should be compensated for lost homes and businesses, as was done, belatedly and inadequately, for Jewish property after World War II.
Over the last 60 years, both sides have committed unnecessary violence. Neither is totally at fault, and neither is an innocent victim. But this mutual destruction has got to stop, just like the nuclear arms race, and slavery, and genocide. It's time for Israel to do justice, to love mercy, care for the stranger, the widow and the orphan, and to remember that we, too, were strangers in the land of Egypt.
To respond to the capture of two soldiers by bombing civilian areas and airports is simply wrong. It's outrageous. As of July 19th there had been 25 Israeli deaths, about half of them military, and 230 or more deaths in Lebanon. Shouldn't a Jewish country remember that "an eye for an eye" means "don't do more harm than was done to you"?
When Israel was attacked in the 6 day war of 1967, its decisive victory made us so proud. At last, folks said, we're fighting back and defending ourselves. Outnumbered, Israel was David beating Goliath. And if Israel wound up controlling some Arab territory, well, hey, they started it.
But did anyone making decisions think that 39 years later Israel would still be in control of any of that territory, policing a hostile Arab population? With Israel bombing airports, bridges and a Christian neighborhood in Lebanon, Golda Meir must be spinning in her grave. It's a shame. And Israel was not supposed to be like this.
Occupation isn't working (either for Israel or for the United States) because it doesn't work. The people whose home is occupied are naturally going to resist, and the longer the occupation lasts, the more just their cause appears.
The Zionists claimed that we Jews had a right to return to the land we were dispersed from 1900 years ago. If that makes sense, then it also makes sense for the people who were turned out in 1948 to have some rights. The partition was drawn largely according to land ownership. Most of the land allocated to the Jewish homeland had been bought by Jews. Much more land went to Jordan than went to Israel. Both groups have legitimate claims to land.
Many of the Arabs who left Jewish territory in 1947-48 did so with the aim of "driving Israel into the sea" --so I was told in Sunday school. though that account is disputed. Under those circumstances, it's understandable that Israel would refuse to let them return after the war. Those who were displaced should be compensated for lost homes and businesses, as was done, belatedly and inadequately, for Jewish property after World War II.
Over the last 60 years, both sides have committed unnecessary violence. Neither is totally at fault, and neither is an innocent victim. But this mutual destruction has got to stop, just like the nuclear arms race, and slavery, and genocide. It's time for Israel to do justice, to love mercy, care for the stranger, the widow and the orphan, and to remember that we, too, were strangers in the land of Egypt.
posted by McMircle at 4:07 AM
6 Comments:
I think your blog contains some minor inaccuracies and ommisions.
First of all it should be pointed out that Hezbollah deliberately locates it's headquarters in civilian areas, thereby using civilians as human shields. If Israel decides to attack Hezbollah there will be civilian casualties, and that is by Hezbollah's design.
Next, it should be pointed out that the kidnapping of 2 Israeli soldiers was not the only offense, but merely the latest in a rather long string of attacks against the Israeli state. Hezbollah (for example) has been firing rockets into Israel for a long time.
It should also be pointed out that Israel at this point is not David facing Goliath; the Israeli armed forces are beyond a doubt the best equipped in the area. Hezbollah has reacted to this reality as best it could, by refusing to attack Israel in a frontal attack.
Finally, it should be remembered that it is the explicit aim of Hezbollah (and their supporters, which include most of Lebanon) to destroy Israel as a political entity.
None of this should be taken to approve or disapprove of Israel's actions in this case, but the equities here are nowhere as clear cut as your blog would suggest. Should a Palestinian state be created? If so, who will guarantee security, and prevent such a state from becoming a protected training ground for anti-Israeli terrorisim?
I totally agree with you, MIchelle. Israel has gone too far and is only helping to make Hezbollah grow by recruiting angry Lebanese.
It definitely was not supposed to be like this.
Michelle:
It was the spokesmen for the invading Arab armies in the aftermath of the creation of Israel who told the Arabs to "get out of the way so we can drive them into the sea." And it was the Arab governments since then who have refused, except for Jordan, to allow these newly created refugees to resettle in their land but persisted in maintaining their status as displaced persons in refugee camps supported by the UN.
Dad
I'll be glad to correct errors citing a source. Some statements are disputed, such as who motivated the Arabs to leave Israel before the 1947-48 war and why they did not return.
Hezbollah provides social services in Lebanon, which would be one reason to locate among civilians.
Hezbollah and Hamas both deny the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state. I don't know how to resolve the conflict between irresistible force and immovable object. There is a lot of support for these two organizations. Hamas won an election. There must be an effort to understand why so many Arabs support Hamas and Hezbollah, if only to be able to persuade them otherwise.
Bombing civilian areas is a sure-fire way to create more terrorists. We all know there are many more terrorists in Iraq after 3 years of American occupation than there were in March 2003. Israel is not protecting its long-term interests by creating more enemies.
Since you don't want e-mail responses and I don't want to reiterate what I've already said, I will add that bending over, dropping trou, and inviting kicks is a fine thing for an individual but awfully irresponsible for a government.
The main difficulty here is that, in a sense, Israel cannot win. Any demonstration of generosity is considered a sign of weakness and reason for renewed attacks by their enemies, while any armed responses elicit cries of, "look what mean Israel is doing to poor little us".
In short, I disagree. Profoundly.
--D. Marohl
Hi Michelle and all,
There’s really not much I can add to your blog entry, which I agree with wholeheartedly, but I would like to say this. The defense many American Jews make to criticism about Israeli policies and actions, and their seeming support, if demonstrated only by their silence, is emotional and not based in reason. Regardless of who is right or wrong at any moment in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, the estimation of some Jews is that at root Israel is right to fight its fight as it does, that the end justifies the means. But if, (to use an example from current events) one applies the same rules regarding prisoner detention to Israel, as the U.S. Supreme Court applies to the to the U.S. Justice department, it’s apparent that the detention of the Palestinian prisoners without charge or representation is illegal, just as it is in Guantanamo Bay.
The debate over this is endless, but for me Israel seems to justify itself morally for many of its actions through the simple fact of its might, and the ends it serves, and not through consideration of religious and moral values.
It is not only in this case that Israel has shamed the Jews, but many times in the history of this conflict.
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