ARCHIVES: January 10, 2009

Post in Varsavsky Blog

by Angel Mas

http://english.martinvarsavsky.net/general/what-is-wrong-with-israel%c2%b4s-strategy-to-fight-terrorism.html

What is wrong with Israel?. That it is the country for the Jews?.

I believe subjecting Israel to a much stricter test on everything, its right to self defend, the accuracy of its bombardments, the respect of others’ rights… Blaming Israel first, whatever circumstances is impregnated of historic anti-Semitic prejudices, as much as the special laws and treatment that Jews were subject to in many countries for centuries… But it has become so common, that even some well intended Jews embrace that behavior.

- The disproportionate response: I did not see a single picture of Serbian children dead as a result of the response of NATO, bombing with significant less accuracy Serbian cities as a means to protect the (Muslim) Kosovar population.

- The Palestinian cause: the Left uses very flexibly the right of self determination of peoples, as protected by the UN charter, to promote so called “liberation” movements in the world, including Palestinian’s.. But if it refers to Israel, the obvious, simple exercise of that right encounters many buts and ifs.

- The Palestinian ordeal: equally unbalanced is the criticism of Israel as the sole source of the Palestinians’ suffering. Other than their own leaders, methods and organizations (hence, themselves. Internecine Palestinian fighting during the past two years also has dealt a harsh blow to future prospects for peace, with 616 Palestinians killed in factional fighting from the time that Hamas won Palestinian elections in January 2006 through May 2007). But, there are many parties involved. The Palestinians are used by Arab (and now also Persian!) Nations as a distraction for their own internal problems. Why didn’t the oil rich sheiks of the Middle East alleviate the conditions in Gaza?. Where are the demonstrations against Egypt, that closed the border as much as Israel did?. And against Kuwait, that after the first Gulf War expelled 400K Palestinians?. Where is the historical resentment, the eternal war being fought against Jordan, that in 1970 killed about 10K Palestinians and injured more than 15K (as recognized by the UNRWA), more than all the conflicts fought between Jews and Arabs since the 20’s?.

- The land: and then, the focus on Israel as the big “land expropriator” against the Arabs. Well, as mentioned in my previous post, where do historic claims start and end?. It seems they are eternal if it refers to anything executed by Jews. But Turkey got large districts from Syria (Alexandretta or Iskenderun). Iran did so by taking Tubn and Abu Mussa islands from the UAE… The biggest example is Arabistan, (Juzestan in Iranian denomination) taken by Iran from Iraq. 64K Sq Km (three times the size of Israel), 4.5 MM Sunni Muslims “invaded”. 120K Ha. of land expropriated from Arab land owners by the Mullahs, 550K Persians in “settlements”… Where is the Focus of the Arab League?.

- The humanitarian situation: The humanitarian situation in Darfur has been critical for years. Something that truly can be described as genocide (a word so frequently used in an exaggerated way, and typically to offend Jews and their memory). The problem is that the perpetrator is an Islamist regime in Sudan. Where is the media, where are the demonstrators, where is the Christians international solidarity with the victims, where is the Muslim Diaspora self criticism?.

- The Wall: and, oh, “the wall” (it is 98% a fence). What on Earth do many of the countries in the world have on their conflictive borders. What do we Spaniards have in Ceuta and Melilla, even in Gibraltar, without the threat of terrorism?. And those are as contested borders as the ones in the West Bank…