I read somewhere that the definition of insanity is when one attempts to get different results by committing the same act. So by that definition Israel must be insane. Since its inception they have wanted to eliminate terrorist forces by collectively punishing who ever they deem responsible, thus creating more the very terrorist they are trying to destroy. I could sit here and write about the atrocities that occurred back in 1982, but I will recommend the book Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomsky to do that. Instead, I want to explore the idea whether Israel really wants peace or not.
Karl Marx said that the ideas of the ruling party become the ideas of the world. And nowhere is that more apparent than watching CNN and BCC. The idea of Israel as victim is being played out at farcical repetition, as one of the most powerful military forces in the world systemically cripples a nation and kills civilians, they are being lauded as the victim.
Could you imagine if Basque separatist from France kidnapped two Spanish soldiers and Spain subsequently bombard the airport in Paris as well as power stations, roads, and major bridges. What would the world do?
Sorry, I let my emotions get the better of me. The question I asked earlier is if Israel, the victim, truly wants peace, what are they doing about it? Peace cannot be achieved through force. Violence is the antithesis of peace. The actions of the state of Israel are not of a nation who wants peace, but one who needs to go to some anger management classes. It seems that the War on Terror has simply become Terror.
I may be simplifying the issue, but I think it is important to ask ourselves, what are the root causes of terrorism? Why are Hezbollah and Hamas so popular? And more importantly why doesn’t Israel learn that no amount of force will eradicate the causes of why people are angry. Let’s say they destroy every member of Hezbollah, if that is their true intentions, can they not see that another force will replace them. There will be no peace until there is justice. If we want to eradicate terrorism, we must enter Gaza and Southern Lebanon, not with tanks but with hope. Israel needs to help rebuild Gaza and give it support. Help educate the masses, give them opportunities, give them jobs, not wall them into highly dense ghettos and refugee camps.
Peace begins with the desire to help your enemy not destroy them. I am not a religious man, but I think Jesus said something about loving your enemy. Members of the Israeli government come on the TV and say that any democracy in the world would defend itself, and all they want is peace, but I ask how can this be achieved when you are waging a war on two fronts.
Yes, the kidnapping of the three soldiers is a crime, but so is holding of thousands of Palestinian prisoners for years with no trials. And does the “kidnapping’ of soldiers on a highly militarized border, justify the destruction of an entire country. Over 100 innocent Lebanese civilians have already been killed. Not to mention the thousands of people scarred by the nature of war. It is easy for us to sit here and watch what is happening on the news, but imagine being a child in Beirut. Israel needs to take a long hard look in the mirror and see what it wants to achieve with these acts of state terrorism. Because as we speak there are young men, fuming with anger as their homes are destroyed, ready to join what ever force that will avenge their fallen brothers. Would they not be better served as friends?
I claim that Israel does not want peace. The people may want a solution but their government is betraying their wishes. They are still clinging to the idea of the greater Israel as drawn up by the early Zionist architects. The people of Israel are being used by greater powers to bring Syria and Iran into a larger war to redraw the Middle East. I for one am tired of the Israeli government playing the victim, only to lash out with extreme state terrorism, at innocent people not responsible for the crime of the day. If Israel wants peace it must find a new way of achieving it, bombing your neighbors doesn’t seem to be working.
You're analogy with France and Spain doesn't quite fit. For one, France isn't threatened daily by every single one of it's neighbors with complete erradication. Secondly, France doesn't have a religious war between two people groups within it's own borders.
ReplyDeleteI oppose militarism as much as the next guy, but I hope when you decide to talk about Israel's uneven use of force you also mention the Palestinian's crimes, such as the suicide bombings of civilians. Also, what of Iran and these other nations who back Hamas by saying they too wish Israel wiped off the face of the map? Make sure you're consistant. It's a blindspot for too many on the left to heave all of the blame on a military state like Israel but many of us tend not to look within the conflict and see the driving force behind decisions like these. Israel only has a big military because it faces an equally big threat.
Also, when you talk about Israel not wanting peace, bear in mind the reason the 1993 Oslo Accords were never formally observed was because there was overwhelming opposition from various Palestinian movements. Who headed these movements? Why it was none other than current Palestinian leader, Hamas! Again, you are right that militarism does not equal peace but Hamas, and more broad the Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity in promoting peace.
The last issue is more an aesthetic one: Israeli leaders probably wouldn't give much credence to the words of Christ. ;-)
-Comrade Dave
http://theredmantis.blogspot.com/
You said, " When you talk about Israel not wanting peace, bear in mind the reason the 1993 Oslo Accords were never formally observed was because there was overwhelming opposition from various Palestinian movements. Who headed these movements? Why it was none other than current Palestinian leader, Hamas! Again, you are right that militarism does not equal peace but Hamas, and more broad the Palestinians have never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity in promoting peace.”
ReplyDeleteThere is a Peter Tosh song that says,
“Everybody cryin’ out for peace, no body cryin’ out for justice.
We don’t want no peace. We want equal rights.”
I think this wraps up, why none of the “road maps” have succeed. They have always been skewed in favor of the Israelis.
I don’t want to get into a back and forth on this issue. Please read the book I mentioned by Chomsky. He goes into detail about some of the facts that the pro-Israeli media tends to overshadow, as they only focus on the actions of suicide bombers and gloss over the state terrorist acts of Israel. (See Jenin and Rafah)
All I am saying is that we cannot look at Israel as the victim who simply wants peace, but just can’t seem to get it. They are an aggressive, powerful, nation determined to use force to ‘protect’ themselves, who seldom, if ever, uses restraint to bring about a fair or just solution.
As for the France analogy, you may be right. I may have been stretching the similarities, but I wanted to prove that in the world’s eye, Arab life is simply not as valued as the lives of people from other nations. 17 Civilians were killed yesterday as a convoy escaping the shelling was targeted in Lebanon. This type of mass murder would not be acceptable had it been anyone else. Can you imagine, if god forbid, something like this happen to American lives?
You said, “I hope when you decide to talk about Israel's uneven use of force you also mention the Palestinian's crimes, such as the suicide bombings of civilians.”
These actions are not sponsored by a state. Yes, Hamas did sponsor them in the past, but I don’t seem to recall a Suicide bombing in the last year. While I disagree with Hamas and think they are not the right choice to bring about peace, I think they should have been given a chance to prove that they had reformed.
My main point is that suicide bombings are the acts of a desperate people. And to fight terrorism of that nature, we cannot use over powering force. We must look more carefully at the root of such violence and bring about change through peace and attention, not air strikes. If Israel wanted to stop suicide bombings, all they would have to do is listen.
You said. “Also, what of Iran and these other nations who back Hamas by saying they too wish Israel wiped off the face of the map?”
The current regime in Iran is a joke, and one that will be discussed in a future post. Comments like this are all designed by a desperate regime to saber rattle and overshadow grave domestic problems. The people of Iran no more want Israel wiped off the map, then they want “death to America.” It is all childish politics.
You said, ”It's a blind spot for too many on the left to heave all of the blame on a military state like Israel but many of us tend not to look within the conflict and see the driving force behind decisions like these.
What do you think is the driving force?
“Israel only has a big military because it faces an equally big threat.”
Simply not true. Israel has a big military because the USA wants it to. Period!
i could be completely wrong here- but in i wade. you don't have a war between two equal opponents and you don't have a war recently started for the stated reasons. israel has been planning this whole bruhaha for the last 5 years- and i am sure it is with us blessings. if western colonial powers had not meddled after world war 2 we would not be on the brink of what some are calling 'world war 3'- i am not anti semitic. it isn't about judaism and islam- it is about israel mistreating people for 50 years and getting away with it. they wouldn't have to worry about folks on their borders with their knickers in a twist if they hadn't treated the palestinians so abominable for the last 50 years. put yourself in the palestinians shoes for one moment- hey here comes britain and a whole lotta folks from europe to displace me from my home and all i own because i am an arab. hey- that makes me angry- but i have to put up and shut up and move to a ghetto where there is no access to jobs, schools, stores, etc and there are thousands of other refugees.
ReplyDeletedo you know what someone said recently? well, if syria and egypt had taken in the palestinians like they were supposed to- there wouldn't have been this problem. are you kidding? i don't condone violence but when the same thing was done to the american indians- they fought back with bows and arrows and fought hard. they lost too. it is ridiculous to put all of the blame on palestine because israel and the west feel that they have a right to exist. fine- they exist. now learn to co- exist.
Skewed in Israel's favor?! Are you kidding? They were ready to return the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians! They won that land fair and square back in '67 and they're ready to give it back to promote peace!
ReplyDeleteIsrael has a large military because they have to; not directly because of the U.S. Imagine if their nation had no military, or even a small one. There wouldn't be any Hebrews left! Call Iran a joke if you want but they are indeed dangerous. They have enough bombs (and allies) to launch a complete offensive against the infidels (a.k.a. the Israeli people). The only thing that stops them is the fact that they would be met with the same fate as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Again, if you read what I've said about the topic on my blog I recognize that there is fault on both sides. However, I'm more inclined to side with the group that doesn't promote the genocide of an entire people group by wiping them off the map.
As for Israel showing no restraint, you talk about their huge military and yet the fact that until now it hasn't been deployed serves as a testiment to the fact that indeed they DO show restraint. For instance, appx. 100 have died in the Lebanon strike. I'll admit, it's a shame that 100 have died in the crossfire but that's damn good odds, especially when you consider how many Iraqi's the U.S. military killed within our first week of invasion (and we have the largest and most advanced military in the world).
**I hope this issue doesn't result in bad blood between us, BZ. I really do like your blog entries and respect what you have to say. I just have to disagree with you here.
-Comrade Dave
http://theredmantis.blogspot.com/
Don’t be silly Dave; of course there will not be any bad blood. I guess this is simply a very decisive issue. I had the same problem with another reader. We have to agree to disagree. At least we have that luxury.
ReplyDeleteBut please do some research, because this is a very irresponsible comment:
They were ready to return the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians! They won that land fair and square back in '67 and they're ready to give it back to promote peace!
Israel own and controls the most fertile lands, access to water, the best roads and the facilities for economic growth, while they “gave back” a series of barren fields, ghettos, walls, and refugee camps.
Also, you said, “As for Israel showing no restraint, you talk about their huge military and yet the fact that until now it hasn't been deployed serves as a testiment to the fact that indeed they DO show restraint. For instance, appx. 100 have died in the Lebanon strike. I'll admit, it's a shame that 100 have died in the crossfire but that's damn good odds.”
We will learn of their true crimes when history is ready to reveal them. Are you familiar with what Israel did in 1982. It was ethnic cleansing. They were war crimes.
Betmo is right this is not happening because of a few kidnapped soldiers, this is happening as part of a plan. A plan that started with invasion of Iraq and will end with an all out war in the Middle East; left standing will be a broader Israel and the US whole the spiket. And the oil will finally flow the way they have intended it too, since it was first found, “under the middle east.” If things go right there may be a Wal-Mart and Starbucks in Damascus and Tehran. It will only cost the live of a few hundred thousand people!
Do me a favor Dave, read Fateful triangle and then get back to me. It is our job as revolutionaries to question what we are told as fact. Once you start to do so, you will see that Israel has a lot of blood on its hands.
My friends tell me that I like to have the last word, and this is a habit I am trying to rid myself of, so feel free to comment one last time and we will leave this alone for a while. Until Israel attacks Syria and shit gets real ugly!
"Since its inception they have wanted to eliminate terrorist forces by collectively punishing who ever they deem responsible, thus creating more the very terrorist they are trying to destroy."
ReplyDeleteSounds like "you're either with us or you're with the terrorist", doesn't it?
Also sounds like what we have done and are doing in Iraq.
The war on terror is one of the most flawed polices any age has ever known. It will perpetually breed the very force it claims to destory.
ReplyDeleteNah, I'll leave it at that. I'll continue to write about the topic some on my blog if, God forbid, it gets worse.
ReplyDeleteAlways a pleasure, BZ.
-Comrade Dave
http://theredmantis.blogspot.com/
BZ said in his post"Peace cannot be achieved through force" hmmm how did WW1, WW2,end. or maybe you feel WW2 is still going on, that could be it, the way you don't mind Jews being killed. But the poor Arabs god forbid someone dies in a strike on a home that housed rockets and killers.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Arabs should give peace a chance and see what happens, just for 2-5yr. but that won't happen.
and so this is working better? perhaps more complex thinking and less bombing.
ReplyDelete