DIDN'T ISRAEL DRIVE OUT 600,000 PALESTINIANS AT GUNPOINT IN 1948 AND TAKE THEIR LAND?
Most Arabs who left Israel did so under the orders of the Arab leader, the Grand Mufti (a former ally of Hitler) to withdraw and let the Arab armies "drive the Jews into the sea," which they attempted to do in 1948. However, Israel won that first Arab-Israeli war. Not all of the Arabs left. Many stayed, becoming Israeli-Arab citizens. Israel is now 18% Israeli-Arab. These Arabs have full citizenship rights, can own property, vote, and even have 14 representatives in the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament). Unfortunately, their unbridled birth rate will make them a majority within a generation or so and they may "democratically" vote the Jewishness out of the Jewish State!
I'VE HEARD THAT SOME ISRAELIS SAY THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS "PALESTINIANS." HOW CAN THEY SAY THAT?
Up until the 1967 war, the Arabs living in Israel did not even call themselves Palestinians. The name Palestine came from the Romans who destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD. To humiliate the Jews, the Romans renamed the land Palestine after their mortal enemies, the Philistines. The modern land of Palestine was given that name by the British when they took control over from the crumbling Ottoman Empire. In British Palestine, both Jews and Arabs were Palestinians.
WHY DOESN'T ISRAEL JUST GIVE BACK THE WEST BANK TO THE PALESTINIANS? THEN THERE WILL BE PEACE.
The Palestinian Arabs west of the Jordan River rejected a 1947 United Nations plan for statehood on approximately half on what was then referred to as "Palestine." The Palestinian Jews accepted their half and formed the Jewish State of Israel in May of 1948. A war was then launched against this tiny Jewish State by the Arab-Palestinians and their Arab supporters from seven neighboring Arab countries. The end result was that the first Arab-Palestinian state [Jordan] took control of what is now the so-called "West Bank." Jordan held on to this territory from 1948 to 1967. NEVER did they offer to give the West Bank "Palestinian" Arabs a state of their own. And never did these Arabs on the West Bank ask for that state. Only after Jordan joined Syria and Egypt in the 1967 war to destroy Israel and after they lost this "West Bank" to Israel, did the Arabs on this land suddenly develop a "Palestinian" nationality!!! However, historically, the West Bank, which Jews call Judea and Samaria, is part of the ancient kingdom of Israel. It was NEVER part of any ancient Arab-"Palestinian" homeland!
Currently Jordan has a peace treaty with Israel. It's as disappointing a peace as the treaty Israel has with Egypt! But at least Arafat is honest about his intentions. He himself has said numerous times (always in private of over Arab-speaking media) that he will take back all of "Palestine" [meaning ALL of Israel too], either quickly by military means or in stages politically... piece by piece and, if necessary, peace treaty after peace treaty.
ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER ARIEL SHARON IS LOOKING FOR ANY EXCUSE TO INVADE AND SHOOT PALESTINIANS. WHY DID THE ISRAELI PEOPLE EVEN ELECT HIM?
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon The directives given the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] are strictly against the taking of innocent civilian life. Sharon withdrew ELEVEN times from the West Bank to affect a cease-fire. Each time Israel was attacked by Palestinian suicide bombers. The Palestinian Authority failed to arrest these homocidal bombers and instead paid their families awards. They even named streets after these "martyrs." How can anyone take seriously a "peace partner" who encourages these terror attacks?
In 2000 President Clinton and Prime Minister Barak offered the Palestinians a state, which included 95% of the West Bank. Arafat rejected the offer and launched the latest Intifada, or uprising. The Israeli people, who were angered when Arafat rejected Barak's offer and unleashed terror, responded by electing by a landslide the hard-liner, Ariel Sharon. Sharon has prevented many terrorist attacks. He has NOT instigated them.
WHY ARE THERE ARE SO MANY MORE DEAD PALESTINIANS THAN DEAD ISRAELIS? DOESN'T THIS PROVE THAT ISRAEL IS THE AGGRESSOR HERE?
Several reasons combine to explain the different death toll. First, the numbers are skewed. The Palestinians count the suicide bombers among their "civilian casualties." They also count terrorists killed in shootouts with the Israeli police or IDF. The fact is, if only true civilians were counted, Israeli casualties would be higher. A big factor appears to be Palestinian gunmen who hide themselves in populated areas, which causes a high civilian death toll when the IDF returns fire. The IDF, nonetheless, has a policy of measured responses to terrorist attacks. These reprisals rarely involve death or injury to the truly innocent. Also, given the P.A.'s problems with math, such as claiming 1,500 killed in Jenin when it was 52, their calculations are highly suspect.
WAIT A MINUTE! ISRAEL HAS A HEAVILY ARMED STATE-OF-THE-ART MILITARY AND THE PALESTINIANS ONLY HAVE ROCKS AND A FEW OLD GUNS. SHOULDN'T OUR SYMPATHIES BE WITH THE PALESTINIANS WHO ONLY WANT THEIR FREEDOM FROM OPPRESSION AND THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SELF-RULE?
Arab-Palestinian TerroristThe Palestinians are using more than rocks, although stonings can be very violent too, causing death and serious injury. They have Qasem rockets. They have grenades. They have M-16's and Kalashnikovs [Russian made assault rifles]. Arafat demanded weapons claiming he needed an armed police force to keep order. Those guns, provided by none other than Israel, have been linked with numerous terrorist attacks. Many weapons have been smuggled in from Egypt, Iraq, Iran and elsewhere.
DON'T THE ISRAELIS BUILD ROADS AND FREEWAYS THAT BYPASS PALESTINIAN VILLAGES AND THE PALESTINIANS AREN'T ALLOWED TO USE THEM?
These roads do bypass them. They were built because when Israelis drive THROUGH Arab-Palestinian towns they are shot at or have rocks thrown at them. Boulders dropped from heights above the roads have also killed some. The ambushing of Israeli cars and buses has become a national past-time for Arabs. These bypass roads increase the odds that a Jew will make it to his home alive.
EVERY TIME A PALESTINIAN WANTS TO GO SOMEWHERE THEY HAVE TO GO THRU AN ISRAELI CHECKPOINT. ISN'T THIS HUMILIATING FOR THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE?
Humiliating? US citizens have to wait two hours at checkpoints at the airport. It's called security against terrorism! One thing must be kept in mind. If there were no Arab terrorism against Israeli citizens, there would be no need for checkpoints. So if the Arab "Palestinians" have a problem with checkpoints, let them complain to Arafat! Or if he can't be bothered, have them contact Attorney Stanley Cohen who fights for the right of all Arab/Muslim terrorists to murder Jews!
THE ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCE REGULARLY PREVENTS AMBULANCES FROM PICKING UP SICK AND WOUNDED PEOPLE. ISN'T THIS A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY?
They don't prevent medical care. However, time and time again the Arabs have transported bombs and terrorists in ambulances so now they must be thoroughly checked. Israel gives free medical care to many Arab Palestinians. In Jenin last April, the IDF supplied blood to the hospital for wounded Palestinians. But the blood was rejected because the Palestinians would not use Jewish blood. So the IDF using military transports brought in blood from Jordan. This is hardly a Crime Against Humanity!
THE ISRAELIS HAVE STOPPED THE PALESTINIANS FROM NORMAL COMMERCE, FROM EMPLOYMENT, AND NOW THEY ARE SUFFERING FROM FOOD SHORTAGES. HOW CAN THEY JUSTIFY THIS?
Commerce and employment were higher when Israel controlled the area. In nine years with billions of dollars in aid the PA has failed even to feed its people. It has, however, made Arafat and his leadership wealthy thugs. PA warlords under Arafat control UN food allotments and even sell it on the black market. It has been the terrorist attacks that have made business as usual impossible and have hurt the Palestinian economy. Here again, if the average Arab "Palestinian" has a gripe, let them complain to those who supposedly "represent them"... or just contact Stanley Cohen.
WHEN THE ISRAELIS SAY THAT THE ARABS ONLY WISH TO DRIVE THEM INTO THE SEA, AREN'T THEY JUST BEING PARANOID AND USING THIS EXCUSE TO JUSTIFY THEIR AGGRESSIONS AGAINST THE PALESTINIANS?
5.5 million Jews. 250 million Arabs. Missiles with germ and radiological warheads on Israel's northern frontier controlled by Hizbollah Muslims. Twenty-one terrorist attacks a day against common Israelis. The Arabs said "into the sea" in 1948 and even after Oslo. They really mean it. This is paranoid???
DIDN'T THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA CONDEMN ISRAEL AS A RACIST STATE?
The conference was made up of Arab dictatorships pushing their own anti-Semitic agenda. The US and most of Europe boycotted the vote. Today, the United Nations is comprised of 70% dictatorships and even Syria, a well-known terrorist-sponsoring state, is on the Security Council! Libya, another Arab dictatorship and known sponsor of world terrorism, is head of the UN "human rights" commission which, by the way, includes other repressive regimes.
There are 23 Arab dictatorships and a total of 53 Muslim countries that make a full-time occupation of bashing Israel, managing to push through resolution after resolution bashing Israel. One such resolution declares suicide/homocide bombings against Israel citizens a legitimate political tool!
Israel has freedoms for peoples of all religions and all backgrounds. It is truly a pluralistic society. The Durban conference was just another propaganda fest for the real racists of the world. The votes cast have no meaning to people who genuinely oppose racism. Simply put, the conference was an obscenity.
THE PALESTINIANS AND THE JEWS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. AREN'T THEY EQUALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE VIOLENCE?
First of all, the term "Palestinian" is historically meaningless. It certainly does not distinguish between Jewish "Palestinians," Christian "Palestinians," Arab "Palestinians, etc. Remember, the Arab "Palestinians" are really just "ARABS!" When there was violence between the Jews and Arabs, it was always initiated BY the Arabs. The basic reason for this violence then (as it remains today) is the Arabss total rejection of ANY Jewish presence in what they consider an Arab/Muslim Middle East-- period. The Jews offer to negotiate peace while the Arabs are really just negotiating the end of Israel. No sane nation should be expected to negotiate away its own existence!
THE SUICIDE BOMBINGS ARE TERRIBLE BUT AREN'T THEY DONE BY A SMALL HANDFUL OF EXTREMISTS? ISN'T IT WRONG TO CONDEMN ALL THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE FOR THE ACTS OF A FEW?
A New Generation Programmed to Murder JewsEvidence shows that as many as twelve extremist groups conduct terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. Hamas, Hezbollah, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and Fatah are but a few of them. In many cases, the same individuals who make up the security forces for the Palestinian Authority conduct the terrorist attacks!
Opinion polls among the Palestinian population reveal 90% approve of the suicide bombings. Thousands dance in the streets when a lethal suicide bombing is executed successfully. Arab children even have suicide bomber trading cards! The few Arab "Palestinians" who would work for peace run the risk of being arrested or lynched for being collaborators with Israel.
WHY DOES ISRAEL PRACTICE COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT AGAINST THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE?
Israel does not practice collective punishment. The security checkpoints are there solely to prevent more suicide bombings and attacks. During a reprisal, such as the bombing of a house from which sniper shots have been fired, a warning is given and THAT HOUSE is destroyed. Likewise, wanted criminals are found and executed since it is impossible to hold them accountable in a court of law under Arafat's regime. Often it is easy to determine the culprit.... the Palestinians carry them down the streets on their shoulders. The dead ones have posters praising them and streets are named after them. Contrast this with the almost daily attacks on Israeli civilians making all citizens fearful of going shopping for groceries, riding a bus or stopping in for a slice of pizza. Is not THIS the real "collective punishment!"
I KNOW THAT THE ISRAELIS DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH YASSIR ARAFAT, BUT DIDN’T THE MAJORITY OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE ELECT HIM?
Arafat ran the same type of Arab election as Saddam Hussein or Bashir Assad. He ran against one candidate, an 85 year-old woman who told everyone to vote for Arafat! Even Hitler and Stalin could claim to be democratically elected leaders! When he first took control of the territories, he murdered in a stadium all the Arabs "collaborators" who administered the territories when they were totally under under Israeli administration.
However, should an honest election leave in power a man like Arafat, this in itself says something about the mindset of the Arab Palestinians and their true colors regarding a genuine peace with Israel!
I know Arafat is dead, this can be applied to HAMAS now!
AREN'T THE JEWISH SETTLERS ON THE WEST BANK JUST AN EXCUSE FOR SHARON TO INVADE THE PALESTINIAN AREAS? AND GIVEN HOW MUCH OPPOSITION THE PALESTINIANS HAVE TOWARD ISRAELIS BUILDING HOMES ON THE WEST BANK, ISN'T SHARON JUST ENCOURAGING MORE SUICIDE BOMBINGS?
Many Jews, especially the Orthodox Jews, believe the land of Judea and Samaria to be divinely given to the Jewish people. This is the same belief of many Righteous Christians. However, the Jewish settlements are on only 1.7% of the West Bank territory. While home-building by Jews is often given as a reason for conducting more suicide bombing attacks, does this sound even slightly reasonable? To commit suicide and mass murder to protest the building of homes by people of another religion when there is ample room for everybody? The "settlements" have residents who own homes and businesses. Why can't they stay as part of a state of Palestine and be Palestinian citizens as part of a peace settlement? The reason THIS will never happen is that the Arabs, who accuse democratic Israel of racism, repeatedly say NO JEWS may live anywhere in Palestine.
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE MUSLIMS AND THE JEWS IS RELIGIOUS AT ITS CORE. ISN'T IT REALLY AN INSOLUBLE ISSUE MARKED BY RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE ON BOTH SIDES?
While there are sects of Islam which use passages in the Koran to justify the killing of "infidels," there are also passages in the Koran which forbid suicide. Other passages teach that lands given by the Lord to other peoples are given for a reason known only to God. Likewise, religious Jews, who remain fixed on prophesies of the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, the return of the Jewish people to the State of Israel and the coming of the Messiah are not likely to give in to Arab pressure to leave their holy sites. For the Arabs it is a tribal affair of honor and vengeance. Racism is at its core. Racism is a sickness and sicknesses can be cured. Israel seriously wants peace with the Arabs, but not at the expense of her existence being whittled away bit by bit through terrorism until she is destroyed. The healing will come when the world focuses its energies on helping the Arab world to come out of generations of tribal warfare, the subjugation of women, illiteracy and feudal kingdoms. These are the conditions which spawn hatred of the Jews and is only slightly more vehement than their hatred of Christians.
For further sources and information, please refer to MIDDLE EAST TRUTH[http://www.mideasttruth.com/]
Something shocked me, and it was the following OBSCENE comment from the disgraced jew, Noam Chomsky, someone not even Israelis respect or take seriously!!
He made the following accusation against the State of Israel:
"Suicide bombers are terrorists, and so are the far worse Israeli crimes that we (the United States) carry out"- Noam Chomsky
I will now DEMOLISH this OBSCENE statement.
Every reasonable school of philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, and common sense distinguishes between DELIBERATELY TARGETTING CIVILIANS and inadvertently killing civilians while TARGETTING TERRITORISTS who HIDE amongst them.
THE PROOF:
Terrorist attacks against Israeli Jews have included the following targets:
1. A nursery school in which 18 children and teachers were machine gunned to death
2. An elementary school in which 27 children and teachers were killed
3. A Jewish community center in which 86 civilians were killed
4. A Turkish synagogue in which 27 jews at prayer were killed
5. A Swiss Airliner headed to Israel in which all 47 civilian passengers were killed
6. A passenger terminal at Lod Airport in which 27 civilians, mostly christian pilgrims were killed
7. A passover seder in which 29 jews were killed
8. A discotheque for teenagers in which 21 mostly Russian Jews were killed
9. A Hebrew university cafeteria in which 9 people were killed
10. An airplane filled with Israeli tourists returning from a Chanukkah vacation in Kenya
etc...
Only the last of these attacks failed. This targetted murder of CHILDREN, THE EDERLY, and other vulnerable citizens is UTTERLY without ANY MORAL justification.
Amnesty International has declared such terrorist acts to be "CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY".
Many are even directed to Jews who live OUTSIDE ISRAEL!!!! Pure RACISM!!!
This is anti-semitic hate violence, pure and simple.
When the KLU KLUX KLAN perpetrated similar outrageous attacks, although on a far smaller scale, there was UNIVERSAL CONDEMNATION.
Yet, there are those who seek to JUSTIFY the current anti-jewish outrages as the work of freedom fighters.
The reality is that right-wing extremists and Islamic militants are working together in Germany and other European countries to spread "violent and anti-semitism" on university campuses.
Neo-Nazis have also cooperated with Islamic terrorists in Argentina to perpetrate anti-jewish violence.
If we could not distinguish between an ACCIDENTAL DEATH resulting from a car accident and an INTENTIONAL MURDER, our criminal justice system would fall apart. And if we cannot distinguish the killing of combatants from the intended targetting of peaceable civilians, we live in a world of MORAL NIHILISM.
In such a world, everything reduces to the same shade of gray and we cannot make distinctions that help us take our political and moral bearings.
THINK ABOUT THIS.
List of Islamic Terror Attacks from
First Six Months of 2006
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/attacks-2006.htm
Is Israel a racist state?
The accusation:
The fact that Israel is a Jewish State with a law of return that entitles jews and their families to become Israeli citizens proves that it is a racist state
THE REALITY:
Every other state in the area, including the Palestinian Authority, has an OFFICIALY ESTABLISHED RELIGION, ISLAM, and discriminates both in law and in fact against NON-MUSLIMS, especially Jews.
Israel in contrast is in practice a SECULAR STATE that is religiously and racially PLURALISTIC with freedom of religion FOR ALL.
Moreover, several other states and the Palestinian Authority HAVE LAWS OF RETURN, and Jordan has a law explicitly prohibitting JEWS from becoming citizens, but only Israel, whose law grew out of a history of Jews being slaughtered because no other state, or Palestine under the British mandate, would accept JEWISH REFUGEES, is condemned for its law of return.
THE PROOF:
Although Israel is a Jewish State, it is largely secular and accords complete FREEDOM OF RELIGION TO MUSLIMS, CHRISTIANS and other religious groups.
(NO Islamic state does that!)
The only religious groups that are in any way discriminated against in Israel are the JEWISH GROUPS that do not conform to the strictures of ORTHODOX JUDAISM.
Conservative Jews, Reform Jews, and Secular jews are less than equal when it comes to issues such as marriages, conversion and governmentaly supported education.
Put another way, there is freedom of religion for ALL in Israel, but there is a less than complete freedom FROM religion for NON-ORTHODOX JEWS.
(read it 4 times if you have to, so that you can understand)
Despite the imperfections of the Israeli government's approach to religion, it is far more accepting of religious pluralism than ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ANY MUSLIM STATE IN THE WORLD, AND MOST CHRISTIAN STATES throughout history, even today.
To single out Israel for CRITICISM because it is a Jewish State is CLEARLY A FORM OF INTERNATIONAL ANTI-SEMITISM, especially when the criticism is not coupled with comparable, or more severe, criticism of MUSLIM STATES that practice a far more discriminatory form of state-sponsored religion.
Even the Palestinian authority, which has long advocated a secular binational state in Israel (clearly as a ploy) and has been extremely critical of Israel as a JEWISH STATE, recently declared ISLAM to be its official and sole state religion.
I have heard of NO CRITICISM of this move by those who are so quick to condemn Israel for any deviation from an unrealistic perfection that NO COUNTRY HAS EVER ACHIEVED.
With regards to Israel's law of return, there has been a continuing controversy about whether it is primarily a religious law, a family reunification law, a reaction to ethnic discrimination, or some combination of these HISTORICAL FACTORS.
More than any of these, it should e reviewed as a HUMANITARIAN LAW. It followed the immigration waves during Israel's first years that brought holocaust survivors along with refugeesFORCED OUT OF ARAB COUNTRIES.
Since its passage, Jews have been rescued from the repression and anti-semitism of the COMMUNIST BLOC, from "disappearances" under Argentine dictators, and from famine in ETHIOPIA.
Some critics of the law (Like JOHN and co...) characterize it as "racist". Aside from the obvious FALSEHOOD of this claim, which I will discuss in a moment, THESE CRITICS ARE GUILTY OF THEIR USUAL DOUBLE STANDARD: Israel is far from the only country, and far from the only democracy, with comparable laws.
Since the break up of the Soviet Union, Russian has welcomed THOUSANDS of ehtnic Russians from the former republics.
Since 1945, MILLIONS of ethnic Germans have come to Germany from all over central and eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
For almost 50 years, German immigration law even followed the official definition that "members of the German people are those who have committed themselves in their homelands to GERMANNESS (deutschtum), in as far as this commitment is confirmed by certain facts such as descent, language, upbringing and culture"
Other states too, have similar laws and similar connections with their diasporas. YET, ONLY ISRAEL IS ATTACKED AS RACIST FOR ITS NONRACIAL LAW OF RETURN
Although Jews (and certain of their relatives) are entitled to citizenship (subject to certain disqualifications for criminal activities), non-jews may ask for citizenship, and many have, in fact, been welcomed by Israel as FIRST-CLASS CITIZENS with all the rights accorded to Jewish citizens.
Again I repeat, this DOES NOT HAPPEN IN ANY ARAB OR MUSLIM STATE.
In April 1999, Israel airlifted more than 100 Albanian refugess from Kosovo and invited them to live in Kibbutz Maagan Michael. These NON-JEWISH refugees joined a previous group of MUSLIMS who escaped the Bosnian Civil War in 1993.
The refugees were given the CHOICE to remain in Israel permanently or to return to Kosovo after the fighting. Israel has previously offered asylum to NON-JEWISH refugees from other parts of the world embroilled in conflict. Many of those who escaped Soviet repression by emigrating to Israel were NOT JEWISH.
The law of return was clearly a response to HISTORIC DISCRIMINATION by other nations against JEWS. It is surely understandable why Israel, as soon as it became a State, responded to that discrimination by opening its DOORS to every Jew, as well as to others seeking refuge or a better life.
(Note: They did NOT OPEN FIRE or started TERRORISM, OR ATTACKS against the people who discriminated against them for so long)
The MOST PRIMITIVE APARTHEID against NON-MUSLIMs is still openly practiced in some ARAB countries. Moreover, JORDAN has a lwa of return that EXPLICITLY DENIES CITIZENSHIP TO ALL JEWS, even those who live there for generations. (THAT is RACISM my friends!!!)
Its law provide that citizenship is open to "ANY PERSON WHO WAS NOT JEWISH" and who meets certain other criteria.
Saudi Arabia similarly bases eligibility on RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION.
Germany long had a law of return, as do China and many other countries. YET, ONLY ISRAEL, WHICH HAS CITIZENS OF VIRTUALLY EVERY RELIGION, ETHNICITY, RACE AND NATIONAL ORIGIN, is characterized by its enemies as RACIST OR APARTHEID
The DEFENSE has spoken against the ACCUSATIONS and has PROVEN without a doubt that the accusations are FALSE ON ALL ACCOUNTS.
'Disproportionate' in What Moral Universe?
By Charles Krauthammer, The Washington Post
Friday, July 28, 2006
What other country, when attacked in an unprovoked aggression across a recognized international frontier, is then put on a countdown clock by the world, given a limited time window in which to fight back, regardless of whether it has restored its own security?
What other country sustains 1,500 indiscriminate rocket attacks into its cities -- every one designed to kill, maim and terrorize civilians -- and is then vilified by the world when it tries to destroy the enemy's infrastructure and strongholds with precision-guided munitions that sometimes have the unintended but unavoidable consequence of collateral civilian death and suffering?
To hear the world pass judgment on the Israel-Hezbollah war as it unfolds is to live in an Orwellian moral universe. With a few significant exceptions (the leadership of the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada and a very few others), the world -- governments, the media, U.N. bureaucrats -- has completely lost its moral bearings.
The word that obviates all thinking and magically inverts victim into aggressor is "disproportionate," as in the universally decried "disproportionate Israeli response."
When the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor, it did not respond with a parallel "proportionate" attack on a Japanese naval base. It launched a four-year campaign that killed millions of Japanese, reduced Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki to cinders, and turned the Japanese home islands into rubble and ruin.
Disproportionate? No. When one is wantonly attacked by an aggressor, one has every right -- legal and moral -- to carry the fight until the aggressor is disarmed and so disabled that it cannot threaten one's security again. That's what it took with Japan.
Britain was never invaded by Germany in World War II. Did it respond to the Blitz and V-1 and V-2 rockets with "proportionate" aerial bombardment of Germany? Of course not.
Churchill orchestrated the greatest air campaign and land invasion in history, which flattened and utterly destroyed Germany, killing untold innocent German women and children in the process.
The perversity of today's international outcry lies in the fact that there is indeed a disproportion in this war, a radical moral asymmetry between Hezbollah and Israel: Hezbollah is deliberately trying to create civilian casualties on both sides while Israel is deliberately trying to minimize civilian casualties, also on both sides.
In perhaps the most blatant terror campaign from the air since the London Blitz, Hezbollah is raining rockets on Israeli cities and villages. These rockets are packed with ball bearings that can penetrate automobiles and shred human flesh. They are meant to kill and maim. And they do.
But it is a dual campaign. Israeli innocents must die in order for Israel to be terrorized. But Lebanese innocents must also die in order for Israel to be demonized, which is why Hezbollah hides its fighters, its rockets, its launchers, its entire infrastructure among civilians. Creating human shields is a war crime. It is also a Hezbollah specialty.
On Wednesday CNN cameras showed destruction in Tyre. What does Israel have against Tyre and its inhabitants? Nothing. But the long-range Hezbollah rockets that have been raining terror on Haifa are based in Tyre. What is Israel to do? Leave untouched the launch sites that are deliberately placed in built-up areas?
Had Israel wanted to destroy Lebanese civilian infrastructure, it would have turned out the lights in Beirut in the first hour of the war, destroying the billion-dollar power grid and setting back Lebanon 20 years. It did not do that. Instead it attacked dual-use infrastructure -- bridges, roads, airport runways -- and blockaded Lebanon's ports to prevent the reinforcement and resupply of Hezbollah. Ten thousand Katyusha rockets are enough. Israel was not going to allow Hezbollah 10,000 more.
Israel's response to Hezbollah has been to use the most precise weaponry and targeting it can. It has no interest, no desire to kill Lebanese civilians.
Does anyone imagine that it could not have leveled south Lebanon, to say nothing of Beirut? Instead, in the bitter fight against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, it has repeatedly dropped leaflets, issued warnings, sent messages by radio and even phone text to Lebanese villagers to evacuate so that they would not be harmed.
Israel knows that these leaflets and warnings give the Hezbollah fighters time to escape and regroup. The advance notification as to where the next attack is coming has allowed Hezbollah to set up elaborate ambushes. The result? Unexpectedly high Israeli infantry casualties. Moral scrupulousness paid in blood.
Israeli soldiers die so that Lebanese civilians will not, and who does the international community condemn for disregarding civilian life?
This is what we are fighting against:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmnpMXOpaM4
See this for more information on ARABS living in Israel and their discrimination against JEWS.
http://www.middle-east-info.org/gateway/arabsinisrael/index.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment