Israel chooses to make a bad situation worse the worse situation worst

I don't blog on Israel too much, the reason for this is two-fold:

1. I'm severely conflicted where Israel and her actions as a sovereign nation are concerned
2. Discussions about Israel leave me with a huge headache that comes with bashing one's head against a brick wall

Outside of Israel, the only support the country gets is from a mixture of Jews who are so acutely aware of antisemitism they see it everywhere to the point their support of Israel is a knee-jerk reaction and moderate Jews (like myself) who have a bit of a love:hate relationship with the country, and Evangelical Christians who will use their "support of Israel" for political gain (see: GOP) but really just want control of Jerusalem to fulfill their religious prophecy. The rest of the world is pretty much stacked against Israel - Israel (and Jews who support her in any way) are the biggest unifying force between the extremes of the left and right in the US. I do not look for antisemitism everywhere, nor do I believe every accusation of antisemitism but the truth remains that a lot of the world's stance against Israel has a core of institutionalized antisemitism. Human Rights groups & the UN are quick to jump all over Israel as an affront to civilized nations on the human rights front while often, but not always, ignoring similar or worse infractions of other countries - especially Arab ones (especially when those infractions and acts of terrorism are against Jews). Israel, like all countries, should be taken to task for actual human/civil rights violations - I just worry when one country (which is not as bad as so many others) is held out more in what appears to be motivated as much by politics as it is by any concern for human rights. Groups, such as British Academics, are quick to [attempt to] take punitive action against Israeli academics to protest complicity with Israel's actions (it's not without irony that British Academics take offense to any sort of occupation) when the same organizations have never even considered taking similar actions against private citizens of countries that support terrorism of any kind. It's all very one-sided and saying something shouldn't be construed as antisemitic doesn't mean that antisemitism is in play.

In truth, Israel is held to a higher standard than any other country. When Israel is attacked, she alone must show restraint. When she loses her temper and responds in kind, she alone is criticized - when that is pointed out, those criticizing her accuse the country of acting like an immature child pointing out that someone else started it. Let's get it straight here folks, this isn't two toddlers fighting over toys or a little pushing between siblings, this is a case of terrorists supported by Israel's neighbors (and Hamas, the terrorist organization cum political party, which stands as the elected rulers of the Palestinians) targeting Israeli citizens with guns, bombs, etc. Turning the other cheek to show some "moral superiority" has gotten Israel nothing - she's still routinely and unilaterally condemned, she still has to let terrorists out of jail en masse and, unlike other countries, she will still have to return land won in war and, for this, her people understandably don't have any reasonable expectation of any peace or good will towards them.

In the face of this, Israel's choice to go bat-guano crazy on Hamas's proverbial arse was far from wise. It is, in fact, probably the single-most ill-advised & self-destructive thing she has ever done. The whole world needs to take both sides to task for this constant war and, if necessary, come together to mandate a resolution upon them that must be honored as any cross-border act of aggression (including those acts by proxies) will serve to allow one side to respond in kind with the full support of the world.

UPDATE: I meant to include the Link to JStreet's petition for the US to take action to stop the violence in Gaza now


tags:Israel; Disengagement; terrorism; Middle East; Arabs

Sphere: Related Content