When the rockets red glare, burst in the air, over Israel, our media was, almost without exception, silent. For years. One Middle Eastern reporter, siding with Hamas, claims these rockets did not detonate. Who cared whether they did or not? Very few. Where was the outrage? Absent.
During these years, whenever a truce was negotiated and there occurred a lull in the Hamas barrage, Hamas used that lull to restock its armories with weapons.
When Israel decided enough was enough and took action against Hamas, the outcry was worldwide and sustained and continues. Much of the outcry was based upon reports coming from within Gaza and were unconfirmed. For example, the Gazan hospital said to have been reduced to rubble by the Israelis, is expected to be up and running in a couple of days.
At the moment a truce is in effect. Hamas leaders have come out of their hiding places among the population, and put their uniforms back on. A degree of normalcy is returning to Gaza. Do you think Hamas is restocking its supply of weapons, including rockets?
Hamas is a terrorist organization but rules Gaza. Hamas is dedicated to the destruction of Israel. Hamas exists to destroy Israel.
During this recent military confrontation between Israel and Hamas, the outcry has been mostly about the deaths of innocent men, women and children. That is a legitimate concern. While all the facts are not in, and now a Gazan doctor claims the number of deaths has been exaggerated, no one is comfortable with civilians being killed in the morass of war.
At the same time, it is monumental hypocrisy for Americans to criticize Israel when for the last five years, our military forces have caused thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of deaths of innocent men, women and children in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Collateral damage. Big time. What makes American criticism of Israel even more hypocritical is that Iraq not only never attacked the United States, but did not even have the capability to attack the U.S., and never threatened to do so.
It was reported today that American planes attacked a terrorist camp in Pakistan and killed several civilians. This is not unusual, but occurs on a regular basis. Our response is, "Oops. Sorry 'bout that. We'll try to do better next time."
While we never should have invaded Iraq, there is some justification for going after members of al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan because that group is responsible for the 9/11 attacks. But, even with such justification, we have the added problem of targeting terrorists without permission of the country in which they are located. Pakistan is not happy with us at the moment, feeling its sovereignty has been abrogated.
Furthermore, because the terrorists in Afghanistan/Pakistan follow the same MO as Hamas in Gaza -- hiding among the civilian population; indeed, using the civilian population as shields -- there will be "collateral damage."
Where is the outcry in the media over these innocent men, women and children that have been and continue to be killed by American forces?
It is absent. There is a huge sucking void.
Frankly, the problem of Israel and Gaza is beyond my grade level, to quote a famous leader. And I don't have a solution to the Afghanistan situation nor do I know how to capture bin Laden as John McCain claimed he would do.
But fair is fair. It seems a massive hypocrisy to attack Israel for doing exactly the same thing that Hamas has been doing to that country for the past eight years and that we've been doing in Iraq since 2003 and Afghanistan since 2001.
7 comments:
When it comes to Israel reality disappears. Consider the following:
1. Before 1990, Security Council passed 175 resolutions, 97 were directed against Israel (It is 55% of all resolutions).
2. Before 1990, UN General Assembly voted on 690 resolutions, 429 were directed against Israel (It is 62% of all resolutions).
3. The UN was silent when Jordanians destroyed 58 Synagogues in Jerusalem.
4. The UN was silent while the Jordanians systematically desecrated the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives.
5. The UN was silent while the Jordanians enforced an apartheid-like policy of preventing Jews from visiting the Temple Mount and the Western Wall.
6. The UN was silent while for 18 months Israel was terrorized by indiscriminate suicide bombing campaign unleashed by PA leadership.
7. There are 60 Muslims countries in the UN. As well as many more are others Arab oil dependent states.
8. Israel is the ONLY MEMBER OF THE UN THAT IS NOT PERMITTED MEMBERSHIP ON THE SECURITY COUNCIL.
9. Israel is the only country excluded from the U.N.'s regional group system… Since Israel does not belong to any group, it is the only country of 190 member states that is not eligible to serve on the numerous U.N. commissions…
10. In recent years, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights has annually passed five resolutions condemning Israel. This year, they passed seven. By contrast, each of the following countries/regions has been the subject of only one resolution: Afghanistan, Burundi, Congo, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Myanmar, Russia/Chechnya, Sierra Leone, Southeast Europe and Sudan…
11. Nov. 29 is the United Nations Day of International Solidarity with the Palestinian People. No other people has a U.N. Day of Solidarity…
12. Israel is the only state to which a special investigator with "an open-ended mandate to inspect its human rights record" is assigned by the U.N.
13. It is the only state targeted by two special committees and special units of the U.N. Secretariat ostensibly devoted to the Palestinians but in reality dedicated to Israel-bashing worldwide, costing millions of dollars a year.
14. UNIFIL, the U.N. force stationed on the Israel-Lebanon border, hid a videotape of Israeli soldiers being abducted by Hezbollah in October 2000. After finally admitting to having the tape, the U.N. would only show an edited version (in which Hezbollah faces were hidden) to the Israeli government.
15. UNESCO, in Paris, began passing resolutions about protection of Jerusalem holy sites and access for Muslims in 1968. No resolutions about protection or Jewish access were passed from 1946 to 1967 when Jordan controlled Jerusalem and barred Jews from entering…
There is more but why bother, it will not change the situation. NO ONE HAS ANSWERED THE QUESTION AS TO WHAT ACTION SHOULD Israel have taken during the eight years of rocket and mortar rounds fired into Israeli cities and towns? What would we do if fired upon from Mexico or Canada?
Hi Jacob;
Oh so true. What goes around comes around.
the scope of the issues in the middle east is beyond my simple brain - but the hypocrisy of this nation is not
Why do we keep skirting around the issue that Gaza has been OCCUPIED for years. They are under a brutal and well funded OCCUPATION by sister Israel.
Terrorism is the weapon of the poor man. I am not defending, but lets start understanding. Nothing will be accomplished until heated emotions are set aside. VERY HARD TO DO but lets TRY.
Gaza and the Westbank is the portion designated by the UN as part of the ceasefire to halt the war to destroy the new state of Israel. All attempts to negotiate were refused by the Arab Rejectionist states famous “No’s”. The people in those areas had little to say. Had they accepted the UN partition of the Palestine Mandate, there would have been two states from day one, in 1947. Oslo gave the Palestinians 90% of what they asked for. Arafat refused and started the Intifada, designed to eradicate Israel. So far, after five wars, there still is no acceptable deal that does not threaten Israel’s survival. Jordan occupied and annexed the entire Westbank for nineteen years! No one demanded a third state during that time. After 1967, Jordan eventually gave up the Westbank and its claims. It was left with no banking system, no postal system, no health care, etc. The vacuum left went until Israel came in to prevent terrorists from continuing to attack Israel. Gaza was part of Egypt but it abandoned it and still refuses to take it back.
Try to read history. There is cause and effect. Israel has prospered while administrating areas no one else would or could govern. The takeover by Hamas of Gaza indicates that the area is not ready for a state. Israel left Gaza and Hamas used that to attack Israel, so Israel ignored it. If Israel were to cut off all contact with the Westbank, what do you think would happen? Who would administer it? Why should Israel feed people dedicated to destroying it? Why is it that no Arab nation will grant a Palestinian citizenship after more than sixty years? Why are they still in refugee camps in Jordan and other Arab states? They have empty space and could use the well educated Palestinians (educated thru the UN) but prefer to keep them in camps. Why? Where are the protestors that accept refugee status after sixty years? During that same period, Israel accepted all the Jewish refugees thrown out of Arab lands after centuries. Why are they not classified as “refugees” by the same UN?
BETTER
"It´s better to be tried by twelve
Than carried off by six,
All ethical remorse to shelve
For which there is no fix--
It was an accident perforce
But this is bloody war,
And violence proceeds on course
For that´s what we are for.
It is not the securement of
Some high idyllic vision,
For peace and brotherhood and love
Are not part of our mission.
If startled, if confused, however
These innocents go down,
As part and parcel to endeavor
As soldiers aye have known."
.
While Hamas, Fatah, and some PA's refuse a two state solution as is their option and then responsibility to deal with the consequences.
There is the larger issue of the Israeli state and their disregard for the truces as well as no colonization treaties discussed until the matter sorts out. Their is also the long search lines, and off limit areas to Israeli Arabs living in Jerusalem. There is the widespread discrimination of anyone not Jewish.
What I find most appalling is the ability of a group of people to forget their own heritage and their own genocide and enact similar cruelties on others. Have they forgotten? Matthew 5 or 6 I dont quite recall states for the Jews to go back into their land, but it also instructs them to share their belongings or suffer the judgement.
I suffer my own sins, and for them I will be judged, but I am appalled, disgusted and outraged that those "claiming" faith can be so far off the mark and not be called out on it!
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