Saturday, January 10, 2009

What Is Happening in Gaza: Lack of Collective Conscience in Israel

I feel that what is happening in Gaza, the bombings and killings of innocent civilians on such a large scale is unconscionable on the part of Israel. It is not that I think the Palestinian people are without responsibility in this situation. Palestinians as a people are not totally innocent of a kind of collusion with Hamas, after all it was the Palestinian people who fairly overwhelmingly put Hamas in power in The Gaza Strip. But my take on it all says that people living in what is a basically occupied territory though Israel does not admit this fact have good reasons to want to fight what they see as their sworn enemy- The State of Israel. Israel claims it has no vested interest in hurting Palestinians as a people and that its gripe is with the anti Israeli forces of Hamas which advocates the destruction of the State of Israel. But Israel's move into Gaza is very reminiscent of the War it commenced in Lebanon in 2006 which ended in very little results for Israel and caused great resentment of Israel around the world.

It appears that Israel's citizenry is also divided on the wisdom of sending Israeli troops, tanks, and soldiers to engage Hamas militants and inadvertently to affect the entire Gazan population with what appears to be massive bombing raids and tank
driven battles in the densely populated areas of Gaza. The media people to a person covering the Gazan War albeit from a distance seem sickened themselves by the events transpiring day by day. It does appear to be David against Goliath and American and Western media tends to identify at least on an emotional level with the Davids of the world. Roseanne Barr is quoted as saying "The destruction of the Jews in Israel has been assured with this inhuman attack on civilians in Gaza," Barr writes on her blog. "Exactly as its Nazi mentors did to the Jews of Warsaw, Israel now bombs innocent civilians who have been imprisoned in concentration camps in Gaza!" She continues, "The Zionists look German! The Palestinians look like the Jews of Poland! The Jewish people have destroyed themselves in Gaza." She also calls Israel "a Nazi State" bent on torturing the souls of the Jewish people". Roseanne has a way of getting to the core truth of a contentious issue that is hard to dismiss. I don't want to agree with Roseanne or really accept her seemingly exaggerated pronouncement that this is the beginning of the end of Israel. But on another level, Roseanne is right, the seeds are planted, the route chosen clear, the answer: " Brutal Warfare" is totally and outrageously wrong. Jews of conscience all over the world must arise in ever larger numbers and protest this abomination.

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