It's been awhile since anything felt worth posting about. But now, as you can probably imagine, the current situation in Gaza has me riled up and swearing a whole lot when I try to talk about it. Granted, talking about Israel
always has me riled up and swearing a whole lot, because it's one of the only political situations in my lifetime that I haven't been able to - at least briefly and temporarily, for the purpose of debate - separate myself from emotionally. But right now, watching the conflict escalate into a legitimate ground war, I'm even more pissed off than usual.
Flying into JFK earlier this week, watching CNN and MSNBC coverage of the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, I felt so impotent knowing that protests were underway around the world against the Israeli government, and there I was, stuck on a plane. Later, in the airport, when the cable news stations televised aforementioned protests, I fought the urge to start a riot in the JetBlue terminal. Alas, with no cease-fire in sight and a sense of decorum preventing me from rioting, I will blog.
Israeli troops and tanks have now crossed the Gaza border, with the intent of destroyng Hamas and claiming their rocket launching sites. This, of course, means that the current casualty estimate of 4 Israelis and
430 Palestinians is likely to skyrocket in short order. Not that the Israeli government is likely to care much, as they've always had a nasty little habit of killing Palestinian civilians in order to make a point regarding terrorism. Just last year, in March, they conducted a 48-hour raid that killed around 100 Palestinans. Did they accomplish anything? No. Why they expect this to work, rather than increase the likelihood that civilians will turn to groups like Hamas, is completely beyond me. Anyone whose studied a decent amount of World History could probably tell you that this will never be an effective tactic. And yet, they continue to use it, year after year, much as they are using it now.
The New York Times quoted Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, as saying, “This will not be short. This will not be easy. I do not wish to delude anyone.” The paper then went on to say that Barak mentioned "that the coming days will be difficult for the residents of Southern Israel." Right. Because, as troops march across the Gaza border, I'm currently worried about how the Israeli settlers are going to handle the situation. It's just a thought but, if Israelis didn't want to deal with the rage of a displaced people, then maybe they shouldn't have, you know... displaced the people? Just saying.
And so long as I'm touching on quotes that make me want to vomit with rage, I'll turn your attention to one of Obama's statements from earlier this summer on the campaign trail: "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that. And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.” Okay. That's a useful tactic, putting yourself in the shoes of another. I can't argue against that. But did Obama take a moment to consider what he might be driven to do, should his daughters be living without enough food, without clean water, without proper schools, without adequate healthcare, without a house in which to sleep at night? In other words, what he would do if his daughters lived in Gaza? Of course I'm purely speculating, but I think he might be voting for Hamas a whole lot sooner than he'd like to think.
Now, lest anyone should think I actively support the actions of the Hamas goverment (and I would like to stress here that it is a government, and not merely a terrorist group, seeing as how it was elected), I do not. But I do understand them, by which I mean that I can see how it feels to them like their only option. If you deprive a people of their basic rights, the response is frequently violent. (The French Revolution comes to mind...). When a people is particularly downtrodden, they will often follow leaders with questionable tactics. (World War II comes to mind...). It's a tragic irony that Israel should have such very narrow-minded historical hindsight.
But I don't want to preach about how to run a country or manage a conflict or what have you, because obviously my 4 years of university-level political science left me far short of the expert mark. And I don't need to preach because I think it's pretty clear how I feel about Israel. So I maintain my right to get riled up and swear a lot whenever it comes up, and I'll leave it at that for now. But if nothing else, you should be looking at these pictures. I think they're pretty important.
**A disclaimer: this is an admittedly simplistic overview my
opinion of the situation. And while I always welcome debate on my blog, if you're inclined to call me an anti-Semite because I don't support Israel, just go away, because my point is obviously lost on you.**
The Palestinian death toll has passed 500. Israel claims the casualties have been primarily militants, placing the civilian casualty count at below 100. Is there anyone out there who believes this? Considering the tolls come from the mouths of Israeli officials and reporters are currently barred from entering Gaza, I certainly don't. The fact that Gaza's hospitals have already been overwhelmed doesn't inspire confidence in those claims, either. Not to mention, Israeli rocket fire landing in the middle of a marketplace in Gaza City, where civilians were stocking up on necessities for the coming raids, doesn't inspire confidence in the Israeli promise to avoid soft targets. Nor, for that matter, did their striking a U.N. school in Gaza, which had been opened to house those seeking refuge. Way to go, Israel!
