Name:     Michael L. S.   [E-Mail]
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      Website:  Middle East Resource Center


 

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Shalom, shanah tova vshavua tov! Before I paste the next part of my exchange with Cliff, just to convey a piece of very good news. As you may know, Palestinian terrorists have for a long while been firing Qassam rockets from Aza into Sderot and western Negev (ie. civilian centers in Israel proper). They intensified this activity in the past several weeks. There have been very few casualties and little damage--owing mostly to the poor aiming abilities of the terrorists--but I think all can appreciate that the psychological effect of the constant threat has been enormous. However, the ingenuity of our valiant armed forces is once again certain to get the better of the criminal vermin: an early defense warning system was put in place last week which is based on the radar technology. It can pinpoint almost instantaneously the site of the rocket launch with great precision (to within meters), it is connected to the local public information system so that residents of Sderot and other Negev towns get a minimum twenty second warning which is ample time to seek and find cover, and it's been 100% successfully tested. Barukh haShem! The next step--already in testing phases--is to integrate this system with anti-ballistic defense which will (a) intercept all incoming missiles so they have no chance of reaching their destinations and (b) send our own rockets to the sites of the launch.

One of the points of the above is that--despite militating to the contrary by the crackpot brigade--it is perfectly possible to respond adequately to all types of terror without breaching principles of humanity, proportionality, law, etc. There are wider implications, namely, that the implementation of the Aza disengagement plan will not compromise the security of the State. Firstly, there is an anti-terrorist barrier running all along Aza. Secondly, as seen, it is possible to foil whatever terrorists come up with by using innovative measures. And thirdly, our various agencies are more than capable of neutralizing the enemy even before they strike. After all, The Institute got Eichmann, Vanunu and others (known of and not) and it's performed numerous operations efficiently the world over. Shabak pre-empts terrorist attacks on a daily basis thru intricate intelligence work and an extensive network of informants. Cheil haAvir possesses technology which enables pilots to deliver bombs literally thru house windows without ever entering enemy territory on the ground. We have nothing to fear.

Nu, Cliff's reply to my e-mail which can be found at the very bottom of the preceding entry:

Hi Michael,

Far be it for me to defend the British - most of the world's trouble spots such as Kashmir Zimbawe Palestine Iraq Iran are leftovers from the British Empire. I also find it disgusting that the British and Americans did nothing about the holocaust.

I would however be interested to hear your opinions as to why the Palestinians should suffer for the sins of the British. Or do you not agree that at least half a million Palestinians were driven out of Israel in 1948, in an act of ethnic cleansing?

Please tell me also why the blowing up of a bus is a "terrorist act" whereas the dropping of a one-ton bomb in a Palestinain residential area, killing civilians, is acceptable?

Kind regards,

Cliff

Sure, a succinct note. But simple questions do not necessarily mandate simple answers. After all, if the answers were simple, this would not be one of the most fraught conflicts in the world. My response:

Hi again Cliff:

You're right about the Britishers. Don't forget their latest outrage: the phoney war in Iraq.

I don't think the Palestinians SHOULD suffer at all because of the Britishers or us or anyone else! I think they must have a state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza but that's beside the point. Yes, at least 500,000 Arabs were left refugees following the 1948 war. But I strongly disagree that they were driven out by the Jewish forces, let alone in an act of ethnic cleansing. No doubt tales, real and imaginary, of massacres by Etzel and Lehi (Irgun and Stern) had something to do with it. But there is just as much evidence of Arab civil and military leaders inviting them to leave for this or that reason, and also there was a war going on and people sensibly didn't want to stay there. I accept that the vast majority of them left with a view to coming back at some point. I think they should all be adequately compensated. Another fact going against the ethnic cleansing theory is that, while 400-650,000 Arabs left what became Israel, 250,000 did not (they and their posterity are today citizens of Israel and commonly referred to as "Israeli Arabs"--they make 20% of Israeli citizens). I'm not trying to be funny here, but someone trying to ethnically cleanse an area wouldn't leave two out of every five "clients" behind. But also bear in mind that NO-ONE has abused the Palestinians, especially the refugees, more than Arab leaders who have cynically been exploiting them for propaganda gains. The refugee problem could've been resolved decades ago--remember the even greater number of Jews who were driven out of Arab countries at the roughly same time? They haven't been languishing in squalid camps for 56 years sending bombers to Cairo pizzerias and Damascus buses but were immediately absorbed by Israel and they're now living there very happily. Arabs countries don't give a flying monkeys ass about the refugees. Jordan killed five times more of them in one month than died in these four years of "intifada" (Black September, 1972). Kuwait booted out 300,000 of them 14 years ago. In Lebanon they have fewer rights than did enslaved African Americans in the old Confederacy. Arafat certainly doesn't care about them. I personally think Israel should more than anyone show we care and, as I said, at the very least generously compensate them.

Blowing up a bus is a premeditated act designed very deliberately to take down as many Jews (or whoever else happens to be riding on there) as possible. It is not done out of despair nor is it done because actual soldiers or other military/strategic targets are nowhere else to be found. They are acts whereby maximum firepower available is used against places with the highest concentration of people (civilians). That's not warfare and that's not guerilla. Instead of blowing up a pizzeria, a moral fighter would blow up a bridge, railroad line or desalination plant. The long-term damage would be greater, there would be no moral opprobrium attached and it would actually make the government think while leaving the "let's retaliate" brigade without a leg to stand on. But of course, doing that would undermine the whole culture of war and hatred that's been carefully cultivated by the PA so it's not going to happen. ... Dropping a bomb on civilian Palestinian areas is not acceptable. Don't forget though that such actions do NOT have as their aim killing as many civilians as possible and they are done because the legitimate target IS actually hiding/present in that area constantly. I personally think Israel should carry out raid-and-arrest operations which would ensure there were hardly ANY casualties but there IS a fundamental difference in the mentality behind the two types of "operation". And lastly, don't just listen to the media. The media don't tell you about operations that were aborted because there was a risk of civilian casualties; they don't tell you about trials of soldiers when an operation goes wrong and civilians are killed (thru negligence, false intelligence and similar); and it DOES happen, a lot. I don't want to justify nasty deeds by the IDF--I don't think they CAN be justified. Believe it or not, I am aware of how the soldiers can and do behave and what the Palestinians have to go thru, and I am VERY bothered by it. I'm someone who was abused and humiliated because of my ethnicity and I could never (want to) justify the same happening to another human being. My main point is that things are not black and white, and that you have to delve much deeper than a few "scoops" on the main news and emotive images to know what's really happening.

Listen, I'm REALLY sorry about the length of this. I know the questions were simple but the answers, just like the whole conflict, are not...

Best wishes,

Michael


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And finally, a less than promising piece of news: Arafat's official PA television has resumed airing of inflammatory propaganda glorifying terrorism and, in particular, homicide bombings. Visit the PMW website and you'll be left in no doubt about the extent and kind of brainwashing that goes on in the PA and which has shaped the Palestinian mentality for so long.

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