Gaza Offensive Reaction...and my reactions to said reactions...
I do not claim to be on either side of the debate. I firmly believe that, at this point, neither side involved in the conflict is completely right or completely wrong.
That being said, I have no way of knowing who is going to read this and what their sensitivity to the subject may be. If I inadvertently say something that offends you, I apologize. Do not lambast me if you are offended, though - you chose to read what I had to say.
I want to reiterate that I really am not on a "side" right now. But I am being inundated with images, news reports, facebook notes, and LJ posts all concerning the same issue. And it is getting to the point where it is beginning to make me very angry.
There are a few things, before I proceed, that I would like to say to those of you out there who DO have an opinion and wish to persuade others to your way of seeing the conflict:
1. Screaming is not required. I can read you just fine in lowercase, and I can hear you just fine at normal speaking volume.
2. Profanity does not make me any more inclined to take you seriously. You can make perfectly valid points, but as soon as you start speaking like a 12 year-old who has just realized his parents won't know he cusses at school, I begin to dismiss you.
3. Generalization is the enemy, and hurts far more than it helps. "The Israelis", "the Palestinians", "the Jews", "the Arabs" etc. all of these terms are counterproductive and useless - it implies an amount of unanimity within these groups that does not exist. And the more we work in extremes, the more difficult compromise becomes.
4. Please treat countries and peoples with respect. Israel is recognized as a sovereign state by the UN. The Palestinian Authority is a permanent observer at the UN, and is a legitimate government in the Palestinian territories (I say "territories" as they have not declared independence. No, not even Hamas.)
5. Do not confuse "Israelis" with "Jews". The country is 75% "Jewish" (much like the US is 77% "Christian), but that is not, by any means the entirety of the population. And not all Jews are Israeli. I am Jewish, and I am American.
I am writing this post, because the amount of hate-mongering, both intentional and unintentional, occurring at the hands of people who have only the best intentions is getting to me. I understand that this is a frustrating situation. I know that people have a certain level of personal involvement - friends or family that live in the affected areas. But by simply screaming at the other side and indulging in extreme hypocrisy (regular hypocrisy is human - the stuff I'm seeing defies all logic) things can only be made worse and the gap that we wish to close is made bigger.
Yes. Palestinian civilians - women and children - are dying. And that is not okay. Children dying is never okay. However, lest any of us forget, Israeli children have also died. Have been, in fact, specifically targeted - a kindergarten in the part of Israel that borders Gaza was bombed, and a Sbarro was bombed in the middle of the day on a weekday so that only the elderly and children to young to attend school would be present (multiple children were killed, all were under the age of 5). This is not okay either. I do not condone EITHER SIDE taking out children. I would like to believe that neither side is killing children intentionally. The members of Hamas who have bombed places like kindergartens are wearing this belief thin. The IDF Commanding Officers (IDF COs) who order attacks on places where civilians are being used by Hamas as human shields also try my patience.
There is no black and white right or wrong here. Both sides are wrong. And both sides have, I'm sure, reasons to do things as they are.
Israel has entered territory legally held by the Palestinians and run by a government the people in the are elected. This is not okay - this is an invasion. Whether or not I would have elected the Hamas is irrelevant. I do not live there, and thus my opinion does not matter. However, the daily bombs being sent from the Gaza strip into Israel is an attack on the sovereignty of the state of Israel and is thus also an invasion. The Israeli invasion is, of course, much more straight forward and obvious. The offensive is just that - an offensive move, not a defensive one - and one that is made up of more concentrated destruction over a short (in the big scheme) time frame. The daily bombings (an average of 8 bombs a day are launched at Israel from Gaza) are a prolonged invasion - less damage but for a far greater length of time.
I am upset for the dead in Gaza. And I am upset for the Israelis who live within bombing range, many of whom have also been injured or killed.
Both sides have legitimate reasons to be outraged over these invasions. If Canada or Mexico launched an all out offensive and invaded the US, we'd freak. And the UN would freak right along with us. If we received 8 bombs a day from a neighboring country being hurled over our borders, we'd freak (and invade and start destroying countries, no doubt). And the UN would, again, freak right along with us. Heck, someone attacked two buildings and we invaded an entire country with UN support.
Israel should not be blockading it's borders, making the passage of food, water, and aid more difficult. Egypt shouldn't be either, for that matter - Egypt's borders are also closed to the Palestinians, though for some reason people don't care about that at all. These children who are being injured might stand a better chance at survival if they had better access to medical care. However, by that same token, if the US was getting bombed every day by people across our borders, we'd close our borders down too. I mean, we're closing our borders down NOW, and the only thing we're receiving from the other side of the border is a labor force willing to do the jobs that the complainers wouldn't want any way. You don't see the United States opening up her borders to send food and aid to the parts of Mexico and Latin America that need it, do you? And is the world angry about that?
Israel is a sovereign state. I'm sorry if there are people out there who dislike how it came to be a sovereign state - people who disagree with the British government's rights to give away their imperial "possessions". It's not fair, I agree. "Oop! Our land now! And now we're giving it to...these people!" But if we are to require every country that gained its sovereignty via imperialism we're going to have to give back an awful lot of land: the US, Canada, Latin America/Mexico, South Africa, Australia, and a vast portion of Egypt for a start. The system was horrible, and corrupt, and racist, and wrong but it was the system. And whether or not it was right, that was how the world worked at the time and there is little we can do about it without going the way of worldwide anarchy.
All sovereign states - even the ones that do things we wish they wouldn't - have a right to defend themselves. Israel has the right to defend (not offend, mind, DEfend) itself against terrorism. The US has the right to defend against terrorism - the UN even said so. Georgia has the right to defend itself against foreign conquest by a neighboring country. This is part of what it means to be a sovereign state.
It is also worth noting that Palestinian officials have been offered their own state three times. The first was during the British Palestine era - a partition for half the land to go to the Arabs (as they were called at the time) half the lands to go to the Jewish settlers. This was rejected (and, honestly, I'd have rejected it also. Though the Palestinians would have received the better tracts of land, it was like a patchwork quilt. Neither side had a comprehensive "area.") The second time the Palestinian officials were offered a very small portion of land, all connected and comprehensive, to do with as they wished. This was also rejected. The third time the entire list of demands was met with two exceptions: the right of return (because no one can agree on what this means, exactly), and Jerusalem.
In my perfect world, Israel would be cut in half, north and south, and Jerusalem would be an international zone and not owned by either country. In the real world, the Israeli government will never give up the Old City of Jerusalem. It would be like asking the Saudis to give up Mecca, like asking the Americans to give up Washington D.C. and all of D.C's monuments. It will not happen. The giving to Palestinians whoo wish to use it the "right of return" has also never been approved by the Israeli government. I think compromises will need to occur on both sides to make lasting peace possible - I think the Palestinian Authority may have to give on Jerusalem, and I think that the Israeli government needs to reexamine their stance on the right of return.
As one can see from the laundry list of issues above - a list which barely scratches the surface, I might add - there is no clear cut answer here. Anyone who claims that there is a simple and immediate way to fix these problems is delusional. Both sides have valid points and both sides need to be considered. I read a response to a profanity-filled attack on the Palestinian people and the media which stated, "you cannot judge someone until you have walked in their shoes." This person went on to add that s/he endeavored to do so at all times. Whether this person has truly taken the time to walk in the Israeli's shoes, I cannot know. But the advise is sound nonetheless. Look at the other point of view, regardless of what your current beliefs are. It may or may not have an impact on what you believe - I don't know. But it's the best place for anyone to start.
That being said, I have no way of knowing who is going to read this and what their sensitivity to the subject may be. If I inadvertently say something that offends you, I apologize. Do not lambast me if you are offended, though - you chose to read what I had to say.
I want to reiterate that I really am not on a "side" right now. But I am being inundated with images, news reports, facebook notes, and LJ posts all concerning the same issue. And it is getting to the point where it is beginning to make me very angry.
There are a few things, before I proceed, that I would like to say to those of you out there who DO have an opinion and wish to persuade others to your way of seeing the conflict:
1. Screaming is not required. I can read you just fine in lowercase, and I can hear you just fine at normal speaking volume.
2. Profanity does not make me any more inclined to take you seriously. You can make perfectly valid points, but as soon as you start speaking like a 12 year-old who has just realized his parents won't know he cusses at school, I begin to dismiss you.
3. Generalization is the enemy, and hurts far more than it helps. "The Israelis", "the Palestinians", "the Jews", "the Arabs" etc. all of these terms are counterproductive and useless - it implies an amount of unanimity within these groups that does not exist. And the more we work in extremes, the more difficult compromise becomes.
4. Please treat countries and peoples with respect. Israel is recognized as a sovereign state by the UN. The Palestinian Authority is a permanent observer at the UN, and is a legitimate government in the Palestinian territories (I say "territories" as they have not declared independence. No, not even Hamas.)
5. Do not confuse "Israelis" with "Jews". The country is 75% "Jewish" (much like the US is 77% "Christian), but that is not, by any means the entirety of the population. And not all Jews are Israeli. I am Jewish, and I am American.
I am writing this post, because the amount of hate-mongering, both intentional and unintentional, occurring at the hands of people who have only the best intentions is getting to me. I understand that this is a frustrating situation. I know that people have a certain level of personal involvement - friends or family that live in the affected areas. But by simply screaming at the other side and indulging in extreme hypocrisy (regular hypocrisy is human - the stuff I'm seeing defies all logic) things can only be made worse and the gap that we wish to close is made bigger.
Yes. Palestinian civilians - women and children - are dying. And that is not okay. Children dying is never okay. However, lest any of us forget, Israeli children have also died. Have been, in fact, specifically targeted - a kindergarten in the part of Israel that borders Gaza was bombed, and a Sbarro was bombed in the middle of the day on a weekday so that only the elderly and children to young to attend school would be present (multiple children were killed, all were under the age of 5). This is not okay either. I do not condone EITHER SIDE taking out children. I would like to believe that neither side is killing children intentionally. The members of Hamas who have bombed places like kindergartens are wearing this belief thin. The IDF Commanding Officers (IDF COs) who order attacks on places where civilians are being used by Hamas as human shields also try my patience.
There is no black and white right or wrong here. Both sides are wrong. And both sides have, I'm sure, reasons to do things as they are.
Israel has entered territory legally held by the Palestinians and run by a government the people in the are elected. This is not okay - this is an invasion. Whether or not I would have elected the Hamas is irrelevant. I do not live there, and thus my opinion does not matter. However, the daily bombs being sent from the Gaza strip into Israel is an attack on the sovereignty of the state of Israel and is thus also an invasion. The Israeli invasion is, of course, much more straight forward and obvious. The offensive is just that - an offensive move, not a defensive one - and one that is made up of more concentrated destruction over a short (in the big scheme) time frame. The daily bombings (an average of 8 bombs a day are launched at Israel from Gaza) are a prolonged invasion - less damage but for a far greater length of time.
I am upset for the dead in Gaza. And I am upset for the Israelis who live within bombing range, many of whom have also been injured or killed.
Both sides have legitimate reasons to be outraged over these invasions. If Canada or Mexico launched an all out offensive and invaded the US, we'd freak. And the UN would freak right along with us. If we received 8 bombs a day from a neighboring country being hurled over our borders, we'd freak (and invade and start destroying countries, no doubt). And the UN would, again, freak right along with us. Heck, someone attacked two buildings and we invaded an entire country with UN support.
Israel should not be blockading it's borders, making the passage of food, water, and aid more difficult. Egypt shouldn't be either, for that matter - Egypt's borders are also closed to the Palestinians, though for some reason people don't care about that at all. These children who are being injured might stand a better chance at survival if they had better access to medical care. However, by that same token, if the US was getting bombed every day by people across our borders, we'd close our borders down too. I mean, we're closing our borders down NOW, and the only thing we're receiving from the other side of the border is a labor force willing to do the jobs that the complainers wouldn't want any way. You don't see the United States opening up her borders to send food and aid to the parts of Mexico and Latin America that need it, do you? And is the world angry about that?
Israel is a sovereign state. I'm sorry if there are people out there who dislike how it came to be a sovereign state - people who disagree with the British government's rights to give away their imperial "possessions". It's not fair, I agree. "Oop! Our land now! And now we're giving it to...these people!" But if we are to require every country that gained its sovereignty via imperialism we're going to have to give back an awful lot of land: the US, Canada, Latin America/Mexico, South Africa, Australia, and a vast portion of Egypt for a start. The system was horrible, and corrupt, and racist, and wrong but it was the system. And whether or not it was right, that was how the world worked at the time and there is little we can do about it without going the way of worldwide anarchy.
All sovereign states - even the ones that do things we wish they wouldn't - have a right to defend themselves. Israel has the right to defend (not offend, mind, DEfend) itself against terrorism. The US has the right to defend against terrorism - the UN even said so. Georgia has the right to defend itself against foreign conquest by a neighboring country. This is part of what it means to be a sovereign state.
It is also worth noting that Palestinian officials have been offered their own state three times. The first was during the British Palestine era - a partition for half the land to go to the Arabs (as they were called at the time) half the lands to go to the Jewish settlers. This was rejected (and, honestly, I'd have rejected it also. Though the Palestinians would have received the better tracts of land, it was like a patchwork quilt. Neither side had a comprehensive "area.") The second time the Palestinian officials were offered a very small portion of land, all connected and comprehensive, to do with as they wished. This was also rejected. The third time the entire list of demands was met with two exceptions: the right of return (because no one can agree on what this means, exactly), and Jerusalem.
In my perfect world, Israel would be cut in half, north and south, and Jerusalem would be an international zone and not owned by either country. In the real world, the Israeli government will never give up the Old City of Jerusalem. It would be like asking the Saudis to give up Mecca, like asking the Americans to give up Washington D.C. and all of D.C's monuments. It will not happen. The giving to Palestinians whoo wish to use it the "right of return" has also never been approved by the Israeli government. I think compromises will need to occur on both sides to make lasting peace possible - I think the Palestinian Authority may have to give on Jerusalem, and I think that the Israeli government needs to reexamine their stance on the right of return.
As one can see from the laundry list of issues above - a list which barely scratches the surface, I might add - there is no clear cut answer here. Anyone who claims that there is a simple and immediate way to fix these problems is delusional. Both sides have valid points and both sides need to be considered. I read a response to a profanity-filled attack on the Palestinian people and the media which stated, "you cannot judge someone until you have walked in their shoes." This person went on to add that s/he endeavored to do so at all times. Whether this person has truly taken the time to walk in the Israeli's shoes, I cannot know. But the advise is sound nonetheless. Look at the other point of view, regardless of what your current beliefs are. It may or may not have an impact on what you believe - I don't know. But it's the best place for anyone to start.