Monday, January 5, 2009

Monday Morning Update on Gaza

One of my very dear friends in the northern part of Gaza reported to me the continuation of the Israeli onslaught on Gaza.

Helicopters seem to go after specific targets, but tanks in the street appear to be randomly making targets of houses. On Saturday a 7 year old died in Beit Hanoun. Since then a pregnant woman and five of her kids also died in their house.

People who lived through the 2001 incursions into Bethlehem will recognize the patterns of wanton destruction. You go in with a tank, what are you going to do? Shoot at nothing?

The Palestinian National Authority should consider resigning and dissolving itself. It cannot protect its population in Gaza. It has not inflected the course of Israel one inch over the past years: settlements have expanded; even during the truce with Hamas, Israel has never fully respected its engagements and allowed free circulation of goods and resumption of a normal economy in Gaza. True, Hamas did not manage to curtail 100% of militant rocket fires, but it did curtain it very drastically and there was no Israeli victim until Israel intervened on November 4th-5th.

For the record, departing abysmal-failure president Bush encouraged Israel to continue the killing. At least he is consistent; he had the same position during the 2006 Lebanese waste of a war. This guy has never seen a war in the Middle East he didn't like.
Michael Bloomberg is in Israel to support Israel. If you want my opinion about what supporting Israel would mean to a sensible human, click here.

The concluding words of my friend for today:
"This blood will not be spilled for nothing. Inch'allah it will one day lead to peace. And freedom for the Palestinian people."
Message to Israel: The world does not hate you and a lot of us in the world really don't hate the Jews. We, civilized people of the earth, humans regardless of confession (and all confessions are represented) think all people are born equal and imbued with inaliable rights and duties. We loath Antisemitism as much as we loath your Arabophobia. Some of us -- this includes our Jewish brothers & sisters and other monotheistic believers -- even believe Hashem / God / Allah / a Higher Power is the One who gives these things to us all.
The commandment of the Torah is to "love your neighbor."
Hashem is asking you today: 'How have you treated your Palestinian neighbor? How are you treating him today?'

And no, please, for a minute stop justifying your crimes and your sin through an unfair balance in judging the sins of your neighbor. First, God abhors an unfair balance (read the Torah, please). Second, you are not the judge of your neighbor. You do not have eternal rights to rule Arab lives. Get the point. Stop the occupation. Free Gaza. Choose life.

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