When Children die in war no one wins. We all lose.
Hamas released the bodied of four Israeli hostages including two children- The Bibas brothers. Their bodies were released in a "celebration" of their murder as people cheered the coffins of the two brothers.
There are no words as to describe the shameful degrading and inhumane conduct of this disgusting spectacle.
But more war and more bombing will not stop the hate and violence.
Hate begets hate. Violence begets violence.
This must stop.
Today is a day of mourning for those two young boys. May they never be forgotten and their names remembered as innocent victims of a horrible act of violence.
This is a remarkable interview with Israeli Prime Minister Gold Meir. Please click on it. It's short.
"We value life... the children are not to blame because their Father are Fatah..."
Israel was never stronger when it valued life.
All life is precious. It does not matter what side of a border a child is on when they are killed by a bomb.
13 comments:
I know many of our readers, Jewish and otherwise, will be outraged at our show of compassion for Palestinian children because Hamas started this and they hide behind their own children. And that is true. Disgusting and cowardly and true. But I defy you to rebut Meir's final words in the clip. "We value life. Not just our own. We value life. And that is our strength." She was right. And what Israel did was wrong. Sorry. But Israel sacrificed its strength when it stopped valuing all life. It became just like its oppressors- a nation that only values the life of its own citizens. That dear readers is a path to the destruction of humanity. I welcome all reasonable responses in this debate. If you step out of bounds and demean either side your comment will not be posted. You can advance your argument. Respectfully and yes, many will say your respectful argument is more respect than Hamas gave those two brothers. I get it. We all get it. Lets move past that and talk.
Those far removed from the realities of war - whose children's blood is not at stake - can maintain a sense of moral superiority, while they are distant from the true cost and complexities involved in never ending conflicts.
My opinion is that what Israel did in this war will ultimately destroy Israel. They have alienated the entire world except for the United States. And as the United States withdraws from international affairs towards America First (and only) isolationism under Trump, Israel will be more isolated than it has ever been in its history. It will have to clean up the mess it made, which nobody has any idea beyond ethnic cleansing of how to do. It is easy to drop bombs and much harder to pick up the pieces, as we've seen all over the world in 21st century American-sponsored wars on Muslim countries. I also think that the impact of the Gaza War on US politics has been significant and underexamined. A lot of Americans saw a clearly genocidal campaign and quickly learned honest debate on it in America was beyond the pale, any public argument that Israel was in the wrong was immediately met with accusations that the person advancing the argument was at best anti-semitic and more likely a terrorist sympathizer. This, in my opinion, suppressed American opposition among the masses (of course Muslims and college students protested, protests which were often suppressed violently by the state, but the masses mainly concluded there was nothing they could do about what their government was doing in their name and it was far safer personally to remain quiet and ignore it as best one could). Now that Trump is taking the country from democracy to Russia-style autocracy/oligarchy, again the masses are quiet and passive, very different than 8 years ago. They've learned that's the safe thing to do. I think the Israel war and how it played out in domestic politics has much to do with that.
Children die in war. Thousands of times more Palestinian children than Israeli children died in this war. If we understand how angry and hell-bent on vengeance Israelis and American Jews feel when seeing Jewish children's coffins come back from war, we should be able to understand the same emotions on the Arab side from the genocidal campaign against their people. One can only imagine how many potential terrorists the US and Israel created in the last 18 months. Wise leaders channel such public emotion productively to strengthen the society they lead, selfish leaders use it to perpetuate their own power. There are precious few wise leaders in Israel or America right now.
This is exactly my point. When a Palestinian parent or sibling loses a child they want revenge and the cycle of violence is perpetrated for another generation. No one can let go. Israel says we did and they attacked us. But no they didnt let go. The conditions in Gaza and the West Bank were deplorable and humiliating. And Israel will say that’s because of the threat of Hamas. Who will break this cycle of tragedy hate violence murder and pain ? There are no more Golda Meirs that I can find.
This is exactly my point. When a Palestinian parent or sibling loses a child they want revenge and the cycle of violence is perpetrated for another generation. No one can let go. Israel says we did and they attacked us. But no they didnt let go. The conditions in Gaza and the West Bank were deplorable and humiliating. And Israel will say that’s because of the threat of Hamas. Who will break this cycle of tragedy hate violence murder and pain ? There are no more Golda Meirs that I can find.
As a non-religious American watching this insanity for 68 years, I am desensitized and repulsed by the actions of Hamas and Nentayahu, et al. My only concern is for the United States of America, and the safety of all my fellow American citizens, including American Jews and American Muslims, and my fellow Americans of any religion, or of no religion.
The myth that Jews can only be safe in Israel is evil propaganda. Israel and Palestine are existential threats to the USA and our citizens. Israel is an existential threat to Jews worldwide.
This debate is fine in theory but inapplicable in reality; war is hell Once war breaks out, it’s kill or be killed Israel not only has the right to defend themselves but also go on the offensive, something necessary to defend themselves How did the US ward off an attack from Japan? How did the Union conquer the Confederacy? Once there is an unprovoked attack, all bets are off Hamas has responsibility for the deaths of innocent civilians Remember, children were killed in Israel due to them being attacked, children were killed in Gaza due to Israel trying to thwart a future attack upon them as they sought out military strikes using those innocent victims as shields. It was a necessary defensive encounter ( Hamas knew they were going to be obliterated, this has been a long term objective to create anti Israel propaganda which the public has fallen for) . You can’t, from the safety of a computer keyboard, walk in the shoes of a country under a perpetual attack. Stop making excuses, there are consequences for actions.
Hey TRumpole …. The last comment at 8:04am wins. While I respect your utopian view and respect for human life - it does not work in a country’s EXISTENTIAL crisis fighting off yet another Holocaust.
Ask the Armenians. Ask the Kurds. Ask the poor folks in Darfur. Hell - for that matter, ask the Palestinian folk.
You do what you must to preserve LIFE. Your own.
You don’t think American went into Iraq and wiped out children in massive amounts during that fake predicate war?
Nation’s leaders primary responsibility is to the safety and preservation of the lives of its citizens. Hence, if another country’s terrorist who attack your citizens in a SAVAGE and BARBARIC manner choose schools, hospitals, UN sites and religious venues to hide, store weapons and launch terrorists attacks - you must strike and KILL them at those locations. Children become “collateral damage of war” - but by the choices of the wrongful party. They are the WICKED ones.
It is tragic. But so would be the antisemitism that causes ignorant and brainwashed maniacs to kill innocent Jewish babies, to rape them and to burn them alive.
Just one Judge’s opinion …
Hey Rump, just curious why you waited until the comments to mention a “show of compassion for Palestinian children.” Your intent, at least as clarified by this comment seems clear - despite deaths caused by Hamas, Israel’s mass murder of Palestinian children is neither justified nor moral. However, the original post fails to mention this and mourns only two lives out of tens of thousands of children who have been killed. This type of elevation of one death over another too closely resembles that challenged in McClesky, where murderers of white victims face(d) the death penalty at disproportionate rates than those with black victims. Long time readers will know you disagree with how McClesky was decided. Let’s avoid the same trap here by glorifying/mourning some and leaving others nameless (until the comments).
715 am. You are not a long time and careful reader of the blog. In the early days of the war when Israel displaced a large percentage of the Palestinian people and ordered them to move to a border they had closed I criticized Israel and specifically then and many times since the senseless and needless death of what is now approaching 20,000 Palestinian children. Israel sacrificed their moral authority to attack when they did so in such a widespread and indiscriminate basis. What astounds me is that the same people rightfully morning the murder if those two baby Israeli boys cannot understand the same pain Palestinian parents and Palestinian people experience when a Palestinian baby or baby sisters or baby brothers die from an Israeli bomb. And yes I understand Hamas hides behinds civilians. Tell that to the parents of Palestinian baby girls who have no power or ability to stop Hamas from hiding in their hospitals and schools. Hate begets hate. Violence begets violence.
As an atheist, I am so damn sick of the never-ending violence and inhumanity perpetuated on behalf on the fallacy that is religion. I acknowledge that religion provides comfort and certain moral guidance, but its destruction, cruelty and wanton suppression of science, art, and human advancement far outweighs any benefit it provides. What fools and cowards we humans are.
I believe in Israel. I am not Jewish, but I think a Jewish state is a positive thing in this world. I have through the years also been of the opinion that Israel is as important to the interests of the United States as one of our own territories. When President Biden went to Israel soon after the attack of October 7, and embraced Bibi and by extension our Israeli friends I was proud of my country and my president. I knew that Israel’s response would be massive and necessarily brutal. But it was vital to their survival to get rid of Hamas. Leaving aside the fecklessness of the lack of security safeguards that allowed for the Hamas attack to be so devastating, Israel had “room to run” in its response before world opinion would turn against it,
One thing Biden said when he went to Israel to commiserate with our friends in their time of grieving seems to have been forgotten, however. He told them that the U.S. had attacked in what we thought was justifiable and righteous anger to 9/11, but we were wrong. History will decide if the response Israel has embarked upon will bring peace or endless conflict. We can’t know that yet. From the beginning I’ve thought they were sometimes needlessly aggressive, but I’m certainly not there and as Churchill said the first casualty of war is truth. So I am aware that my impression could be distorted in the extreme.
On the whole I can’t be optimistic not only because of Gaza but also because of the West Bank and the ascendency of the severe right wing in Israeli politics.
I grew up during the Six Day War when Israel was a land of romantic warriors who wanted to live in peace on their little plots of land. I grew to love that country and I still do. But I don’t see how anything like that survives on its current course of embracing relocation of the people of Gaza and a rampant increase in settlements on the West Bank. I don’t know if it is my failure of imagination, but I see the abandonment of the two-state solution as a road to ruin. For now, Israel appears to have its enemies on their back foot, which is good. But Israel exists in a bad neighborhood where an impetuous or ill considered action can lead to destruction and huge loss of life. I fervently hope for Israel, its neighbors, and the world that Israel chooses wisely and is guided by the best parts of Judaism, a religion of peace and harmony.
Judge the Iraq comparison is a good one but it demonstrates the opposite of what you want it to.
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