A Hate Incident

Below is what the comedian Elon Gold published on his blog.
On which my friend Nissan commented to me: You see that every Muslim wants to kill Jews, they don't Care!

Have nice day,

Nissan

My response to Mr. Gold is right below his interesting post.

You can read it here. Or, scroll down:

This past Friday night, instead of having my usual guests for a festive Friday night dinner in my home, I had three compassionate LAPD officers standing in my kitchen explaining the difference between a "hate crime" and a "hate incident." My family was the victim of the latter. 

We were walking home in Los Angeles after a Friday night dinner at a friend’s house, dressed nicely for shabbat, easily identifiable as a Jewish family. We waited for a light to change on a corner of a major intersection when a black Mercedes SUV pulled up alongside us. Four middle eastern men in their 20’s were in the car. The one in the back rolled down his window and yelled, “Free Palestine!”

I immediately turned to face them, knowing I was in danger and like the Rabbi who was gunned down in Miami on his way to synagogue, this was the beginning of either a hate crime or a hate incident, but either way, hate was coming our way. We all know too well, that “Free Palestine” means free Palestine from every Jew. As they chant “Free Palestine, from the river to the sea.” That doesn’t mean they want a two state solution, they want Hitler’s final solution and a Jew-free middle east.

Then this Arab young man opened the car door, stepped onto the street and yelled at me, my wife and four young children: “I hope your children die! Just like you are killing children in Gaza!”

We all stood silently in utter horror and fear.

Then he got back in the Mercedes and they drove off. We were in a state of complete shock. My ten year old daughter immediately started crying and couldn’t stop. She kept yelling, “I’m scared.” My 5 year old daughter asked me why they want her to die? My other kids were too rattled to say anything.

I was stunned that I can no longer feel safe walking on shabbat with my family in my city. I kept reading about all the anti-semitism all over Europe, but here in these United States? That my innocent children had to be exposed to this level of anti-semitism has shaken me to my core. These people weren’t just yelling “Jew bastard” as I’d experienced growing up in the Bronx, they were wishing my children dead, right to their angelic faces. This was beyond appalling.

I couldn’t believe that they were filled with such hatred and ignorance and that someone could go as far as wishing my children dead and blaming me for the death of children in Gaza. Me?! I’vebeen killing children in Gaza? I’m a comedian. The only killing I’m personally responsible for is the killing of the audiences I’ve performed for. And the only “bombing" I’m guilty of are those rare sets where I don’t quite connect with the crowd.

Like any good, moral person I hate to see death and destruction anywhere. As we are taught in Proverbs, “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles”. I would have loved to have shared with them that I’m against war and the loss of innocent life. But they didn’t want to hear it. They wanted to spew hatred. I would’ve gladly had an intellectual discussion with them about the fact that all of humanity should join together against terrorists like Hamas and ISIS who are slaughtering innocents, but they didn’t want to listen.

I would’ve been happy to debate them on the fact that Israel has a right to defend itself against a terrorist group who is firing a barrage of rockets at every citizen. Or that had Hamas accepted the first ceasefire, no children in Gaza would’ve been killed. About their firing from hospitals and schools and other densely populated areas in order to get the civilian casualty numbers higher, gaining Israel worldwide condemnation. That the leaders of Israel have called every innocent civilian death "a great tragedy." While the leaders of Hamas consider every innocent civilian death "a great victory."

Or that Gaza is no longer “occupied.” Or the fact that the definition of the word “occupation”doesn’t apply to a country who won land in defensive wars. Wars which were attempts at the total annihilation of Israel. Wars that were thrust upon them before any “blockades” or “settlements” or “occupation” or any of the other made up words that are now used to justify killing Jews.  Or that much of the suffering of the Palestinian people is a direct result of their elected leadership, just as the suffering of Arabs in most middle eastern countries are at the hands of their oppressive regimes. That the Arabs who enjoy real freedom, including freedom to worship any sect of any religion, freedom to speak their minds, freedom to be gay, are the Israeli Arabs living in Israel. Or simply educate them on the 3,000 year history of our people in our tiny homeland and our willingness and desire to live in peace with our arab neighbors.

But they didn’t want a debate. They just wanted to hate. They wanted to terrorize my family and they did. But as I explained to my crying and visibly shaken kids as we walked home, ‘they said they wanted us dead, now imagine living in Israel where every day they don’t just say it, they actually attempt to kill all of the Israeli children and tragically just today they murdered a four-year-old Israeli boy with a Hamas rocket. Not the most comforting words to young, rattled children, but now that their innocence was shattered, I felt that it was important for them to understand the reality of the world they are living in.

The LAPD officers who were dispatched to my house were extremely kind and compassionate. In fact, the first officer who showed up was Jewish and very comforting to my children. I too was comforted by him and the knowledge that there were Jewish men and women protecting the citizens of Los Angeles. At least more than the one Jewish officer I heard about in Malibu at whom Mel Gibson directed his anti-semitic tirade. This officer really put my kids at ease and told them not to be scared. It also didn’t hurt that he told us that he and his wife enjoyed my work, especially when I’ve hosted the Chabad Telethon.

Then two more officers showed up to take the report. It was explained to us that it would’ve been a hate crime if they had said they were going to kill us, instead of merely hoping we got killed, which makes it a hate incident. Try explaining that differentiation to a ten year old girl who was just told to die.

I feel so sad that my children’s innocence was lost at that very moment. That they were unwillingly and instantaneously initiated into the “We hate you because of WHAT you are club.” That they now know the harsh reality that just because they were born into a Jewish family they are targets and subject to death threats. That they can be blamed and scapegoated for things they have nothing to do with. That they are hated.

I can write a fifty page piece about where all the hatred comes from. There are too many fingers to point at. The media, (I’m talking to you CNN, NY Times, etc.), who instead of reporting on every single rocket fired into Israel, chooses to focus on every civilian casualty of this war, instigated and perpetuated by Hamas. Constantly providing the numbers of the dead, instead of the number, eleven, which is the number of cease fires Hamas broke, thereby causing all of this death and destruction. Repeatedly displaying images of dead civilians without any of the context that many of the deaths are terrorists and that any real civilian casualties were victims of Hamas’s double war crimes of firing rockets at innocent civilians while using their innocent civilians as human shields. Or that a number of casualties include civilians who were killed by errant Hamas rockets.

This is what fuels the fire and allows for people to think they now have the right to wish death upon my children.

I can blame my fellow “comedian” Russell Brand who has the audacity to say that Hamas is firing “harmless" rockets. Harmless?! Tell that to the family of the 4 year old Israeli boy who was murdered by a "harmless" Hamas rocket.

The world is buying into this propaganda. They’re allowing the terrorists to win this media intifada. They are actually listening to celebrities like Javier Bardem and Roger Waters using the word “genocide” against the Palestinian people, when the only genocide occurring in the middle east is by folks like the Assad regime who murdered 170,000 innocents, or ISIS who are murdering innocent Christians and others who are not of their beliefs. Oh yeah, and the attempted genocide of every Jew in Israel, a genocide that is codified in Hamas’ very own charter, one that has been stopped thanks to the Iron Dome and the destruction of the terror tunnels which were built for an actual genocide.

I can go on and on about how all of the pro-Palestinian rallies have signs that say "Death to Jews" and praising Hitler, and why Jews everywhere are now targets of hate crimes, hate incidents, vandalism and murder. I could ... but I have jokes to write. Because I’m trying to make the world a better place with laughter. Sadly, we now live in a world full of people that love to hate, more than they love to laugh.

Elon Gold is a comedian and actor who has appeared on The Tonight Show 10 times, starred in the FOX sitcom "Stacked" and has a stand-up special out on Netflix. Follow him on Twitter: @elongold.

-- 
Morris Smith

And here is my letter to Elon Gold:

Dear Mr. Gold,

I was very sorry to hear about your terrifying incident, where your children have lost their innocence. Please let me comment on some of your thoughts:

"We all know too well, that 'Free Palestine' means free Palestine from every Jew" - well, how do you know that so well? I am constantly attending demonstrations against the Israeli occupation, mainly in Tel-Aviv but also in the occupied territories, and I totally relate to "Free Palestine" that I'm hearing from fellow demonstrators who, I believe, don't want me out of there - at least not more than fellow Israeli Jews want the Palestinians out; And, trust me on this one - there are quite a few such Israelis - and I can understand them.

You told us that your children were scared of that incident, and some of them cried. I totally believe that, and feel terribly sorry for them. Think for a moment about the hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza, who are not just scared, but frightened to death, literally. Yes, a 4-year-old child was killed in Israel, and that is terrible. Yes, other children in Israel are scared too. Can you compare the level of fear in Israel and in Gaza? I can relate to the 15-year-old girl in Kerem-Shalom, near Gaza, who said that as much as she was scared, she felt sorry for the Gazan children, who live in much poorer conditions.

"I couldn't believe that they were filled with such hatred and ignorance and that someone could go as far as wishing my children dead and blaming me for the death of children in Gaza. Me?! I’ve been killing children in Gaza?" - No, you didn't kill anybody. Only your support money did. The actual killing is done by very few, but is vastly supported by the Israeli public (around 85%), and yes, by the American Jewry of which you are part. I think that it was Edmund Burke who said: "All that it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing". And if you can't understand the level of hatred - try to imagine how it's like to live in Gaza; being totally dependent for every aspect of life, without dignity, with very little hope for a better future. On top of that - try to imagine how it is like to be an Israeli Arab citizen, who is far from being equal to the Jews - as an official governmental committee has reported (the Or Committee, 2001).

"...the leaders of Israel have called every innocent civilian death 'a great tragedy.' - Sorry, but that is not true. Please show me one such call. The leadership in Israel doesn't care at all, and I wouldn't believe them even if they did relate to the suffering of the Palestinians. But they have at least been honest about their feelings, and disregarded the pain - pulling the vast majority of Jews after them, like a nice 'lead by example' that they learned in the military.

If you are willing to educate those rude people about the "willingness and desire to live in peace with our Arab neighbors," good luck. I think you'll have very hard times, but not because you are so right - but because they are correct to think, that all Israeli government have done everything in their power, to prevent any viable political solution to the conflict. If you can read Hebrew, then please read this:

http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4565230,00.html

This is a column written by a former director of Internal Security (the notorious Shabak), somebody who is much respected in my country for his knowledge and understanding of the security situation - and definitely not n lunatic liberal.

And yes, this was a "hate incident", not a crime. They wished you were dead, that's very ugly, indeed. Think of how many Jews in Israel - didn't threaten to kill all the 1.8 million Palestinians in Gaza, but just wished them to be dead, in some miracle way. You'd be surprised, but I know personally many such wishers.

And last of all - I watched a video on your website, being very skeptical that there could be another "Jewish Jerry Seinfeld" or Louis CK. Gosh, your act is really funny and full of talent. I wish you the best and may you and your family never experience such an incident, ever again.

Truly,

Avner Efendowicz

Tel-Aviv

What if Hamas rocket hit a British Airways plane?

This was the title of a post by columnist RICHARD LITTLEJOHN of the British Daily Mail:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2705042/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-What-Hamas-rocket-hit-BA-plane.html

Here is an option for a response:


Mr. Littlejohn,

I was impressed by the wit and wisdom in your column.

However, in Israel, the majority of the Jewish population "fail(s) to be disturbed by the plight of innocent children caught in the crossfire". Actually, most Israeli Jews don't give a damn.

And yes, Israel is the aggressor in this conflict. In recent round of violence (a.k.a. "Solid Cliff"), Israel was the aggressor by a ratio of ~2,000 to 70.

The fact that the "Self-styled liberal Left" in your country only condemns Israel - is problematic. It is so not because they are hypocrites - maybe they are, I don't care - but because this fact is always used as an excuse for Israel to keep launching military operations against the Palestinians - no, not to "exercise its inalienable right to self-defense", but to defend the occupation of Palestinian land. There is nothing defensive in attacking the Gaza Strip, as long as Israel denies the Palestinians their right for freedom and independence. So there are other, even more cruel and evil atrocities in the world - how does this justify Israel's atrocities?!

On top of that, Israel should (and I, as an Israeli, do that) accept this criticism as a sign of acknowledgment for its level of democracy and morality. Nobody expects retarded and tyranny-controlled countries such as Syria or Iraq to be as humane and moral as Israel - that's a big compliment! Plus, Israel gets a lot of benefits, especially economic ones, for belonging to the "enlightened" world.

Every death is a propaganda victory - you are absolutely correct! And this is why, regardless of any morality consideration, the recurring military operations by Israel are so idiotic! Because Israel has no option of winning this war, despite its supremacy in technology and size of the military. In this David vs. Goliath, David will always win, regardless of the body-count.

You are comparing Churchill to Mr. Netanyahu?... (He is doing this too, BTW...). But the correct analogy is of the British people in 1944 to Hamas. Here is why: both had the right to defend themselves against evil power, albeit not at all cost.

Please read this:

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/uri-avnery-asks-and-answers-who-is-winning-in-gaza/

Hebrew version:

http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/he/channels/avnery/1405631328

Cheers,

Avner Efendowicz

Tel-Aviv

Yet another answer to Ms. Max Coutinho

Dear Ms. Continho,

First, I must apologize to you, Ms. Continho, for not recognizing that you belonged to the better gender. I should have noticed this from your language, sorry about that…

To the point: the majority of Palestinians elected Hamas (in the Gaza Strip only!), not because the majority of Palestinians have become so fanatically religious or anti-peace (although the Israeli government is giving them all the reasons to be so), but – because Hamas, in addition to being a terrorist organization, is also a welfare organization and jobs provider. This is much like the Shas party of Israel, which is an ultra-orthodox, anti-democratic political party (they don’t allow women in their roster; they are being led by an orthodox Rabbi strictly according to the Jewish Halachic rules – or so they say, I wish that it was even partially true; etc.); their supporters are not necessarily religious at all (they are what we call “traditionalists”), but they still elected this party, for providing long education days with hot meals to their children, and jobs to the parents.

In short, electing Hamas doesn’t make the Palestinian public any less innocent, compared to the Israeli public which elected this evil and dishonest government.

As to your point, that Hamas are using innocent people as “human shields”: this is much like the Jewish settlers, who put their women and children’s lives at risk, by living in towns and villages provocatively built inside and far out in Palestinian territory. Not to mention, that the IDF (the Israeli military) is “cowardly using” (as you said about Hamas) local residents, uninvolved in combat, as human shields during search missions. This procedure was eventually banned by Israeli Supreme Court, but has been used nonetheless occasionally.

As for your (own) interpretation to the Declaration of San Remo: well it is, in my humble opinion, completely wrong. Here’s why: the November 2, 1917 declaration (known as “the Balfour Declaration”), upon which San Remo’s was based, called for “a national home for the Jewish people”, and as you rightly mentioned, must not “prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities”. If you are so meticulous in reading the civil and religious rights as not pertaining to “national aspirations”, then you must be just as meticulous as to acknowledge, that a “national home” does not necessarily mean an independent state! Because, although the Israeli government has long ago acknowledged the right of the Palestinian minority for self-government, it has always done its best to deprive them form giving this a political implementation, but rather fulfil this be some kind of “autonomy”, whatever that means. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for a Jewish State in the land of Israel; I have fought for it, and I brought my boys up to do the same. But if the 1917 declaration does not imply a state for the Palestinians, then honesty obliges that it does not imply a Jewish state, just as well. Not to mention, that the end goal, “to protect the civil and religious rights” as you said, has never been fully achieved – as an official government committee (the Or Committee, 2000) has clearly stated.

Fast forwarding to 1947: the UN resolution, taught in Jewish school as “calling for the establishment of a Jewish State”, actually called for establishing two states, Jewish and Palestinian, the last part omitted from the curriculum for some reason.

But I will give you that (something that the Right-wingers fail to do to us on the Left), that there could be an interpretation to the legal issue, which is different than mine. My point it simple: the legal situation is not what really matters (and this is what I meant by saying “irrelevant” in my post). Because, even if the Palestinians do not have the right for their own state, from the international law point of view – then what do we do with them? If we don’t give them full civil rights (which you actually agreed to do, and that includes the right to vote – which would lead to a Muslim Prime Minister pretty soon, and, in many people’s view – the end of the Zionist project) – if we don’t give them that and hold them as second-class residents, then Israel cannot be truly regarded as a democratic state. We can’t expel them, we can’t hold them occupied – so what do we do? The only answers I have heard so far from fellows in the Right are – Israel Trust in God almighty, or that we should just wait for them to learn to accept us and the wonderful life we generously give them here, or that they will just go away.

Regarding Apartheid: No, Ms. Continho, about 2 million Palestinians are NOT allowed to vote for the Israeli government. Can’t you see that you defeat your own argument? – You claim that the Palestinians do not deserve their own state, yet at the same time you exclude them from the Israeli public, when you claim that in Israel, everybody has the right to vote! So it’s either you are against a Palestinian State, which renders all Palestinians under Israeli control lack the basic right to control their own fate, or – you claim that voting is free for all in Israel, by which the occupied territories are excluded from Israel.

And regarding sexual relations – it is not illegal to have inter-race relationship; but almost anybody who will try to date somebody from the different religion will soon find out that it’s nearly impossible. For this, by the way, I blame both sides and not only the Jews.

For your knowledge, I do acknowledge “the fact that the Palestinians murder civilians”, and I don’t “refuse to criticize them for that poor approach”. In fact, in most Arab countries, thousands of people have been murdered and abused by their own people, and I attribute this to the poor moral standards in effect in those countries, especially in Syria but also some in Palestine. This by the way has nothing to do with Islam, but with the nasty and cruel regimes in those countries in modern times. In short, those who did it are primitive criminals, justifying their crimes by a distorted and inhuman interpretation of the Islam, a phenomenon which, I must say, is very common in the modern era in many Muslim societies. But this can’t justify killing civilians by individual Jews (like Dr. Baruch Goldstein, who is considered a martyr by a great part of the fundamental Jewish right wing), but also by the Israeli military!

I don’t know how you came to put this thought in my head and words in my keyboard, that I did not criticize the Arab side. This is either a remarkable demonstration of mind-reading (albeit totally wrong), or – a demagogic argument, very typical, I must say, to the right wing rhetoric.

To claim that “the international law says that this disputed piece of land belongs to the Jewish People, period” is nothing more than reducing the argument to a level that nobody can argue, because you, the knows-all, have put a period at the end of your sentence. If you had enough intellectual honesty, you would admit that this is just your own interpretation, which I do respect, but is just as good as the opposite one.

If you conclude by your interpretation to Ismail Haniah, that “the Palestinians do not want peace and they will never recognize the Jewish State” then you show another remarkable ability of predicting the future; and in seriousness – a not-so-remarkable manner by which you comprehend the situation, if you think that Haniah represents the majority of Palestinians.

With all due respect,

Avner Efendowicz

An Answer to Ms. Max Coutinho, on Israeli Occupation of Palestine

Dear Ms. Coutinho,

As before, I would like to address your claims one at a time, which necessitates a separate post. Please refer to my new post, following this comment.

I don’t argue the right of Israel to defend itself against enemies. In fact, I was a combat soldier and officer in the Israeli military, and so have been my two boys (one of them non-officer in fact). However, I can’t agree to your phrase “at all costs”, which may point out to immoral measures. Please clarify if this is not the case: does “at all costs” include the cost of the lives of innocent Palestinian people? Or you think that there are no innocent among them? Please clarify.

I am not focusing on one side only, I am well aware that some Palestinians have committed terrible crimes. I am just puzzled and taken by the fact that this is being abused by so many right-wing speakers, to justify the wrong doings of the Israeli (I should say actually, the Zionist side). One evil cannot justify another evil. And the actions of the Israeli government at this moment in history are evil, to a great extent. The definitely don’t “abide by international agreements” in many cases, for which I can give you a few examples.

According to the International Law, “the territories” are truly occupied. The may be “disputed” as for their political future, and there is no dispute among international legal entities that they have been occupied in a war, and therefore there is no freedom and protection of the law for all who are living there – only for the Jews. Did we mention Apartheid? What is Apartheid if not separate law for different people, based on their ethnicity? Further to that, even the greatest friend of Israel never recognized its right to build the settlements, and this is the reason that the US sees even the Capital of Israel as part of the Settlement system, which is why they won’t build their embassy there!

Yes, I have read the part of the Forth Geneva Convention which is relevant. There is a dispute if Israel has the right to build settlements in the occupied territories, according to that convention. Section 49 of the Convention states that an occupier cannot transfer people into the occupied territory. Israel has signed this document, but stated that it didn’t apply to the West Bank, because – well, because it never belonged to any country. Some excuse.

On top of all that, the Israeli government, this is my interpretation as a resident of this country), is using the Settlement system in order to prevent any possible future solution; so claiming that it has the right to settle there “until its final status is resolved” is a bitter irony. Even the Israeli supreme court has acknowledged that at least some of the settlements (such as “East Matityahu”) have been built to annex Palestinian territories, and not as the State claimed in court (which was refuted by military experts), that it was built for security reasons.

What I call “irrelevant” is not because I can’t explain it (as your demagogic rhetoric suggests), but because, if Palestinians lived in those territories 100 years, 1 year or one day before the Jews came in – is irrelevant; you can’t kick them out just because the ancient Romans kicked my ancestors out – that’s not the Palestinian’s fault.

Again, your assumption that I “get a sense of deep joy when you see young Arab boy throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles and murdering people” is just another sign of your demagogia. Can’t you criticize your government’s action without feeling joy when people are murdered?

By stating that I said “ the Jews have no claim to their own land” you are, again, putting in my mouth words which I never said (which is quite typical to right-wing advocates, I must say). Did I say that? Or did I say that there are two nations here who are fighting for a piece of land which most of them already agree that it can be shared (read the polls, and check out the Geneva Initiative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Initiative

or The People's Voice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Voice)

You will find there the same guidelines for any future solution which has been around for more than a decade now, but the Israeli government is constantly refusing even to have one discussion about it. Strangely enough, it is supported by the big majority of Jews and Palestinians (according to polls), but one of the most stable Israeli governments ever doesn’t acknowledge them! Strange you say? Absolutely, it’s one of the mysteries of Israeli politics. More on that in the next post on my blog.

Thoughts from the “Holy” Land

On the 3rd week of “operation Cast-Lead"

I am writing from Jerusalem now. All three major TV channels are broadcasting news casts almost constantly. The IDF decided not to “embed” journalists within the military forces, so most of the footage is from the towns which are occasionally hit by Hamas rockets; and tons of commentary. I will tell you about one “rare footage” shot from an Israeli Tank, in a moment.
As expected, most of the “reporters” are busy delivering the official or consensual version of this war, which is: they are the bad guys, they just hate us because they are Arabs and we just want to live in peace. This is what you will hear if you conduct a random survey on any city in Israel these days. The reporters usually read from edited versions of briefing papers they received from the military spokesman, although they make an effort to make it look more professional. There is a lot of critical commentary too, and also some pieces quoted from Arab reports about the casualties on the Palestinian side. But honestly, I don’t know which way this affects the Israeli public, because for some people it is certainly a reassurance for their self-righteous feelings. They can say to themselves, that overall we are “OK” if we are so nicely considering the suffering of the other side; and besides, which other country would show such images of the enemy being so terribly hurt by us, in a time of war?
The state of Israel is free and democratic, at least for Jews (sigh). As such, the media is open to different opinions, controversy and debate. But mostly, all this is done within pretty narrow boundaries. The real radical opinions, such as mine, are poorly represented by just a handful of publicists, such as Gideon Levy:
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1054578.html

One pathetic example of bad journalism appeared tonight on Channel 1:
http://www.flix.co.il/tapuz/showVideo.asp?m=3033341
A reporter was sitting inside a Tank, shooting a video of another Tank firing at a Hamas combat team. Now, I don’t want to undervalue the skills and courage of Israeli troops. I was a platoon commander in the Israeli armor corps, so I have an idea how a battle looks like from a Tank. It doesn’t take too much skill and courage to sit inside the most advanced Merkava Mark IV Tank, all doors closed, and to fire from machine guns and a 120 mm cannon on a bunch of unlucky Hamas militants. The reporter was fair enough to mention, that the mortar the Hamas guys were operating couldn’t do any harm to the heavy Tank. I can’t help it from appreciating the enormous courage shown by the “Hamasniks” for even trying to confront this platoon of Tanks. For me, to think that the IDF used to fight “Fully Exposed in the Turret” against real armies, and to see my people playing the role of Goliath rather than David – was very sad and disturbing. I felt sorry for the reporter for trying to elevate the morale of the Israeli public with such a lame story. By the way, this was the same reporter who covered the race where Israel won its one and only Olympic medal five months ago – I watched it live! Such a surreal situation.

Even some commentators whom I normally appreciate, tend to be more “patriotic” in times of war, for a number of reasons. For one, so far this operation is going pretty well, from the Israeli viewpoint (and I already mentioned what it does to Barak’s approval rating...). The arrogant declarations from the 2006 campaign in Lebanon, the lack of training due to long terms as occupying forces – are all gone. The military is fulfilling its tasks step-by-step, trying to avoid casualties as much as possible, and truth has to be said – that pertains to civilian casualties as well. The main problem is that as a campaign conducted in heavily populated areas, avoiding civilian casualties is impossible. This is where the debate begins – whether a warfare against a semi-militia, which engages its fighting from residential areas, is moral at all – or whether this by itself is characteristic to an occupying regime.
Another reason is that nobody wants to be portrayed as a “traitor”, even when he or she has reservations or criticism on the way the campaign is carried out, or even on its mere taking place. Who knows, maybe the goal of stopping the firing of rockets, or at least a big damage to Hamas capability of doing so – will be achieved eventually?... nobody wants to be the town’s fool.
But the main cause, in my view, to the fact that criticism of this war is so scarce, is this: in the eyes of each side, the “other” side is always inhuman, blinded by hatred, cruel and evil by nature; while “we” are the “nice guys” whose sole intention is to live in peace – and we completely disregard the terrible similarities between ours and their wrongdoing, bad reasoning and justifications. It’s easy to think of ourselves as victims of 8 years of shooting on peaceful towns – even when we are the most powerful country in the region, militarily, technologically and economically. But it’s very difficult to portray ourselves, as we are in the eyes of our enemies, as heartless aggressors. As unbelievable as it may sound, we are cruel beasts in their eyes, just like they are in ours!
The speakers in the Israeli media tend to be more “responsible”, “balanced” – this has much to do with the past failures of the military, especially in the Lebanon campaign two and a half years ago. But if you listen carefully, you will find our share of pathetic and “hot-aired” statements. Whenever I hear Hamas speakers say “we will fight to the end, we will meet you in Jerusalem!”, I can’t help of thinking how similar this is to the “we will bring the firing of the rockets to a complete stop, and all weapon smuggling will cease, and Hamas will be brought down.” I think that everyone who hasn’t lost his senses yet knows that this is impossible. I’m curious and troubled to know, how many more people will die or be injured before we realize that there are limits to the power of even the most powerful military force. From watching TV in Israel for the last five days, I am not very optimistic about that.

Thoughts of an Israeli ex-soldier

Following the campaign in Gaza StripNew Year’s Eve, 2009

A good friend sent me one of those computer videos, accompanied by “A must see! Please watch and forward!” In the video, a little Israeli girl is counting from 1 to 15 before she uncovers her eyes in a hide-and-seek game. 15 seconds is the time that residents of Sederot and other towns in southern Israel have, in order to find shelter, before a Kassam rocket hits (hopefully) the ground.
A request followed that said “please sign the petition attached, so that people around the world would know how it feels to be a child in a town in Israel, well within the borderline of Israel proper”.
My reply was “sorry, but I can’t sign this, because children and other civilians in the Gaza strip don’t even have 1 second to hide”.
I am not saying this because I don’t feel compassion for the residents of the Negev (southern Israel). I am an Israeli, living in the Bay Area with my wife. My two sons are now in active duty in the Israeli military. On top of all, I grew up in Kiryat Sh’monah, a town on the northern tip of Israel, two miles from the Lebanese border. As a 7-year old, I still remember the first Katyusha rocket that hit my town, in 1968. Hundreds of similar rockets followed during my childhood and later on, when I was a soldier in the first Lebanon war.

The reason that I couldn’t sign this petition, was that it concentrated solely on the sorry fate of civilians in Israel, completely disregarding the full context of this conflict. By full context I mean – the Israeli occupation of Palestine. In particular, it disregarded the Palestinian side of the tragedy.
More than 300 people were killed in the first day of the Israeli campaign on Gaza. Many of them were police personnel, but many others were innocent civilians. “Who cares for those civilians, as long as people in Sederot and elsewhere can’t live in peace?” is a typical reaction among Israelis. Now, what kind of a society have we become, that we don’t care anymore for lives being lost? What kind of a country has to permanently be killing civilians to survive? Is this the country that the founders envisioned, when they strove to establish a normal country, where Jews would live in peace among their neighbors, like most other countries? Do we have to kill women and children to survive?
Some people would reply, “Well, you know, this is the Middle East. It’s a jungle out there. Those enemies of ours don’t understand talking. Violence is all they know.”
Those are tough arguments. But I think that there are good arguments to counter them.
The notion that all, or most, Arabs or Palestinians or Muslims, for that matter, are violent and cruel by nature, has a general term to classify it, and that is “Racism”. From all my experience in life, living in Israel and in the Bay Area, I developed a strong belief that we are all human beings. On average, under similar conditions, people from one ethnic group are not better nor worse than any others. It’s the particular situation that cause some people to behave differently.
The religion which used to be associated with so highly sophisticated and delicate culture, in the 350 years between the 10th and 14th century, namely the Islam, is now regarded as the most deadly and violent. It’s true, that many people living in Muslim countries today are living in poor, intolerant and violent conditions. But that has nothing to do with their religion – only with their political situation.
Check out the research of Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University and you will learn, that any group of people can be driven, under certain circumstances, to be cruel and evil.
And just as a side note, even if that was true, then what chance do we have, amongst hundreds of millions of “beasts”, to survive in the long run? The advantage of Israel over its neighbors has always been technological, and in my view, moral. But with moral values that are deteriorating, higher crime rates, and with an education system that is constantly going downhill, judging by its marks in international tests (I think that this is also related to the priorities set by the Israeli government) – do you really believe that we can maintain our edge forever?

Another common claim is this: we have pulled out of the Gaza Strip, haven’t we? What do they want now?
Well, I think they want what every normal nation wants – to manage their own lives. And we don’t let them, as long as the entire Gaza area is under siege. You can’t claim “the end of the occupation” when the people inside are not free.

But he Hamas is not willing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state! – one might say.
Yes, so? Did Israel ever recognize the right of a Palestinian state to exist? I mean with real actions, not just declarations. The fact is, that 250,000 Jewish settlers still live, in what all International bodies see as illegal settlements – in fact, the Israeli government itself declared a few dozens of them as illegal – but so far did practically nothing to evacuate them.

Now let’s leave the moral considerations aside for a moment, and just ask ourselves, on a practical level: what does Israel hope to achieve in this campaign?
The release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive by Hamas for more than two years – was not even declared as a goal. At least that we have learnt from the previous, “Second Lebanon War”. That war started after three soldiers were kidnapped by Hezbolla, and the campaign failed in bringing them back alive.
The official goal is, obviously, to stop the shooting of Kassam, Grad, and other, longer range rockets. This will not happen, everybody knows that. Ehud Barak, the Secretary of Defense, knows that. He has already been the military Commander in Chief and Prime Minister. He tried to calm down all those who demanded “an iron fist”, saying that most of them never saw how real war looked like. This week, he was forced to start the air strikes, after the number of rocket attacks has reached a breaking point (and eventually, a man was killed in Netivot). If Barak believes that there is a way to stop the shooting, even temporarily, then why did he wait so long? I am afraid that it was because at some point, the pressure on Barak caused him more political damage than the result of a military operation would do. Election day is coming up in February, and Mr. Barak, the head of the Labor party, is a candidate for Prime Minister.
How is the operation doing, you ask? Well, so far so good. Approval rate for Barak has risen 50%.
The sad reality, for both Palestinians and Israelis, is that none of them has any option to inflict violence on the other, without hurting their own cause. The Israeli military can kill many more people, but this would only cause more anguish, more hatred, and there will always be enough material and means for the rest of the population, to make more Kassam rockets. An oppressed population is like a dragon with multiple heads: unless you kill it in its entirety, it will have enough power and motivation to fight back, especially when they have nothing to lose but their misery.
The Palestinians, too, are hurting their own cause when they support the Hamas, which declares the annihilation of Israel as its goal. But this is where the symmetry breaks down: how can we judge somebody, who is so desperate as to support the only organization which puts some food on their table? Every side feels its own suffering, but fails to recognize that the other side suffers too. But in the case of Israel, being the more powerful side by far, the notion of being the victim is quite ridiculous, even considering the pain and fear that Israelis feel.
The Hamas has never been so popular before the Palestinian Authority was crashed by Israel. In many polls and programs, such as the Geneva Initiative (http://www.geneva-accord.org/) or the National Census (http://www.mifkad.org.il/), hundreds of thousands of people from both sides expressed their willingness to accept each other’s right for independence. This means that essentially, most Palestinians (who are not zealously religious), would not vote for Hamas if they had a decent alternative.
Unfortunately, they don’t. And Israelis don’t either. These two peoples, which possess so much talent in all areas of life, lack the one thing which could bring them hope for peaceful co-existence: brave and smart leadership. We need our own De-Gaulle, or our own Churchill, or our own Obama, for that matter. So that Jewish and Arab kids could play hide-and-seek, and won't have to worry about finding shelter in 15 seconds. Our own Obama is hiding somewhere in the academy, or in the high-tech industry, but he (or she) is definitely not in today’s political system.

A quick Ping-Pong of Ideas

Here are some brief excerpts from a number of discussions we had in our Political Forum:

What would you do with the Hamas in Gaza?
- Talk to whoever is elected by the Palestinians (what do you do with ש"ס - the Israeli Orthodox party "Shas"?)

What type of a deal are you willing to offer to Abbas?
- A true ending of the occupation.

Would you accept the right of Palestinian Refugees to return to Israel?
- A small group of them, yes. For the rest, a recognition of Israel for their tragedy.

Would you divide Jerusalem?
- Yes. (when was the last time you visited East Jerusalem?)

What would you do if Abbas refuses to sign an agreement?
- Offer him a decent one instead.

And spend a moment thinking about Iran... They are a destabilizing force in the Middle East.
- So is Israel.

And by their own admission, their goal is to "export" the Islamic revolution and destroy Israel in the process... But this is not just an Israeli problem. A nuclear Iran in the heart of the Middle East is something that should concern its neighbors, the US and Europe...
- So is Israel.

What would you do as the President of the US?
- Live to his promises: Make Israel evacuate all "illegal" settlements.

Would you let Iran arm itself with Nuclear weapons?
- I don't think we can't stop them.

What would you do if they do?
- The same thing we did when Israel became nuclear.

And again, please avoid demagogy and provocation...
- Sorry, can't do that...

Yeah, right, Shas and Hamas are the same...
- Tell me in what way they are different? (instead of making empty statements).

Yeah, Iran and Israel are both legitimate for a nuclear power.
- Why not? Because we are white, with blond hair and they are ugly Iranians?

We can't understand how someone who seems to be smart can think such thoughts.
- I'm thinking exactly the same about you, with one difference: I respect your opinions, however strange and wrong they seem to me. And I know that I may be wrong, so I'm trying to stay humble. but you - CAN'T be wrong, because God herself is your neighbor and you consult her personally.

I more and more believe that you hate Israel.
- I'll make an exception to my usual writing: this was a stupid comment.

Therefore I see no reason at the moment why we should do what you suggest.
- You actually suggest to do what I suggested to do 20 years ago: to talk to the PLO... So I'm pretty confident that 10 years from now (and ?,??? more innocent people dead), you'll suggest to do what I suggest now.

They declare almost every day that Israel should be demolished, wiped out. I don't remember Peres and BG using these term for any Arab country when we got the bomb.
- As I said, I don't care at all about what politicians say. It is only what they do (or don't do, in our case) that matters to me. What Israeli government has always done had the effect of denying the Palestinians from their legitimate right for a state. That's the same thing as wanting to wipe their state off the map.

(Ahmedinijad never said that he wanted to kill the Israelis, just to eliminate their state and send them back to Europe; But with regard to this statement, we can't take him seriously, we only do that when he says things that fit our opinion).

Shas joined more than once a government who had peace in their agenda.
Again, "agenda" means nothing. Olmert has peace in his agenda, but he has done nothing, so Shas have no problem sitting in his government and collecting the money. They are threatening every day to leave, the minute that he will mention any real issue (like withdrawal).

So Avner- please correct me if I am wrong- you are supporting terror from Gaza or any place to remove the occupied army from their land- is my statement correct?
- No. I don't support that. it's a crime. But that crime is the only thing that works with the "hard-heads" in our government. Like the "Arabs" that we have in our minds since our kinder-garden (did I mention indoctrination?), they (Olmert et al) only understand force.
Let's give them other options, and then, as Humi wisely suggested, we can hold it against them if they still chose to conduct terror.

And again. No one that lives outside the effected area from Kasam and shells has any legitimate to say anything about the action taking to protect those people.
- So why are you expressing your opinion in favor of a war, which your children will not take part in? (forgive my rudeness, I mean that my kids wont either, I hope, because I raised them to be Jobnikim (= Non-combat soldiers); I didn't do a great job in that as a father, but that's a different issue. In any case I am not suggesting that I have more right to speak than you do).

I guess it's not OK to speak up your mind, if you are out of the dangerous zone - unless, of course, you are on the Right side, in which case, go ahead, say what you want.