Y-Net reports:
As Israel mourns the loss of its soldiers in the fighting in Gaza, there has been an outpouring of support and solidarity for the two Americans who fell in battle there – Texan Sean Carmeli and Californian Max Steinberg. Both died in separate incidents Sunday - a day that saw 13 soldiers killed in Gaza.
(Editor's note - Steinberg is to the left and Carmeli is below and to the right.)
Determined to give Carmeli a well-attended funeral in Haifa on Monday night, some 20,000 Israelis from across the country turned out to pay tribute to a fighter whose lone soldier status won him much admiration. So many people attended, in fact, that there were heavy traffic jams in the city.
I suppose that I just want to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice made by a few of my fellow American Jews.Israel calls them the lone soldiers: They are men and women in the prime of their lives who have left their parents and often comfortable lives behind in places like Sydney, London, Los Angeles and elsewhere to join the Israel Defense Forces, marching in the desert and taking up arms to defend the Jewish state.
The bottom line is that Israel can simply not have a genocidal, terrorist entity at its door-step baying for Jewish blood and these young American Jews gave their life in order to help the Jews of the Middle East rid themselves of Jihadi threats.
I do not expect diaspora Jews to flock to Israel in its defense, but it might be nice if diaspora Jews acknowledged that Israel is fighting a theocratically-ideological foe that, in its very charter, calls for the murder of Jews.
This should not merely be referenced here and there, but made central to the argument. Just as the Nazis called for the genocide of the Jewish people so does Hamas and many millions throughout the Arab world.
Until such a time as we insist upon placing the conflict within the context of 14 centuries of Arab-Muslim Jew hatred then we have no possible case, because our enemies will tell the world that the source of the problem is Israeli land theft; i.e., Jewish land theft of Jewish land.
Again, so long as we continue to use the language of our enemies then we cannot even begin to make our case not just to neutrals, but even to friends.
And so long as we forget 13 centuries of persecution under the boot of Arab-Muslim imperial rule, why should we expect the least bit of sympathy from anyone?
EU calls on Hamas to disarm, condemns use of civilians as shields.
ReplyDeleteIsrael received a strong back-wind from an unlikely source on Tuesday, when the EU issued a statement strongly denouncing Hamas and condemning their use of civilians as human shields.
The EU's foreign ministers, following a monthly meeting in Brussels, issued a statement on the Middle East condemning “the indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel by Hamas and militant groups in the Gaza Strip, directly harming civilians. These are criminal and unjustifiable acts.”
The statement also called on Hamas to immediately put an end to its rocket attacks, and to renounce violence. “All terrorist groups in Gaza must disarm. The EU strongly condemns calls on the civilian population of Gaza to provide themselves as human shields. “
http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/EU-calls-on-Hamas-to-disarm-condemns-use-of-civilians-as-shields-368509
Many Jews do not know the extent of the antisemitism that is occurring. They are progressive, politically, and in their minds, even as it may benefit illiberal forces. They read the NY Times, despite that CAMERA exposes its lack of credibility, and believe they are therefore informed. Ask them about current or historical events, however, and they seem woefully uninformed.
ReplyDeleteWhat they say so often is simply wrong. It parrots Palestinian narratives, ingrained by progressive ideologies that have an anti-Western bent.
For example, they know nothing of Boko Haram or ISIS until it hits them in the face. Then they simply forget. They know nothing of the genocide of Christians or the antisemitism of the Presbyterians. They do know that Israel is engaged in wrong. That will get their attention.
They care more about Republicans and fundamentalists and those evil people that want to make America a fascist state. They do not identify with Israel, either in the domestic or international context. They are ashamed of Zionism, self-determination of Jews.
Like the rest of the civilized world, it will have to get worse for them to wake up. When details of Hamas's war crimes and depravity become part of the daily fare, not to mention the unbridled Jew hatred, more good voices will rise and eventually the chance to confront the apathy and indifference.
Why it takes the worst to help create the best is something philosophers will have to debate, but that seems to be the cycle that is necessary for the people to defend authentic liberal and democratic values.
May their memory be for a blessing.
ReplyDelete