All that you have is your soul (Tracy Chapman).

Sunday 11 June 2006

The Truth Will Out

The bloodshed that took place on the sands of Gaza Beach on Friday is truly horrific. Seven innocent sunbathers lost their lives just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the time of writing, it seems as though Israel is indeed to blame.

Supporters of the Palestinian Cause (of which I'm not and never shall be a member, or even an 'associate') are no doubt using this incident as yet another stick to beat Israel. The sad truth that that this incident seems to have been a terrible and regrettable mistake on the part of the IDF, will have no bearing on their incessant bleatings and rantings. Forget the fact that the Palestinians are firing Kassam rockets indiscriminately on the city of Sderot night and day, aiming to kill as many people as they can - I have yet to hear any condemnation of this willful campaign - I fear that once again Israel will be accused of all kind of acts, irrespective of what really happened.

I refuse to whitewash everything that Israel does. She makes mistakes and takes actions that I don't always agree with, but my strong belief in what is and isn't fair, takes precedence when a barrage of invective is launched in her direction.

The jury is out as to what happened two days ago in Gaza. An investigation by the IDF and the Justice System will take place and those culpable will be brought to trial, as is the case in similar situations. But I'll be damned if I let any Palestinian loving sonofabitch of a journalist plays judge and jury on an incident that they frankly know nothing about.

2 comments:

Ittay said...

Teacher,
What happened on the Beit Lahiya beachfront in Gaza where 7 Palestinians were killed was an abomination. According to the IDF front commander for Gaza, Major General Yoav Galant, "the picture is unclear. The artillery fire has been well-analyzed, and the question marks are multiplying as to whether the artillery fire was the cause of the incident." But even so, that does not absolve Israel. Bradley burston from haaretz comments...

"Say he's right. Say it wasn't our fault. Say we dismiss as irrelevant the fact that five IDF shells landed nearby at the same time, and that the trajectory of the sixth is unaccounted-for.

For every Mohammed Dura, there have been hundreds and hundreds of Palestinians killed by the IDF in error, in conjunction with the killing of terrorists, or because overwhelming force and remote technology was applied in order to minimize the risk to Israeli troops.

There was no news crew to film them, so the world cares nothing for them. And neither do we. Their tragedies are no less unbearable, surely no less unbearable than the hundreds of our own the world cares nothing for.

We can live with it, as we live with the idea of sending thousands and thousands of artillery shells into one of the most crowded districts on the planet, in order to try to hit three-man mobile crews firing a rocket not much bigger than a broom - the equivalent of going after a fly with a pile-driver.

We live with it because we Can't Just Do Nothing, as if thousands of shells, many of them directed at open spaces calculated precisely to hit nothing, are the only possible alternative.

We can live with it, fundamentally, because we don't know what else to do, and because the only thing left for us to believe, is that it's wrong to negotiate.”

The Scribbler said...

Ittay,

Thank you for this. Reading your comment and blog, I note that we come to the table from opposing sides of the political spectrum. However, at the end of the day, we are both Jews who care passionately about Israel, irrespective of how we approach the situation.

What happened WAS an abomination and if the IDF is responsible, then justice must take place and those responsible must be brought to task.

I am writing from the UK and you I see are chronicling your ideas in Australia. Neither of us was on the Gaza beach and neither of us is sitting right now in Sderot, wondering if another barrage of Kassams will hit our houses and destroy our families.

I don't condone in any way the death of innocent civillians but on the other hand, I won't sit there and criticize an army who is doing its best to protect its country's citizens.

We would both like to believe that what happened on Friday was a tragic accident - but if it wasn't, as my blog title suggests, the 'truth will out' and those responsible will and should face the full force of Israeli Law.

The Torah tells us in the sixth commandment "Lo Tirzach" - "you must not kill" and this applies to every innocent human being on the planet we both inhabit.

Please keep posting your comments and kol tuv, all the best.