Skip to main content

Breaking My Silence

You might have noticed that I’ve been unusually tight-lipped about the ongoing situation in Gaza. For those of you who’ve been visiting the site for a while, you will know that I’m not one to withhold my views on Israel.

So why the reticence to comment?

I think that I’ll put it down to gaining wisdom over the years.

A cursory glance at the media shows me that too many journalists are all too happy to go around like a bull in a china shop and pretend that they understand what is going on in the Middle East. The minute Israel raises her head, they are in there, criticizing and in my opinion, demonstrating that they don’t have the foggiest notion of what is actually going on in the region.

In the past, I too have fallen into that trap…hence my tardiness, if you would have in, in adding my two cents, for what it’s worth.

Looking at the situation, calmly and with reason, I have come to a number of conclusions:


Israel is 100% right to do what she is doing. This is not just about the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier – much more is going on. In the months following the disengagement from Gaza, the Palestinian terrorists have been doing what they can to provoke Israel, by constantly firing Kassam rockets into the Israeli town of Sderot. Israel has held her cool and resisted the temptation to go into Gaza and sort the problem out. The Palestinians therefore upped the game by resorting to kidnapping. Israel therefore had no option but to take harsh measures to stem the spiralling situation. In short, they need to get the message across to the terrorists that the crap is going to stop and it’s going to stop now.



Israel is being extraordinarily careful to avoid civilian casualties and has not stopped humanitarian aid from entering or leaving Gaza. Even the Red Cross testifies to this even-handedness.



Hamas is involved in an internal struggle, between the so-called moderates (as exemplified by the chairman, Ismail Hanniya) and the extremists, who are getting their orders from Khaled Mashaal in Syria, via Iran. In truth, there is very little between both groups, except the notion that the “moderates” are fully aware that kidnapping Israelis will not help them in their “struggle”.



Israel needs to justify her disengagement from Gaza by assuring her citizens that they can live safely inside the boundaries of the Green Line. The latest escalation, with rockets landing in the streets of Ashkelon, only reinforces the belief that the Palestinians can’t be trusted and that any settlements inside Judea and Samaria can never be given up for security reasons. If the Israelis don’t sort Gaza out, Olmert and his grandiose plans for unilateral disengagement from other territories won’t stand a chance of ever coming to fruition.

There are those who will argue that the Israelis are being “heavy handed”. I hope that the aforementioned arguments have amply explained why this operation needs to be carried out. In short, from every logical angle, Israel has no choice but to go back into Gaza, hopefully, for a very short period of time.

There, I've laid my cards on the table.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ten Jewberry Muds

To get the full effect, this message should be read out loud. You will understand what 'tenjewberrymuds' means by the end of the conversation. This has been nominated for the best email of 2005. The following is a telephone exchange between a hotel guest and room-service at a hotel in Asia, which was recorded and published in the FarEast Economic Review: Room Service (RS): "Morrin. Roon sirbees." Guest (G): "Sorry, I thought I dialed room-service." RS: "Rye..Roon sirbees..morrin! Jewish to oddor sunteen??" G: "Uh..yes..I'd like some bacon and eggs." RS: "Ow July den?" G: "What??" RS: "Ow July den?...pryed, boyud, poochd?" G: "Oh, the eggs! How do I like them? Sorry, scrambled please." RS: "Ow July dee baykem? Crease?" G: "Crisp will be fine." RS: "Hokay. An Sahn toes?" G: "What?" RS: "An toes. July Sahn toes?" G: "I don't think so."...
3 comments
Read more

Magic Moments

At the end of a sunny day, Dana decided to start a water fight. She sprinkled a bit of tap water in my direction. Then her eyes lit up and she ran out of the room. I of course thought nothing of it, until she returned with a filled water pistol! That was it - The race was on to remember where I'd hidden the other three unopened packets. With pistols at the ready, the kids got in on the act and what could have been a ginormous water fight was almost immediately curtailed as Shira did not appreciate being spritzed in the face. The sheer impulsiveness of the moment was Dana all over and it's one of the things that I love so much about her. The pistols have been seized and are ready, waiting for another day when I predict we are all seriously going to have the most amazing and floodworthy water-fight. I can't wait (and neither can the kids).
Post a Comment
Read more

A Breed Apart

I'll start with that rarest of things (at least for me), namely an apology. A number of people who read this blog have approached me and asked me how the new job is panning out. I know I should have followed the original posts with updates, but honestly, I came back so tired from work, that I didn't have the will to compose any reports. In short, I am really happy in my new school. The students line up outside the door to my classroom (yes, my classroom) quietly instead of rushing in like a pack of deranged beasts and then, to my utter delight, stand , yes STAND(!!) behind their chairs and wait until I tell them to be seated. These students are actually listening to my instructions. When I tell them to switch their monitors off, they do what I ask. I don't find myself having to wait for fifteen minutes until they can be bothered to be quiet, they do something that I've been longing to experience for two years - they show an interest, in fact, a very keen interest, in w...
2 comments
Read more