Comments on: Moral clarity from Benjamin Netanyahu

By: Lucius

Lucius — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 14:17:46 +0000

What would I do if I were in that situation? I might remember the following:
1. That the Palestinians live in a virtual concentration camp, with no food or medical assistance coming in for the past 18 months, and no possibility of getting out.
2. That the Palestinians have a legitimate claim to some of the land that Israel now illegally claims for itself.
3. That the pathetic homemade rockets are practically no threat at all to Israel–not one Israeli was killed in the latest round.
4. That Israel has killed many more civilians than has Hamas.
5. Do I really believe this show of force is going to bring peace to the situation?

By: Thanks, Alo

Thanks, Alo — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:39:28 +0000

Your references to The Nation are very useful. They expose muddled and odious thinking in crystal clear language — a rarity.

By: Skeptic

Skeptic — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:32:43 +0000

Here in Israel, people do not, on the whole, like Netanyahu too much. This is mostly due to criticism (justified or not) of his economic and foreign policies as Prime Minister.

However, even those who disagree strongly with him on these issues readily admit that he was Israel’s best-ever UN representative and, in general, is an excellent speaker and surely the best all-around supporter of Israel’s position.

By: David Thomson

David Thomson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:39:36 +0000

Barack Obama will be president in a mere 13 days. He will have to say something definite. Obama is presently something of a mystery. I have most certainly not figured him out! Is he a self-hating American? Did he con the Daily Kos crowd during the presidential campaign? Well, we will soon find out. In the meantime, the Israelis need to kick as much serious butt as possible.

By: Alo

Alo — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:08:15 +0000

I totally agree.

The Israel/Palestinian conflict – as well as the “war” in Afghanistan and the “occupation” of Iraq, etc. – must be seen as part of a much larger and world-historical struggle in which there are no guarantees, least of all that the West will emerge victorious.

For a contrary view on this, check out this article in The Nation (I know, I know…).

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090112/shawn?rel=hp_currently

If it leaves you as flabbergasted as it did me, you might want to read my response to it in the “letters” section here (2nd from the top);

http://www.thenation.com/bletters/20090112/shawn

altho the 1st letter should not be missed either as an exemplar of total mindlessness.

By: LSD

LSD — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:36:23 +0000

To steal a phrase from one of the champions of the left, it requires a suspension of disbelief to so much as hope that the anti-israeli media campaign is borne of naivete rather than concious complicity.

Clearly, drawing fire toward civilian targets and recording the damage is a tactic of Hamas and their ilk. They seek to enlist the well-meaning in their offensive. There may be a disproportionality of military power, but the designers of these tragedies are not as stupid as those they manipulate.

And speaking of disproportionality, why is there so much less outrage for the human tragedies in Africa? And why does so little of Palestine’s humanitarian aid come from wealthy arab states? It’s because this sort of tragedy is their main offensive. The Kassam rockets are only used to set it up.

Clearly, it is a tragedy and there are innocents being killed, but it does not help at all to restrain Isreal from defending themselves. It will only encourage Hamas in their cynical campaign to eradicate the jewish people.