“I said Israel should be ashamed – now I am the one who is ashamed”
“I said Israel should be ashamed – now I am the one who is ashamed”
by Daniel Sugarman, The JC , May 18, 2018:
It’s never easy to say you’re sorry.
To admit you’re wrong. To announce publicly, “I made a mistake”.
But to apologise when that apology comes bound up with what is, perhaps, the most intractable conflict on earth, makes it a thousand times harder.
But that is what I am. Sorry.
A few days ago I wrote a column about the latest round of violence on the border with Gaza.
It was a cry from the heart. I love Israel. I have always loved it, and cannot envision a time when I will not love it.
But in my office, I sit near a television set. And on Monday , I saw the following, side by side.
On the left, in Jerusalem, I saw happy faces. Self-congratulatory faces. I saw the Prime Minister of Israel talking about how the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem was a big step towards peace.
And on the right, simultaneously, in Gaza, I saw tear gas, and smoke, and bullets.
And it was in this context that I wrote my piece, which was an extremely personal one. I wrote it in anguish. I wrote it making clear that I despised Hamas and all it stood for. But I also wrote the following:
“Every bullet Israel fires, every life Israel takes, makes this situation worse. There are ways to disperse crowds which do not include live fire. But the IDF has made an active choice to fire live rounds and kill scores of people. You cannot tell me that Israel, a land of technological miracles which have to be seen to be truly believed, is incapable of coming up with a way of incapacitating protestors that does not include gunning dozens of them down. But no. In front of the entire world, Israel keeps shooting, and protestors, including very young protestors, keep dying. You may tell me that Hamas wants these deaths, wants to create martyrs, wants to fill the hearts of the people of Gaza with rage against Israel because the alternative is for people to look at their lives in Gaza and rage against Hamas. But if you tell me that, why are you not asking yourselves why Israel is so willingly giving Hamas exactly what it wishes?”
I received a lot of praise for my piece, from people I admire greatly, as well as from a great many unexpected sources, including from within the Jewish community.
I also received a lot of criticism. I got called a traitor, and that most vile of all insults a Jew can bestow or receive, a “Kapo”.
People also wrote pieces in response. I was told that, as a Jew not currently living in Israel, my greatest worry was whether Starbucks would have almond-soya milk for my latte.
But the criticism I paid more attention to was from people who pointed out that it was absurd to deal in hypotheticals. I’d said that surely there must be a way the protestors could be stopped without shooting live ammunition at them – that Israel, with its incredible technological capabilities, must be capable of developing a way. That was a cry of anguish, but it was not an argument. If no such technology currently exists, then it was absurd of me to blame the IDF for not magically willing it into existence. The traditional crowd stopping technology would not have worked effectively. Rubber bullets are only short range. The same with water cannons. And with tens of thousands of people rushing the border, this would have been extremely unlikely to work effectively. The border would have been broken through. And then, without much of a doubt, a lot of people in Israel would have died. That was, after all, Hamas’s stated aim.
But what really affected me the most was yesterday, when a Hamas operative went on television and claimed that, of the 62 people killed in the last two days, fifty were Hamas operatives. Islamic Jihad claimed three more, meaning that over 80 percent of the people who were killed while trying to breach the border were members of terrorist organisations whose direct aim is to bring death and suffering into Israel.
And I opened my eyes and saw what I had done.
I had fallen into the trap I had always been convinced I would not fall into. I had condemned Israel for defending itself….
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The others who said they were ashamed, such as the writer for Ha'aretz should follow suit - stand up and be honest.
And in the meantime... the propaganda damage is done.
There is something obviously and fatally wrong with the argument expressed here.
1350 people were shot by the Israeli army, not 62.
Obviously he is speaking of the ones who were killed, and not of the ones injured. Surely you understood that, because if you didn't, then I suggest you read the article again. And by the way, many of the injuries were NOT shotgun wounds, but were cause by other things, such as tear gas, and IMO there were probably a lot of injuries that had nothing to do with the IDF. As it is, for sure Hamas and its medical workers were bound to exaggerate the numbers since it was one of their intentions to get lots of publicity and raise public sympathy.
What is the source of your information?
Israel held back too much, Hamas deserves no niceness
Held back how - by shooting unarmed protesters?
Protesters? How about RIOTERS, and those rushing the fence, and those sending flaming kites over the borders. and those trying to break through, and those slinging rocks and molotov cocktails...
I love the way you use euphemisms when referring to the Gazans and Hamas. By the way, did you know that the American government declared Hamas to be a terrorist organization years ago - nice to see you support them.
So murdered for being RIOTERS and unarmed protesters?
Actually, it sounds like they were "Hope to see my Virgins" village idiots
.
Purposely charging a well armed border to get themselves killed.....did they actually think, or just following orders ?
I pick the later.
Murdered? Self-defence is not considered murder, Tessylo, and of the 62 who were killed, Hamas admitted 50 were Hamas terrorists, and a few were Islamic Jihad. I don't believe that it's considered murder in a situation like defending one's country. It's hard to believe the amount of hatred there is on this site aimed at Israel. We as intelligent educated civilized persons should try to think rationally and not like persons brainwashed to be Israel-bashers.
Collateral damage is bound to happen when people do the kind of thing the Gazans did. You know, Tessylo, I find it incredible that there are members of NT who prefer to support known terrorists who provide absolutely nothing of benefit to mankind, rather than support a tiny democratic modern nation that has and continues to discover, create, produce and provide so many benefits to mankind. There really has to be some ulterior motive. Please tell me what it is.
Like John Russell said above there were 1350 shot by the Israeli army - not 62. Self-defense - that's a riot!
That's latter. Still playing fast and loose with reality.
I like "Ladder" better.
What "IS" the "REALITY" ?
Buzz, there are many in the USA - left wingers and their miserable left-wing media - who defend arsonists, assaulters, vandals, rioters, and terrorists. They defend Islamic terrorists, Antifa, and MS-13.
Most of them were armed Hamas warriors, and any women and children should NOT have been put in harms way.
John Russell wrote a nice bit of fiction there and I guess you really like fiction. The article author only spoke of the 62 who were killed. Read the article and don't take John's fiction for fact. Besides, even the exaggerating Hamas medical staff did not indicate that there were 1350 with bullet wounds. They said many were injured by tear gas, and I'm sure of the ones playing with fire (tires and kites) there were also probably injures. 1350 being shot is an outright deliberate lie, and I'm sure an intelligent person like yourself would realize that.
they were a part of the planned riot and got what they deserved.
Purposely charging a well armed border to get themselves killed.....did they actually think, or just following orders ?
And cruelest of all was forcing children to go to the front lines! (Of course deliberately trying to get their children killed is an old Palestinian ploy-- it makes great propaganda.
And strangely enough, they even admit it:
Its a terrible situation-- but hard as it is for westerners to understand-- they actually want to die! True-- they've been brainwashed since childhood to believe that dying for Allah is wonderful, and if they are killed fighting for Allah they will go to a wonderful Paradise for eternity! Yes-- they believe that, and yes-- those Palestinians want to die.
Well if John Russell claimed it to be true-- then it muxst be, eh? After all, they can't put anything on the Internet that isn't true!
They were trying to force their way across the border. If you accompany terrorists you get treated like a terrorist
I didn't know unarmed civilians were terrorists.
Kind of hard in a situation where a mob is storming the border fence who is armed and who isn't, and many were. They quit just being civilians when they followed the instructions of terrorists to storm the fence, to throw molotov cocktails, to fly flaming kites, to sling rocks, to provide cover for avowed terrorists. Mind you, the little children who were sent up in front of the terrorists were not, but then would you send your little son or daughter in front of armed terrorists to be human shields? You must admit that is what they do.
'You must admit that is what they do.'
No, I do not.
Do you have proof they were unarmed? Were you there?
Of course, it tells the story that everyone already knows. Remember the 7 year old girl who Hamas sent to the fence? The IDF returned the terrified girl back to her parents.
What kind of parent would do that?
Well-- this sort of parent:
Son's death was "best day of my life," says Palestinian mother
Two interviews with mothers of Martyrs expressing their joy over the Martyrdom of their respective sons, one broadcast on the Hamas website, and the other on Arab News Network TV.
In the first interview with Um Nidal, she says that today is the best day of her life as her son becomes a Martyr, and if she had 100 children like her son, she would offer them to Allah as well. She states that while there is nothing more precious than children, for the sake of Allah, what is precious becomes cheap.
The second interview is with a mother of a Martyr. She says that Jihad is a religious obligation and that it would have been wrong to try to change her son's mind. She put her motherly feelings aside for a greater cause because she wanted the best for her son, and she chose eternal bliss in the Afterlife for him. As much as her living children honor her, she states that they are incomparable to the honor that her martyred son showed her.
I notice you continue to bash Israel-- but why don't you mention what's going on in Syria-- and the horrible deaths that happen daily, and have been for years? Are you not aware of that-- or are you just obsessed with Israel for some reason?
You took the words right out of my fingers. You won't see criticism of Myanmar, of Syria, of Iran, of Boku Harum, of ISIS, of Al Queda, but the total focus is on Israel. Of course you know what that means, much as they deny it.
I just looked up the number (from "I am Syria"-- here's info on that organization):
Death Count Due To Conflict: 500,000+
10,204 Civilians Killed In Syria In 2017
To back up your comment, Krishna, none of those who bashed Israel on this article had one word to say about this one, which I posted some time ago:
It reported the Syrian bombing of the Palestinian Refugee Camp next to Damascus, Syria, by the Syrian forces. NOT ONE FUCKING WORD. But if the JEWS even SWEAR at a Palestinian, there is hell to pay in the UN, in the media, and ON THIS VERY NEWSTALKERS site.
WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?
THERE ARE NT MEMBERS WHO WILL BLAME ISRAEL FOR THAT.
Another that has bought into the propaganda
Yep, no critical thinking skills in evidence.
Indeed.
eliminating terrorists improves the world for civilized people
I'm going to lock comments on this article now, because obviously it needs moderating, and I intend now to prepare and post a photo essay of pictures I took today - a much more pleasant task. Then I'll be going to sleep, so this article will be opened for comments again around 11 hours from now.
Okay, I'm back so this article is now unlocked.