Rejection and elimination
by hakmao, 7 March 2008
The last thing to do when feeling a bit tired and wrung out, is venture any opinion about Israel, Palestine, prospects for resolution, the continuing objective collusion between rejectionists and eliminationists to poison all attempts at negotiated settlemment–the whole furball. Most recently there has been the appalling Israeli assault on Gaza, which has had the predictable–and desired by Hamas–result of killing and maiming Palestinian civilians. Provoking a response is the reason Hamas and others fire rockets into Israel in the first place–to build the party. Of course the kassams are dangerous–they cause damage and the occasional ‘golden BB’ causes serious injury or even less frequently death–however a truly radical response, in an area where there is a surfeit of testosterone on both sides, to these largely impotent pinpricks would be ridicule, or perhaps some amateur rocketry agitprop.
And now today, the Merkaz HaRav Yeshiva in Jerusalem was attacked and several students and the gunman (or gunmen) killed. The target choice was not random–the Yeshiva is a centre of the ‘religious-nationalist’ rightwing ’settler’ movement: my country right or wrong. Students from the Yeshiva are already accusing (former PM and Foreign Minister) President Shimon Peres of placing the rifle in the assailant’s hands*, while the Israeli right wing press are referring to the dead man as a ‘Palestinian Authority terrorist’ (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125487).
Reject -> Eliminate -> Reject -> Eliminate -> Reject -> Eliminate -> …
* The implication here is that this is a direct result of allowing Arab Israelis–ie Israeli citizens–to enlist in the IDF or police.
Rockets via Flea
Friday 7 March 2008 at 2:40
“accusing (former PM and Foreign Minister) President Shimon Peres of placing the rifle in the assailant’s hands*”
“* The implication here is that this is a direct result of allowing Arab Israelis–ie Israeli citizens–to enlist in the IDF or police.”
I don’t think this is the implication. After Oslo Israel directly supplied arms to Arafat’s Fatah forces so they can fight the terrorists amongst them. More recently, Olmert agreed to supply armored vehicles and ammunition to Palestinian security organizations despite defense establishment’s objection.
This is a standard accusation against the architects of Oslo.
Friday 7 March 2008 at 5:25
The 1993 Oslo agreement has proved to be a catastrophe of the first order, for both Israelis and Palestinians.
Shortly after allowing Arafat to take control of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel was targetted by a wave of terrorism of unprecedented ferocity that took more than two thousand lives, far more than in the preceding 26 years. The Palestinians, who had until then achieved significant economic and social gains, lost most or all of the ground that they had made as they fell under a lawless and thievish rule. Today many Palestinian areas are awash in weaponry and the population lives under the sway of armed extremists who impose their will by force and violence.
All this would have been avoided had Israel kept the PLO out.
Friday 7 March 2008 at 14:34
Granted the rocket attacks into Israel are intended to provoke a response, granted they are not primarily a propaganda exercise for domestic consumption or - more simply - an earnest attempt to kill as many Jews as possible while waiting for more lethal weaponry to become available, granted that.
What possible response do you expect the Israelis to adopt? More specifically, after years of doing its best to ignore the bombardment of its own citizens, what action do you expect the state to take? I am asking in all earnestness. It seems to me the Israeli government and citizenry have shown and continue to show extraordinary discretion. As for excusing the attack on the yeshiva as an attack on the ideology of the settler movement, rocket attacks from Gaza do not apply. The settlements were removed from Gaza and tens of millions of dollars of infrastructure left free in their place. The response from Gaza has been war by any means and with no promise of compromise short of Jewish surrender, submission and diaspora.
Gaza is governed by fascists attempting genocide against the Jews. The Israeli government is belatedly attempting to stop attacks upon its citizens, an obligation it is avoided for years. The result is, of course, a mess; inevitable against an ideology that celebrates the deaths of its followers and its captive population as martyrs. The world not being perfect, I cannot see what other option the Israeli government can take.
Unless you seriously believe ridicule will stop the bombardment. I hope you are right. But then ridicule - in the form of cartoons and the like - results in death threats by the forces of reaction and condemnation or prosecution by laws forbidding us from mocking our adversary. Your post leaves me at a complete loss.
Friday 7 March 2008 at 17:48
Head above parapet - bullets flying.
The post is about the need to break the cycle of violence and retaliation, build the peace process and defeat ultra-right nationalism.
The cycle of revenge upon revenge and hatred upon hatred continues to roll and demand new victims every day. This cycle must be broken. http://zope.gush-shalom.org
Other voices:
here, here, here and here
Tuesday 11 March 2008 at 1:15
Not a bad article here
However — one thing that jumped out at me was this…
‘Secret negotions’ — no — not convinced nor would I be happy about that (as if what I’m happy about shit matters a shit to any fucker anyway) — take on the fuckpigs who stand in the way of peace — don’t hide from them defeat them. Trotsky and the Bolsheviks in 1917 were correct on this matter when it came to secret diplomacy — You don’t fucking do it. Leads to more trouble further down the line and that.
At the very least you need to isolate Hamas and make it the failure it really is, not lend it legitimacy. Though many in Israeli peace movements urge negotiations.
I liked the title tho’ but - the moral majority for peace. It is mobilising that rather than doing deals with Hamas that is important.