This is an ugly situation and ugly things are happening. I could wish, and do wish, that Israel could have or would have found another way to defend herself.
The facts are that they tried not responding, and that didn't work (big shock.) They tried a blockade, but Hamas doesn't care about the ordinary Palestinians under their control, and it failed. It also got Israel into a lot of trouble, but then, in the court of world opinion, Israel can do no right.
Maybe they could have found a different way of responding militarily, but the reports I've read said they'd been planning this for months, which means they did explore other angles. Or they have very bad leadership (absolutely NOT ruling this one out. Israel's government is capable of deep stupidity. And deep stupidity leads to disaster. See Lebanon in 2006, for example.)
But they do have a right to exist. The fact that antisemitism still exists in all parts of the world, the fact that I just read in a left-wing blog (by someone who was roundly criticized and then banned from the blog - there is absolutely antisemitism on the left, but at least there are also those aware of it) that Israel is a blight on humanity and has no moral right to exist - Jews still need a place of safety.
And the policies of the Christian right, however much they support Israel, are not "safe." They hold no love for Israelis as a whole or even as Jews. They are seeking to bring their version of a Messiah back, which requires a Jewish state and Jews living there. Once that happens - well, they'd love all Jews to convert to Christianity (these are not cruel people), but they know most will die, along with all those who do not subscribe to their particular beliefs.
They have what they believe are their own best interests at heart.
There are those on the left who support Israel for purely pragmatic matters - they are our closest allies in the area, and, if they are strong, they're a stabilizing force in the area. This is good because the war in Iraq is profoundly destabilizing.
It's bad now. I wish they could have or would have made a different choice, and there's no good outcome from this, but there's no good outcome period. I don't know.
The facts are that they tried not responding, and that didn't work (big shock.) They tried a blockade, but Hamas doesn't care about the ordinary Palestinians under their control, and it failed. It also got Israel into a lot of trouble, but then, in the court of world opinion, Israel can do no right.
Maybe they could have found a different way of responding militarily, but the reports I've read said they'd been planning this for months, which means they did explore other angles. Or they have very bad leadership (absolutely NOT ruling this one out. Israel's government is capable of deep stupidity. And deep stupidity leads to disaster. See Lebanon in 2006, for example.)
But they do have a right to exist. The fact that antisemitism still exists in all parts of the world, the fact that I just read in a left-wing blog (by someone who was roundly criticized and then banned from the blog - there is absolutely antisemitism on the left, but at least there are also those aware of it) that Israel is a blight on humanity and has no moral right to exist - Jews still need a place of safety.
And the policies of the Christian right, however much they support Israel, are not "safe." They hold no love for Israelis as a whole or even as Jews. They are seeking to bring their version of a Messiah back, which requires a Jewish state and Jews living there. Once that happens - well, they'd love all Jews to convert to Christianity (these are not cruel people), but they know most will die, along with all those who do not subscribe to their particular beliefs.
They have what they believe are their own best interests at heart.
There are those on the left who support Israel for purely pragmatic matters - they are our closest allies in the area, and, if they are strong, they're a stabilizing force in the area. This is good because the war in Iraq is profoundly destabilizing.
It's bad now. I wish they could have or would have made a different choice, and there's no good outcome from this, but there's no good outcome period. I don't know.
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