Israel Matzav

What will PETA say?

Israeli video surveillance over the weekend showed 'Palestinians' using a donkey to transport a Katyusha missile for Hamas (Hat Tip: Thanos)

During the heavy weekend fighting in and around the Gaza Strip, Israeli aerial surveillance spotted a donkey-drawn cart transporting a concealed Katyusha missile through an agricultural grove outside Gaza city.

Had Israeli forces attacked the cart and killed its driver, they certainly would have been accused by both the Arabs and the world of murdering a "Palestinian civilian," a simple farmer at work in his fields.

However, the fact that farmer was transporting a missile to be used in an attack against Israeli civilians made him a legitimate military target, under international law.

If Israel had targeted the donkey and its owner, it would undoubtedly have been condemned by PETA. But will PETA say anything about the use of an animal to transport modern weaponry to attack civilians? Don't hold your breath. In the past, PETA has objected to the use of donkeys to transport bombs, but not to the resulting deaths of humans:

On January 26, Palestinian terrorists booby-trapped a donkey and sent it towards a group of Israelis at a bus stop south of Jerusalem, hoping to kill and maim as many as possible. The two bombs attached to the donkey were detonated simultaneously by two cellphones. Fortunately for the Israeli bus passengers, the donkey exploded before it reached them and no one was physically injured, although ambulance crews treated a number of people for shock.

Earlier this month, Ingrid Newkirk, president of the American animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) wrote to Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat: "Your Excellency, We have received many calls and letters from people shocked at the bombing. If you have the opportunity, will you please add to your burdens my request that you appeal to all those who listen to you to leave the animals out of the conflict?"

She was then asked by the Washington Post whether she would also criticize the attempt by the Palestinian perpetrators to kill Israeli civilians but she said it was not her business to do so. In January 2003 – the month in which the donkey died – 21 Israelis and eight foreign nationals were killed by Palestinian terrorists in Israel, and 127 others were injured.

The Nazis also were more concerned about animals than about humans. One of their first anti-Semitic measures banned Jewish ritual slaughter as being 'cruel to animals.'

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:58 AM