Facebook meets the flotilla of fools
Daniel Gordis (the same Daniel Gordis with whom Jeffrey Goldberg had breakfast on Monday) responds to a Jewish American friend who finds himself 'embarrassed' by Israel's actions off the coast of Gaza on Monday (Hat Tip: Mrs. Carl).On one boat, however, the first soldiers to land on the boat were attacked with metal rods and knives. There’s video of it. It’s playing all over Israeli and all over the internet. In some cases, soldiers’ weapons were stolen and used against them. One was stabbed, apparently in the abdomen. Another was tossed from a desk and trampled when he landed. There were a handful of commandos there, and 600 “peace activists.” On Israeli news tonight, the soldiers on helicopters taking them to the hospital were interviewed. They descended the ropes, they said, planning to talk the “activists” into going to Ashdod. Their weapons were not in their hands, but strapped to their backs. “We went into war,” one in his 30’s said bitterly tonight, “and all we had were toys.” They were beaten, trampled, shot (yes, there were bullet injuries) but only after forty minutes of combat did they resort to live five. They were going to get lynched if they didn’t fight back, they said.I'll come back to Dr. Gordis in a minute, but first I'd like to show you a video interview with an IDF officer who was there on Monday and who describes what happened.
Was I there? No. Do I know what really happened? No. But do I trust these kids and their officers? Yes, I do.
Let's go to the videotape.
And now back to Dr. Gordis.
As for “peace activists,” David, how much do you know about the IHH? It’s a terror support group, supported by Turkey (among others) and it was sent to provoke. If they just wanted the goods to get to Gaza, they could have agreed to transfer them to an Israeli ship, or to unload them in Ashdod, as the Navy personnel asked them to. But they didn’t want that. They just wanted to break the blockade. Why? For food? Even a few Palestinian journalists with some guts are reporting that there’s no humanitarian food crisis in Gaza. No, it wasn’t about food. They want the blockade broken so that after that, non-humanitarian items (read weapons) could brought in. Why should Israel allow that? So that they can be better armed the next time we have to send our kids into Gaza?Read the whole thing.
As for “being on the defensive,” you “will be on the defensive” only because you totally don’t get it. For if you did get it, you wouldn’t feel that way. There’s only one country anywhere on the planet about which there’s a conversation about whether it has a right to exist. Do you ever think about why that is? What, the fate of the Palestinians is worse than that of aborigines in Australia? Or people in the Congo, or Rwanda? Why all the attention on Israel? Do you really not get it? You think that New Zealand just coincidentally decided this week to make kosher slaughtering illegal? You think it’s really about humanitarian commitments? Come on.
No, David, you really don’t have to defend Israel. No one’s asking you to. We know that it’s too late to expect many Americans like you to assume we’re right before you assume we’re wrong. As we look out at Jews across the world, we’re just assessing who gets Jewish history, and who’s so thoroughly intellectually assimilated that they’re actually embarrassed that that Jews don’t have to continue to be victims. I’m horrified by what happened on the ship, and I’ll be shocked if after all is in, we find that Israel made no mistakes. (This was pretty clearly an intelligence failure, at the very minimum, sending those soldiers into something for which they had not at all been prepared or armed.) But if that had been my kid on the ship, and he’d gone in to prevent the blockade from being broken, but had no intention of fighting, and had then been attacked, I’d want him to defend himself. No matter what. I’d want him to come home whole, because that’s part of the new Jewish reality that this country is supposed to make possible.
The loss of life is tragic. So are the injuries to soldiers, including serious head wounds. But most tragic of all is that the world is so willing to be blinded to what’s really going on here.
The next time, the IDF should take over the boats immediately (or sink them). No more talking.
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:10 PM
4 Comments:
Today's daybydaycartoon expresses it most succinctly....
"I say we take off and nuke 'em from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
If the IDF makes a specific case for the effects of the warcrime rocket fire from Gaza onto Israeli civilians and outlines the ridiculously exhausting and expensive means Israel has had to implement to mitigate those effects, then the case for stopping a boat pathway with weapons or weaponmaking materials (not to mention stopping the tunnels from Egypt) is stronger. More people out here can make the case with a factual presentation.
I just wish those so called "peace activist" hatemongers sub humans find better a hobby for a real cause, but NO like in the past and to present jews is only problem for world community. Go to burning hell world communinty and UN, EU and etc.
The loss of life is not tragic... not when it involves wild animals trying to kill Jews. I prefer anti-Semites stay dead. Call me unfeeling or a disgusting person but I don't think evil people should be mourned like they are somehow like every one else. Yet that is what the world did here and it offends me. If it was any one else but Jews, would the world still be as understanding as it apparently is of the assault and attempted murder of Jews? Yes, Israel correctly fought back. And when you come with murderous intentions and you die trying to kill me, that's anything but "tragic." There was no tragedy here yesterday... except perhaps to the IDF troops who nearly lost their lives which no one outside Israel seems to be concerned about.
Jews will never be victims again. Get used to it.
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