It’s unfortunate that Bruce Wark doesn’t do his homework before condemning Israel outright in War crimes. It is also unfortunate that he didn’t consult any Israelis about the trauma they have suffered over the years.
The shooting of rockets for years by Hamas into populated centres, with the primary objective being civilian casualties, is the equivalent of “living” a life which combines Russian roulette with Chinese water torture.
Using words such as “slaughter” and “massacre” indicates ignorance and belittles the suffering of others—such as Darfurians—
and indicates a lack of appreciation for the fact that the resolution of the conflict between Israel and Palestinians is not simple and certainly not obvious—or it would have been resolved ages ago. It’s not black and white: Palestinians have also done wrong.
If Asif Rashid, who spoke at the January 10 rally, suggests that any kind of blockade of Gaza hurt the Palestinians so badly, perhaps the question should also be: Why does Hamas smuggle rockets and ammunition into Gaza rather then food and medicine? Perhaps they care more about trying to make Israel look bad then they do about the welfare of their own people?
For Wark to call his editorial “War crimes” reflects his own ignorance of world history in general and this conflict in particular. Why is there never a human face put to the suffering of Israelis? Is there an underlying bias at play here?
—Z. Rubin, Halifax
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2009.
Mr. Rubin,
Your comment, “Palestinians have also done wrong” is contradictory to your opinion on what Israel is doing to Gaza and the people living there. If Israel has done nothing wrong, why are you condemning the Palestinians by saying they did wrong “too”? The mass opinion of the world is quite clear that Israel massacred some 1400+ people. The leaders in Israel are war criminals and should be held accountable for their war crimes. It’s sad that you condone their “approach” to create peace in the region. They claim Hamas is a threat. See I’m a little confused- because I thought it was Israel with the Merkava tanks, F 15 and F 16s, white phosphorus, DIME, and nukes. It’s a little extreme to keep saying they are protecting the state of Israel from “possible” threats by burning, shooting and bombing children. This is another Holocaust, if you will….however this time ironically enough, the victims of the original Holocaust are doing it to the Palestinian people. Until the leaders of Israel truly accept the Palestinians and Palestine, there will be no peace. Is there ever a winner in a case like this? The Israeli Government claims they won a war on terror. On day one, Ehud said he was going to be sure Hamas was totally wiped out. That goal quickly changed. Ask those mothers who lost their babies who won. Ask those fathers who lost their entire families who won? Ask those children who are orphans now…..ask them too who won? That is if you can look a child in the eyes and comfortably tell them their parents were murdered because Israel needed to feel more secure. And ask yourself this question, if the goal was to simply rid Hamas, why not spend that 4 billion a year the United States gives Israel on murder weapons on something more than just legal murder. If Israel has the right to defend itself in this magnitude, don’t the Palestinians have not only the right, but the obligation to both defend themselves and resist against an illegal occupation?
Wow. I must say that this article, and it first reply, are trying so hard not be ‘black and white’ in context, that they’re just unintelligibly arguing in a gray area. If you put names aside, the death count of one simple year aside, and look at this war from a historical point of view, then all your (both posters) information on this matter is simply a small paragraph in this lands complex, historical-political history. What truly matters are the questions people cannot truly answer correctly. This land, sadly, has always been faced with a ‘Group A’ government, resisting ‘Group B’s’ desire to control. But it is all on the basis of Religion and whomever owned it in the past. Well guess what people, All three major monotheistic religions were founded in this land, and technically have all owned the tile in the past, which was full of war and ownership. We cannot, as individuals living in a modern world, be even so naive to believe that one over the other deserves the land more so than that of the other. The Jewish established official government in Jerusalem somewhere between 3000 b.c (correct me if I’m wrong as this is bible fact, which isn’t quite fact), and the Persian Empire effectively established a government there a little after 600 b.c. So answer me this: Who is rightfully heir to a land who was occupied by both the Jewish and the Persians? Well the answer is quite simple. Both? Perhaps the Jewish? Or even just Palestinians? It doesn’t quite matter, because the whole idea of someone owning land in the BC’s, goes against even the whole idea of our Euro-centric nation. Yes, were fighting a war right now you say, but I say why and you’ll always say the past… My good friends, I respect your opinions, but they do not matter, for this entire situation will not have a winner or a loser. Yes you are right in saying someone will be crowned so, and will also potentially fester a government in the land for years to come…but this situation will kill thousands people disregarding who they are, and there will always be begrudged children seeking what they will believe, to be their forefathers’ land. Please reply.
Joshua…
I look at it this way. It’s 2009. These people are and were living under an Israeli occupation. The Palestinians deserve freedom just like the Israeli population is entitled to. End the occupation and let them live in their STATE. Slaughtering children and women, destroying families beyond repair…..it has and will accomplish nothing. It’s nice and tidy for Israel to claim defense and blame an organization such as Hamas as an excuse for this war. The reality is much easier to understand … there are certain Jewish fanatics who refuse the existence of a true Palestine and a Palestinian population. As I said, it looks “better” for Israel to say they are fighting terror than to admit what they are burning people to the bone. Where is the compassion for human life? The compassion that every Jew should be born with. With all due respect, didn’t every Jew in the world have the right to play a sympathy card regarding the Holocaust? If you know what slaughtering is all about, isn’t it 10 times worse for you to do the same to others? The nerve of the American Gov’t to sit back and say we stand behind you Israel is unnerving. The world sits back and watches innocent people have their lives stolen from them in the most horrific way. A solution you ask? END THE OCCUPATION, STOP THE MURDER AND STOP MAKING EXCUSES TO JUSTIFY LEGALIZING MURDER ON MOTHERS, BABIES and FAMILIES. When a soldier in the IDF goes to war, they know the situation and are prepared. The children on the streets in Gaza are not prepared nor deserving of a nuke or white phosphorous burning them to a crisp. I hope change is coming and I hope all these Israeli “Hitlers” in the Gov’t there are held accountable for their war crimes. A life, whether it be a Jewish, Muslim or Christian life is worth more than any Israeli election. The theories are endless for the reasoning behind this slaughter on the Palestinian people in Gaza. While there may very well be several theories, there is no JUSTIFICATION for Israeli killing 1400+ people, or worse, the world watching on the sidelines.
Sigh…
´One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one.´ – Agatha Christie.
Dude, it’s worth it to work it out.
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see you there,
Peace.