-Caveat Lector-
http://www.sobran.com/columns/index.shtml
Paying for the Bullet
November 28, 2002
by Joe Sobran
I have nothing against Arabs, but a lot of them seem
to hate me. Not as an individual, but just as an
American. I think I understand why.
An eight-year-old Arab boy was shot the other day.
He died at the hospital. I paid for the bullet that
killed him.
It happened in Nablus, on the West Bank, the
territory claimed and occupied by Israel. Some
schoolchildren threw stones at a jeep driven by Israeli
soldiers, who opened fire.
The boy was hit in the chest. One witness said he
wasn't among those throwing stones and was about a
hundred yards from the jeep. The Israelis say the kids
were throwing unspecified "explosive devices." So the
eight-year-old was killed in self-defense.
Maybe this was a horrible accident. But I don't
think so. These "accidents" happen too often. The
Israelis have shot more than a few children. It's getting
to be a habit. It no longer shocks.
And Americans like me pay for the bullets. The Arabs
know this. That's why some of them dislike Americans. All
I can say is that I regret it and I wish I had a choice.
A mere taxpayer has no choice.
Maybe the Arabs think that even taxpayers should
consult their consciences -- or at least their interests.
But few Americans are disturbed by these killings. They
make no connections. When Arabs retaliate against
American targets, Americans say, "Why do they hate us? It
must be because we're free."
But if we were really free, we could refuse, as
individuals, to support these outrages. Yes, Arab murders
of Israeli children are horrible too, but at least we
aren't forced to pay for those murders. Paying for the
murder of Arab children is now part of what it means to
be an American. I figure that my share of American aid to
Israel has bought quite a few bullets for Israeli
soldiers by now.
One of those soldiers looked through his sight, took
aim at a little boy's chest, and squeezed the trigger.
What kind of man could even bear to do that? I don't
know, but Israel seems to produce quite a few of them.
One such man is now Israel's prime minister, Ariel
Sharon. So were several of his predecessors.
Abba Eban died the other day. I hadn't realized he
was still alive. During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Eban
spoke for Israel at the United Nations with an eloquence
nobody who heard him will ever forget. He convinced
millions of us that Israel was a beleaguered island of
civilization in a savage part of the world. Terrorism
meant Arab terrorism, almost by definition.
That was my view for 15 years. It took Israel's
terrifying bombing of Beirut in 1982 to change my mind.
That was Ariel Sharon's finest hour, so to speak. It
convinced even many American Jews that Abba Eban's Israel
no longer existed, if it ever had.
Put it this way. It's very hard to imagine Abba Eban
shooting a child. It isn't hard at all to imagine Sharon
doing it. The only question is how many times he has
actually done it.
You might think that, just from the standpoint of
public relations, Sharon would tell his soldiers to be a
little more careful. And you might think this country's
Israel lobby would suggest that he try a little more of
the Eban approach.
But during the 1967 war, Israelis like Sharon
learned that they could get away with anything, including
killing American sailors. If American aid not only
continued but increased after the Israelis murdered
Americans, Sharon can be sure it won't stop because they
kill Arab children.
The Arabs have noticed. And they have drawn
conclusions not only about Israel, but about Americans.
They must find American preaching about democracy and
human rights a little annoying.
How often Americans say of foreign races, "Those
people only understand one thing: force." Might certain
foreigners have some reason to say those words about
Americans?
The United States is on the verge of war for the
alleged purpose of making sure Saddam Hussein never gets
"weapons of mass destruction." Ariel Sharon already has
those weapons, and in abundance. The Arabs know this too.
American Middle Eastern policy seems based on the
assumption that the Arabs won't notice the obvious. But
if the murder of their children doesn't shock us, neither
should their hatred.
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