According to Benny Morris, it was the Irgun that first targeted civilians. He writes in Righteous Victims that an upsurge of Arab terrorism in 1937 ‘triggered a wave of Irgun bombings against Arab crowds and buses, introducing a new dimension to the conflict’. He also documents atrocities committed during the 1948-49 war by the IDF, admitting in a 2004 interview, published in Ha’aretz, that material released by Israel’s Ministry of Defence showed that ‘there were far more Israeli acts of massacre than I had previously thought . . . In the months of April-May 1948, units of the Haganah were given operational orders that stated explicitly that they were to uproot the villagers, expel them, and destroy the villages themselves.’ In a number of Palestinian villages and towns the IDF carried out organised executions of civilians. Asked by Ha’aretz whether he condemned the ethnic cleansing, Morris replied that he did not: "A Jewish state would not have come into being without the uprooting of 700,000 Palestinians. Therefore it was necessary to uproot them. There was no choice but to expel that population. It was necessary to cleanse the hinterland and cleanse the border areas and cleanse the main roads. It was necessary to cleanse the villages from which our convoys and our settlements were fired on." In other words, when Jews target and kill innocent civilians to advance their national struggle, they are patriots. When their adversaries do so, they are terrorists. It is too easy to describe Hamas simply as a ‘terror organisation’. It is a religious nationalist movement that resorts to terrorism, as the Zionist movement did during its struggle for statehood, in the mistaken belief that it is the only way to end an oppressive occupation and bring about a Palestinian state. While Hamas’s ideology formally calls for that state to be established on the ruins of the state of Israel, this doesn’t determine Hamas’s actual policies today any more than the same declaration in the past determines Israeli policy today.
The above is from a long article in the current London Review of Books. The history of this conflict allows one to throw brickbats at anyone by simple reference to real history. My view is that we have careered away from truth and evidence in all fields of human activity, leaving us in a sorry mess. It is too easy to pretend that one is adhering to truth and evidence, whilst "perverting the course of justice" and this has become a matter of routine. On 23 Jan, 10:27, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > My daughter is in Israel and complains our media is biased against the > truth. Yet what the Israelis have done (yet again) in Gaza seems > unforgivable. It's obviously very easy to take sides in this dispute, > yet clearly what is needed is an all sides position and arbitration. > Fair arbitration is, of course, almost utterly compromised across our > societies. Part of my family was hounded from Scotland in the 1800s > and subject to sufficient persecution for there to have been several > name changes. Another part of the family were Jewish - more name > changes. I still see Eastern Europeans still traumatised by WW2 > events. My guess is we need bigger changes to solve the misery around > the world. > > On 23 Jan, 07:15, Slip Disc <[email protected]> wrote: > > > I get your point and come to think of it my sister in-law's father is > > a holocaust survivor and his outlook on life is quite different from > > the many Jewish people I've ever known. Understandably, something was > > seriously ingrained within his psyche that has never been resolved and > > remains repressed. Similarly there are those in the black community > > who remain detached and again this is understandable after all the > > years of suffering. As long as I personally project good intentions > > to everyone I come in contact with, there is nothing to fear and the > > projections actually put others in a less apprehensive state of mind. > > Once fear is gone, good times follow. I can only imagine what it would > > be like to live in fear of persecution due to my ethnicity. I only > > hope that someday humanity can overcome, and we can all live in > > peaceful bliss. > > > On Jan 22, 6:24 pm, "willy minnen" <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > That's what I try to tell you all, Slip. Our experiences with them are > > > different in several parts of the world. Here in Antwerp, the diamond > > > center, they are different from other countries. Most of the decedents of > > > the people that lived here before WWII settled somewhere else. The ones > > > who > > > are here now come mostly from Israel, East-Europe and even the USA. They > > > refuse to have any contact with us and stay just a certain time. > > > An example of the difference with other foreigners. The house of a family > > > that lived in the suburb where I was born staid empty for several years. > > > The > > > members who survived the war settled in Israel. That's their right. But > > > now > > > it comes. The house was claimed by other Jews and they got it. > > > Can you imagine a Maroccan claiming the house left behind by another > > > Maroccan in the name of Allah and getting it? That's what upsets me here. > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: Slip Disc > > > To: "Minds Eye" > > > Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 12:28 AM > > > Subject: [Mind's Eye] Re: Gaza > > > > Vats the matzah with "You People"!! > > > > Don't forget the Prune Jews Fran, they are the toughest bunch and will > > > knock the crap out of you! lol > > > > I grew up around and with many Jewish people in and around NY, never > > > had a problem, never had any experiences of violence. > > > I don't think Jews in the US suffer from the fears that Israeli Jews > > > do. > > > > All I can remember is the hospitality and the great food, mmm Gefilte > > > Fish, a warm Bialy, Bagels and Lox. This summer I will dine to my > > > hearts content at my favorite Jewish Deli. > > > > I wish I had a real Jewish Knishe right now! Really! > > > > I think one of the biggest problems in the world is "overly serious > > > people". > > > > Why can't we all just dance together in harmonious balance? > > > > Shalom! > > > > On Jan 22, 1:06 pm, frantheman <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > On 22 Jan., 19:29, "willy minnen" <[email protected]> > > > > wrote:> Thanks, gruff, even here it is dangerous to talk about them > > > the > > > same way as > > > > > about others. > > > > > "them" ... This is a basic part of the problem and one of the roots of > > > > anti-semitism, even if we are mostly unconscious of it. There is no > > > > "them". There are orthodox Jews, secular Jews, atheistic Jews, Jews > > > > who support everything Israel does, Jews who don't. There is the state > > > > of Israel, which is a jewish state, whose doings and being-done-tos > > > > are significant to those who live there and Jews all over the > > > > world ... but which is, nevertheless, a particular problem. > > > > > I am a non-German, living in Germany. Even here, where the horror of > > > > the holocaust is consciously, chosenly, rightly present, as a > > > > responsibility to the past, present and future (incidentally, making > > > > the relationship between Germans and Jews endlessly uncomfortable and > > > > the theme of Israel and its actions continually complex), I still > > > > experience this "them" oozing out of the unconscious Christian/ > > > > European rooted tradition. "They" are different. And the different is > > > > strange, somehow untrustworthy. > > > > > We have to move beyond "them". > > > > > Francis --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
