RE: Israel, disarmed / Those troublesome Jews, Israel has every right to its blockade of Gaza, and here's why. by Charles Krauthammer
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060304287.html
& The U.S. needs to keep nudging Israel on a Gaza fix By David Ignatius
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/03/AR2010060302709.html
Dear Editor,
Thank heavens for the internet- an inquiring mind is no longer stuck in the ruts of so many syndicated American columnists who have been groomed to promote Israeli perspectives rather than looking at the larger picture.
All this week I have been thinking about a recent frankly shocking online photo essay Once Upon a Time in Afghanistan... in Foreign Policy Magazine which shows a very different Afghanistan than what one sees today: "There was a tradition of law and order, and a government capable of undertaking large national infrastructure projects, like building hydropower stations and roads, albeit with outside help. Ordinary people had a sense of hope, a belief that education could open opportunities for all, a conviction that a bright future lay ahead.". http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/27/once_upon_a_time_in_afghanistan?page=full
That photo essay could have just as easily been about Palestine in the forties and fifties.
I do not support or admire much less want to apologize for Hamas or Hezboullah because I very much believe that armed Islamic resistance and militancy very much harms Palestine. However it is also obvious to me that people all over the Middle East can clearly see how successfully Israel has used religion to gather money, supporters, international respect and power- including the power to make life utterly miserable for the native non-Jewish population of the Holy Land. The lesson of Israel today is that funding and 'defending' one religion with tax payers' money and a full arsenal of lethal weaponry can create a strong economy and a loyal following.
Najeeb Mubarki, in an recent op-ed in the Economic Times Why Israel does what it does points out that the recent Memorial Day Massacre is not the first act of Israeli hostility against a ship carrying civilians: "In 1988, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) had chartered a vessel, called al-Awda (the Return), to take a few Palestinians living in exile back to their land. The idea was dramatic, deeply symbolic..." http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Why-Israel-does-what-it-does/articleshow/6009664.cms?curpg=1
"The same naval unit that carried out Monday’s bloody raid on the aid flotilla, was reportedly used to sabotage and sink al-Awda in its harbour in Cyprus before it could start on its journey."
As things stand today (with the Palestinian refugees inalienable legal, moral, sacred and natural right to return to original homes and lands still ignored and/or demonized by the sovereign power who should have welcomed them home decades ago) the lesson of Israel tomorrow will be that nations worldwide are free to invest in institutionalized bigotry, free to persecute innocent people- and free to usurp and/or demolish the homes and gardens of men, women and children that the state 'elects' to impoverish and destroy: Do we really want that to be the future of democracy?!
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
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