From the DimPost, a throw away line summarising the problems of Israel's continued existence, and a criticism on National for supporting the nation:
Given Israel’s habit of invading its neighbours roughly once every eighteen months – the main cause of instability in the region – why is support for Israel apparently such a key issue in National’s foreign policy?
There's this theory going around that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Could it be possible that some actions might not be as visible as some reactions? Does that make them any less an action?
I always thought the world section of our local paper, the DomPost, was a few pages short of a balanced edition. I think the DimPost might fall into that category on this occasion.
Given Israel’s habit of invading its neighbours roughly once every eighteen months – the main cause of instability in the region – why is support for Israel apparently such a key issue in National’s foreign policy?
There's this theory going around that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Could it be possible that some actions might not be as visible as some reactions? Does that make them any less an action?
I always thought the world section of our local paper, the DomPost, was a few pages short of a balanced edition. I think the DimPost might fall into that category on this occasion.
Dim Post is a bit dim on the issue, apparently. If he bothered to check out the facts, he'd see that Israel has only ever acted in defense against it's neighbours, never the instigator (or if it has attacked, because it was in danger and had to strike preemptively).
ReplyDeleteIf he bothered to check out the facts, he'd see that Israel has only ever acted in defense against it's neighbours, never the instigator (or if it has attacked, because it was in danger and had to strike preemptively).
ReplyDeleteEvery war and invasion in the last hundred years has been justified using the pretext of 'self-defence'. When regional super-powers keep invading their far weaker neighbours to 'defend themselves' you need to get a little sceptical.
When regional super-powers keep invading their far weaker neighbours to 'defend themselves' you need to get a little sceptical.
ReplyDeleteWhy? Do you think that weaker nations could never be fanatical and dangerous?
What this shows is that when you forcibly create a nation through Colonial fiat it causes conflict that lasts for generations. If the Israeli government was committed to peace and justice, why are new settlements still being built?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what the government of Israel is trying to achieve beyond survival, but it seems to me that Palestinians and Israelis have become adept at killing each other's children. That's a tragedy.
Muerk,
ReplyDeleteThat part of the world is prone to conflicts that last generations. Hilaire Belloc discusses this in great detail in his book, The Battleground. And he didn't just pick that name at random.
"Defend themselves"? That sounds like they were never attacked.
ReplyDeleteHang-on, I get now why you had that in quotes, so you can ignore my "sounds like they were never attacked" bit. I'll stick with the rest of what I said though.
@Meurk: Yes, the situation is not good for the man on the street, whether Palestinian or Israeli. Understanding Israel's actions is different than agreeing with them, but I'm not sure what the solution is, because I don't see all of the key people happy with the options.
"..but it seems to me that Palestinians and Israelis have become adept at killing each other's children."
ReplyDeleteThe difference being, of course that Israeli forces do their level best to avoid killing children--even to the extent of placing soldiers in much greater danger than they would otherwise be.
Palestinians deliberately target them, as the bombing of school buses demonstrates.
Blaming israel onl shows how stupid and lazy that paper is. Sure Israel has done some wrong things, they're not 100% innocent, but at the very least Israels very reason for existing is not to wipe out muslims from the middle east, which is what the muslims constantly swear to.
ReplyDelete"....but it seems to me that Palestinians and Israelis have become adept at killing each other's children."
Yes Israel is adept at killing, they are a western nation and one of western civilizations characteristics is their ability to kill. However as KG pointed out, their lethality does not translate into actual senseless killing of their enemies. If you want to be honest about the matter, you would acknowledge that Israel has the ability to inflict devastating destruction upon its neighbors, but they don't and there's a reason for that.
To be accurate, yes the palestinians are adept at killing, however their methods are quite primitive, barbaric and often stupid. The other thing about the palestinians is that when it comes to their own children, the ones that they don't get killed or kill themselves for whatever depraved reason that is, they always manage to find a way to ensure their future is filled with death, hatred and misery.
What this shows is that when you forcibly create a nation through Colonial fiat it causes conflict that lasts for generations.
ReplyDeleteEh? Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in '92. Oh, wait, you mean Israel!
If the Israeli government was committed to peace and justice, why are new settlements still being built?
Because there's no relation. If there were, Gaza would be the most peaceful spot around.
You've also got to realise that some settlements are (or should be) perfectly noncontroversial as Jews have lived in those places for many years.