Israel has a right to exist, and defend itself. The Palestinian people need a home they can safely call their own. These two statements begin most editorials, and most political speeches. However, there's a gulf between both statements - the gulf of goodwill. Nations project their power, to protect their citizens, but at a cost - and in today's post-9/11 world of so-called terror, that prerogative (Bush's doctrine, that Palin did not recall, and that Obama senses is already his Achilles heel) too often is a causa belli of extreme bellicosity, unrestrained by any obligation to act with humanity, caution, or care.
The Red Cross says what's happening in Gaza is terrible. What needs to happen is for Israel to be accepted as a fact the Holocaust makes morally essential - no point in trying to blot out an undeniable political entity defended by America - and for the Palestinian people to be, finally, accorded the dignity and security their complex location requires, for both ethical and historical reasons. That takes us back to the beginning of this post. Such circularity is frustrating. If "we" all know what has to be done (beyond what can be done due to power) - how come it never happens? The eyeless in Gaza better start looking harder for a solution.
The Red Cross says what's happening in Gaza is terrible. What needs to happen is for Israel to be accepted as a fact the Holocaust makes morally essential - no point in trying to blot out an undeniable political entity defended by America - and for the Palestinian people to be, finally, accorded the dignity and security their complex location requires, for both ethical and historical reasons. That takes us back to the beginning of this post. Such circularity is frustrating. If "we" all know what has to be done (beyond what can be done due to power) - how come it never happens? The eyeless in Gaza better start looking harder for a solution.
Comments
Does Palestine have a right to exist?
Or, to push the question further, does any nation have a right to exist? Does Kurdistan have a right to exist? Or Chechnya? Does Britain? Nations simply do exist, and are usually established and maintained by military force. Israel is no different. Like other nations, it should abide by international law. It clearly doesn't. Like other nations, if it kills large numbers of innocent civilians, including many children, it should be condemned.
yours
Alan
In solidarity with the people of Gaza, a poem in Maltese (with a literal English translation on the right):
Ċomb (Lead)
Happy new year Todd, keep up the great work.
In practice, however, I doubt very much that politics will find the energy to evolve in such a planetary direction: disrespect and even contempt for our fellow humans in near and faraway places is still more profitable than solidarity.