Now, I don’t usually write about politics, and I avoid discussing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict like the plague, but what’s going on in Israel right now is kind of hard to ignore.
And since I know overseas media, and I know how people around the world feel about Israel, I also know that soon enough, my Facebook newsfeed will be full of world news videos about how Israel is being violent, and articles that use the usual anti-Zionist drivel that the world calls reporting, and news photos of worldwide protests featuring signs that read “Zionism=Nazism”. And what’s “great” about it is that there’s a good chance that the majority of the people writing these articles and holding up those signs have never been to Israel, or even the Middle East for that matter.
FYI, Israel doesn’t go on the defensive for no apparent reason. The only thing that makes you think Israel is being violent is because you probably haven’t heard of why Israel is attacking PA territory. So it’s not entirely your fault that your only source of information is a bloodthirsty news channel looking to make Israel into “Nazi Germany – the Sequel”.
Israel is under attack. Currently, the Negev (Southern Israel) is being bombarded with rockets coming from the Gaza Strip. My own family lives in Be’er Sheva, one of the major cities of the Negev, afraid of leaving their homes.
Israel is not going to sit back and just let it happen. I’ve said it once before. There are some presidents and prime ministers from other countries who have said things like “Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it doesn’t. Israel does not have the right to defend itself. It has the motherfucking obligation to defend itself. If your country was under attack, your government is not just gonna sit there and take it. They’re gonna carpet bomb the living shit out of these terrorists wherever they may be.
Israel did, and in some parts is still doing, its part for peace. The disengagement from the Gaza Strip in 2005 was a major test for both the Israeli and the Palestinian sides of the aborted peace process. Israel went all out. Literally. The IDF were ordered to go into the Israeli settlements in Gaza and drag Israeli civilians out of their homes for the benefit of the Palestinians. What did Israel get in return? Rocket showers in the Sderot city of Israel proper, north of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinians viewed the Israeli disengagement from Gaza as being a direct result of terrorism. So they figured, “Hey, if we managed to get Gaza through terrorism, we can get all of Palestine (read: Israel) as well.” Terrorists are not looking to have a Palestinian State living in peace, side by side, with a Jewish State. They want the Palestinian State to be all of Israel. This is why Palestinian textbooks do not have “Israel” anywhere on their maps. All of Israel is marked as “Palestine”.
Prior to the disengagement, I was an avid peace supporter. I truly believed the disengagement could really bear fruit. I bet you could even find one of those posts I wrote around the summer of 2005, calling out to Israeli settlers in Gaza to just leave their homes, move to Jerusalem or Tzfat or wherever, and give peace a chance. But after I saw what became of the disengagement, after the way Israel was still under attack, and even more so after the IDF left Gaza, it was like a slap in the face.
And I don’t care what other countries think, and what world news reporters say, and what kind of stupid ignorant slogans hippy protesters shout, Israel will keep on defending itself against those who glorify martyrdom and who teach their kids that killing Jews is an honorable thing.
Peace, love, and it all died anyway.
PS – Bring on the hate comments.
♀ Riot Grrrl ♀ בישראל 
I appreciate your ability to recognize that “give peace a chance” doesn’t work here and to admit you were wrong about the disengagement. Thanks for telling it like it is.
BTW, I think you mean “drivel,” not “dribble.”
Oh God, did I just make up a new word? Hehe, thanks for pointing it out. I’m gonna change it now. And thanks for the comment!
Well, listen . You made a terrible error by supporting the peace process. The thinking of people such as yourself are what led to the Gaza disaster, the worst thing Israel has experienced since its founding. But . . . one cannot hold a grudge forever. We are brothers and sisters, are we not? I am proud that my sister has shown the courage and intelligence to rethink a previous position. What’s more, I am proud to see, now that you have rethought it, you are using your pen to express powerfully the idea, of which you are so right, that Israel has the m…….ing obligation to defend hersel, not merely the right.
Yes, you’re absolutely right. The leftists in the country are the ones that are leading the country to its demise. And I’ve noticed that I have been a part of it, and felt terrible about it. I hope more people of the left come to the same realization. Thank you for your support and encouragement!